Melissa Koosmann, M.F.A.
eNotes Educator
Achievements
13
Educator Level
65
Answers Posted
13
Answers Bonused
About
Melissa is a full-time writer with over ten years of experience working in education. She has taught community college writing classes, managed a university writing center for students with learning and attention challenges, and tutored students at all levels from kindergarten to college. Some of her more far-flung experiences include a year's work at a high school in Vienna, Austria, and two years of volunteering at an elementary school in Cape Town, South Africa.
Earned Badges
-
eNotes Educator
This badge is awarded to all eNotes Educators. Only official Educators can answer students' questions on our site. Educators are teachers, professional researchers, and scholars who apply to our... -
10K Points Earner
Educators earn points for every question they answer. This Educator has earned over 10,000 points. -
25K Points Earner
Educators earn points for every question they answer. This Educator has earned over 25,000 points. -
Literature Whiz
Bonuses are awarded when an Educator has gone above and beyond and impressed the editorial team by offering an especially lengthy, nuanced, or insightful answer. This badge is given to an Educator...
Recent Activity
-
Answered a Question in Hatchet
You can attack literary analysis of Hatchet from several different directions. For instance, you could write about character development and the way Brian Robeson's experiences alone in the... -
Answered a Question in The Outsiders
Hank Williams, Sr. faced the same kinds of difficulties the greasers face in The Outsiders. Williams died at 29 from alcohol and drug abuse. At the end of The Outsiders, Ponyboy thinks about... -
Answered a Question in Essays
I agree with #7 that good driving tests are an essential part of testing elderly drivers. I believe the tests are better in some places than others. I have an elderly aunt in California who has... -
Answered a Question in Essays
This is a very broad question. It sounds like you can focus in on just one of these books in your essay. Though I cannot draft a thesis statement for you, I can give you a few pointers about essay... -
Answered a Question in Kaffir Boy
Mark Mathabane, the author of Kaffir Boy, believes that a person should behave with strength and determination and stand by his or her own beliefs. His story of life as a black child in apartheid... -
Answered a Question in The Outsiders
The Outsiders is a book about poor teenage kids, greasers, and their conflict with rich kids, Socs. Characters on both sides of the class divide speak words of wisdom about their life... -
Answered a Question in The Outsiders
Sodapop is a fun, caring guy who likes to make others happy. He can always make others smile, and he is always ready to perform for an audience. The one thing he cannot stand is being made to take... -
Answered a Question in The Outsiders
In The Outsiders, Ponyboy's first reaction to the deaths of his friends is denial. When Ponyboy is sick, he tries to take the blame for Bob's murder and also insists that Johnny is not dead. As... -
Answered a Question in Kaffir Boy
When an author uses indirect characterization, the character is developed through speech or action. It is the reader's job to figure out from those actions what the character is like. In chapter 5... -
Answered a Question in Kaffir Boy
This sounds like a homework assignment, so you will need to pick out the specific examples yourself. However, I'll give you a few pointers for finding good examples of figurative language in Kaffir... -
Answered a Question in Kaffir Boy
In Kaffir Boy, the author Mark Mathabane describes his experiences coming of age in apartheid South Africa. The tone of the book ranges from fearful and angry to hopeful and determined. Through... -
Answered a Question in Kaffir Boy
Mark Mathabane, the author of Kaffir Boy, believes that the apartheid regime in South Africa was inhumane, and that more people should know about it. The preface states explicitly that the book is... -
Answered a Question in Essays
This is a wonderful question. You are correct that there are some situations in English in which the driver's action would be emphasized in the sentence. If a driver purposely hit a child with a... -
Answered a Question in Frindle
Nick Allen, the protagonist of Frindle, is well known for his creative ideas. The most notable, of course, is his spontaneous invention of the word frindle, which eventually makes it into the... -
Answered a Question in The Grapes of Wrath
Chapter 25 begins with an omniscient third person description of California's land and productivity. The sentences are long, and the diction is formal and poetic, almost biblical, as Steinbeck... -
Answered a Question in The Grapes of Wrath
As you look for significant quotations from The Grapes of Wrath, think about the book's important themes and look for moments when the language of the novel expresses some aspect of those themes.... -
Answered a Question in Ender's Game
When Ender first arrives at Battle School, he is one of the launchies, the younger boys who are not yet assigned to armies. Most Battle School boys remain launchies for two years, but Ender is... -
Answered a Question in The Road
Good point. Maybe "savior" isn't the right word for the son's role; he doesn't actually do any saving. However, he is the strongest moral figure in the book. He maintains his humanity in the face... -
Answered a Question in The Road
When Ely says, "There is no God and we are his prophets," he is being cynical. He is calling people, including himself, prophets of a non-god. It is as if people are bound by their humanity to make... -
Answered a Question in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
At the end of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Papa is in an almost impossible situation. T.J. is about to be lynched by a group of white men, and Stacey is in danger as well. By setting his own...