Name:___________________
11 (1) Composition
“The Inheritance of Tools” by Scott Russell Sanders
The next piece you will write is a description of an object that brings to mind a
specific person, event, or time period of your life. In his essay, Sanders describes
his tools as way to recall memories of the man from whom he inherited them, his
father. Read Sanders’ essay to inspire ideas and techniques for your own essay.
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1. AS YOU READ, list a total of ten words or phrases from the essay that you found to
particularly vivid, interesting, or moving. Ideas: strong verbs, specific nouns,
precise adjectives, sensory details, figurative language…
1.
6.
2.
7.
3.
8.
4.
9.
5.
10.
2. Identify two things you notice about Sanders’ organization of this essay
(e.g.: how he begins, how he concludes, arrangement of the ideas/narrative, connection of the
paragraphs)
3. What impression does Sanders create of his father through his description of the
tools?
4. On the back of this sheet, create your own short-answer, open-ended question
based on the essay. Provide an answer (three-five sentences) as well.