The Grapes of Wrath and The Worst Hard Time Argumentative Project
Assignment Sheet
AP Communication Arts 11
Mrs. Coats
Date Assigned: March 4/5
Date Due: March 21/22
Unit Objective: Students will be able to read a variety of texts, including timeperiod fiction, non-fiction and comics, to help form an opinion and create an
argument that includes a claim, evidence and warrant(s).
Purpose: You are doing this unit because being a successful adult sometimes
means you need to make an argument (a set of reasons and warrants) to get a
job, get into college, and to be successful once you are in those places. It is very
important to know how to argue properly. This unit coincides with the content you
are learning in your American History course.
Overview: This assignment asks you to pull together the information you learned
in The Grapes of Wrath and The Worst Hard Time to form an opinion about one
of the following prompts below. You will be required to write an essay and create
a digital piece that supplements your writing.
Writing Prompts (based on the essential questions):
1. Throughout this unit you have been reading The Grapes of Wrath and The
Worst Hard Time, various eyes past print articles, and viewing brief video
clips of “The Black Blizzard.” Each piece has exposed you to the struggles
people faced during the 1930s and how beneficial government aid can be.
**To answer this prompt, you must argue whether or not the
Joads and Wilsons really needed government aid. To do so,
you must conduct research and document important aspects of
each government program that would have been beneficial to
the Joads and Wilsons. To gain complete points, you should
consider yourself a member of the Joad family and make a
decision. Take into account your pride, your core values, and
what it would mean to accept government aid in a time when
aid was not available (or socially acceptable). Think about the
role the government was playing during the 1930s.
2. Throughout this unit you have been reading The Grapes of Wrath and The
Worst Hard Time, various eyes past print articles, and viewing brief video
clips of “The Black Blizzard.” Each piece has exposed you to how people
could impact their communities, whether it be their own family, spouse, or
an entire roadside camp.
**To answer this prompt, you must argue whether or not the
Joads or Wilsons were impacted by an actual individual/group.
You must also determine whether or not the Joads were a
group that impacted the larger communities that they joined
throughout the novel. Take into consideration the real, hard
facts (of the time period) that Egan presented you with in The
Worst Hard Time. To do so, you must conduct research and
document positive and negative impacts of an individual/group
on a community. Consider what it means to impact a
community from the familial, town, and national level.
3. Throughout this unit you have been reading The Grapes of Wrath and The
Worst Hard Time, various eyes past print articles, and viewing brief video
clips of “The Black Blizzard.” Each piece has exposed you to how gender
roles aligned themselves. Remember--a gender role is a model for what a
“man,” “woman,” (and even child) must do. Their roles are apparent in
determining what their “job” is--within the family and community.
**To answer this prompt, you must argue whether or not men
and women had specific gender roles. To do so, you must
conduct research and document what gender roles are and
investigate their shifts over time. Take into consideration what
kind of information fiction (Grapes of Wrath) and non-fiction
(The Worst Hard Time) gives you. Consider that fiction might
have presented a different picture of what gender roles were
like (overall) during the 1930s.
Digital Supplement Options: (See your teacher for other ideas)
1. Rewrite a chapter of The Grapes of Wrath (preferably one with dialogue and
character interaction), in Tweets.
2. Write a children’s book edition of The Grapes of Wrath in an online creator,
Storybird.
3. Create your own rap like the one shown in class.
4. Create a comic strip of a chapter of The Grapes of Wrath in an online creator,
Bitstrips.
Guidelines:
You must follow the research process:
Known Information:
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Summarizing
Synthesizing
Using quotes
Making connections
New Information:
• maintaining/updating your annotated bibliography
• turned in your project proposals in memo format
• Drafting in class
Timeline of Important Due Dates:
March 5/6: Project Proposals due
March 7/8: CRAP testing due
March 11/12: Annotated Bibliographies due
March 13/14: Complete Drafts due
March 15/18: Revision
March 19/20: Editing
March 21/22: Final Drafts due
Assignment of Points
Project Proposal
CRAP Testing
Annotated Bibliography
Complete Draft
Proof of Revision - letter to your teacher
Editing
Final Draft
Digital Supplement
TOTAL
10 points
10 points
30 points
25 points
15 points
10 points
150 points
100 points
350 points
Requirements:
You essay must have:
• valid claim and counterclaim.
• 3-4 pages, double spaced in 12 point font.
• shown active thought and analysis.
• use of four different sources: The Grapes of Wrath, The Worst Hard Time, and
two scholarly journals
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a minimum of 5 quotes or paraphrases
one quote from each source; the remaining quote from any of your sources.
include a definitive introduction, body with supporting details and conclusion.
a clear, concise thesis statement
a works cited page
correct MLA in-text citations and formatting, including your heading
show audience awareness
no second person pronouns like “you,” “your/s” or “yourself” and minimal use of
personal pronouns like “I,” “me,” “my” or “mine”
• an original title