Boston Massacre Argumentative Essay
In class for the past few days you have been reading and analyzing a variety of
documents concerning the Boston Massacre. The chart and questions that you answered
in your group will count as a participation grade. The chart and questions will also assist
you in completing the second part of this assignment. The following argumentative
ESSAY will count as a test grade.
Your essay will be your response to the following question:
If you were a colonist in 1770, would the Boston Massacre have
made you more likely to side with the patriots or the loyalists?
Remember:
Patriots – Colonists who were beginning to support colonial independence and criticize
the policies of the British Crown and Parliament.
Loyalists – Colonists who were happy with the policies of the British Crown and
Parliament and wanted to remain under the control of the Empire.
Think about structuring your essay in the following way:
1st Paragraph – Introduce what the Boston Massacre was, set the historical context,
(describe the background of the Boston Massacre – how did it happen?) and define
loyalists and patriots. Explain your answer to the question in bold (this answer is your
claim). Add reasoning to support your claim (you should have 3 major reasons that you
can focus your body paragraphs on.)
2nd – 4th Paragraphs – You should have three reasons to support your answer to the
question in bold. Each reason should be explained in its own paragraph. Use
EVIDENCE FROM THE DOCUMENTS to explain how your reason helps to support
your answer to the question. Your evidence should be in the form of quotations from the
document and specific references to (and descriptions of) the images. Try to address the
counterclaim at some point over the course of your three body paragraphs.
Last Paragraph – Restate your thesis and summarize your argument.