9.2 Common Writing Task - Corroborating Progressivism
Directions:​ Use the information from the documents, the CWT graphic organizer, and outline to write a multi-paragraph essay in response to
the following prompt. Refer to the rubric on the next page to identify the expectations before you start writing and to check your work once you
are finished.
Prompt: Identify the central problem faced by one group and analyze the strategies they used to address the problem.
Be sure to:
● Include an introduction with an analytical thesis statement, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
● Identify evidence that supports your claim, from at least FOUR different sources and your background knowledge.
● Explain how the evidence supports your thesis.
● Analyze the documents using one example of each of the following skills: sourcing and close reading.
● Corroborate evidence within each body paragraph.
The Progressive Era was a period of widespread social activism and political reform around the U.S. that
spanned through the 1890s to the 1920s. The main objectives that the progressives were focused on were addressing
problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and political corruption. During the progresive era
African Americans were discriminated against, segregated and enslaved. ​The central problems that the African
American’s faced was segregation towards streetcars,in response to this problem they advocated and boycotted.
The African Americans were segregated on public transport such as street cars. Evidence that supports my
argument is ​“On April 1, 1904, the Virginia Passenger and Power Company made an announcement that the rules
for segregation would be enforced later that month on electric street cars in Richmond.” This piece of evidence
supports my claim because they are not being able to ride street cars which is a form of segregation. This source is
reliable because it has a published date and the date where this source was published was during the time where this
event was still very relevant. This source is reliable because the author of the source has experienced the problem
first hand. Another example that supports my claim is ““the Virginia General Assembly altered the legislation in
1906, requiring segregation in public transportation”. This evidence supports my subclaim because in my subclaim
it is stated that the African Americans were being segregated in public transport and in this piece of evidence it
states that “the Virginia General Assembly altered the legislation in 1906, requiring segregation in public
transportation” which means that there will be segregation on public transport. In both of these pieces of evidence
talk about how there is segregation in some form of public transport. Like in the first piece of evidence it talks about
how there is segregation on electric street cars while the second piece of evidence talks about how there is
segregation in all public transportation. Nevertheless both pieces talk about segregation in public transportation.
The strategies used by the African Americans to address the problem was boycotting public transport and by
using the newspaper to spread their issue. “​Thousands of African American Richmonders continued the boycott for
more than a year, walking and finding alternate forms of transportation”. This piece of evidence supports my
subclaim because in my sublime it states that the African Americans boycotted public transport and in this piece of
evidence it states how the African Americans walked and found alternate forms of transportation which is a form of
boycotting. This source is reliable because it has a published date and the date where this source was published was
during the time where this event was still very relevant. This source is reliable because the author of the source has
experienced the problem first hand. Another piece of evidence that supports my subclaim is“​Second. We want
discrimination in public accommodation to cease. Separation in railway and street cars, based simply on race and
color, is un-American, un-democratic, and silly. We protest against all such discrimination.”. ​This supports my
subclaim because in my subclaim it is stated that the African Americans used the news to spread their issue and in
this case they used the New York times which is a reliable and credible news source that is still up today. This
corroborates with my first piece of evidence because in both pieces of evidence it talks about segregation and what
they did to address the issue of segregation.
In this essay we talk about how ​The Progressive Era was a period of widespread social activism and political reform
around the U.S. that spanned through the 1890s to the 1920s. The main objectives that the progressives were focused
on were addressing problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and political corruption. During
the progresive era African Americans were discriminated against, segregated and enslaved and ​The central problems
that the African American’s faced was segregation towards streetcars,in response to this problem they advocated and
boycotted. In my main arguments I talk about what the issue was and how it was addressed by the African
Americans. ​This topic is important because no matter what color your skin is we all deserve to be treated with equal
rights and equal powers. The sad truth was that this wasn’t a reality for the African Americans back then which is
very wrong.
USH Q1 CWT (9.2) Essay Rubric
Proficient
100%
Developing Proficiency
85%
Emerging Proficiency
70%
Not Yet Proficient
50%
Not Present
Analytical The thesis makes a claim
The thesis makes a claim
The thesis makes a claim
The thesis is not consistent No thesis is
Thesis
with​ s​ upporting argument(s) with supporting argument(s) with no supporting
with the prompt.
provided.
that address the full prompt. that partially addresses the
argument(s).
(10%)
prompt.
10 points
10/10
8.5/10
7/10
5/10
Evidence
(30%)
30 points
The response provides
evidence from at least four
sources and includes
thorough background
knowledge on the topic.
The response provides
evidence from at least three
sources and includes
sufficient background
knowledge on the topic.
30/30
25.5/30
Reasoning The response includes
(30%)
thorough and convincing
30 points reasoning for how all the
evidence supports the
argument.
30/30
The response includes
convincing reasoning for how
most of the evidence
supports the argument.
Social
Studies
Literacy
Skills
(30%)
30 points
The response uses all of the
required skills which
effectively supports the
argument.
Required skills
❏ sourcing
❏ close reading
❏ corroboration
30/30
Feedback: Total /100
Feedback on Clarity of Writing
25.5/30
The response provides
evidence from at least two
sources and includes
incomplete background
knowledge.
21/30
The response includes
reasoning for how some of
the evidence supports the
argument.
21/30
No evidence or
background
knowledge is
provided.
15/30
The response includes
unconvincing reasoning for
how some of the evidence
supports the argument.
21/30
The response uses at least
The response uses at least
two of the required skills
two of the required skills
which effectively supports the which supports the argument.
argument.
Required skills
Required skills
❏ sourcing
❏ sourcing
❏ close reading
❏ close reading
❏ corroboration
❏ corroboration
25.5/30
The response provides
evidence from at least one
source, but does not
include background
knowledge.
15/30
0/10
0/30
No reasoning is
provided.
0/30
The response uses at least No social studies
one of the required skills
literacy skills are
which does not contribute
used.
to the argument.
Required skills
❏ sourcing
❏ close reading
❏ corroboration
15/30
0/30
Schools are encouraged to include Clarity of Writing as part of the CWT score; however, the Clarity of Writing category will not be entered into PM
Unify. Instruction and clear expectations for student writing must be a part of classroom learning and practice prior to being assessed as part of a
grade. Otherwise feedback using this rubric category is encouraged, but should not impact the student’s overall grade. Schools may establish their
own point values for the categories below, but the weighting of the core elements of the social studies rubric should remain consistent when
compared to one another. (ie; Reasoning, Literacy Skills, and Evidence should be equally weighted.) One approach is to assign points in the
following way:
Thesis: 8 pts (8%)
Evidence: 28 pts (28%)
Proficient
The response is clearly written due to:
❏ strong organization and use of
paragraphs to distinguish separate
ideas
❏ identifiable transitions between ideas
❏ use of academic vocabulary throughout
❏ no errors that interfere with the reader’s
comprehension
Literacy Skills: 28 pts (28%)
Reasoning: 28 pts (28%)
Developing Proficiency
The response is unclear in sections due to:
❏ unclear organization that may not
include an introduction, body
paragraphs or conclusion
❏ inconsistent or infrequent use of
transitions between ideas
❏ inconsistent or infrequent use of
academic vocabulary
❏ some errors that interfere with the
reader’s comprehension
Clarity of Writing: 8 pts (8%)
Not Yet Proficient
The response lacks clarity due to:
❏ lack of organization and distinct
paragraphs
❏ no transitions between ideas
❏ missing academic vocabulary
❏ significant errors that interfere with the
reader’s comprehension
Social Studies Literacy Skills Glossary - ​Analysis using the skills may include some or all of the following components:
Sourcing:​ Identifies information on the document’s origin, purpose, point of view/perspective, reliability, and uses.
Close Reading​: Identifies the claim(s) and evidence in a document, evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the claims and evidence, and analyzes how
the author’s point of view/perspective influences the document.
Corroboration​: Compares documents to find areas of agreement and disagreement and evaluates their reliability.