Unit I American Roots Essay
The Writing Process
Timeline: 11+
Thesis due Monday September 23
 Introduction due Tuesday Sept. 24
 Rough draft due Thurs. September 26
 Final draft due Wednesday October 2

Timeline: 11
Thesis due Tuesday September 24
 Introduction due Wednesday Sept. 25
 Rough draft due Friday September 27
 Final draft due Friday October 4

Why?
Writing 11.14.1.1 Write arguments
focused on discipline-specific content.
 Writing 11.14.5.5 Use a writing process to
develop and strengthen writing as needed
by planning, drafting, revising, editing,
rewriting, or trying a new approach.
 Writing 11.14.9.9 Draw evidence from
literary or informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research.

Your Writing Process
1.
2.
Describe your writing process. How do
you write a paper?
Do you…
◦
◦
◦
◦
Plan ahead? Procrastinate?
Write from beginning to end without
stopping? Constantly re-write as you write?
Take breaks? Write in small windows of
time?
Proof read? Rely on spell-check? Have
another person read your paper?
The Writing Process…
Isn’t linear.
 Is unique to each individual.

The Question

How do different and diverse early
American authors explore the themes of
economy, race, and religion?

Assessment sheet
What do you want to say?
A Super Venn Diagram (11)
Similarities
What do you want to say?
A Super Venn Diagram (11+)
Similarities
Brainstorm: A Super Venn Diagram
Who wrote the text?
1.
◦
◦
◦
2.
3.
4.
5.
Race
Gender
Country of origin
What is the purpose of the text?
What is the author’s argument?
What happens in the text?
What is similar and different about their
themes of economy, race, and religion?
So what?
What is significant about the differences?
 What is significant about the similarities?

Thesis Statement
Expresses the main argument of an essay
 Subject + argument = thesis

◦ Authors + theme(s)

Video game controller
Thesis Evaluation

There are similarities and differences
between Anne Bradstreet and Phillis
Wheatley, two female American poets.
 Must
 Anne
take a stand
Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, and
Olaudah Equiano rely on religion to
overcome obstacles.
Thesis Evaluation

Cabeza de Vaca and Bradford’s accounts are
both about landing in the Americas and
meeting Native Americans.

Must justify discussion
◦ More than an observation

The eighteenth-century authors’ own race
and perspective influenced if they called
other Caucasians, Africans, and Native
Americans “savages.”
Thesis Evaluation

Early American authors discussed economy
and race frequently.

Must be specific

The Declaration of Independence, “Of
Plymouth Plantation,” and “La Relación”
demonstrate that the colonists’ desire for
liberty was fueled by economic and religious
motives.
Thesis Development

Diverse early American authors, such as
Cotton Mather, Olaudah Equiano, Phillis
Wheatley, and George Copway,
demonstrate that White Christians
twisted their ideas of religion to support
the subjugation of other races, mainly for
economic motives.
Thesis Statements

Subject + argument = thesis
◦ Authors + theme(s)




Take a stand
Be more than an observation
Be specific
Answer:
◦ How do different and diverse early American
authors explore the themes of economy, race,
and religion?
◦ How does who wrote the literature determine
the content?
Essay Analysis
Unscramble the essay and label its parts.
1. Thesis
2. Title
3. Attention-getter
4. Topic Sentence
5. Topic Sentence
6. Topic Sentence
7. Introduction
8. Body
9. Restatement of thesis
10. Conclusion

Essay Analysis
What parts of the essay are easily
recognizable?
How did you decide which sentence was
the thesis?
1.
2.
◦
3.
4.
5.
Where did you put the thesis?
How did you know when to begin a new
paragraph?
Define “topic sentence.”
How did you decide what to put in the
introduction and conclusion?
Introduction
General statement
Bridge: topic intro,
theme, authors’ names,
etc.
Specific thesis
statement
Introduction
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “race” is defined as
“a group of people connected by common descent or origin.”
General statement
Although the definition of “race” is broadly defined today,
people of the eighteenth century often restricted the
definition to one’s skin color. Condemning one person
to be less than someone else, however, posed a
problem for Christians who advocated all
people were equal in God’s eyes.
Bridge: topic intro,
theme, authors’ names,
etc.
Specific thesis
statement
Diverse early American authors, such
as Cotton Mather, Olaudah Equiano,
Phillis Wheatley, and George Copway,
demonstrate that White
Christians twisted their
ideas of religion to support the
subjugation of other races,
mainly for economic
motives.
Introduction: Attention-Getter

Although we cannot actually see the
economy, people base many of their
decisions on it.

Have you ever thought about how people
of the eighteenth century imagined race?

Religion can be defined as “the belief in and
worship of a superhuman controlling
power, esp. a personal God or gods.”
Introduction: Attention-Getter
How can you hook the reader’s attention?
 Interesting quote
 Definition
 General statement


No questions.
Conclusion
Restatement of thesis
“Sending off”
statement: Smart
sentence appealing to
audience
Conclusion
Restatement of thesis
Mather, Equiano, Wheatley, and Copway
demonstrate that, throughout colonial times in the
Americas, White Christians oppressed Africans and
Native Americans for economic reasons and
ultimately ignored true Christian principles.
Other races were considered inferior, “savage,”
and even “diabolic” and were enslaved or taken
advantage of for labor or land. In order to
reconcile their religion with the horrible
treatment of other races, White Christians hid behind
a hope of spiritual freedom for the oppressed.
“Sending off”
statement: Smart
sentence appealing to
audience
Despite its broad definition, the race and skin color of a person
should never entitle another to treat someone with anything less
than human dignity.
Quote Integration
Introduce the quote: author + text
 Quote the quote

◦ Include page number in parentheses
◦ Place period AFTER the parentheses

Explain the quote
Quote Integration

Mather and his American congregation
profited from the slave labor and the
money the slaves earned for them: “you
Expect from their Service, a Support, and
perhaps an Increase, of your other
Possessions” (638). African slaves were
simply another “possession” for their
White masters.
Quote Integration

Phillis Wheatley, in her poem “On Being
Brought from Africa to America,” attests
to the negative sentiments others
attached to black skin: “Some view our
sable race with scornful eye, / ‘Their
colour is a diabolic die.’” Other people
looked upon Africans with hatred and
contempt because of their dark skin.
Quote Integration: Words

Says, explains, describes, demonstrates
◦ Use a comma
◦ Ex: In “On Being Brought From Africa to
America,” Wheatley says, “Remember….”

Use a colon when a noun precedes the
quote:
◦ Ex: Bradstreet shows her reliance on
religion: “Farewell my pelf….”
Quote Integration

“Thus it pleased God to vanquish their
enemies and give them deliverance” (85).

According to Bradford from “Of
Plymouth Plantation,” the colonists
believed in a powerful God: “Thus it
pleased God to vanquish their enemies
and give them deliverance” (85). They
attributed their successes in battle to
God’s power.
Quote Integration

“And did thy wealth on earth abide?” (37)

In “Upon the Burning of Our House,”
Bradstreet says, “And did thy wealth on
earth abide?” (37) She uses economic
language to talk about her belief in
Heaven and God.
Quote Integration
Introduce the quote: author + text
 Quote the quote

◦ Include page number in parentheses
◦ Place period AFTER the parentheses

Explain the quote
Writing Paragraphs
Topic Sentence: what is this paragraph
about?
 Evidence: prove it.

◦ Quote + page numbers

Concluding Sentence: what did you just
prove?
Writing Paragraphs

In the eighteenth century, races other than White were
considered inferior. Phillis Wheatley, in her poem “On Being Brought
from Africa to America,” attests to the negative sentiments others
attached to black skin: “Some view our sable race with scornful eye, /
‘Their colour is a diabolic die.’” Other people looked upon Africans
with hatred and contempt because of their dark skin. Similarly,
Cotton Mather, in his essay, “The Negro Christianized,” explains how
Africans were thought to be “the most Bruitish of Creatures upon
Earth,” “Vassals of Satan,” and the “Blackest Instances of Blindness and
Baseness” (638). Not only did Caucasians look down on Africans, but
they also labeled Native Americans as uncivilized and barbarous. In
“La Relación,” Hispanic author Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca refers to
the Native Americans he encounters in the south as “wild, untaught
savages howling like brutes” (75). Similarly, William Bradford in “Of
Plymouth Plantation” calls the Native Americans “savages” and shows
the negative mentality Caucasians held about other races (84).
Whites considered Africans and Native Americans inferior because of
their skin color.
Paragraph Analysis

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Unscramble the paragraph and label its
parts.
Topic Sentence
Concluding Sentence
Intro to Quote
Evidence
Explanation of Quote
Argument
Paragraph Analysis
1.
2.
3.
4.
What parts of the paragraph are easily
recognizable?
How did you distinguish between the
topic and concluding sentence?
What do you notice about the
Explanation of Quote?
How is the Argument an argument?
Transitions: A Toaster
Bread will pop up automatically.
 Plug toaster into electrical outlet.
 Lift up bread lifter or push the Cancel
button.
 Select toast shade and press down bread
lifter.
 Place appropriate food items in slots.

Transitions
How will you link your ideas?
 Where do they go?

◦
◦
◦
◦
Beginning of paragraphs and sentences
Mid-sentence to connect ideas
Ending of sentences
Can place emphasis on certain sentence
Transitions: What do you need to
signal?
Definition
 Example
 Addition
 Sequence
 Analysis
 Comparison
 Contrast
 Cause-Effect
 Conclusion

Transitions: Examples
Between paragraphs:
Whites considered Africans and Native
Americans inferior because of their skin
color.
Because Caucasians believed
their race was superior, they used the
“inferior” races to their economic
advantage.

Transitions: Examples
Within paragraphs:
African slaves were simply another
“possession” for their White masters. In
addition to using Africans as slaves,
Caucasians took advantage of Native
American land and resources.

Title Work
First thing a reader sees
 Catchy
 Informative
 Double meaning
 Not too long

Title Work

Economy and Race in Early American Literature

Money and Skin Color

Gold or God: What Wins in the Eighteenth
Century?

Subjugation
Peer Conferencing
Praise: What did you like about this
essay? What do you remember?
 Question: What questions would you
like to ask the writer?
 Suggestion: How could this paper be
revised and improved?

Peer Conferencing
Evaluate the thesis. Is the thesis taking a stand,
clear, and specific?
 Evaluate the argument: does it answer, “So
what?”
 Does the essay discuss the economy, race,
and/or religion?
 Is the introduction general to specific?
 Is the conclusion specific to general?
 Are there at least three in-text citations and
three texts mentioned?
 Does the writer use transitions? Highlight two
strong examples.

Peer Conferencing (11+)
Evaluate the thesis. Is the thesis taking a stand,
clear, and specific?
 Evaluate the argument: does it answer, “So
what?”
 Does the essay discuss the economy, race,
and/or religion?
 Is the introduction general to specific?
 Is the conclusion specific to general?
 Are there at least six in-text citations and four
texts mentioned?
 Does the writer use transitions? Highlight two
strong examples.

Grammar
Sorting Words
Adjectives
Sorting Words
nomenclature
soliloquy
abrogate
countenance
enervate
yeoman
notarize
auspicious
reciprocal
subjugate
ascribe
incontrovertible
omnipotent
diffident
facetious
classification
Reparation
apprehension
copious
anguish
appease
wrath
Sorting Words
Adjectives
copious
facetious
auspicious
diffident
Incontrovertible
reciprocal
omnipotent
Sorting Words
Analyze the words in each category.
1.
◦
◦
◦
What similarities do you notice within the
adjectives?
The nouns?
The verbs?
Identifying Subject and Verb
Subject + Predicate = Complete Thought
 Subject: part of the sentence about which
something is said (nouns)

◦ Ex: William Bradford shows that God was
important to early American settlers.

Verb: a word that expresses action or
state of being
◦ Ex: Squanto and Samoset helped the pilgrims
communicate and survive.
Identifying Subject and Verb: Oho!

Cabeza de Vaca, Bradford, and Equiano,
they demonstrate that religion was
essential to the colonists.
Identifying Subject and Verb

Worksheet
Identifying Subject and Verb
1.
2.
3.
Highlight the subjects in your essay.
Highlight the verbs in your essay, using a
different color.
Analyze your subjects and verbs:
◦ Do you write in complete sentences?
◦ Have you varied your word choice?
Sentence-Combining

Have you varied your sentence lengths?
Careful!
they’re
 there
 their

stuff
 things
 First and second person: you, me, we, us, I

Format
Anne Bradstreet
Ms. Vander Heiden
English 11, Hour 2
October 3, 2013
Subjugation
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “race” is defined
as an “a group of people connected by common descent or origin.”
Although the definition of “race” is broadly defined today, people of
the eighteenth century often restricted the definition to one’s…
Due Date
Place your materials in the following order,
with #1 on top. Staplers are coming.
1. Assessment Sheet with Rubric side on top
2. Final Draft
3. Rough Draft
4. Unit 1 Chart
5. Super Venn Diagram
6. Thesis Note Card
7. Any other notes/materials you want to
share

Self-Evaluation
1.
What did you do particularly well in this
piece of writing? What is the best part
of your essay?
2.
What did you learn from writing this
essay that can help you in the future?