Mob Mentality Debate
Using the information from the reading as well as the LibGuide answer the following question: Which is
more effective, nonviolent protests or vigilantism? You will be assigned a side of the argument and as a
class you will argue the merits of each side. Make sure to do research into mob/herd mentality as well
as nonviolent protests. Remember, a good argument takes into consideration what the other side will
say as well, take some time to research both sides of the argument.
On the day of the debate you will come to class with one well written paragraph. Your paragraph must
include a thesis statement with blueprint AND supporting details. You will have a few minutes at the
beginning of class on the day of the debate to meet with your team and discuss the points of your
argument.
Category
Debate Participation
8 points
Student
participated in the
debate at least
three times,
providing genuine
information for
their topic.
6 points
Student
participated in the
debate three
times, but did not
provide genuine
information for
their topic.
4 points
Student
participated in the
debate one or
two times,
providing genuine
information about
their topic.
Debate - Use of
Facts
Every major point
was well
supported with
several relevant
facts, statistics
and/or examples.
Every major point
was adequately
supported with
relevant facts,
statistics and/or
examples.
Paper Mechanics
No grammatical,
spelling or
punctuation
errors.
Paper - Paragraph
Construction
Paragraph
includes topic
sentence,
explanations or
details, and
concluding
sentence.
Every major point
was well
supported with
several relevant
facts, statistics
and/or examples.
Almost no
grammatical,
spelling or
punctuation
errors
Paragraph missing
one of the
following: topic
sentence or
concluding
sentence.
Every major point
was supported
with facts,
statistics and/or
examples, but the
relevance of some
was questionable.
A few
grammatical
spelling, or
punctuation
errors.
Paragraph
included related
information but
were typically not
constructed well.
Paper – Use of
Information
Every major point
was adequately
supported with
relevant facts,
statistics and/or
examples.
Every major point
was supported
with facts,
statistics and/or
examples, but the
relevance of some
was questionable.
2 points
Student
participated in the
debate one or
two times, but did
not provide
genuine
information about
their topic.
Not every point
was supported.
Many
grammatical,
spelling, or
punctuation
errors.
Paragraphing
structure was not
clear and
sentences were
not typically
related within the
paragraphs.
Not every point
was supported.
Total: ___________/40 points