Grade 11 Performance Assessment
Saratoga High School
1930s Synthesis Argument Essay- “The Haves and The Have-Nots”
Student Directions
Your Assignment:
Having read a novel set in the 1930s, you will now examine multiple sources in order to write an argumentative essay
explaining and analyzing the impact of The Great Depression on one aspect of American life.
Steps you will be following:
In order to plan and compose your essay, you will do all of the following:
1. Review your understanding of the Steinbeck novel you just read (Cannery Row)
2. Read a non-fiction article, analyze a speech, examine photographs, and listen to several songs
3. Use the graphic organizer and guiding questions below to help you organize your understanding of the sources and
how they reveal something about one of the categories below.
4. Choose one area of American life on which to focus for the essay:
o Family Structure (including gender roles, division of labor)
o Conception/Perception of “Home”
o Discrimination (on the basis of race and/or class)
5. Outline your essay the night before we meet in the writing center.
6. Meet in the writing center to write and revise your essay using the attached rubric.
Part I: Directions for beginning (Monday)
1. Fill in the novel section of the graphic organizer. Use the novel and the quotation sheet to help you.
2. Examine several sources in class and record your findings on the graphic organizer
3. For homework, review remaining sources and record your findings on the graphic organizer
Part II: Short Answer Questions (Tuesday/Wednesday)
Respond to the short answer questions below. Your answers to these questions will be scored; they will also help you think
about the sources you have read and viewed, which should help you write your essay. You may refer to your notes and
handouts while answering the questions. Be as specific as you can.
1. Many of the sources suggest or reveal that both Family Structure and Conception of Home were altered by The Great
Depression. Choose one of these two areas. Which two sources provide the most concrete examples of change in this
area? Identify specific changes using direct evidence from two sources.
2. Which two sources provide the most explicit evidence of discrimination on the basis of race and class? Give two
examples of this discrimination and its effects on the victims and society as a whole.
3. Considering all six sources, create three statements regarding the 1930s regarding cause and effect for each area of Daily
Life. For example: _________________ changed because of _________________ and the overall effect was
___________________.
a.
b.
c.
4. After you choose one of the three aspects of American Life to focus on for your essay (see #4 above), identify which
three sources provide the strongest/clearest commentary on that aspect and explain why.
Also: Before coming to the Research Center next class, it is highly recommended that you complete the basic outline on the next page!
Recommended Outline: Optional!
Idea for Hook:
Context: What background information does my reader need before the thesis?
Draft Thesis:
Body Paragraph #1’s Topic:
Evidence #1 (Write source only):
Bullet points of how this evidence supports my thesis:
Evidence #2 (Write source only):
Bullet points of how this evidence supports my thesis:
Body Paragraph #2’s Topic:
Evidence #3 (Write source only):
Bullet points of how this evidence supports my thesis:
Evidence #4 (Write source only):
Bullet points of how this evidence supports my thesis:
Conclusion idea:
Part III: Write your Essay
You will now have 75 minutes to review your notes/sources/short answer questions, as well as plan, write, and revise your
essay. You may not change any of your answers from Part One. Please be sure to read the assignment and information about
how your essay will be scored before you begin.
Now begin work on your essay: Manage your time carefully so that you can Plan your essay
 Write your essay
 Revise and Edit for a final draft
We have recently examined a variety of different sources regarding issues of the 1930s, specifically economic inequality and The Great
Depression. These sources include Cannery Row; songs by Woody Guthrie, Mumford and Sons, and Rage Against the Machine; Dorothea
Lange Photographs; Ford’s Grapes of Wrath film; and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “First Inaugural Address.”
Prompt: Synthesizing information from three different types of sources, explain and analyze the impact of The Great
Depression on one of the following areas of American life:
o Family Structure (including gender roles, division of labor)
o Conception/Perception of “Home”
o Discrimination (on the basis of race and/or class)
Details: Must use four pieces of evidence and at least two direct quotations integrated and cited in MLA format