Oakland Unified School District
District Assessment
th
8 Grade U.S. History, Fall Semester, 2010 – 2011
Writing the Essay
Using a Drafting Guide
Directions: Use this guide as a tool to help you write you essay.
Step 1 – For each row select a sentence starter that best begins a sentence or paragraph. Write
that sentence starter in the empty box to the right.
Step 2 – Complete the sentence or idea by adding information from other boxes in that row,
information learned in class, or information from the source documents you worked with on this
assessment.
Step 3 - When you are finished with this work put together all of the sentences written in the blank
boxes. These sentences will be your essay.
OUSD 8th Grade U.S. History Writing Assessment / Fall Semester, 2010 / EL Support Materials / page #1
US CONSTITUTION WRITING ASSESSMENT – PAPER OUTLINE TOOL
PROMPT: “The Constitution as adopted in 1789 was a vast improvement over the Articles of Confederation.” –Professor Sánchez
Using the sources and your background knowledge defend or refute this statement.
Background  The Constitution was adopted in 1789 in
Information
order to...
 Prior to 1789 the United States...
 Under the Articles of Confederation the
United States had...
 (create your own using who, what,
where, when and why)
Definition of  A strong government must...
a
 It is the responsibility of the
government
government to...
 The purpose of a government is ..
Thesis-- State  I think that…
 The Constitution  a vast
your opinion  I believe that…
was
improvement
about
over
 In my opinion…
whether the  It is my opinion that…
 The Articles of
 not a vast
Constitution  In my view…
Confederation
improvement
or AOC was
were
over
 It is my position that…
better
 did a better job
 It is my belief that…
than
 From my perspective
 did not do a
better job then
Support you  I think that because _____, _______ and _____.
thesis I believe that because_____, _______ and _____.
Briefly
 I see things this way because_____, _______ and _____.
introduce
your 2
reasons
Restate your
thesis



I think that…
I believe that…
In my opinion…
BO
DY
PA
RA
GR
AP
H
#1
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
Introduction
Statement—
Hook your
reader

 the Constitution
 the Articles of
Confederation
The Constitution was an
improvement over the
Articles of Confederation.
OUSD 8th Grade U.S. History Writing Assessment / Fall Semester, 2010 / EL Support Materials / page #2
Reason #1






It is my opinion that…
 The Constitution was not
In my view…
an improvement over the
It is my position that…
Articles of Confederation
It is my belief that…
One
 I think this is because ______________
reason  I believe this is because ____________
A
What should a government do?…What is a
reason responsibility of a government?
Evidence
Which
primary or
secondary
source
supports your
argument ?

____________ (name
of person) said in
_____ (year)

This quote supports my
argument because
Compare the
documents
and provide
facts–
Show how
the
Constitution
is different
than the
AOC. This
should
support why
it is better/
not better.
Connect
back to
thesis
In the Constitution
_______________
(explain how the part of
the government that you
use in your argument
works in the
Constitution)
Ex. In the Constitution
people’s rights are
protected through the
Bill of Rights.



Therefore
Consequently
Clearly
PUT QUOTE IN HERE
You do not have to put the
whole quote, just the most
important parts.
 it shows that…
 this source says…
this source tells us…










Similarly
In the same
way
Also
Likewise
However
On the
other hand
In contrast
But
In the Articles of
Confederation
_________________
(explain how the part of the
government that you use in
your argument works in the
AOC)
Ex. In the AOC people’s
rights are not protected
because there is no Bill of
Rights.
The Constitution was an
improvement over the
Articles of Confederation.
The Constitution was not
an improvement over the
Articles of Confederation
because a government… (insert your argument from this paragraph)
OUSD 8th Grade U.S. History Writing Assessment / Fall Semester, 2010 / EL Support Materials / page #3
Restate your
thesis and
your second
reason
(Reason #2)


Another
reason
why
In
addition




BODY PARAGRAPH #2

Evidence
Which
primary or
secondary
source
supports your
argument ?
Compare
the
documents
and provide
facts–
Show how
the
Constitution
is different
than the
AOC. This
should
support why
it is better/
not better.
Connect
back to
thesis
I think that…
I believe that…
it is my opinion
that…
it is my position
that…
it is my belief
that…
According to ______ (name of
person) in _____ (date of quote)


The Constitution was an
improvement over the Articles
of Confederation. Is because
______________ .
The Constitution was not an
improvement over the Articles
of Confederation is because
______________ .
PUT QUOTE IN HERE
You do not have to put the whole
quote, just the most important parts.
 This quote suggests…
 This quote tells us…
 From this quote I understand…
In the Constitution
 Similarly
_______________
 In the same way
(explain how the part
 Also
of the government that
 Likewise
you use in your
argument works in the
 However
Constitution)
 On the other hand


Ex. In the Constitution
people’s rights are
protected through the
Bill of Rights.



Therefore
Consequently
Clearly


In contrast
But
The Constitution was
an improvement over
the Articles of
Confederation.
The Constitution was
not an improvement
over the Articles of
Confederation
In the Articles of
Confederation
_________________
(explain how the
part of the
government that you
use in your
argument works in
the AOC)
Ex. In the AOC
people’s rights are
not protected
because there is no
Bill of Rights.
because a government… (insert your argument from this paragraph)
OUSD 8th Grade U.S. History Writing Assessment / Fall Semester, 2010 / EL Support Materials / page #4
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
BODY PARAGRAPH #3 –
Counter Argument
Explain
what
someone on
the other
side would
think.



Explain why
the other
side is
incorrect.




Restate your
thesis-- State
your opinion
about what
the
Cherokee’s
should do.







SupportExplain how
you
supported
your thesis in
the paper.
Conclusion
Statement
Explain what
you learned
from this
study.






Someone who
disagreed with
me would
believe…
Some people
think that…
The other side
of this debate
believes…
However
Nonetheless
But
Yet

the Constitution is not
an improvement over
the Articles of
Confederation
because…

the Constitution is an
improvement over the
Articles of
Confederation
because…
 This belief is wrong
because…
 This idea is incorrect
because…
 People should not believe
this because…
If possible use another quote
that helps to explain why this
side is wrong.
I think that…
I believe that…
In my opinion…
It is my opinion that…
In my view…
It is my position that…
It is my belief that…

The Constitution was
an improvement over
the Articles of
Confederation.
 The Constitution was
not an improvement
over the Articles of
Confederation
This should now be clear because _____and _____.
This is because ____ and _____.
The reasons that I believe this are _____and _____.
From learning about the differences between the
Constitution and the Articles of Confederation I
learned that…
From studying these documents I learned that
government should…
OUSD 8th Grade U.S. History Writing Assessment / Fall Semester, 2010 / EL Support Materials / page #5
People should learn about the Constitution because…