Grade 7 Thesis Paper
How effective was President X?
Assignment:
Research a United States President, and write a paper reporting on the information learned
from your research. Your paper should include a clearly defined thesis or statement that
shows what you, the author, intends to prove. For this paper, it will be a statement regarding
the overall effectiveness of the President, and then you’ll spend the rest of the paper proving
the thesis.
This paper will focus on the President’s time in office and the various policies and decisions
made during this time period. The paper will be formal, including proper citations with
parenthetical references and a Works Cited list. Each student will be assigned an American
President at random.
Be sure to read and reread the rubric! Your research paper will receive a grade as a project in
Social Studies and as a project in Language Arts. Below is the suggested organization of the
paper.
Introduction:
Keep this short. (Not all of these will pertain to your President)
Birthplace and date of birth
Home life—siblings, where he grew up, parents, etc.
Schooling—where, when
Marriage, children
Jobs held
Special interests/hobbies
Adult Life: (Not all of these will pertain to your President, these are ideas to spark your
research)
Wars fought in, adventures, places traveled
Personal behavior—cruel, honest, kind, etc.
Physical abilities/disabilities
Reasons for Fame:
Inventions/discoveries
Accomplishments—wars, treaties, policies
Failures, things not completed
Challenges
Prior Experience:
Political experience before assuming the presidency. Do NOT include irrelevant details
about the person’s private life. Do include leadership positions held prior to the
presidency, whether they are political in nature or not.
Election:
This includes the campaign and margin of victory. This should include primaries and the
general election for each and every time the candidate ran for the Presidency, including
defeats. Describe important economic, social, domestic, and foreign issues during the
campaign. Margin of victory is more than just the numbers; include opinion, backed by
facts, on why the candidate won or lost.
Views/Beliefs:
Political affiliation and philosophical views, including the president’s party and its
platform at the time he was elected. You should be sure to include his views on
economics, social issues, domestic policy, and foreign policy. This should not be a list; it
should be a narrative discussing his beliefs.
Major Decisions:
Major decisions of his presidency and the effects of those decisions, including, but not
limited to, economic, social, domestic, and foreign policy. This also includes legislation the
President pursued, and crises and how the president reacted to them. This should be very
detailed. Include all major events.
Important Cabinet selections:
Be certain to include the secretaries who impacted the president’s administration, usually
this includes the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Treasury, and
Attorney General. Other cabinet officials may need to be included, depending upon the
president. If in doubt, ask! Please be sure to link the accomplishments of the Cabinet
members to your thesis. For example, if you are arguing that the president had a
successful foreign policy, then show me how his choice of Secretary of State helped him.
Also, if appropriate, discuss why a particular individual was chosen by the president to
fill the Cabinet position.
The President’s relationship with Congress:
Discuss which party had control of Congress during the president’s time in power, and
how that affected the president’s agenda. If possible, include an example of at least one
major piece of legislation to show how the president worked with or against Congress to
pursue his policies. For example, the president may have personally appeared in
Congress or encouraged legislators to support his program in exchange for federal
projects in their home districts.
Death:
Date/age/cause
Last words (if known)
Public reaction to death (admired? Forgotten?)
Conclusion - Personal Evaluation:
Admirable/not admirable qualities
How you feel personally about the President
If this person were to run for President today, would you vote for him (why/why not?)
Requirements:
1. Must complete ALL steps of the writing process.
2. Must be typed and edited.
3. Must not include 1st or 2nd personal pronouns (For example, “I,” “me,” “you”)
4. Must be free of fragments and run-ons.
5. Should include at least 5 different sources
a. 1 must be a book
b. 1 must be a journal
c. You may not use wikipedia - it is fine to start here with some basic information but
use more credible sites. The link below will help you decide if it is a reliable site or
not .
http://elora.national.edu/research_writing/docs/PDFs/Finding%20Quality%20Web%2
0sites.pdf
6. Must be cited according to MLA standards, including parenthetical notation and a Works
Cited page. Please use the easybib. In google docs go to add-ons - easy bib. Works Cited page
does not count towards total # of pages.
7. Will include a clearly defined thesis, a statement that shows what the author intends to
prove in a paper. For this paper, it will be a statement regarding the overall effectiveness of
the President, and then you’ll spend the rest of the paper proving the thesis.
8. Your thesis statement should be in BOLD
9. Addresses all topics in an organized and logical manner.
10. Page length: Minimum 4-5 pages, Maximum 10 pages (not including title page or source
page)
11. 12 point font in Times New Roman
12. Double spaced.
13. Pagination - Please number your pages (Google docs, Insert page #).
Writing Tips:
 State your thesis (argument) in the introduction and make sure ALL of your paragraphs
connect back to it. A thesis is a roadmap - it should explain what your reader is about to
read! Make your thesis statement bold.
 No personal pronouns (I, me, I think, ). Write the sentence as a fact.
o Don’t - I think President Obama is effective because
o Do - President Obama is effective because
 Have a hook or lead-in in your introduction.
 Conclude something in your conclusion. For example: What wisdom can be gained?
What lesson can be learned?
Paper check
Before you turn in your final paper complete this check!
_________ Thesis is in bold
_________ Double spaced
_________ Times New Roman size 12
_________ Pages are numbered
_________ Met page length requirement
_________Title page
_________Source page using easy bib
_________at least 5 sources (1 journal, 1 book, 3 other)
_________ Do all of my paragraphs connect to the thesis?
_________ Can my reader clearly understand whether or not this President was effective or
ineffective?
_________ No personal pronouns
_________ No run on sentences
_________ No fragments
_________ Grammar and spelling checked
_________ Someone other than me has read my paper
_________ I read my paper out loud to check for mistakes.
History Rubric:
4
3
2
1
Introduction
* My introduction includes
an introductory device
which leads into a thesis
statement.
* My introduction includes an
introductory device and a
thesis statement
* My introduction
needs to be reworked
* I don’t have an
introductory device
* I don’t have an
introduction
Thesis
Thesis statement is clear. It
is located in a logical place
in the introduction. It is in
bold. Fully developed in
the essay. It acts as the
central controlling idea in
the essay. My thesis
effectively responds to the
prompt/assignment
* I have a thesis
* My thesis statement acts as
the main point that all
paragraphs work to support.
* I answer the
prompt/assignment adequately
* My essay has a thesis
that I try to support,
but my point may not
be immediately clear
to the reader
* My thesis statement
either needs minor
rewording or is
misplaced
* I partially address
the
prompt/assignment
* My thesis is
superficial
* My thesis does not
address the
prompt/assignment
* I don’t have a thesis
Conclusion
* My conclusion not only
wraps up the essay but
offers food for thought
* I have a conclusion that wraps
up the essay
* My conclusion needs
to be reworked
* My conclusion is
unrelated to the essay
thesis and topic and/o
it needs revision to
address the importan
of the thesis.
Body
paragraph
(Intro, adult
life, fame,
death) x2
*All four topics are
addressed in a logical,
organized manner.
*Information is accurate.
*Sources are cited or
quotes accurately.
*Evidence of research is
apparent.
*Transition sentences are
used.
*All my evidence is specific
and fully explained to
effectively demonstrate how
the evidence supports the
thesis.
Body
paragraph
(Experience,
election,
beliefs,
Decisions,
*All six topics are
addressed in a logical,
organized manner.
*Information is accurate.
*Sources are cited or
quotes accurately.
3 topics are addressed in a
logical, organized manner.
*Information is mostly accurate.
*Most sources are cited or
quotes accurately.
*Evidence of research is
apparent.
*Transition sentences are used
in most of the paper.
*All my evidence is specific and
fully explained to effectively
demonstrate how the evidence
supports the thesis.
5 topics are addressed in a
logical, organized manner.
*Information is mostly accurate.
*Most sources are cited or
quotes accurately.
*Evidence of research is
2 topics are addressed
in a logical, organized
manner.
*Information is mostly
accurate.
*Some sources are
cited or quotes
accurately.
*Evidence of research
is somewhat apparent.
*Transition sentences
are rarely used.
Topics are barely
addressed. Informati
is not in a logical,
organized manner.
*Information is
inaccurate.
*Sources are not cited
or quotes accurately.
*Evidence of research
is not apparent.
*Transition sentences
are not used.
*Some of my evidence is
specific and fully
explained to effectively
demonstrate how the
evidence supports the
thesis.
*Evidence is not specifi
or fully explained to
effectively demonstrate
how the evidence
supports the thesis.
3 topics are addressed
in a logical, organized
manner.
*Information is mostly
accurate.
*Some sources are
Topics are barely
addressed. Informati
is not in a logical,
organized manner.
*Information is
inaccurate.
Cabinet,
Congress) x3
*Evidence of research is
apparent.
*Transition sentences are
used.
*All my evidence is specific
and fully explained to
effectively demonstrate how
the evidence supports the
thesis.
apparent.
*Transition sentences are used
in most of the paper.
*All my evidence is specific and
fully explained to effectively
demonstrate how the evidence
supports the thesis.
cited or quotes
accurately.
*Evidence of research
is somewhat apparent.
*Transition sentences
are rarely used.
*Sources are not cited
or quotes accurately.
*Evidence of research
is not apparent.
*Transition sentences
are not used.
*Some of my evidence is
specific and fully
explained to effectively
demonstrate how the
evidence supports the
thesis.
*Evidence is not specifi
or fully explained to
effectively demonstrate
how the evidence
supports the thesis.
Evidence
Information is supported
with research from online,
print and text sources.
Research includes at least
5 pieces of evidence to
support statements.
Information is supported with
research from online, print and
text sources. Research includes
at least 4 pieces of evidence to
support statements.
Information is
supported with
research from only 1
of online, print and
text sources. Proposal
includes at least 3
pieces of evidence to
support statements.
Information is
supported with
research from online,
print and text sources
Proposal includes on
1 piece of evidence to
support statements.
Historical
Accuracy
Paper clearly shows that
research was completed.
All facts are historically
accurate.
Paper clearly shows that
research was completed. Most
facts are historically accurate
with one minor error.
2 historical
inaccuracies. Research
was half read but not
used effectively.
More than 3 historica
inaccuracies. Researc
was not Completed.
Requirements
Met all 13 requirements as
listed
Met 10 -12 of the 13
requirements
Met 7 - 9 of 13
requirements
Met less than half of t
requirements.
Grammar and
Mechanics
* My writing has no major
errors in: spelling,
grammar, capitalization,
punctuation and
indentation
* My paper is clean and
legible
* My writing has 1-3 major
errors
* My paper looks decent
* My paper has 4
major errors
* My paper is hard to
read
* My writing has 5
major errors
* My paper is
impossible to read