Collaborative Argumentative Essay
Directions
 You will write a Collaborative Argumentative Essay
on Google Docs with a group of three people.
 Each group member will work together on the
document.
 You will all be responsible for the final document;
however, each of you will be individually responsible
for his/her part.
Collaborative Portion
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Decide which prompt your group will use.
Develop and write a thesis for your prompt.
Develop and write an introduction.
Develop and write a conclusion.
Assist each other with the writing of individual
body paragraphs.
Introduction (Collaborative)
 Hook – A question, quote or statement to catch your
reader’s attention.
 Bridge – Connect the Hook with the Thesis. Be sure
to include the Title and author of the literary work (if
applicable). Provided background about the novel or
information that will explain the situation.
 Thesis Statement – Known as a “claim” for an
argumentative essay. Be sure to include the
supporting reasons for your claim in your thesis.
Body Paragraphs (3) – One Per Group Member
(Individual)
Divide the body paragraphs by group members
according to the supporting reasons in your thesis.
 TS – Introduce the topic of your paragraph.
 CD - Use details from the text to support your point.
 DQ - Use at least one quote as support for your
point and introduce each quote properly.
 CM - Explain how each quote helps to prove your point
(2 sentences for each quote) (CM).
 CS - End the paragraph by summarizing your thoughts
and/or showing how the literature connects to the real
world.
Conclusion (Collaborative)
 Restate your thesis
 Summarize your main points
 Final thought you want to leave with your reader
(heart statement)
Essay Formatting
 Use proper MLA in-text citation and format:
 Avoid using I, we, or you.
 Use present tense.
 Use active voice.
 Double-spaced.
 Times New Roman/Arial, 12 point font, including the
title.
 Heading - upper left – First and last name, teacher’s
name, date, period
 Header – upper right – Last name and page number
 Revise and edit before submitting to teacher.
Collaboration and Using Google Drive
 Log Into your Google Drive account using the




following information:
Login FirstNameLastname@students.ccusd.org
example: kelliculver@students.ccusd.org
PW – ID # 100004999
With your group, create a document in which you
will compose your essay. Share the document with
each other.
Essay Prompts: Choose one of the following
essay topics, to be written collaboratively with
your group.
 Essay Prompt #1:
 Would Snowball have made a virtuous leader of
Animal Farm? Snowball proves to be an intelligent
orator who seems genuinely concerned about
improving the lives of the animals, but he also took
the milk and the apples, which the other animals do
not get. While he shares Old Major’s idealism, his
quest is not match for Napoleon’s cunning. For this
essay, collect quotations from the novel to support
your assessment of Snowball as a leader.
 Essay Prompt #2:
 Throughout the novel, the issue of class is an important
theme, both in terms of what it means to the animals
before the rebellion and even more significantly, what
happens after. There is never a moment the class
distinctions in Animal Farm disappear. From the very
beginning, all of the animals are ruled by the “human
class” and then by Snowball. It seems that class
stratification is an almost vital element on the farm. For
this essay, use the quote, “All animals are equal . . . but
some are more equal than others,” and trace the decline
of equality in classes as Napoleon gains more power.
Collect quotations from the novel to support your claim
that Animal Farm is a class-based society.
Thesis Development and
Body Paragraph Assignment
Essay Topic #_____________
Thesis:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________
Body Paragraph, Subtopic and Author
Body Paragraph #1
Body Paragraph #2
Body Paragraph #3
Quote(s) and Page Numbers
Logistics and Grading
 You will be provided with four computer lab dates:
March 5th, 11th, 12th & 18th. You will need to work on
your essay individually on Google Drive, outside of
the lab/class time provided.
 Essay Due Date is Thursday, March 19th.
 The pre-writes and rough draft and are worth 50
points. The final draft is worth 100 points.
 See the attached rubric for grading purposes.
Body Paragraph Shaping Sheet (Individual)
TS_______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
CD__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
DQ__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
CM _________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
CM _________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
CS ________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Essay Rubric
THESIS/TONE/
DEVELOPMENT
PROMPT
WRITING
 Provides a meaningful thesis
 Maintains consistent tone and focus
 Purposefully illustrates a control of
organization
 Thoughtfully supports the thesis and
main ideas with specific details and
examples
 Clearly addresses all parts
of the writing task




 Provides a thesis
 Maintains consistent tone and focus
 Illustrates a control of organization
 Supports the thesis and main idea with
details and examples
 Addresses all parts of the
writing task




 May provide a thesis
 Maintains an inconsistent tone and focus
 Illustrates little, if any, control of
organization
 May support the thesis and main ideas
with limited, if any, details and/or
examples
 Addresses only parts of the
writing task




 May provide a weak, if any, thesis
 Fails to maintain a focus
 Illustrates little, or no, control of
organization
 Fails to support ideas with details
and/or examples
 Addresses only one part of
the writing task




 No thesis
 No attempt to support ideas
 Off topic
ORGANIZATION
4
3
2
1
0
Variety of sentence types
Precise, descriptive language
Clear sense of audience
Few if any errors in conventions
of English language*
Variety of sentence types
Some descriptive language
General sense of audience
Few and minor errors in
conventions of English
language*
Few, if any, types of sentences
Basic, predictable language
Little or no sense of audience
Several errors in conventions of
English language*—may
interfere with reader’s
understanding of essay
No sentence variety
Limited vocabulary
No sense of audience
Serious errors in conventions of
English language* that interfere
with reader’s understanding of
essay
 Run on sentences and/or
sentence fragments
 Illegible/unintelligible
NOTE: This rubric describes attributes of student writing at each score point. Each essay should receive the score that best fits the overall quality of the writing.
*Conventions of English language refers to grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization and usage.