DBQ Graphic Organizer
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH: An Introduction Serves Two Purposes. It gives readers an idea of what the rest of the writing will say, and it provides a reason for readers to keep reading. The first reason is the most important. What is this about? Some methods for letting readers know include:
Providing background or history for the topic
Defining a term, phrase, or concept central to the writing
Providing statistics (if applicable)
A clear and specific thesis statement
______
Thesis Statement (answer to the question)
Example: Indentured servitude was a positive option for poor people because it kept men and women from a life of crime, it gave them the chance to earn a decent living, and they were given land after their contract period.
BODY PARAGRAPHS:Organize your information in the boxes below. There should be 1 box for each task/reason. Each paragraph should include the following information in this order:
- Intro sentence with reason
- Introduce the document (who said it, where was it printed, when was it written)
- Quote the document (or paraphrase)
- Explain the meaning of the quote (This means that or this shows that)
- Use outside information to connect quote and support the reason (info from other places)
- Restate the thesis reason (in a transition sentence)
Body Paragraph Example
Thesis Reason: Indentured servitude gave poor immigrants a chance to earn a decent living.Document Introduction: In “They Live Well in the Time of their Service,” George Alsop wrote about the experience of servants in Maryland in 1663.
Document Quote: He said, “…they live well in the time of their Service, [and] …they are made capable of living much better when they come to be free… [rather than the] poor , fettered, and intagled life, …of their prefixed time…before”
(Document 1).
Quote Explanation:Alsop was saying that indentured servitude was a good way for poor people to change their lives. He mentioned that before servitude they were poor and chained to poverty. Alsop felt that as indentured servants they were treated well, and upon their freedom from service, they were capable of being productive.
Outside Information: Those that contracted into service, had their passage paid to go to the Americas. Since Europe was in a economic depression, there were few jobs. Indentured servitude was a good way to avoid continued poverty because skilled and unskilled labor was needed in the Americas. Indentured servitude offered poor people a chance to acquire land they would never have had the opportunity to get in Europe. Some indentured servants even madeenough money when they were freed to become a member of the upper class of colonial society.
Restate the thesis reason: Although not the only positive aspect, indentured servitude gave many poor immigrants a chance to earn a decent living.
CONCLUSION: The conclusion is the closure to your essay. It is often simply one paragraph summing up your ideas, and it makes clear how or why your topic is significant. It is highly unusual to introduce new ideas, new arguments, or new evidence in the conclusion. Frequently, a conclusion will connect to the introduction by answering the question raised there. Therefore, the thesis statement should begin your concluding paragraph. In all cases, the purpose is to release the reader from the act of reading and return the reader to the world with some sense of having gained something from reading.
*EACH PARAGRAPH MUST CONTAIN A MINIMUM OF 5 SENTENCES!*
*MUST BE WRITTEN IN THIRD PERSON, PAST TENSE*
BODY PARAGRAPH
Thesis Reason:
Document Introduction:
Document Quote:
Quote Explanation:
Outside Information:
Restate the thesis reason:
BODY PARAGRAPH
Thesis Reason:
Document Introduction:
Document Quote:
Quote Explanation:
Outside Information:
Restate the thesis reason:
BODY PARAGRAPH
Thesis Reason:
Document Introduction:
Document Quote:
Quote Explanation:
Outside Information:
Restate the thesis reason: