Examples of the Intro/Body/Conclusion for the Historical Fiction Essay

Intro (Beginning) Examples:

In the novel, The Watson’s Go to Birmingham-1963, the civil rights movement was the main historical event described by the author. The Watson family lived in the north where there it was desegregated. However, …….

During the ______, the main historical event was ______. The novel I read ______shows how this time period ______.

The setting of the novel I read is ______. It takes place during ______. The book describes this time in history through characters that ______.

Body (Middle) Examples:

Authority- According to ______, WWI was ______. In the book, the main focus was ______. The characters live through ______just like ______.

Statistics- Over 95 percent of ______in the 1800s only lived to be ____. The main character in my novel is struggling with ______.

Anecdote- Martin Luther King describes his thoughts with segregation around the world with this story. “There is quite a bit of interest and concern in Africa for the situation in the United States. African leaders in general and African people in particular are greatly concerned about the struggle here and familiar with what has taken place. We must solve this problem of racial injustice if we expect to maintain our leadership in the world, if we expect to maintain a moral voice in the world that is two thirds color.”

Logical Reasoning- The Children’s March was a non-violent protest led by the youth in May 1963 that started at the 16th Baptist Church. The bombing of the church killed four innocent little girls. Therefore, the violence brought more attention to the need to end segregation. Kenny Watson was shaken after witnessing the death at the church. The nation recognized no child should ever die for freedom and the laws were changed in the south.

Counter-Claim- The Watson family was not aware of the pain and suffering in the south. However, how was it that some African Americans were living a free desegregated live while others were not under the same government in the United States of America.

Conclusion (Ending) Examples:

To sum it up, although the book I read was fiction, it made some great references to real historical events. Such as…..

In conclusion, the book I read allowed me to understand the historical time period of……

The ______time period was interesting The book helped me see how the ______was difficult for ______. Also, I learned about real events in history through made up characters.

Citing Evidence on Note cards

Types of evidence to cite in essay:

Counter-Claim- using a claim that is the opposite or disagrees with the claim.

Statistics- using numerical facts that express information exactly.

Anecdote- using a story that is short and based in real life.

Authority- citing an expert who is respected, reliable, and trustworthy in a given field.

Logical Reasoning- using a series of ideas to draw a conclusion.

Scoring Guide

Note cards Y 20 15 10 5 Due 11/22 N Rough Draft Student turns in a Student turns in a Student turns in Student fails to Due 12/3 completed rough draft completed rough a partially complete a draft with all three parts of draft with most of completed draft. but has evidence the essay complete. the three parts of of starting the the essay essay. complete. Introduction Student includes Student includes a Student includes Student includes reference to the time reference to the a reference to the the time period period and historical time period and time period and and the novel but events. There is a historical events historical events does not make a connection between the and mentions the but fails to connection novel they read and a novel. mention the between the two. specific time in history. novel. Body Student uses two types Student uses two Student uses one Student does not of citing evidence and types of citing type of citing use a type of references the location evidence but does evidence. citing evidence. of the information in not reference the the bibliography. information in the bibliography. Conclusion Student summarizes the Student Student Student fails to novel read with a summarizes the summarizes tie the novel and learning connection novel and the time either the novel the events in from the time in and history. or an event in history together history. history. in a summary. Grammatical Student has minimal Student has a few Student has Student has /Punctuation mistakes with mistakes with several mistakes. numerous grammatical errors grammatical mistakes. errors.

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