1



Declare Your Independence!!!

Assignment Summary: The Declaration of Independence is a defining work of literature. For the first time in history, common man had a voice. Rights weren’t dictated by rulers, emperors, or tyrants, but instead were proclaimed to be inherent (natural) within each person the moment they were born. There are many problems / societal flaws in this life that people fall victim to. When they fall victim to that particular issue, they have become enslaved and are not totally free.

Now, you are to think of a way people have been hurt or enslaved by a societal problem. You are then to declare your (or common man’s) independence from that particular issue or situation. You will discuss problems that are caused and then offer a plan of action in the conclusion to eliminate that flaw / problem.

Ideas:

Purpose: The purpose of this is to examine the way that human nature can be hurt if it is denied certain rights or if it is enslaved by flaws of society. It is also to gain a better appreciation and understanding of one of the most important documents in the history of the world.

Audience: The world, the problem, and YOU.

Role: You will take on the role of a passionate, logical, rational person explaining a way to solve a problem.

Form: You will be you. Use The Declaration of Independence as a guide. Push yourself to use strong, powerful words that convey passion.

Example

When in the course of a person’s life, it is absolutely necessary for that person to be freed from the victimization of unwarranted gossip. The bonds that are created between people are ultimately decimated at the unmerciful hands of gossip. Man has this unalienable right: to be freed from the crushing nature of detrimental gossip so that separation from fellow humans does not occur.

To prove to those who wish to deny this unarguable fact, a list of grievances follows to prove the evidence.

He or she who has gossiped has broken all levels of trust. Since trust is what friendships are made of, the friendship has been broken and is consequently extinguished.

Furthermore, he or she who has gossiped possibly does not possess all the facts and is therefore guilty of passing on supposed truths, also known as lies. Lies are not facts. Lies hurt people. Lies damage lives.

Even worse, he or she who has gossiped has not given the victim a chance to stand up for him or herself. The victim is denied the ability to counter the false claim and thus is powerless. That person is left in a weakened position in the social realm.

It is without question that he or she who has gossiped has also denied the victim the ability to make future friends. If people listen to the words of the person spreading the gossip, they will see the victim in a different light instead of the truth. That person’s image has been tarnished in the eyes of others, and therefore that person is seen in a wrong light.

Finally, he or she who has gossiped has also….

Without doubt, in every stage of life, a person will encounter gossip. The true mark of quality character is whether a person stands and listens to gossip or if that person leaves the awful situation. If the person is in a situation that he or she cannot leave, the defining mark of good character is whether that person listens but does not believe the gossip as truth. Further, a strong individual demonstrating the highest of loyalty to a friend can, in that moment, defend the victim. It is also of obvious nature that a person can avoid the problems caused by gossip by not gossiping at all. This is something that all men and women should strive for, for people who demonstrate the above examples possess admirable and honorable traits. Therefore, I, as a representative of the human race, appeal to my fellow humans, and urge all those out there to abandon gossip, to defend the honor of friends, and to speak only highly of those we know, love, and cherish.

Name: _______________________________________

| |

|The Declaration of Independence Writing Rubric |

|Criteria |10 |8 |6 |4-0 |

|Ideas and Content |The unalienable right, five |The unalienable right, grievances |Not enough detail and explanation |Little to no description of |

|Explanation |grievances, and plan of action |and plan of action are provided, |are provided causing there to be |the unalienable right, |

| |are all provided and explained |but additional detail is needed in |questions about the unalienable |grievances, or plan of |

| |with detail provided clear |order to provide better insight |right, grievances, and / or plan of|action. Much work has to be|

| |insight into the problem and the |into the problem and / or solution.|action. There is a lack of insight|done to improve the writing.|

| |solution. | |within the writing. | |

|Purpose |There is a clear purpose to the |For the most part, the writing |There is a lack of purpose to the |There is little to no |

| |author’s writing. It is obvious |contains a solid purpose, but at |writing. The ideas do not connect |purpose to the writing. |

| |what the unalienable right is |times there is some unclear |with each other. | |

| |along with the grievances and the|direction to the paper. | | |

| |plan of action. | | | |

|Organization |The writing is clearly organized |The writing’s organization is good |The organization is random |Little to no organization is|

| |with a logical structure. The |but needs some improvement as ideas|throughout the paper. Often, the |found within the writing. |

| |writing explains the unalienable |may not be fully connected. |writing veers off topic and then | |

| |right, the grievances, and then | |ideas are not constructed | |

| |provides a logical solution to | |logically. | |

| |the problem. | | | |

|Transitional Devices |The writing uses transitions so |The writing makes decent use of |A lack of transitions in the paper |Little to no use of |

|(Underline or |that the flow of the ideas is |transitions. A few areas, stronger|exists, hurting the flow of the |transitions exist within the|

|Highlight them) |logical. At least seven |transitions can be used. At least |writing. Only three different |paper. |

| |different transitions are used |five different transitions are used|transitions are used. | |

| |properly. |properly. | | |

|Word choice |Words convey the intended message|The language is sometimes engaging,|The language is basic. More |The writer struggles with a |

| |in a precise, interesting, and |but at other times, there is room |powerful words could have been |limited vocabulary, |

|(10 Words – Bolded) |natural way. The words are |for improvement. Most words are |used. Some words are not used |searching for words to |

| |powerful and engaging. |powerful and used properly. |correctly or are repetitious. |convey meaning. |

|Conventions AND |The writer demonstrates a good |The writer shows reasonable control|Conventions are not handled well |Numerous errors in |

|Sentence Fluency |grasp of standard writing |with conventions, but some issues |and interfere with the readability.|conventions harm the |

| |conventions. Readability is not |hurt readability. There are some |There are run-ons and fragments and|readability of the play. |

| |hindered by the grammar and |incomplete sentences / run-ons and |sentences are the same length. |There is no attempt at |

| |spelling. Sentences are |the writing has sentences that are | |varying the construction of |

| |well-built with no incomplete or |mostly the same length. | |the sentences in the |

| |run-on sentences. There is | | |writing. |

| |variation sentence structure. | | | |

|Total: _______/60 |Comments: |

Examples of transitions: (moreover; however; for example; further; furthermore; consequently; thus; therefore; perhaps; to be sure; without question; without a doubt; to be sure; also; certainly; finally; most importantly; even worse…)

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download