Essay Prep

Introduction (5 Sentence Minimum) Needs: Attention Grabber Quote (make sure you explain what it has to do with the Revolution) Statistic Rhetorical Question Analogy Explanation of the American Revolution Thesis The purpose of your paper The American Revolution was caused by _____(Big Topic)___ as shown by ____Topic/Paragraph 1___, Topic/Paragraph 2_ and Topic/Paragraph 3.

Introduction Thesis Statement: The sentence that captures your position on the main idea or message of your essay while also providing a road map for the set-up of your paper. Strong, not waffling Direct and to the point The American Revolution was caused by _____(Big Topic)___ as shown by ____Topic/Paragraph 1___, Topic/Paragraph 2_ and Topic/Paragraph 3. It really is that easy, put it as the last sentence of your introduction

Introduction The Bad “Taxes, violations of rights and complaints. These were things in the American Revolution. The American Revolution was a war. The Boston Massacre was when people died. The cause of the American revolution was the Tea tax.” The Great ““We hold these truthes to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” With the flick of his quill, founding father and future president Thomas Jefferson made the case for American separation from Britain in this opening statement of the Declaration of Independence. Having suffered through many abuses handed down by the British ranging from unfair taxes, violations of colonists rights and the continued silence from the King toward colonial complaints, the colonies realized that there was only one thing left to do; fight for independence. It has often been debated what truly caused these colonists to choose independence, but Thomas Jefferson made it quite clear when he wrote the opening lines to the Declaration of Independence; it was the violation of the colonists “unalienable” rights. The primary cause of the American Revolution was the British violating the rights of the Colonists, as shown by the Navigation Acts, the Boston Massacre and the Intolerable Acts.” The Good: “Like an adolescent teenager fighting with their parent over the rules, the Colonists were fed up with the laws passed by the “Mother Country” of Britain. After years of being allowed to do whatever they wanted, the colonists were rudely put in their place by the British and asked to follow rules they did not want to follow and pay taxes they did not want to pay. As time went on, the Colonists became tired of doing what the British said all the time and decided to leave and seek their independence. When deciding to leave, there were many things the British did to the Colonists that made them want to leave, most of them having to do with the British violating the rights of these Colonists. The primary cause of the American Revolution was the British violating the rights of the Colonists, as shown by the Navigation Acts, the Boston Massacre and the Intolerable Acts.”

Body Paragraph (x3) (6 Sentence Minimum) Needs: Explanation of the topic i.e. Explain what the Boston Massacre was Explanation of how it proves your “Big Topic” caused the American Revolution i.e. How the Boston Massacre proves that the Violation of Rights caused the American Revolution

Body Paragraph The Good “The Navigation Acts were a cause of the American Revolution. The Navigation Acts were when the Colonists had to only buy British goods, which they didn’t like. These laws were a violation of the Colonists rights because it meant that they couldn’t trade with other countries like France and Spain without paying high taxes. The colonists didn’t like this and instead of buying British goods they would smuggle goods from other countries and not pay taxes on those goods. This proves that the colonist’s violation of rights caused the American Revolution because the colonists were unwilling to pay British taxes or follow British laws. The Colonists did not like these laws and would fight against other future laws the British pass all the way to the beginning of the American Revolution.” The Great The Navigation Acts were an example of how the British violated the rights of the colonists leading to the American Revolution. The Navigation Acts were a set of laws passed by the British that forced the Colonists to purchase their goods from England and restricted their trade with other countries. The purpose of these laws was to help the British profit from the Colonies through accumulating wealth by controlling trade. This is called Mercantilism. In response the colonists found ways around the Navigation Acts by sneaking past British tax collectors and smuggling goods from French and Spanish colonies and bringing them into the Colonies illegally. This caused tension between the Colonists and Britain. This proves that the violation of the Colonist’s rights caused the American Revolution because it showed how the Colonists were willing to break the British laws if it was in their best interest and benefited them. This was one of the first laws the British passed restricting the rights of colonists and would set the tone for future British laws and also the colonist’s defiant attitude toward them. As more laws were passed by the British and broken by the Colonists, the tensions continued to rise until the Colonists decided to break away from Britain. The Bad “I believe that the Navigation Acts were bad. The Navigation Acts were laws passed by the British and the Colonists didn’t like them. They were not happy with these laws. The laws made it so that the Colonists couldn’t do anything they wanted. I don’t think that the colonists liked these laws because they didn’t like the British. That is why I think the Navigation Acts were bad.”

Conclusion (4 Sentence Minimum) Needs Re-state the thesis In different words Summarize the main points of your paper, wrap up your main argument. DON’T ADD NEW INFORMATION!

Conclusion Great “Through their continued pattern of abuse, the British showed through the Navigation acts, Boston Massacre and Intolerable acts that they had little regard when it came to colonial rights. It is only natural that over time, the British and Americans would grow distant as the Colonists realized that to stay with Britain meant continued disrespect and injury. Whether that injury came from limiting trade, stifling protest through violence or punishing colonies for insubordination, a mother country bent on exploiting its colonies would eventually have to feel the wrath of those colonies yearning for freedom. As the American Revolution shows us, a people downtrodden with little respect will rise up to better their lives, protect their freedoms and pursue the happiness that everyone in this world deserves.” Good “The Navigation Acts, Boston Massacre and the Intolerable Acts were all major events that prove that the violation of right’s done by the British to the Colonists were the primary cause of the American Revolution. It is easy to understand why the Colonists were so ready for independence after the British stepped all over the rights they held dear. By restricting their trade, killing colonists in the streets for protesting and punishing Boston by closing its harbors and violating the privacy of its citizens, it was only a matter of time until the Colonists would break away from Britain, creating one of the greatest, most powerful countries found in the world.” The Bad “Like I said before, the colonists were really mad at the British. The tea tax made the war happen. Thank you for reading my essay.”

Some Critical Don’ts DO NOT PLAGERIZE…EVER DON’T WRITE “I” “ME” “MY” “YOU” in you paper DON’T USE ABBREVIATIONS, “TEXT SPEECH” (i.e. omg, b/c, lol, jk,cuz) Try not to use contractions (don’t, can’t, won’t) Don’t write in present tense Don’t use inappropriate language (i.e…you can figure it out) DO NOT PLAGERIZE…EVER