How to Write Valley Forge DBQ Essay Planning makes perfect! March 20th 2014 Learning Goal: Students will analyze various primary and secondary documents to determine if they would have quit had they been an American solider in the Battle of Valley Forge.

Step One Create a Thesis statement The thesis statement is your answer to the analytical question: “Would you have quit?” Your answer being: choose a side- quitting or not quitting! I would have quit the fight at Valley Forge I would not have quit fighting for freedom from Britain

Thesis and Roadmap/ chicken foot Your thesis statement and the three reasons why you would either quit or not quit I would have quit because 3

These three reasons become paragraph 2, 3, and 4 These three reasons become your baby thesis's for paragraphs 2, 3, and 4! They are the way you start these three paragraphs! A baby thesis is a paragraph opener!

Organizing Paragraph One (1) Grabber Background Stating the question with key terms defined Thesis and roadmap

Create a Working title Dead Cold Eyes Dying for a Cause Freezing Death Valley Forge: where men died for nothing Ready to die for Freedom Come up with something creative

Create a Grabber War is hard, but it is not always bayonets and bullets!

Give the reader some background on what Valley Forge was! In a couple of sentences 3 or 4 tell the reader the background of Valley Forge

Stating the question with key terms defined: “would you have quit?” is changes to something in your own words: “Would you have chosen to go home instead of re-enlisting in the war at Valley Forge?” Chosen to go home and not re-enlist replaces “quit”

Thesis and road map example: I will re-enlist for three reasons: the sickness of the men, loyalty to my government, and belief in our cause.

Paragraph #2 Baby thesis #1 from roadmap Use evidence from the documents to back up your reason and baby thesis Example of Evidence: half of the army is too sick for roll call (this came from Doc A) 1800 to 2500 will die from illness (this came from Doc A) Now plug this evidence into your paragraph to give facts to support your argument that you would or would not quit! End paragraph with an argument statement that connects to evidence: Example: “I cant let my friends die for nothing. I must fight for fallen comrades even if continental congress is showing us no support for the war they declared.

Paragraph #3 Baby Thesis # 2 from roadmap- Example Baby Thesis: “I will re-enlist because my government deserves loyalty.” Evidence from documents- committee of congress has stayed with us through much of winter (Doc B) End paragraph with an argument statement that connects to evidence Example of an argument statement: Now I see that the government does support me and I will stay and support my government!

Paragraph # 4 Baby Thesis # 3 on Roadmap Evidence Argument

“I will quit or I will not quit and why” Paragraph #5 Conclusion: Restate your main idea or argument “I will quit or I will not quit and why” This is a way to end your essay with organization and let the reader know the essay is over without saying “the end!”