Thematic Essay Writing

Aim: What does the Thematic Essay Rubric mean?

Do Now: Take a Vocabulary Test - You have 25 Minutes.

Lesson Overview:

Item	Approx Time
Do Now	3-5 Min
Mini Lesson	15-20 Min
Activity	15 Min
Discussion	5-7 Min

To successfully write a thematic essay response, one must focus on the task. Each of the task items must be addressed in the written essay response in order to receive full credit. This essay is completely from your memory of the topic chosen for the essay by New York State Board of Regents. There are no documents to assist you in writing this essay unlike a DBQ essay.

A generic scoring rubric is provided which explains how the thematic essay response will be graded. The maximum possible score is a five; the lowest possible score is a zero.

To earn the maximum score possible, consider the following steps for writing a thematic essay response:

The Rubric

Before actually writing you need to understand and learn the writing rubric for a thematic essay. Use the link below to download and print the generic scoring rubric.

Thematic Essay Generic Scoring Rubric

The Essay Rubric is important for several reasons:

• It is the basis by which you will be scored
• By knowing how to achieve each scoring level you will increase your writing score
• By not following the required elements will compromise your writing score

Classwork & Homework

Lesson PowerPoint: Essay Writing - The Rubric

Lesson Activity: Thematic Essay Generic Scoring Rubric

Homework: Write a Paragraph by Answering the Following Questions:

1. How do you go from a Score of Zero to a Score of 1
2. How do you go from a Score of 1 to a Score of 2
3. How do you go from a Score of 2 to a Score of 3
4. How do you go from a Score of 3 to a Score of 4
5. How do you go from a Score of 4 to a Score of 5
6. What is the most valuable information you learned in order to achieve a higher score for your Thematic Essay