Delgado

English 8B

Frederick Douglass Essay Prompt

Choose one of the following topics, and write a three page (typed) 5-paragraph essay. Your essay must follow the following format:

  1. Introduction (thesis)
  2. Point one
  3. Point two
  4. Point three
  5. Conclusion

Use the rubric to guide you in this essay. This essay is due March 12/13. No late papers will be accepted and will be counted as a zero.

You can find a link to a copy of Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass on the class website.

Topics (circle one to write your essay about)

1)Explain in detail Douglass’ struggle for education. Explain how this struggle meant more than just knowing how to read and write. What doors did literacy open for enslaved peoples in America?

2)Write a detailed essay that discusses the dehumanization of the slave in America. What methods were used? How did Frederick Douglass resist these methods of dehumanization?

**Attach this page to the front of your essay**

Essay Rubric

1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Concrete Details / No relevant text details are included / Writer has selected one text detail that is relevant to the theme / Writer has selected several text details that are relevant to the theme discussed. Text is not presented in a clear or focused manner. / Writer has carefully selected several test details that are relevant to the theme discussed. These details are presented in a clear and focused manner.
Commentary / Little to no Commentary included. Response is almost entirely Concrete Details. / Writer’s commentary tends to stay at a surface level. Basic statements are made with little to no show of deeper understanding or connections to the Concrete Details. / Writer sometimes goes beyond the surface level and communicates some deeper understanding and makes few connections to the Concrete Details. / Writer consistently shows deeper understanding and makes significant connections to the Concrete Details.
Conventions / Writer makes several errors in spelling and grammar that distract the reader from understanding the content. / Writer makes some spelling and grammar mistakes, that somewhat distract the reader. / Writer makes few mistakes. The reader is able to understand most of the content / Writer makes no mistakes in spelling and grammar. Reader is able to understand the content.