Expand the outline you wrote in Lesson 1 into a research essay. As in most essays, you'll need to include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. You'll also need to support your claim with evidence.
Your evidence will come from sources that you researched in Lesson 1, although you should feel free to seek out new sources if you need them. Take special care to integrate your sources correctly — whether you're quoting them or paraphrasing them — so that you avoid plagiarism. You want to make it obvious which words and ideas are your own and which come from sources. In-text citations help you make this distinction.
Your essay should include the following elements:
An introduction paragraph that includes a claim about the causes and effects of the civil rights movement, as well as a hook and some background information on the topic
Body paragraphs that present main points in support of your claim and that back up those main points with evidence from sources
Quotes or paraphrases, from credible sources, that are integrated correctly with citations
A visual aid, such as a chart or graph, that is relevant to the topic of the essay
A conclusion paragraph that restates the claim, summarizes the main points, and leaves the reader with something to think about
You should have completed a draft of this assignment in the activity before this one. If you haven't done so, go back and complete that activity now.
Ask yourself these questions as you revise:
Is my claim still about the causes and effects of the civil rights movement, even if I changed the claim between Lesson 1 and Lesson 2?
Does my introduction paragraph present my claim, give background information, and hook the reader?
Do I avoid plagiarism? Do I make it clear what information comes from sources? Do I put quotation marks around any phrases or sentences that I didn't write myself?
Does my visual aid support the essay? Does it come from a credible source?
Does my conclusion paragraph wrap up the essay without introducing new arguments? Does it leave the reader with a lasting thought?
