Unit 1 Essay (Argumentative Essay)
Crafting a Thesis Assignment
Goal: To produce a thoughtful, nuanced, and evidence-based argument in response to the prompt.
Context: Throughout Unit 1, we have considered what it means to be an American and have reflected on various
immigrants’ experiences. We have read the following texts together: “A Quilt of a Country” by Anna Quindlan,
“The Immigrant Contribution” by John F. Kennedy, and “American History” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, “Rules of the
Game” by Amy Tan, “The Writing on the Wall” by Camille Dungy, “With a Little Help from my Friends” by
Firoozeh Dumas, “Morning Talk” by Roberta Hill Whiteman, and “I Was Their American Dream” by Malaka
Gharbib.
Prompt: How do the realities of immigrants’ experiences show that America is living up to or failing
to live up to American ideals?
1) Highlight the American Ideal that you will focus on in your essay: Freedom, Equality, or Opportunity
OR choose your own ideal and write it here: opportunity
2) List the THREE texts from our unit you will be using in this essay to prove your argument:
1. Rules of the game
2.i was their american dream
3. With a little help from my friends
3) Highlight whether or not you think your texts show that when it comes to the realities of
immigrants, America is living up to the ideal or not living up to the ideal:
Yes, living up to the ideal
Thesis: Now, write your Sample “They say/I say” templates:
position. Do immigrant
experiences reflect OR do they While some may say that the experiences of immigrants illustrate the
fail to reflect American ideals? America is failing to live up to its ideals, the texts _______ , ______, and
______ convey that the experiences of immigrants truly reflect America
living up to the ideal of ___________.
Despite the argument that immigrants’ experiences illustrate that America is
living up to its ideals, the texts _____ , ______ , and ________ prove that
immigrant experiences actually display that America fails to reflect the ideal
of _____________.
Write your thesis statement in Type your thesis statement here: The opportunity that America holds is shown
the box to the right. You can use
the above templates or write
your own argument. Regardless,
Crafting a Thesis Assignment
Goal: To produce a thoughtful, nuanced, and evidence-based argument in response to the prompt.
Context: Throughout Unit 1, we have considered what it means to be an American and have reflected on various
immigrants’ experiences. We have read the following texts together: “A Quilt of a Country” by Anna Quindlan,
“The Immigrant Contribution” by John F. Kennedy, and “American History” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, “Rules of the
Game” by Amy Tan, “The Writing on the Wall” by Camille Dungy, “With a Little Help from my Friends” by
Firoozeh Dumas, “Morning Talk” by Roberta Hill Whiteman, and “I Was Their American Dream” by Malaka
Gharbib.
Prompt: How do the realities of immigrants’ experiences show that America is living up to or failing
to live up to American ideals?
1) Highlight the American Ideal that you will focus on in your essay: Freedom, Equality, or Opportunity
OR choose your own ideal and write it here: opportunity
2) List the THREE texts from our unit you will be using in this essay to prove your argument:
1. Rules of the game
2.i was their american dream
3. With a little help from my friends
3) Highlight whether or not you think your texts show that when it comes to the realities of
immigrants, America is living up to the ideal or not living up to the ideal:
Yes, living up to the ideal
Thesis: Now, write your Sample “They say/I say” templates:
position. Do immigrant
experiences reflect OR do they While some may say that the experiences of immigrants illustrate the
fail to reflect American ideals? America is failing to live up to its ideals, the texts _______ , ______, and
______ convey that the experiences of immigrants truly reflect America
living up to the ideal of ___________.
Despite the argument that immigrants’ experiences illustrate that America is
living up to its ideals, the texts _____ , ______ , and ________ prove that
immigrant experiences actually display that America fails to reflect the ideal
of _____________.
Write your thesis statement in Type your thesis statement here: The opportunity that America holds is shown
the box to the right. You can use
the above templates or write
your own argument. Regardless,
