Prompt 17
STUDENT MATERIALSSTUDENT MATERIALS1ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYPreparation• Have the Comparison, CCOT, and Causation tools available (find all resources on the Student Resources page)PurposeThis assessment will help prepare you for the document-based questions (DBQs) you will probably encounter on exams. It will also give you a better understanding of your skills development and overall progress related to constructing an argument, interpreting historical documents, and employing the historical thinking practices you are using in this course.ProcessDay 1 In this activity, you are going to prepare to respond to a DBQ, or document-based question. In this course, document-based questions give you a prompt or question along with seven source documents, and you’ll use the information in those documents (and any additional knowledge you have) to respond to the prompt. Your responses will be written in essay format, and will usually be five or six paragraphs long.This DBQ asks you to respond to the following prompt: Develop an argument that analyzes the growth of networks of exchange after 1200 CE. To make sure you’re clear on what you’re being asked, take out the Question Parsing Tool. Work with your classmates to deconstruct the prompt.Next, take out the DBQ and relevant thinking tool to help you analyze the documents. Take a look at the document library. As you do with the Three Close Reads process, quickly skim each of the documents for gist. Then, do a closer read of each one. For each document, write down the information you think you might use in your essay. If possible, also provide a source analysis for each document. Write your ideas on the relevant tool as you work through the documents. Discuss your ideas with the class.Now, come up with a major claim or thesis statement that responds to the prompt. Use the information from your thinking tool to help you come up with an idea. What you have written should help you support your claim. One common mistake students make when responding to a DBQ is not directly answering the prompt—so, in creating your thesis, make sure that it directly answers and is relevant to the prompt.Finally, it’s time to contextualize. Remember, that ALL historical essays require you to contextualize. If you need to refresh your memory, contextualization is the process of placing a document, an event, a person, or process within its larger historical setting, and includes situating it in time, space, and sociocultural setting. In this case, you are contextualizing the documents. Contextualization will often come at the beginning of your essay, or at least in the first paragraph, either before or after your thesis statement. As needed, you can use the Contextualization Tool for this part of the process.Day 2 This second day is your writing day. Feel free to use your tools and notes from any prewriting work you completed as you craft your essay response. Make sure you have a copy of the WHP Writing Rubric available to remind you of what’s important to include in your essay. And don’t forget to contextualize! In doing that, think of the entire time period, not just the time immediately preceding the historical event or process you are writing about. Your teacher will give you a time limit for completing your five- to six-paragraph essay responding to the DBQ.
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS2ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYDocument 1Marco Polo (1254–1324) traveled extensively throughout Mongol-controlled Asia. After returning to Venice, he recounted his travels, which were published and widely circulated throughout Europe. You must know that the city of Cambaluc has such a multitude of houses, and such a vast population ... that it seems quite past all possibility. ... In those suburbs lodge the foreign merchants and travelers, of whom there are always great numbers who have come to bring presents to the Emperor, to sell articles at Court, or because the city affords so good a mart [market] to attract traders. ...Guards patrol the city every night in parties of 30 or 40, looking out for any persons who may be abroad at unseasonable hours ... To this city also are brought articles of greater cost and rarity, and in greater abundance of all kinds, than to any other city in the world. For people of every description, and from every region, bring things (including all the costly wares of India, as well as the fine and precious goods of Cathay itself with its provinces), ... and thus between court and city the quantity brought in is endless.As a sample, I tell you, no day in the year passes that there do not enter the city 1000 cart-loads of silk alone, from which are made quantities of cloth of silk and gold, and of other goods. ...Round about this great city of Cambaluc there are some 200 other cities at various distances, from which traders come to sell their goods and buy others for their lords; and all find means to make their sales and purchases ...Source: Marco Polo, The Book of Ser Marco Polo: The Venetian Concerning Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, Volume 1, trans. and ed. Colonel Sir Henry Yule (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1903), 412–15.
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS3ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYDocument 2Abu Yahya Zakariya’ ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (1203–1283) was an Arab-Persian physician, astronomer, and geographer who wrote a geographical dictionary, Monument of Places and History of God’s Servants.The land of Gold. It is the land of the Sudan [the name given to sub-Saharan Africa] ...It is a three months’ journey from Sijilmasa [city in modern-day Morocco] to this country and merchants from Sijilmasa go there with great exertion. Their stock-in-trade is salt, pine and cedar wood, glass beads, bracelets of red copper and signet rings of the same, and bangles of brass. They have to cross over thirsty deserts with scorching winds and water so rotten it resembles ordinary water only in that it is liquid. ... Thus they travel with much suffering until they reach the place which separates them from the owners of the gold. ...The people of this town are among the richest men and the most wealthy, for it is on the road to Ghana, which is the mine of gold. ...Ghana. A great town to the south of the Maghreb adjacent to the land of Gold. Merchants meet in Ghana, and from there they enter the land of Gold. Were it not for Ghana that would be impossible. Ghana is the richest in gold of all God’s countries. Source: J.F.P Hopkins and Nehemia Levtzion, eds., Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History (Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2000).
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS4ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYDocument 3Francis Balducci Pegolotti was a merchant who traveled extensively in the early to mid-fourteenth century. We do not know much about this author apart from what is learned from the account of his travels—Notices of the Land Route to Cathay and of Asiatic Trade in the First Half of the Fourteenth Century.In the first place, from Tana [Azoz, on the Don River] to Gintarchan [Astrakhan, on the Volga River] may be twenty-five days with an ox-wagon, and from ten to twelve days with a horse-wagon. On the road you will find plenty of Mongols, that is to say, soldiers. And from Gittarchan to Sara [Sarai, on the Volga] may be a day by river, and from Sara to Saracanco [Sarachik, on the Ural River], also by river, eight days. You can do this either by land or by water; but by water you will be charged less for your merchandise. ...The road you travel from Tana to Cathay is perfectly safe, whether by day or by night, according to what the merchants say who have used it. ...Cathay is a province which contained a multitude of cities and towns. Among others there is one in particular ... which is a great resort of merchants, and in which there is a vast amount of trade. ...Whatever silver the merchants may carry with them as far as Cathay, the lord of Cathay will take from them and put into his treasury. And to merchants who bring silver, they give them that paper money of theirs in exchange. This is of yellow paper, stamped with the seal of the lord ... And this money is called balishi; and with this money you can readily buy silk and all other merchandise that you have a desire to buy.Source: Henry Yule, Cathay and the Way Thither: Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China, Volume 2 (London: The Hakluyt Society, 1866), 287–94. Edited for brevity and clarity.
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS5ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYDocument 4Map showing Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade routes. Source: Still from Rebuilding the Silk Road (01:25), OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/OER-Materials/OER-Media/Videos/Origins/Era4/Rebuilding-the-Silk-Road
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS6ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYDocument 5Marchionne di Coppo Stefani, birth name Baldassarre Buonaiuti, (1336–1385) was a wealthy businessman, historian, and politician from Florence, Italy. He spent most of his time as a diplomat for the Florentine government and traveled to various cities in Europe. In the year of the Lord 1348 there was a very great pestilence in the city and district of Florence. ...Many died from [carrying away the dead], some rich, some after earning just a little, but high prices continued. Servants, or those who took care of the ill, charged from one to three florins per day and the cost of things grew. The things that the sick ate, sweetmeats and sugar, seemed priceless. ... eggs cost between twelve and twenty-four pence each; and he was blessed who could find three per day even if he searched the entire city. Finding wax was miraculous. ... Dressing in expensive woolen cloth as is customary in [mourning] the dead, that is in a long cloak, with mantle and veil that used to cost women three florins climbed in price to thirty florins and would have climbed to 100 florins had the custom of dressing in expensive cloth not been changed. ... Benches on which the dead were placed cost like the heavens and still the benches were only a hundredth of those needed ... None of the guilds in Florence was working. All the shops were shut, taverns closed; only the apothecaries and the churches remained open. If you went outside, you found almost no one. Source: Marchione di Coppo di Stefano Buonaiuti, Cronaca fiorentina. Rerum Italicarum Scriptores. Volume 30, ed. Niccolo Rodolico (Citta di Castello: 1903–13). http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/osheim/marchione.html
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS7ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYDocument 6Ahmad Ibn Alī al-Maqrīzī (1364–1442) was an Egyptian historian who wrote about the impact of the Black Death on Egypt and Syria under the Mamluk dynasty. Most of the trades disappeared, for a number of artisans devoted themselves to handling the dead, while the others, no less numerous, occupied themselves in selling off to bidders [the dead’s] movable goods and clothing, so well that the price of linen and similar objects fell by a fifth of their real value, and still further until one found customers ...Thus the trade disappeared: One could no long find either a water carrier, or a laundress, or a domestic. The monthly salary of a groom rose from thirty dirhams to eighty. A proclamation made in Cairo invited the artisans to take up their old trades, and some of the recalcitrant [unruly] reformed themselves. Because of the shortage of men and camels, a goatskin of water reached the price of eight dirhams, and in order to grind an ardeb of wheat, one paid fifteen dirhams.Source: John Aberth, The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348 – 1350: A Brief History with Documents (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005), 87.
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS8ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYDocument 7Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī (1413–1492) was a Persian historian and Islamic scholar, who wrote about fifteenth-century merchants and trade in the Indian Ocean.Continuing my journey, I arrived ... at the shore of the Sea of Oman, and at Bender-Ormuz. The prince of Ormuz ... having placed a vessel at my disposal, I went on board of it, and made my entry, with everything that I could require, and I was admitted to audience of the prince. Ormuz ... is a port situated in the middle of the sea, and which has not its equal on the surface of the globe. The merchants of seven climates from Egypt, Syria, [Anatolia], [Azerbaijan], [Iraq and Persia] ... the whole of the kingdoms of [China] ... and the city of Khanbalik [former name of Beijing], all make their way to this port; the inhabitants of the sea coasts arrive here ... they bring those rare and precious articles which the sun, the moon, and the rains have combined to bring to perfection, and which are capable of being transported by sea. Travelers from all countries resort here, and, in exchange for commodities which they bring, they can without trouble or difficulty, obtain all that they desire. Bargains are made either by money or exchange. For all objects, with the exception of gold and silver, a tenth of their value is paid by way of duty. ...Calicut [Kozhikode] is a perfectly secure harbor, which, like that of Ormuz, brings together merchants from every city and from every country; in it are to be found abundance of precious articles brought there from maritime countries, and especially from Abyssinia, [southeastern India and Zanzibar] ... from time to time ships arrive there from shores of the House of Allah [Mecca] and other parts of the [Hijaz], and abide at will, for a greater or longer space, in this harbor... Security and justice are so firmly established in this city, that the wealthiest merchants bring to this place from maritime countries considerable cargoes, which they unload, and unhesitatingly send into the markets and the bazaars.Source: Omar H. Ali, Islam in the Indian Ocean World: A Brief History with Documents (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016), 50–53.
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS9ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYAdvancedProficientDevelopingEmergingClaim and Focus*Make a clear claim about the topic early in the essay and focus on proving it.The essay makes a precise and significant claim based on the topic and/or source(s). The essay maintains a strong focus on defending a directly stated position, using the whole essay to support and develop the claim and counterclaims while thoroughly addressing the demands of the prompt.The essay makes a clear claim based on the topic and/or source(s). The essay maintains focus on defending an identifiable position, using most of the essay to support and develop the claim and counterclaims while addressing the demands of the prompt.The essay makes a claim based on the topic and/or source(s), but it may not fully address the demands of the prompt. Counterclaims may not be acknowledged, and the essay may not stay focused on the purpose and task.The essay makes an overly simplistic or vague claim, or a position on the topic and/or source(s) may not be stated. Counterclaims are not acknowledged, and the essay does not address the purpose, task, or demands of the prompt.Analysis and EvidenceChoose the right evidence and explain how it supports the claim and analysis.The essay cites the most appropriate and valid evidence to support its claim, drawing information substantively from multiple sources to defend its position and effectively refute counterclaims. The essay demonstrates insightful reasoning and careful understanding of the sources, acknowledging inconsistencies or weaknesses in evidence, and fully explains the relationship between claims and support.The essay cites sufficient and appropriate evidence to support its claim, drawing information from multiple sources to defend its position and refute counter- claims. The essay demonstrates reasoning and understanding of the sources, potentially acknowledging inconsistencies or weaknesses in evidence, and adequately explains the relationship between claims and support.The essay cites evidence to support its claim, but it may be insufficient or draw unevenly from available sources. Support may be inadequate in defense of the position and refutation of the counterclaim or rely too heavily on summary. The essay demonstrates some reasoning and/or understanding of the sources, though explanations of the relationship between claims and support are not always clear.The essay cites minimal or irrelevant evidence to support its claim. Support may rely primarily on opinion, reasoning, or summary of the source(s) without clear cited evidence. The essay demonstrates little to no reasoning and/or understanding of the sources. An explanation of the relationship between claims and support is not present.OrganizationPresent ideas in a structure that enhances the analysis. Use transitions throughout the essay to make connections clear.The essay incorporates precise transitions within a sophisticated organizational structure that enhances the relationships between and among ideas and promotes cohesion and clarity. A well-executed, logical progression of ideas is clearly constructed, including an effective introduction and a conclusion which follows from and supports the claim and analysis.The essay employs an organizational structure that shows the relationships between and among ideas, yielding a cohesive analysis. Clear transitions support a logical progression of ideas, including an effective introduction and a conclusion which follows from and supports the claim and analysis.The essay uses a simplistic organizational structure, though relationships between ideas may not be consistently clear. Use of transitions is sparse, repetitive, and/or does not show the connections among sections of the text. A progression of ideas is evident, however, the introduction and/or conclusion may not be fully developed or follow from and support the claim and/or analysis.An organizational structure is not evident, and relationships between ideas are not consistently clear. The essay may read as a series of unrelated ideas, as the absence of transitions makes it difficult to see connections among sections of the text. An introduction and/ or conclusion is missing from the essay.
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS10ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYAdvancedProficientDevelopingEmergingLanguage and StyleUse specific, interesting language and clear sentence structure to communicate ideas.The essay has an established, formal style and objective tone that is maintained throughout. The essay uses varied sentence structure, precise language, and domain-specific vocabulary in a way that addresses the complexity of the topic. Few errors are present, and they do not interfere with meaning.The essay has an established, formal style that is maintained throughout. The essay uses mostly correct, varied sentence structure and generally uses precise language and domain-specific vocabulary in a way that generally addresses the complexity of the topic. The essay may have some errors, but they do not interfere with meaning.The essay attempts to establish a formal style that may not be maintained throughout. The essay attempts to vary sentence structure and uses some precise language that may be domain-specific at times but may address the complexity of the topic inconsistently. The essay contains some errors that may interfere with meaning.The essay does not establish and/or maintain a formal style. The essay uses little variety in sentence structure, and the language is general and not domain-specific.The essay contains errors that interfere with meaning.Applying WHP Concepts†Choose and accurately apply the relevant WHP concepts in a way that shows understanding, and further supports the argument and evidence presented in the essay.The essay applies at least two WHP course-level concepts and/or unit-level concepts or content. The concepts or content are connected to the argument or evidence in the essay, and misconceptions are avoided. There are no errors in applying WHP concepts or content, and the essay demonstrates a clear understanding of the topic and the concepts. The essay might include information about the overall time period discussed in the essay and might make use of broader historical content than is located in the course.The essay applies one WHP course- level concept and/or unit-level concept or content. The concept or content is connected to the argument or evidence in the essay, and misconceptions are avoided. There are no errors in applying WHP concepts or content to illustrate or support concepts and claims, or to inform the essay.The essay tries to apply at least one WHP course-level and/or unit- level concept or content, but does not fully articulate the concept's meaning or connection to the argument and/or evidence. It does avoid explicit misconceptions of the concept but may make an occasional minor error in applying WHP facts or concepts to illustrate or support concepts and claims, or to inform the essay.The essay incorrectly or inappropriately mentions at least one WHP course-level concept and/or unit-level concept or content, and it may include misconceptions of that concept. The essay may make many minor errors or a major error in applying WHP facts or concepts.*Turnitin, LLC, created the first four rows of this rubric for use with their Revision Assistant and Turnitin tools.†The “Applying WHP Concepts” row of the rubric should be used by teachers and students to assess student learning and understanding in this area. Teachers should not assess student writing using Turnitin reports exclusively.
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS11ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYDirections: Use this table to comment on the writing that you are evaluating.Advanced (4)Proficient (3)Developing (2)Emerging (1)ScoreClaim and Focus*Make a clear claim about the topic early in the essay and focus on proving it.Analysis and EvidenceChoose the right evidence and explain how it supports the claim and analysis.OrganizationPresent ideas in a structure that enhances the analysis. Use transitions throughout the essay to make connections clear.Language and StyleUse specific, interesting language and clear sentence structure to communicate ideas.Applying WHP Concepts†Choose and accurately apply the relevant WHP concepts in a way that shows understanding, and further supports the argument and evidence presented in the essay.Total Score
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS12ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITYDirections: Follow the steps to parse the prompt you are presented with. Use the key at the bottom to help you with the historical reasoning practice and composition questions.1. Prompt: 2. Rewrite the prompt in your own words:3. Periodization: What is the time period you are being asked to consider? Write out the years if you are given something in terms of century (for example, twentieth century = 1900s).4. Location: What areas of the world are included in this prompt?5. Topic: What is the main topic being asked about in this prompt?
Name:Date:Name:Date:STUDENT MATERIALS13ASSESSMENT – UNIT 2 DBQWORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200 / LESSON 2.4 ACTIVITY6. Historical reasoning practice: What historical reasoning practice is this prompt asking you to engage in? Provide justification for why you chose the one you did.7. Composition: What is the prompt stem asking you to do as part of your response? Remember the prompt stem is usually a verb.KeyHistorical Reasoning PracticeWords/Phrases to Look ForCausationCause, effect, led to, lead to, emergence, resulted, bring about, give rise to, be the cause of, result in, produce, generate, spawn, precipitate, prompt, induce, promote, foster, provoke, triggerComparisonSimilarities, differences, compare, contrast, set side-by-side, juxtapose, differentiate, liken, equateCCOTContinuities, changes, continuation, persistence, consistent, over time, two points in time Prompt Stem ExamplesWhat It’s Asking in Simpler LanguageTo what extentWeigh, evaluate, assess Evaluate, assessHow much—needs a quantitative answer/thesis/claim (Note: A quantitative answer is one that includes an amount or a number. For example: a lot, a little) Analyze, developDescribe and explainArgue, argumentMake a claim