World History Athenian Democracy Paragraph
You will write one­paragraph answering the question: Was Greece (Athens) a true democracy? You will have 20 minutes in class and you will be able to use the graphic organizer at the bottom of this page. Directions: In order to do a good job on this paragraph, you need to consider the characteristics of a democracy, and the changes made by Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles to Athenian democracy. To prepare, please utilize your notes entitled “What is Democracy?”, “Legacy of Ancient Greece”, as well as the primary source readings you have read and analyzed. (a) Background info – Your paragraph should open with the history and an explanation of the characteristics of a democracy. (b) Thesis statement – You need to answer the question, was Athens a true democracy? (c) Supporting fact #1 – Introduce a characteristic about democracy that is/is not a characteristic of Athens and discuss to support your thesis. (d) Supporting fact #2 – Introduce a characteristic about democracy that is/is not a characteristic of Athens and discuss to support your thesis.
(e) Supporting fact #3 – Introduce a characteristic about democracy that is/is not a characteristic of Athens and discuss to support your thesis. (f) Concluding sentence­ Sum up your thoughts and restate your thesis in different words.
Things to avoid:
x Slang or informal language
x Shifting verb tenses
x 1st person “I” “me” “we” or “our” statements or 2nd person “you” statements
x Pencil or colorful pens other than blue or black ink
Criteria for evaluation: (25 points total)
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Introduces the characteristics and history of democracy (5)
Thesis details whether Athens was or was not a true democracy (5)
Provides and explains three strong pieces of supporting evidence (10)
Has a strong conclusion (5)
Background info
Thesis
Supporting Facts