American History B
November Work Sample
Muckracker Writing Assignment
Write a muckraking article about a current issue in the community, United States, or country that you
believe should be reformed (changed). Remember, muckrakers did not offer solutions to the problems.
They made people aware of social problems and persuaded people through their descriptive writing to
take action. I expect you to do the same. Be as creative and descriptive as possible when writing about
the problem. Make me so appalled or angry about the problem that I will want to go forth and conquer
it. (We just covered muckrakers in Unit 4 but if you need a refresher, you can read more about
muckrakers and who they were in chapter 36 and 37 of the textbook.)
You must answer…
 What is the problem?
 Why is it a problem?
 How can people take action?
You may choose any issue you like, but your argument must be clear.
Your article must…
 Be 3 paragraphs
 Paragraph 1 – topic sentence and answering what is the problem.
 Paragraph 2 – Answering why it is a problem
 Paragraph 3 - How people can take action and concluding sentence.
-Use at least one outside source (not Wikipedia!)and cite it. A good source might come from
nytimes.com or washingtonpost.com.
-Refer to the rubric below for how to write a good article.
-Be ready to share your article idea at our November work sample CC helpsession next week.
November Work Sample Writing Rubric
Criteria
Ideas and Content
60 points
Organization and
Structure
30 points
Conventions
(SCOPE - Spelling,
Capitalization, Order of
Words, Punctuation, and
Expresses a Complete
Thought/Sentence)
10 points
U
Missed It
(Will try again)
A
Owned It
P
Got It
PP
Getting It
Explains what the
problem is, explains why
it is a problem, and gives
ideas for how it can be
fixed. Argument is clear.
Article is organized into
three paragraphs or
more. There is a strong
topic sentence that
introduces the problem
and a concluding
sentence that
summarizes the problem.
There are almost no
errors in spelling,
capitalization,
punctuation, order of
words, punctuation, or
expressing complete
sentences.
Explains what the
problem is and why it is a
problem. Argument is
mostly clear.
Explains what the
problem is but does not
explain way. Argument is
not clear.
Does not explain a
problem. There is no
argument.
Article is organized into
three paragraphs. There
is a topic sentence and
concluding sentence that
partially summarizes the
article.
Article is not organized
into paragraphs. Topic or
concluding sentences are
missing.
Most elements of
structure and
organization are missing.
There are some errors in
spelling, capitalization,
punctuation, order of
words, punctuation, or
expressing complete
sentences, but they do
not interfere with
meaning.
Unintentional errors in
capitalization, usage,
punctuation, spelling,
and/or paragraphing
often interfere with
meaning.
Errors in capitalization,
usage, punctuation,
spelling repeatedly
distract the reader and
make the text difficult to
read.
American History B
November Work Sample