Writing Workshop: Geography, Industrialization, and Imperialism

The first step to drafting a document-based essay is

As writers revise document-based essays, they should make sure relevant facts and have been included.

A student made this graphic organizer to help write an informative essay. What does the organizer imply about Great Britain and Japan?

Read an excerpt from an informational document. In comparing the advantages of England for manufacturing with those of other countries, we can by no means overlook the excellent commercial position [location] of the country—intermediate [middle] between the north and south of Europe, and its insular [inward looking] situation, which, combined with the command of the seas, secures our territory from invasion . . . . [O]ur ports command an unobstructed passage to the Atlantic and to every quarter of the world. —Edward Baines, History of the Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain,1835 Which detail best supports the thesis that Britain's geographic advantages supported trade?

Read the opening line from a draft of an informative essay. This sentence is not effective because

Read an excerpt from an informational document. To some Japanese, the most important national security objective was the unselfish one - to establish a special relationship with China, strengthening the region to allow it to turn back the tide of western imperialism. To others, the selfish objective had to take priority. No matter the cost, Japan's own security and economic survival had to be considered ahead of Asian values. Unless Japan became more powerful, there was no way to save East Asia from the west. Japan could only be made powerful through the economic exploitation of its neighbors. Which detail best supports the thesis that Japan benefited from imperialism?

The graphic organizer explains the structure of an informative essay. The thesis statement should be included in the

Read the quotation from an informational source. No matter the cost, Japan's own security and economic survival had to be considered ahead of Asian values. —William Beasley, Japanese Imperialism, 1987 Which statement is the best paraphrase of the quotation?

Read the excerpt from an informational document. I was in the East End of London yesterday and attended a meeting of the unemployed. I listened to the wild speeches, which were just a cry for "bread, bread, bread!" and on my way home I pondered over the scene and I became more than ever convinced of the importance of imperialism. My cherished idea is a solution for the social problem, i.e., in order to save . . . the United Kingdom from a bloody civil war, we colonial statesmen must acquire new lands to settle the surplus population, to provide new markets for the goods produced by them in the factories and mines. —Cecil Rhodes, 1895 Which detail from the excerpt best supports the thesis that British imperialism was necessary to gain land for farming?

Adding facts to a document-based essay can help make its points more precise.