Introduce basic background information to help the
reader understand the time, place, or idea youre talking about 2-3 sentences, usually at the very beginning of your essay Look to the DBQ question for clues: How did the Spanish view Native Americans as they developed their global empire in the 16th and 17th centuries?
Thesis : Contextualization
Example: Following
the Fall of Constantinople, European nations
desperately sought an alternative route to Asia and the wealth of the Asian spice trade. Ferdinand and Isabella, having just completed the Reconquista of Spain, financed a daring voyage to explore a western route but discovered instead a continent of unfamiliar people and cultures. Determined to profit from the discovery, the Spanish began to extract resources from the Americas while also attempting to convert the population to Catholicism.
Thesis : Contextualization
Follow with your thesis statement usually the final
sentence of your 1st paragraph
Body #1: 1st Key Point
1st Sentence: Key Point
Almost universally, the Spanish saw American Indians
as barbarians because their culture was so different from European civilization and appeared to be significantly inferior. Some, like the Spanish priest Juan Gines de Sepulveda, even claimed that the Indians were less than human, nearly animals (Doc D). He felt that this gave the Spanish the right to rule over the Indians. In the same way, Christopher Columbus stated that the Indians could be easily put to work to serve the Spanish king and queen (Doc A). He clearly considered them to be inferior and specifically mentions their lack of advanced technology or even clothing as his evidence. Even though other Spaniards felt differently, most still agreed with the basic idea that Indians were inferior.
Body #1: 1st Key Point
2nd Sentence: Evidence #1
Almost universally, the Spanish saw American Indians
as barbarians because their culture was so different from European civilization and appeared to be significantly inferior. Some, like the Spanish priest Juan Gines de Sepulveda, even claimed that the Indians were less than human, nearly animals (Doc D). He felt that this gave the Spanish the right to rule over the Indians. In the same way, Christopher Columbus stated that the Indians could be easily put to work to serve the Spanish king and queen (Doc A). He clearly considered them to be inferior and specifically mentions their lack of advanced technology or even clothing as his evidence. Even though other Spaniards felt differently, most still agreed with the basic idea that Indians were inferior.
Body #1: 1st Key Point
3rd Sentence: Analyze
Almost universally, the Spanish saw American Indians
as barbarians because their culture was so different from European civilization and appeared to be significantly inferior. Some, like the Spanish priest Juan Gines de Sepulveda, even claimed that the Indians were less than human, nearly animals (Doc D). He felt that this gave the Spanish the right to rule over the Indians. In the same way, Christopher Columbus stated that the Indians could be easily put to work to serve the Spanish king and queen (Doc A). He clearly considered them to be inferior and specifically mentions their lack of advanced technology or even clothing as his evidence. Even though other Spaniards felt differently, most still agreed with the basic idea that Indians were inferior.
Body #1: 1st Key Point
4th Sentence: Transition
Almost universally, the Spanish saw American Indians
as barbarians because their culture was so different from European civilization and appeared to be significantly inferior. Some, like the Spanish priest Juan Gines de Sepulveda, even claimed that the Indians were less than human, nearly animals (Doc D). He felt that this gave the Spanish the right to rule over the Indians. In the same way, Christopher Columbus stated that the Indians could be easily put to work to serve the Spanish king and queen (Doc A). He clearly considered them to be inferior and specifically mentions their lack of advanced technology or even clothing as his evidence. Even though other Spaniards felt differently, most still agreed with the basic idea that Indians were inferior.
Body #1: 1st Key Point
5th Sentence: Evidence #2
Almost universally, the Spanish saw American Indians
as barbarians because their culture was so different from European civilization and appeared to be significantly inferior. Some, like the Spanish priest Juan Gines de Sepulveda, even claimed that the Indians were less than human, nearly animals (Doc D). He felt that this gave the Spanish the right to rule over the Indians. In the same way, Christopher Columbus stated that the Indians could be easily put to work to serve the Spanish king and queen (Doc A). He clearly considered them to be inferior and specifically mentions their lack of advanced technology or even clothing as his evidence. Even though other Spaniards felt differently, most still agreed with the basic idea that Indians were inferior.
Body #1: 1st Key Point
6th Sentence: Analyze
Almost universally, the Spanish saw American Indians
as barbarians because their culture was so different from European civilization and appeared to be significantly inferior. Some, like the Spanish priest Juan Gines de Sepulveda, even claimed that the Indians were less than human, nearly animals (Doc D). He felt that this gave the Spanish the right to rule over the Indians. In the same way, Christopher Columbus stated that the Indians could be easily put to work to serve the Spanish king and queen (Doc A). He clearly considered them to be inferior and specifically mentions their lack of advanced technology or even clothing as his evidence. Even though other Spaniards felt differently, most still agreed with the basic idea that Indians were inferior.
Body #1: 1st Key Point
7th Sentence: Link
Almost universally, the Spanish saw American Indians
as barbarians because their culture was so different from European civilization and appeared to be significantly inferior. Some, like the Spanish priest Juan Gines de Sepulveda, even claimed that the Indians were less than human, nearly animals (Doc D). He felt that this gave the Spanish the right to rule over the Indians. In the same way, Christopher Columbus stated that the Indians could be easily put to work to serve the Spanish king and queen (Doc A). He clearly considered them to be inferior and specifically mentions their lack of advanced technology or even clothing as his evidence. Even though other Spaniards felt differently, most still agreed with the basic idea that Indians were inferior.