Jacob Cordova

Derek Henson
ELA
September 24, 2015

Short Essay
How can we prove that what we say or believe is true? By explaining, people can show
others why they believe in what they believe, and supporting it with evidence will make the
belief seem more likely to be true. In the play
Twelve Angry Men
, one of the jurors explains his
beliefs and supports it with evidence making others believe that he might be correct. People
can prove what they believe is true by explaining their beliefs and supporting it with evidence.
In
Twelve Angry Men,
a play by Reginald Rose, the jurors are trying to decide whether
the boy is guilty or not guilty. Juror eight believes that there is a doubt and that the boy is not
guilty. Though, most of the jurors disagree with juror eight because they either want to go
home, or they are not looking closely at the crime scene. Though, juror eight stays with his
belief and explains himself. As evidence for the crime, the woman says that she saw the crime
happen. As juror eight looks deeper into how the woman could have seen the crime happen, he
finds that the woman wears bifocals and could not have seen the crime happen if she wasnt
wearing her glasses at the time (pg 62). Juror eight then is able to convince the other jurors that
the boy is not guilty. Juror eight corroborated the boy was not guilty and supported it with
evidence; therefore, he was able to convince others to believe that the boy was not guilty. This
example shows that by providing evidence, we can prove that what we say or believe is true.
In class, we had an activity where we had a discussion similar to the jurors in the play.
We talked about our opinions and beliefs on the situation. We each explained our beliefs and
provided evidence. As we talked and gave evidence to support our beliefs, others built upon
that certain belief and made our ideas even stronger. We were able to convince others similar
to how juror eight convinced the other jurors. Eventually, we were able to have a reasonable
debate and were able to agree on certain beliefs. As we had our discussion, our other
classmates took notes on how well the debate went. Most of us earned positive feedback and
were given constructive criticism. Our feedback gave us the intention that we did well and were
able to support our claims with evidence.
In conclusion, people can prove what they believe is true by explaining their beliefs and
supporting it with evidence. More people will choose to follow in what you believe if you
explain to them why you believe in it. This comes in handy when you come to a point in your
life where youre trying to make them believe in your belief. Many people can say what they
believe in, but that would not convince anyone if what they are saying is true; that is why you
provide evidence or support to your claim. Providing evidence will mostly cause others to
believe in your belief and will make others respect your opinions more often.

Introduction
A -- Introduces reader to your paper; catches their interest in some way
B -- Clear, concise, and relevant claim (thesis)

A -- 2 (3)
B -- 2 (3)

Comments: You have a stronger thesis written somewhere else in your intro.
Body Paragraphs
A -- Clear, concises, relevant topic sentences
B -- Context helps reader understand evidence
C -- Strong, clear, relevant evidence to support topic sentence and thesis
D -- Analysis that clearly explains HOW your evidence/example supports
your topic sentence and thesis

A --3 (2)
B -- 2.5
C -- 2
D -- 1.5 (2)

Comments: Stay on topic and connect your examples to your THESIS, not your context.
Conclusion
A -- Restate your thesis in some way as you wrap up your essay
B -- Leave the reader with something to take away that is relevant to their
own life (what should they learn or remember from reading your paper?)

A -- 3
B -- 1.5 (2)

Comments: Your conclusion shouldnt restate everything you just said in the essay. You
already said it. You dont need to say it all again. Think about the relelvance of all that
stuff to the readers life and give them something meaningful to take away from what
youve written.
Conventions
A -- Limit mistakes
Spelling
Grammar
Punctuation -- especially comma splices
Awkward wording
B -- Overall clarity and coherence
Each sentence makes sense
Each paragraph makes sense
The entire essay makes sense all together
Comments:

A -- 3

B -- 2.5