Chantra Vanna Potts

World History 101

Directions for Short Argumentative Mid-term Essay
Write an essay exploring the main topic of the class, migration and empire. The essay will
analyze the Islamic World and Mongolian Empire through the readings read and discussed in the
class, The Travels and The Adventures of Ibn Battuta. The goal of the assignment is to compare
and contrast the manner that these empires encouraged and facilitated the movements of material
goods, peoples, and culture throughout their controlled territory and the ways that empires utilize
diversity in empire.
The first essay will be constructed primarily utilizing the two epic travel literature primary
sources read in the first half of the semester. The textbook assigned for the class Empires in
World History should serve as a guide for understanding the context and make-up of the empires.
This essay will count for 25% of the final grade. The format of the essay is size 12-point font,
double-spaced, and Times New Roman with one-inch margins in Chicago Style Formatting.
The essay should address the following question in 1500-1800 words:
How did the Islamic World and the Mongolians exploit diversity and migration within their
empire? And what does this tell us about the workings of empire?

Essay Rubric
Criteria
THESIS (20)

Poor
(0-13)

Satisfactory
(14-15)

Good
(16-17)

Excellent
(18-20)

(0-27)

(28-31)

(32-35)

(36-40)

(0-15)

(16-20)

(21-27)

(28-30)

(0-4)

(5-6)

(7-8)

(9-10)

The author has a thesis

that addresses the
prompt and
demonstrates effective
argumentation/reasonin
g

CONTENT (40)
The author offers
evidence that effectively
supports the thesis and
main arguments.

ORGANIZATION
(30)
The body has a clear
introduction, body, and
conclusion. Each
paragraph begins with a
topic sentence and
unified idea.

GRAMMAR AND
FORMATTING
(10)
The author follows
proper grammar,
spelling, and
punctuation rules.
Sources are properly
cited and paper follows
proper formatting
requirements.