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FSA ELA Sample Argumentative Prompt--Middle East Wars

I created the following sample FSA Argumentative prompt for the ELA based on four New York Times articles written especially for students. This sample prompt has not been approved by the DOE. See the following link for access to the articles for the prompt below:

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/09/23/strikes-on-isis-now-what

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The United States is currently participating in air strikes on ISIS, a terrorist organization in Iraq and Syria. Read the accompanying texts and decide for yourself whether you think the U.S. government should be involved in another war in the Middle East.

After you read the passages, write an essay in which you take a position on whether or not air strikes by the United States should continue. Use the information presented in the texts to support your points. Make sure to include information from all the passages in your essay.
Manage your time carefully so that you can
  • read the passages;
  • plan your essay;
  • write your essay; and
  • revise and edit your essay.

Be sure to
  • include a claim;
  • address counterclaims;
  • use evidence from multiple sources; and
  • avoid overly relying on one source.

Your written response should be in the form of a multi-paragraph essay. Remember to spend time reading, planning, writing, revising, and editing.


Type your answer in the space provided.

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See the sample prompts on the DOE website (Training Tests) for ideas about length and formatting: http://www.fsassessments.org/training-tests

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