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Work Sample & Commentary:  The Million Man March
The task
Students were asked to write a poem about a significant event in African-American history.

Circumstances of performance
This sample of student work was produced under the following conditions:
alone in a group
in class as homework
with teacher feedback with peer feedback
timed opportunity for revision

What the work shows
b Literature: The student produces work in at least one literary genre that follows the conventions of the genre.
The work explains the significance of the Million Man March through the poetic techniques of repetition, rhyme, rhythm, and organization.

The student organized the poem to follow the sequence of events as they occurred during the march.
The repetition of the phrase “The Million Man March” is used to illustrate the movement and determination of the thousands of African-American men who traveled to Washington for the event.
The student used the idiom “They came together” to not only denote the meeting in Washington, DC, but to also connote unity. This is echoed throughout the poem.
The student provided a sense of closure to the work by ending it with the refrain “The Million Man March.”

b Conventions, Grammar, and Usage of the English Language: The student analyzes and subsequently revises work to clarify it or make it more effective in communicating the intended message or thought. The student’s revisions should be made in light of the purposes, audiences, and contexts that apply to the work. Strategies for revising include:
• adding or deleting details;
• adding or deleting explanations;
• clarifying difficult passages;
• rearranging words, sentences, and paragraphs to improve or clarify meaning;
• sharpening the focus;
• reconsidering the organizational structure.

This work sample illustrates a standard-setting performance for the following parts of the standards:
b Conventions: Analyze and subsequently revise written work.
b Literature: Produce work in at least one literary genre that follows the conventions of the genre.
The student rearranged the organizational structure of the work by combining phrases and deleting some of the repetitions of “The Million Man March.” These changes help to slow down the rhythm and keep the reader focused on the main ideas of the poem.

The student added a new stanza to the poem. This stanza describes the events of the day much more specifically—hearing speakers and participating in the activities of the event. This addition changed the structure of the poem making it more closely mirror the events of the march and explain the motivating factors behind the event. This specificity demonstrates the student’s understanding of the event.