Page 10
Writing ■ Developing a First Draft
After gathering lots of information, Olivia was ready to write the first draft of her historical essay about Sacagawea. She wrote freely, using facts and details she had collected. (There are errors in Olivia’s first draft.)
Sacagawea
The beginning hooks the reader and leads to the thesis statement. She was a 17-year-old Shoshone woman guiding 30-some white men though thousands of miles of wilderness. That’s what Sacagawea did for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. She guided them, interpreted for them and was a sign of peace to the people they encountered along the way
The middle paragraphs explain the topic. Sacagawea was born in the region that would become Idaho. She was captured and taken with them to a Village in what would become North Dakota. There, she married a French trapper.