Resolution (Act Four of The Crucible)

The Salem Witch Trials did not begin overnight; they were the result of the overly strict Puritan way of life. However, there were many aggravating factors that ultimately created a perfect storm in which these trials could not only exist but thrive for a period of time.

Your assignment is to imagine going back in time and putting yourself in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts… as a journalist. You are going to write a newspaper article about the ongoing trials. In your article, you must discuss at least three of the factors that propagated, or caused, this witch hunt hysteria. Remember to use specific examples from the literature to illustrate how these factors influenced events in Salem.

Your newspaper article needs to begin with a strong lead paragraph as this is what will capture your audience's attention. In journalism, the first paragraph is called a "lead" because reporters need to answer the most important questions first; the details come in the body of the article. In your lead, try to answer as many of the 5W/H questions as you can (5W/H = who, what, when, where, why, and how). Remember to use strong, concrete verbs and nouns and include a thesis that identifies at least three contributing factors from the list above. Once you have your lead, the rest of the article focuses on the contributing factors and examples from the play. After developing the lead and discussing the three factors in well-developed paragraphs, you will want to mention within the conclusion the relevancy of this play to life today.

Before you begin, review the Newspaper Article Checklist to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit.

Once you have completed your newspaper article, please submit your work to the dropbox.