4. Mansa Musa Argumentative Writing Assessment

1. Which introduction paragraph best introduces the topic?

• Is money important? Many people agree that money cannot buy you happiness. People argue that pursuing wealth is a bad thing to do. The following will show that Mansa Musa was the wealthiest individual in history.
• Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Mansa Musa. Have you hear of these four individuals? Many people are not aware of Mansa Musa but they should be. He was a West African king that controlled salt and gold mines in his empire of Mali. The following will show that several primary sources help prove that Mansa Musa is the wealthiest person to ever live.
• Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in his garage. Bill Gates built the largest software company in the world. Mansa Musa did not have as much money as many people believe.
• Mansa Musa was an African king who lived in the 14th century and was the richest man to ever walk the earth. He was so wealthy that he had an entire room in his palace filled with gold and silver bars. Legend has it that he even had a diamond-studded throne that was worth more than all the money in the world. Mansa Musa's wealth was so great that it's still talked about today, centuries after his death.

2. Which sentence is irrelevant to the argument?

• One reason many people believe Mansa Musa was the wealthiest person to ever live is the Catalan Atlas.
• The Catalan Atlas was a map created in Spain during the 1300s that described Mansa Musa as "the richest king in all the land."
• Spain at that time was a majority Muslim country.
• The creator of the Atlas spoke to many traders and travelers that had met Mansa Musa.

3. Which sentence would best connect the first body paragraph to the second body paragraph?

• Another reason many people believe Mansa Musa was wealthy was because an Arab Historian named Al-Umari wrote about Mansa Musa's visit to Cairo, Egypt.
• Al-Umari was an Arab historian from Damascus, Syria.
• Mansa Musa is the the wealthiest individual ever because of Al-Umari.
• Mansa Musa was a controversial figure throughout his life because he gave away so much money to the poor.

4. Using the notes below, finish the second body paragraph. Use the topic sentence you chose above to start the paragraph. -Al-Umari was an Arab historian from Damascus, Syria. -Abu said, “When I went out to meet him, Musa did me extreme honor and treated me with the greatest courtesy. He addressed me, however, only through an interpreter despite his perfect ability to speak in the Arabic tongue. -"Mansa Musa flooded Cairo with his gifts. He left no emir or holder of a royal office without the gift of a load of gold. The people of Cairo made incalculable profits out of him and his caravan in buying and selling and giving and taking.

5. Which conclusion paragraph would be the best way to end the essay

• In conclusion, there are many wealthy people in the history of the world. Some say the welathiest was John Rockefeller, others argue it was Elon Musk, and still others claim it was Mansa Musa. Ultimately, it is impossible to know.
• In conclusion, there is a lot of evidence from to suggest that Mansa Musa was one of the wealthiest people to ever live. Mansa Musa's reputation as a wealthy emperor reached Spain, where a map maker included a description of Mansa Musa. A Syrian historian also wrote of his wealth after speaking with people Mansa Musa visited in Cairo.
• In conclusion, it is obvious through analysis of primary and secondary sources that Mansa Musa did not have much wealth. Even though Mali controlled salt and gold mines, Mansa Musa could not organize his country effectively to ensure his own wealth.
• In conclusion, Mansa Musa was definitely the richest person in the world, even surpassing modern-day billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Legend has it that he owned a solid gold car and had a pet lion that was also made of gold. He even built a pyramid made entirely of diamonds! Mansa Musa's wealth was so immense that he would throw handfuls of gold dust at people as he rode by on his golden horse. It's no wonder he is still remembered as the greatest and wealthiest king in history!