1. science
2. social science
3. history
4. genealogy

WorldHistory
MayorLogan
Unit6:Cities
TheDeathofTimbuktu
AnObituary
ContinuingwithouranalogyofourCSI:Timbutkuautopsy,you’llnowputtogetheralltherelevantevidencetowrite
anobituaryforthedeceasedcity.
Herearetheguidelines:
1. Becausethisisacreativewritingendeavor,youmayworkwithapartner.Sinceworkingwithsomeone
providesanadditionallearningexperience,youwillalsosubmitabriefcollaborationreflectionattheend.
2. Youshouldlookupsomesamplesofobituariestogiveyouideas.Obviously,therearecertainthingsyouwill
exclude(suchasinformationaboutfuneralservices,unlessthat’sawayforyoutoexpressyourcreativity),
butingeneralyoushouldfollowthisformat:
a. BeginwiththeAnnouncementofDeath.
Who,when,where—thisshouldbeabriefoverview,ashortparagraph.
Moreimportantly,explainthecauseofdeath,bothimmediatefactorsandunderlyingconditions.
Youwillbeprovidinganoverviewofthecauseshere,withthemorespecificdetailsinthe
biographicalsection.(Forexample,anobituarymightsayherethatthedeceasedlosthis/herlong
strugglewithadisease,andtheninthebiographicalsectionitwouldincludewhenitwasdiagnosed,
howlongtreatmentlasted,majorturningpointsinhis/herillness,etc.)
b. Inyournext2paragraphsprovideBiographicalInformation.
Narratethelifestoryofthedeceased,themajoreventsinhis/herlife,etc.Thissectioniswhereyou
willincludespecificdetailsabouttheimmediateandunderlyingcausesofdeathastheyprogressed
chronologically.
c. Finally,concludeyourobituarywithSurvivorInformation.
Tellyourreaderwhoisleftbehind.Whilenormallythismeansrelatives,inTimbuktu’scaseyoucan
thinkcreativelyaboutwhowouldbemourningorsufferingfromthedeclineofthecity.
3. Throughoutyourobituary,youwillbeusingspecificinformationthatcamefromthedocumentsinour
evidencepacket.Eachtimeyoudoso,indicatewhereyougotthatinformationbyincludingthedocument
letterinparenthesisafterthestatement,likethis(A).
**YoudoNOTneedtodoanyadditionalresearch(thereforenobibliography,woohoo!!)
4. Printyourannouncementasifitgoingtoappearinthenewspaper.Provideanappropriatetitleandapicture
ofthe“deceased.”
Youwillhaveacoupleofclassperiodstoworkonthisassignment,sincemanyofyouwillbeworkingwith
partners.Youwilllikelystillneedtocompletepartofitoutsideofclass.Pleasebringaprintedcopyofyour
obituarytoclassonThursday,April30.