Mrs. Ruland's Writing History Essays - A Series of Mini-Lessions

	Writing History Essays
	A Series of Mini-Lessons
	A Series of Mini-Lessons
		I. Analyze the Question 1. Key words - know what they mean and for what text structure they are calling Explain Describe Discuss List Compare Contrast Causes Results Effects Translate Extrapolate Analyze Evaluate Interpret Infer Imply Predict 2. What information is requested? How many examples/evidence? What time frame? What aspect of life? Religious Economic Cultural Intellectual Political Environmental Social 3. What information is given? Information included in a question is never false. Never ignore or contradict information included in question. Always use and expand upon information included in question. II. Typical History Essay Questions 1. Change Over Time What is it that you are assessing 1783-1815 as a period of evolution to economic stability 1760's to 1790's as a period of political maturation 1790-1870 the economic growth of the United States was significantly stimulated by government aid 2. Cause and Effect Remember consequences and multiple causation Reasons for the outbreak of colonization activity in the early 17^th century Causes of the Mexican War 3. Compare and Contrast; Similarities and Differences Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts as colonies Jacksonian Democracy and Jeffersonian Democracy Immigration in the colonial period and during the 19^th century Jacksonian Democracy and Populism 4. Define and Identify Significant traits, characteristics, results, issues Jacksonian Democracy Characteristics of colonial religion 5. Statement - React to It Assess the validity, how true is it - valid, invalid, partially valid Slavery as the sole cause of the Civil War Presidents have rarely been successful in both foreign and domestic policies 6. Evaluate Assess the significance, criteria is yours (It was good or it was really good will earn an F) Evaluate Jacksonian Democracy Qualities of an effective political leader How revolutionary was the Revolutionary War Was colonial society democratic 7. A Statement From a Particular Viewpoint American Revolution from a British viewpoint American foreign policy objectives from a radical historian's perspective Strengths and weakness of the mercantile system from a British or American view 8. A Given Framework The U.S. displayed all the typical characteristics of a new nation during the 1790's Powers of the president grew from war and foreign crisis rather than from domestic problems Darwinism created conflicts among reformers as well as creating a standard that had to be attacked III. Organize the Answer 1. Elements of a good answer Introduction - thesis statement Body Position/argument Details and evidence Conclusion/summary 2. Rules for an effective essay Write your answer in the form of an argument. Read the questions carefully, underlining key words. Think your answer through, remembering to take a stand and to plan your entire essay. Make a rough outline and plan your paragraphs. Jot down key words. Use these words as an outline. Do not write an elaborate outline in complete sentences or long phrases because this process consumes too much time. Write a good introductory paragraph. Start with a good topic sentence. Use the introductory paragraph to explain briefly the entire argument you are going to make, or, for a longer essay, to explain the first part of the argument. Then go on to additional paragraphs. Use factual evidence to support your generalizations. Support your argument with names of people, important events, dates, and similar data which help to prove the more general statements you make. Write a brief conclusion. Use your last paragraph to give a brief summary of your entire argument and the conclusion that you have been able to draw. Try to state your argument in a way which pulls all of its major threads together with your analysis. 3. How are essay answers assessed? While the specific grading varies from test to test, the following guidelines will always apply: Has the student taken an informed position? Has the student provided persuasive reasons? Has the student elaborated upon those reasons using relevant, adequate, and correct facts? Can the teacher read and understand the question? Answers are not assessed on similarity of position to the teacher's position, but rather on the strength of the argument. I do not have to agree with you to be impressed with your answer; however, a weak argument in support of a position that I endorse will not be successful. IV. Graphic Models Graphic models can be an effective way to see an argument and to remember what should go into the argument. Inverted triangle - simplest argument with thesis statement, body and summary; also when move from broad principle to narrow application. Historians, politicians, and military leaders have debated the necessity of dropping atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. Based on your own reading and reflection, which argument do you find most persuasive and why? Demonstrate how it is superior to alternative explanations. Triangle - simple argument with narrow point broaden for significance; small events become metaphors for changes of greater significance. Was the decision to use atomic bombs a wise one? How was the world changed by the United States' decision to drop atomic bombs during World War Two? Compare/Contrast - helps ensure that points are parallel for each topic. Venn diagram - can be useful in compare and contrast questions when having difficulty deciding what is alike and what is different, but the chart may be better to ensure parallel points in the answer. Both Edward Bellamy and Fredrick Winslow Taylor were convinced American industrial organization was inefficient. How did they propose to fix it? What assumptions and values shaped their vision? Who supported each and why? What goes around comes around - most effective when subject undergoes a history that returns it to its origin; demonstrates the circular nature of various debates. The Knights of Labor began in 1868 as an ultra-secretive organization with very few members. By 1886, it was an open order with as many as one million members. Yet ten years later, it was again small and secretive. Explain this transformation. Evolution, devolution and roller coaster - Many phenomena start at one place and change, but the change is not always linear, nor is change the same as progress. In the mid-1930s, Hitler spoke of his role in founding a Reich that would last a thousand years and did so from a position of strength and rising German might. By 1945, both he and the Reich were dead. Explain the rise and fall of German fascism. An old civil rights song refers to the "rocky road to freedom." Is that an apt metaphor for the fortunes of the civil rights movement? Be sure to take into account post-1970 developments. Convergence - Diverse ideas can come together, a consensus is forged, fringe elements are brought into the mainstream. The 1932 election of Franklin Roosevelt is often heralded as a "realignment" election in which the Democratic Party forged a "new coalition." Is this accurate? Elaborate on the various groups and agendas that tended to be represented in the Democratic Party from 1932 through 1968. Conflict and spin-off - Divergent views can come from the same starting point; different conclusions can be drawn from the same facts and ideas; the same event can inspire different spin-offs. During the Progressive Era, most Americans agreed that the more abusive aspects of industrial capitalism required remedy. Why wasn't reform more extensive than it was? Discuss the various ways in which Americans tried to reform society and account for divergent ideologies and tactics. Building blocks - ideas, historical forces, ideologies can build on one another to create narrower or broader consensus or can topple over. Explain how Islam evolved from a nondogmatic social and political rebellion that included Jews and Christians to an organized religion with specific doctrines. In 1517, Martin Luther wanted to correct abuses within the Roman Catholic Church. Within a few years he was the champion of the movement to establish German Protestantism. How did this happen? In 1630, John Winthrop wrote"Christian Charity, a Model Thereof" as the blueprint by which his Puritan followers would make Massachusetts Bay Colony a "city on a hill." Yet within five years, the colony was torn by dissent, and within three generations, Puritanism was a spent force. What internal and external tensions undermined Puritanism? Conventional wisdom torn asunder - examine the facts associated with common assumptions and reveal the weakness of the accepted theory. In the popular imagination, welfare is often viewed as expensive, inefficient, and unfair, a government boondoggle that rewards able-bodied individuals for being lazy. It is also often associated with minority and immigrant groups. How does this view measure up against empirical data? How does welfare compare economically to social alternatives such as workfare, incarceration, and subsidized enterprise zones? Synthesis - take disparate ideas and data, sift through them, and find the common thread If viewed dispassionately, most eighteenth-century colonists had minimal contact with British authorities, paid little in taxes, and cannot be said to have suffered from the "tyranny" claimed by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. Why then did the American Revolution occur? What forces came together, and what common bonds were forged between revolutionary leaders and their supporters. Marcella_Ruland@hcpss.org Last updated August 1, 2002 © Marcella Ruland 1998-2008, All rights reserved