Directions: Read the prompt carefully and create an outline or graphic organizer: Underline key words. What is the particular skill that will be assessed? What are some other events that occurred during the same time period? (Try to put the prompt into historical context.) Create an outline or graphic organizer that links your response directly to the prompt.
Write a good thesis. Does the thesis explicitly address all parts of the prompt? Do not simply restate the prompt, but explain how and why you have chosen to make a specific argument. Remember that it is okay for the thesis to consist of multiple sentences.
Provide a historical context for your argument. Consider how your argument relates to broader historical events, developments, or processes. Explain this context for your argument by exploring how the same topic is reflected in other geographical areas (if the prompt is not global), or how other topics add depth.
Use evidence to support your argument. Be sure that your evidence is specific and that it clearly and consistently supports the thesis. Clear linkage between the evidence and the thesis is indicative of a good analytical essay.
Apply the targeted skill being assessed (e. g., causation, comparison, continuity or change). Use specific wording and examples that illustrate the history reasoning skill.
Develop the complexity of your argument. Try to demonstrate a complex understanding of the topic throughout your whole essay. This may be done through:
Explaining the nuance of an issue by analyzing multiple variables.
Explaining both similarity and difference, both continuity AND change, explaining multiple causes, or explaining both causes and effects.
Explaining multiple relevant and insightful connections within and across time periods.
Confirming the validity of an argument by corroborating multiple perspectives across themes.
Qualifying or modifying an argument by taking into account multiple diverse viewpoints.
The development of complexity must be demonstrated throughout the whole essay, not in a single phrase or sentence.
Prompt:
Evaluate the extent of political and economic impact of globalization from 1945 to present