(Global Regents Review Sheet)
Tips for Writing a Solid Enduring Issues
Essay
When composing your
essay, here are a few tips on structure.
Click here for MASSIVE Enduring Issues List
Tip #1: Defining the Issue and Formulating
a Thesis
The
first thing you obviously need to do is figure out which enduring
issue is best to use. It is advised that you choose an issue that
you can expand on. Go through each document and jot down possible
enduring issues in the margins. Once you find three documents that
match up nicely, you can move towards the thesis.
It is highly recommended that
you have a thesis, as the question is asking you to
ARGUE why the issue selected
is significant, and
how it has endured across time.
A good thesis should be at the end of the introductory paragraph.
For our example, here are a few ways to word a thesis while using
different enduring issues:
a)
The enduring issue of human rights violations has proved
significant throughout centuries, as freedoms were denied during the
Age of Imperialism in Africa, the Final Solution of the Holocaust,
and the Cambodian genocide under Pol Pot.
b)
Nationalism
has been an impactful enduring issue across centuries, as the
unifying force has led to changes in government during the French
Revolution, expansion during the Age of Imperialism, and genocide in
the twentieth century.
c)
People have suffered a lack of freedom throughout world
history, as members of the Third Estate were socially subordinate,
Africans were imperialized by Europeans, and Cambodians were
targeted with violence by the Khmer Rouge.
Notice how there are many choices when it comes to Enduring Issues
and Nested Issues. When considering
significance, you must detail why the issue is of great
importance and deserves attention. When considering
how it endured across time, the issue has likely occurred over
many years. Perhaps though, the issue has
changed a bit. For instance, pollution has occurred for
centuries, but recently there have been global movements to control
it. There’s a list of some continuity and change ideas within the
pages of this book.
Tip #2: Outside Information
No Bull, you need to have a lot of outside information. As
you go through each document, jot down notes in the margins. Your
documents should be drowning in ink by the end of the hour! Give
anything...ANYTHING...relevant that is not in the documents. For
example, consider a document that deals with John Locke. In the
margin write down “Enlightenment,”
“Rousseau, Montesquieu, Voltaire.” Any note about thinkers of
that era would be a great addition of outside information. Your
teacher might suggest that you cite your Outside Information as
(O.I.) as well as your documents (Doc 1) (Doc 2). Be warned ... your
teachers are pretty smart! Don't write down ... Russia is big and
cold. (O.I.) That's not the outside info they are looking for!
Tip #3: Putting it together:
Depth,
Analysis, Continuity/Change
Do you remember when someone in your past told you that "it's not
quantity, it's quality"? They were kidding. It's both
which you need. You could answer an essay in two
sentences and be “sort of correct” ... but that doesn't mean you
will get a good grade! You need to offer details ... DETAILS!!!
Let's assume you have the Enduring Issues Essay with the above
documents. You could answer it in one of two ways:
a) There were human rights violations during the Holocaust,
Syrian War, and Cambodian Genocide. In all three places, there were
people who were denied freedom.
Yikes, two sentences. That's not ANALYSIS. You need to
analyze, or in simpler terms ... you need to
make a detailed examination using plenty of relevant facts.
Show how the issue has continued over time. Maybe you are better off
saying:
b)
An unfortunate and significant enduring issue has been Human Rights
Violations. As one can see, the Nazi Party violated
the
human rights of Jews during the Holocaust of World War II with, “mass
murders, imprisonments, expulsions and deportations of populations.”
(Doc. 3) Hitler’s Final Solution called for genocide, and mass
killings in extermination camps such as Auschwitz. (O.I.) The UN
looked to change
such actions by adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
(O.I) Sadly, the enduring issue of Human Rights Violations
continued into the later
part of the century in Cambodia. Here, the Khmer Rouge led
by Pol Pot targeted millions of people …
Notice how this answer incorporates the issue, outside
information, and addresses continuity/change over time.
Tip #4: Carrying out the Argument with Analysis, NOT Summary
As seen in Tip #3, you need to show how
the issue has continued or changed over time. You also need to show
how the issue has affected people or has been affected by people
depending on the issue chosen. To carry out an argument, you need to
make sure that each paragraph doesn’t stray from these important
concepts. Strong topic and concluding sentences that reflect
enduring issues continuing or changing over time is a good idea.
It’s important to distinguish between
summary and
analysis.
If you just copy over or summarize the documents, you'll have a
really long and TERRIBLE essay. The documents are there to guide
your argument. For example, if
you are writing about ideas brought on by Charles Darwin,
and you just summarize his
ideas without focusing on the question, you are NOT doing it
correctly!
You need to show why his ideas relate to an enduring issue,
such as, “Tensions Between Traditional Culture and Modernization.”
Thus:
Darwin preached “survival of the fittest,” and that species who
don’t adapt, die. He stated that species evolve and adapt through a
survival process called natural selection. Darwin made many of his
observations at the Galapagos Islands off the west coast of South
America. His theory of evolution was very controversial because it
went against the creation teachings of the Bible. This complex issue
brought many to question religious teachings, and brought tension
between those supporting traditional culture and those promoting
modernization.
The biggest piece of advice we can give is to answer their questions
with analysis (or detailed examination). If you just summarize
documents without focusing on the question’s prompts, the essay will
not reach its full potential!
Click here for MASSIVE Enduring Issues List
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