Hi,
Your essay statement is: Why did the Central Powers lose the
First World War?
·
Study tiny.cc/essayprezi
·
Read
page 71 – 79 (Last years of the war)
·
Your
essay should be rather short and punchy with a good structure and argument.
About 750 words.
·
Please
send it to me before the start of Week 2.
At the end of our last lesson, you wrote down some questions that you
have. I am very impressed with your questions, they show your deep engagement
and thinking. It took me a while to type up the answers. I hope you enjoy
reading them. I encourage you to keep thinking critically and to keep on questioning
me about these things.
1.
What
battles should we know?
2.
Who
really won?
3.
Would
WWI have started without the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
4.
Historiography???
5.
How
specific should an essay be?
6.
Would
WW2 have happened or been as bad if Germany had won WW1?
7.
What
was the role/position and effect of the USA in the early 1914 – 1916 era in
WW1?
8.
What
defines a “victory” when a war ends?
9.
What
actually happened on the Eastern Front?
10.
Which
British colonies fought in the war?
11.
How
to incorporate quotes in an essay?
12.
How
to effectively research historians’ views on a certain issue?
13.
How
to make an effective plan?
1. What battles should
we know?
Good battles to know: Battle of Cambrai, Jutland, Somme, maybe Amiens etc. These battles can be used as an example / evidence if you are making a point about Tanks, Naval warfare, trench warfare and turning points. No need to know details about how many men died, how many Big Berthas (!?) were used or anything like that. You need to know what year, and you need to understand their significance.
Good battles to know: Battle of Cambrai, Jutland, Somme, maybe Amiens etc. These battles can be used as an example / evidence if you are making a point about Tanks, Naval warfare, trench warfare and turning points. No need to know details about how many men died, how many Big Berthas (!?) were used or anything like that. You need to know what year, and you need to understand their significance.
2. Who really won?
Ha, well, no one. Maybe America, because it had no damage to its infrastructure and until the crash of 1929, its economy flourished after WW1. It’s argued that WW2 was the ultimate government stimulation / spending package that got America out of the depression. I’m being a bit facetious here. Read the handout “The First World War” – “Who won” by Cawood / McKinnon-Bell. We’ll discuss further in class.
Ha, well, no one. Maybe America, because it had no damage to its infrastructure and until the crash of 1929, its economy flourished after WW1. It’s argued that WW2 was the ultimate government stimulation / spending package that got America out of the depression. I’m being a bit facetious here. Read the handout “The First World War” – “Who won” by Cawood / McKinnon-Bell. We’ll discuss further in class.
3. Would WWI have
started without the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
Excellent question. What do YOU think? The whole of Europe was gearing up for war with all elements working together creating a perfect storm: MANIAC (Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, Imperialism, Assassination, Crises) but failure of diplomacy and poor political decisions also played a part: e.g. Bosnia, Agadir, Kaiser Willy – going back further: non-renewal of the reinsurance treaty, scramble for Africa.
Could WW1 have been averted? The only hope would have been cooperation and diplomacy, but was pre 1914 Europe in a position to engage in that? World War I broke out because it was the first time that modern nations had the means to wage a large scale war, they had the economies to pay for a big war effort, they had international interests, they had large militaries etc. It was only AFTER ww1 that the need for structured international diplomacy became clear (League of Nations – which failed; it could not prevent WW2). One could go on and on about this. I would like to hear your opinions.
Excellent question. What do YOU think? The whole of Europe was gearing up for war with all elements working together creating a perfect storm: MANIAC (Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, Imperialism, Assassination, Crises) but failure of diplomacy and poor political decisions also played a part: e.g. Bosnia, Agadir, Kaiser Willy – going back further: non-renewal of the reinsurance treaty, scramble for Africa.
Could WW1 have been averted? The only hope would have been cooperation and diplomacy, but was pre 1914 Europe in a position to engage in that? World War I broke out because it was the first time that modern nations had the means to wage a large scale war, they had the economies to pay for a big war effort, they had international interests, they had large militaries etc. It was only AFTER ww1 that the need for structured international diplomacy became clear (League of Nations – which failed; it could not prevent WW2). One could go on and on about this. I would like to hear your opinions.
4. Historiography???
Historiography is vital because historians’ points of view make your
argument stronger. You should stand on the shoulders of giants. For the purpose
of essay writing, you do not need to memorise long quotes, books etc. You need
to know some historians and the gist of their theory / argument. This is why I
attached the “All historians views ww1” document to this email. Read it again.
It’s mainly about the start of WW1. Read the first article. Remind me in class
that for each topic, we look at a range of opinions. You should also take that
responsibility upon yourself and find some historians’ opinions yourself. Share
them with me and the class.
Another tip for success: Read REAL history, beyond the textbook. I will provide handouts that will help you build up your knowledge. History is one great debate, with lots of people writing big fat books because they think their opinion should be heard. The subject of History teaches you to see issues from different points of view, it teaches you to think about WHY, WHAT, HOW. So, that is why Historiography is important. We will do more work on how to incorporate it in essays. Have a go at it when you write the “Central Powers” essay over the holidays.
Another tip for success: Read REAL history, beyond the textbook. I will provide handouts that will help you build up your knowledge. History is one great debate, with lots of people writing big fat books because they think their opinion should be heard. The subject of History teaches you to see issues from different points of view, it teaches you to think about WHY, WHAT, HOW. So, that is why Historiography is important. We will do more work on how to incorporate it in essays. Have a go at it when you write the “Central Powers” essay over the holidays.
5. How specific should
an essay be?
Specific.
Oh, not specific enough?
What do you mean by specific? Be specific.
What do you mean by specific? Be specific.
OK, you need years (months and days not that important, unless it is
important in the context), you need names (Historians, big generals, leaders).
You need events (Conferences, Treaties, some battles, uprisings etc.). You need
these things to support what you are stating. You need historians’ opinions,
different schools of thought (if the essay statement calls for it). Trick
is to not be too narrative though. If you focus on small details, you might get
lost in them and waste time that you could have spent developing your argument
and broader themes.
6. Would WW2 have
happened or been as bad if Germany had won WW1?
I like “what if” questions, because they force you to think deeply about
an event. So what if Germany had won WW1? There would have been a no fertile
ground for extremism in Germany. The German economy would have emerged stronger
and other European nations could have benefited from that as a bulwark against
the Great Depression. On the other hand, if Germany had won, it could have
given rise to another war, but this time started by French or Russian
aggression against Germany in retaliation for any land that these countries
could have lost in a post WW1 settlement with Germany (a different kind of
Treaty of Versailles). Interesting.
7. What was the
role/position and effect of the USA in the early 1914 – 1916 era in WW1?
Forgive me, I am about to cut and paste from Wikipedia. Sometimes one just has to:
“Unilateralism has had a long history in the United States. In his famous and influential Farewell Address, George Washington warned that the United States should "steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world". Many years later, this approach was labelled (by its opponents) as "isolationism", but some historians of U.S. diplomacy have long argued that "isolationism" is a misnomer, and that U.S. foreign policy, beginning with Washington, has traditionally been driven by unilateralism.”
Rather than labelling America isolationist, it’s more correct to say they pursued a unilateral foreign policy pre-1917, meaning that issues are solved without much cooperation, consultation, a one-sided approach. (Note: bilateral and multilateral are also words that are used in foreign policy)
In addition, there is a tension in American politics between Nationalism (pre-1917) and Internationalism (Wilson, 14 points) 1917 – 1921. This is a whole Semester’s worth of subject matter. Google the rest.
Forgive me, I am about to cut and paste from Wikipedia. Sometimes one just has to:
“Unilateralism has had a long history in the United States. In his famous and influential Farewell Address, George Washington warned that the United States should "steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world". Many years later, this approach was labelled (by its opponents) as "isolationism", but some historians of U.S. diplomacy have long argued that "isolationism" is a misnomer, and that U.S. foreign policy, beginning with Washington, has traditionally been driven by unilateralism.”
Rather than labelling America isolationist, it’s more correct to say they pursued a unilateral foreign policy pre-1917, meaning that issues are solved without much cooperation, consultation, a one-sided approach. (Note: bilateral and multilateral are also words that are used in foreign policy)
In addition, there is a tension in American politics between Nationalism (pre-1917) and Internationalism (Wilson, 14 points) 1917 – 1921. This is a whole Semester’s worth of subject matter. Google the rest.
8. What defines a
“victory” when a war ends?
Love it. No easy answer here. In 20th century history, the nature of war changed so dramatically from everything that came before, that the whole notion of victory has to be re-examined. The 20th century also sees the full development of globalisation and international trade, collaboration etc. No country can survive on its own. (North Korea is trying). If you compare the 1919 Paris ‘Peace’ settlements with what happened after WW2 (No peace settlements, Germany surrenders, Marshal Plan, Cold War), then you can see how the notion of victory changes. We won’t look at the Korean or Vietnam war in this course, but who won there? Ask an American and a Vietnamese person.
Love it. No easy answer here. In 20th century history, the nature of war changed so dramatically from everything that came before, that the whole notion of victory has to be re-examined. The 20th century also sees the full development of globalisation and international trade, collaboration etc. No country can survive on its own. (North Korea is trying). If you compare the 1919 Paris ‘Peace’ settlements with what happened after WW2 (No peace settlements, Germany surrenders, Marshal Plan, Cold War), then you can see how the notion of victory changes. We won’t look at the Korean or Vietnam war in this course, but who won there? Ask an American and a Vietnamese person.
9. What actually
happened on the Eastern Front?
Many different
answers here from different points of view. Google it.
10. Which British colonies fought in the war?
All of them: Australians, Canadians, African regiments, New Zealand, India.
All of them: Australians, Canadians, African regiments, New Zealand, India.
11. How to incorporate quotes in an essay?
Paraphrasing is good, that means, to only use the key portion or key words of a quote. It’s good to preface a quote: ….As historian Westwood states: “Alexander II did little for the serfs…”, and fellow historian Crankshaw supports that in saying that the emancipation of the serfs was nothing more than a “cruel joke”. If you can’t remember the key words, just summarise the historians’ ideas / general position. Similarly, quotes by leaders or significant people can be used in the same way. One thing though: When you’re not quite sure, don’t use it: An examiner has a finely honed b*llshit detector.
Paraphrasing is good, that means, to only use the key portion or key words of a quote. It’s good to preface a quote: ….As historian Westwood states: “Alexander II did little for the serfs…”, and fellow historian Crankshaw supports that in saying that the emancipation of the serfs was nothing more than a “cruel joke”. If you can’t remember the key words, just summarise the historians’ ideas / general position. Similarly, quotes by leaders or significant people can be used in the same way. One thing though: When you’re not quite sure, don’t use it: An examiner has a finely honed b*llshit detector.
12. How to effectively research historians’ views on a
certain issue?
Another good question. I will provide you with as much reading as I can so you can get the historians’ pov, but reading “real” history by historians is still the best way. Historians tend to write massive books which can be annoying. I’ll be honest with you, I usually just read the sections that are relevant to what I am teaching at that time, so you look in the table of contents or the index, and then read that section. And then there’s the internet of course. Use it, but use it critically.
Another good question. I will provide you with as much reading as I can so you can get the historians’ pov, but reading “real” history by historians is still the best way. Historians tend to write massive books which can be annoying. I’ll be honest with you, I usually just read the sections that are relevant to what I am teaching at that time, so you look in the table of contents or the index, and then read that section. And then there’s the internet of course. Use it, but use it critically.
13. How to make an effective plan?
There are two types of plans. If you are given the statement beforehand, you can type up a plan that is a combo of facts and themes while having a really strong focus on WHAT you are ARGUING, what is your opinion? What do you want to get across? All that has to be in your plan.
In an exam situation, it’s the same thing but you don’t have the essay statement beforehand so you have less time. You will still need to do the same thing though. WHAT is your OPINION? And how will you back it up. Spending 5 minutes thinking about that is really important in an exam situation, if you don’t, your essay will suffer.
There are two types of plans. If you are given the statement beforehand, you can type up a plan that is a combo of facts and themes while having a really strong focus on WHAT you are ARGUING, what is your opinion? What do you want to get across? All that has to be in your plan.
In an exam situation, it’s the same thing but you don’t have the essay statement beforehand so you have less time. You will still need to do the same thing though. WHAT is your OPINION? And how will you back it up. Spending 5 minutes thinking about that is really important in an exam situation, if you don’t, your essay will suffer.
In case you missed them, here are the essay tips from
two IB examiners I met last weekend:
Essay tips from IB examiners:
- - Structure is King (Tsar)
- - TEEL works, first sentence of paragraph is important.
- - You need to signpost.
- - Grammar and expression counts.
- - Don’t use long words if you don’t know what they mean.
- - Handwriting is important = hard to read = hard to mark = hard to do well
- - Use dates (years) to show your thorough knowledge.
- - Historiography gets you higher marks.
- - Every word counts – Don’t waffle – you don’t have the time
- - Answer the bl**dy question / statement. Every year, students needlessly throw away valuable marks because they didn't respond to the question.
- Reuse words from the question, address the statement.
- - Factual – don’t have to be creative. Use formal language, to the point
Next term, we will visit Versailles.
This could possibly be one the longest emails I’ve sent to
students.
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