HIS 101 GCCCD The 1500s Role of Competition & Cooperation Between Nations Essay

I’m working on a History project and need support to help me study.

History 101: Final Exam Study Guide

Your final will be an essay exam which covers material from the entire semester. The essay is worth 50 points. These questions are designed intentionally to be broad. I want you to interpret the material you’ve studied and come up with a thesis.

For the exam you will chose one of the following prompts for your essay:

1. Describe the role of competition and cooperation between nations since the 1500s.
2. Chose one of the following nations/regions: Africa, India, China, Japan, or the Middle East. Describe what that nation or culture was like in 1500 and how much it has changed due to cross cultural exchange since that time.
3. Discuss the roles of racism and nationalism in shaping Modern World History since 1500.
4. Discuss the role of technology in shaping Modern World History since 1500.

I do not have a length requirement, but I do have two other requirements for a passing essay. First, you must have a thesis which you prove. Second, your essay must be comprehensive, covering the entire period from 1500-2016. You do not have to write about everything that we have covered in class. You simply must be sure not to leave out any major time period. The best approach is to break the semester into three portions:

1. Voyages of Exploration to the eve of the American Rev: 1500-1750
2. American Rev to the eve of WWI—1750-1914
3. WWI to the present—1914-2016.

Then use the best three or four examples from each time period to prove your thesis.

I used to give page requirements and students would stop when they got to that page, sometimes in mid-sentence. Focus on accomplishing the goals of proving a thesis and covering the semester comprehensively. Those are the requirements for a C. To get higher than a C avoid what I call the grocery list approach in your essay. Do not just list three or four examples and leave it at that. To get an A or B, you need to put your examples in historical context and add some analysis to show how your examples prove your thesis. For example, if you want to use the French Revolution as an example, you could put it in the context of the Enlightenment, and then you should explicitly tie it to your thesis to show how it contributes to your argument or thesis.

Make sure your thesis is obvious, specific, and valid. I want a specific thesis rather than a topic sentence. The following is an example of a topic sentence: In this essay I will discuss the role racism and nationalism had in shaping modern world history. That is not specific. A thesis would have a specific argument about the topic of racism and nationalism. Feel free to email me a thesis and I can give you feed back.