Essay Writing Strategies

I will go over these in more detail on Monday but I thought I would post this info here before then:

ESSAY WRITING STRATEGIES

*Remember SPERM
Social – people (women, men, minorities, children, etc)
Political – government (policies, treaties, acts, politicians, etc)
Economical – jobs, employment, trade, commerce, cost of war, etc
Regional – French Cdn vs English Cdn; western alienation, core vs periphery, etc
Military – battles, wars, strategies (ex. Schlieffen Plan)

Here are some tips on how to answer essay questions.

If you see the word COMPARE this means:
- you must describe how the elements, qualities, issues, and/or people are similar to something else
- you will most likely see a question that asks you to “compare and contrast” which means you must look at the similarities and the differences of the topic
ex. – Compare the similarities between Canada’s participation in World War I versus their participation in World War II from an economic, social, and political perspective.

If you see the word CONTRAST this means:
- you must describe how the elements, qualities, issues, and/or people are different to something else
- you will most likely see a question that asks you to “compare and contrast” which means you must look at the similarities and the differences of the topic
ex. – Compare and contrast Canada’s participation in World War I and in World War II from an economic, social, and political perspective.

If you see the word DESCRIBE this means:
- you must give a detailed or graphic account of an object, event, or concept
ex. – Describe realistic strategies that Canadians could take to reduce their negative impact on land, water, and the atmosphere.

If you see the word DISCUSS this means:
- you must present various points of view in a debate, argument, topic, or concept
- you should consider both sides of the question
ex: - Discuss how Canada changed as a result of WW1 (various points of view – SPERM!)

If you see the word EVALUATE this means:
- you must use criteria/standards to make judgements about the strengths and weaknesses of a position on a particular issue (must have 2 sides)
ex: - “Canada has created a welfare state that benefits every man, woman and child from cradle to grave.” Evaluate this statement using examples from the period of 1914 to the year 2000. (note – you would evaluate how the welfare state has benefitted AND not benefitted Cdns)

If you see the word EXPLAIN this means:
- you must give an account of a topic, process, or concept while providing evidence and reasons
ex: - Explain the political, social, and economic challenges in finding solutions to environmental threats that affect Canadians.

If you see the words TO WHAT EXTENT this means:
- you must write arguments in favour of a position or point of view and respond to or take into account the arguments opposed to that position or point of view (must have 2 sides)
ex: - To what extent did WW1 and WW2 have a negative impact on the Canadian Home Front? (must discuss both positives AND negatives of argument even though it is NOT written in the question!)

Watch the World Grow!

Check out this site:
http://breathingearth.net/
It shows how quickly the world's population is growing (and dying).