Global II Regents Enduring Issues Essay Help

(Global Regents Review Sheet)

Every Enduring Issues Essay Topic Ever Given

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Continuity and Change Examples

Compare and Contrast Examples

Causes and Effects Examples 

Tips for Writing a Solid Enduring Issues Essay

 

When composing your essay, here are a few tips on structure.

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 how people were affected and why the issue is of great importance. 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!  

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Every Enduring Issues Essay Topic Ever Given