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How far were the years 1865–1969 marked by a steady advance in the living standards of, and opportunities for, black citizens of the USA?
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How Would I Go About Answering This Question? Edexcel - Unit 5 - Civil war to Civil Rights 1865-1969
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#2
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Posted 14 June 2009 - 02:10 PM
Hello,
I was wondering if I could get some help on answering a question like this.
How far were the years 1865–1969 marked by a steady advance in the living standards of, and opportunities for, black citizens of the USA?
It doesn't strike me as a thesis - antithesis question, and I would go at it from a chronological stance, rather than the thematic stance which I prefer.
Also, sorry if this is posted twice; my computer crashed the first time
Thanks
I was wondering if I could get some help on answering a question like this.
How far were the years 1865–1969 marked by a steady advance in the living standards of, and opportunities for, black citizens of the USA?
It doesn't strike me as a thesis - antithesis question, and I would go at it from a chronological stance, rather than the thematic stance which I prefer.
Also, sorry if this is posted twice; my computer crashed the first time
Thanks
This post has been edited by Sorry...Alright...Well...: 14 June 2009 - 02:23 PM
#3
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Posted 14 June 2009 - 02:19 PM
A number of possible ways to answer this wonderful overview essay.
First could be a narrative approach - simply tell the story of black civil rights through the years, explaining/assessing at each point whether, why and how far it was an advance/setback. Finish with a conclusion which gathers the evidnece together and analyses it into a judgement.
Second could be a start-point/finish-point essay - start by looking at the position of blacks in 1865, finish my assessing their situation in 1969, and a conclusion measures the difference. (Though this wouldn't be particularly good for picking up the 'steady advance' issue - see below.)
Third possibility wou be the Analytical/Hegelian 'debate' essay - first section (thesis) looks at all the 'advances', a second section (antithesis) looks at all the 'setbacks', and a conclusion/solution section (synthesis) comes up with the idea which resolves the apparent dichotomy.
Meanwhile, WATCH OUT - this essay is a trick.
Note that it doesn't merely ask you how far the situation of blacks improved 1865-1969.
It asks whether there was 'a steady advance'.
This opens the door to an essay, e.g., which argues that there was advance, but that progress was not 'steady', but was marked by significant setbacks.
First could be a narrative approach - simply tell the story of black civil rights through the years, explaining/assessing at each point whether, why and how far it was an advance/setback. Finish with a conclusion which gathers the evidnece together and analyses it into a judgement.
Second could be a start-point/finish-point essay - start by looking at the position of blacks in 1865, finish my assessing their situation in 1969, and a conclusion measures the difference. (Though this wouldn't be particularly good for picking up the 'steady advance' issue - see below.)
Third possibility wou be the Analytical/Hegelian 'debate' essay - first section (thesis) looks at all the 'advances', a second section (antithesis) looks at all the 'setbacks', and a conclusion/solution section (synthesis) comes up with the idea which resolves the apparent dichotomy.
Meanwhile, WATCH OUT - this essay is a trick.
Note that it doesn't merely ask you how far the situation of blacks improved 1865-1969.
It asks whether there was 'a steady advance'.
This opens the door to an essay, e.g., which argues that there was advance, but that progress was not 'steady', but was marked by significant setbacks.
#4
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Posted 14 June 2009 - 02:26 PM
MrJohnDClare, on Jun 14 2009, 03:19 PM, said:
A number of possible ways to answer this wonderful overview essay.
First could be a narrative approach - simply tell the story of black civil rights through the years, explaining/assessing at each point whether, why and how far it was an advance/setback. Finish with a conclusion which gathers the evidnece together and analyses it into a judgement.
Second could be a start-point/finish-point essay - start by looking at the position of blacks in 1865, finish my assessing their situation in 1969, and a conclusion measures the difference. (Though this wouldn't be particularly good for picking up the 'steady advance' issue - see below.)
Third possibility wou be the Analytical/Hegelian 'debate' essay - first section (thesis) looks at all the 'advances', a second section (antithesis) looks at all the 'setbacks', and a conclusion/solution section (synthesis) comes up with the idea which resolves the apparent dichotomy.
Meanwhile, WATCH OUT - this essay is a trick.
Note that it doesn't merely ask you how far the situation of blacks improved 1865-1969.
It asks whether there was 'a steady advance'.
This opens the door to an essay, e.g., which argues that there was advance, but that progress was not 'steady', but was marked by significant setbacks.
First could be a narrative approach - simply tell the story of black civil rights through the years, explaining/assessing at each point whether, why and how far it was an advance/setback. Finish with a conclusion which gathers the evidnece together and analyses it into a judgement.
Second could be a start-point/finish-point essay - start by looking at the position of blacks in 1865, finish my assessing their situation in 1969, and a conclusion measures the difference. (Though this wouldn't be particularly good for picking up the 'steady advance' issue - see below.)
Third possibility wou be the Analytical/Hegelian 'debate' essay - first section (thesis) looks at all the 'advances', a second section (antithesis) looks at all the 'setbacks', and a conclusion/solution section (synthesis) comes up with the idea which resolves the apparent dichotomy.
Meanwhile, WATCH OUT - this essay is a trick.
Note that it doesn't merely ask you how far the situation of blacks improved 1865-1969.
It asks whether there was 'a steady advance'.
This opens the door to an essay, e.g., which argues that there was advance, but that progress was not 'steady', but was marked by significant setbacks.
Ahh, thank you very much. I didn't think of doing it in the (third) way that you described. I think, for me, this would be the easier one as I usually try to structure my answers this way.
Thanks again!
#5
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Posted 14 June 2009 - 02:28 PM
Sorry...Alright...Well..., on Jun 14 2009, 03:10 PM, said:
I was wondering if I could get some help on answering a question like this.
How far were the years 1865–1969 marked by a steady advance in the living standards of, and opportunities for, black citizens of the USA?
It doesn't strike me as a thesis - antithesis question, and I would go at it from a chronological stance, rather than the thematic stance which I prefer.
How far were the years 1865–1969 marked by a steady advance in the living standards of, and opportunities for, black citizens of the USA?
It doesn't strike me as a thesis - antithesis question, and I would go at it from a chronological stance, rather than the thematic stance which I prefer.
I agree with you that both the before-after and the hegelian model will struggle to address the 'steady advance' issue. What you would have to do would be to address the 'how much advance' issue in the first two sections, but then deal with the 'steady-or-not' issue in the conclusion, so that your essay deals with the question AS TO DIFFERENT QUESTIONS:
1. Was the advance and how much was there?
2. Was it steady or not?
The chronological approach is much better for the 'steady-or-not' issue, but it means that you have to address both aspectof the question AT THE SAME TIME as you move through the narrative, which threatens to get cimbersome, especially as you can't really comment on the 'how-much-advance' issue until your chronological narrative reaches 1969.
#6
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Posted 15 June 2009 - 09:58 PM
MrJohnDClare, on Jun 14 2009, 03:28 PM, said:
Sorry...Alright...Well..., on Jun 14 2009, 03:10 PM, said:
I was wondering if I could get some help on answering a question like this.
How far were the years 1865–1969 marked by a steady advance in the living standards of, and opportunities for, black citizens of the USA?
It doesn't strike me as a thesis - antithesis question, and I would go at it from a chronological stance, rather than the thematic stance which I prefer.
How far were the years 1865–1969 marked by a steady advance in the living standards of, and opportunities for, black citizens of the USA?
It doesn't strike me as a thesis - antithesis question, and I would go at it from a chronological stance, rather than the thematic stance which I prefer.
I agree with you that both the before-after and the hegelian model will struggle to address the 'steady advance' issue. What you would have to do would be to address the 'how much advance' issue in the first two sections, but then deal with the 'steady-or-not' issue in the conclusion, so that your essay deals with the question AS TO DIFFERENT QUESTIONS:
1. Was the advance and how much was there?
2. Was it steady or not?
The chronological approach is much better for the 'steady-or-not' issue, but it means that you have to address both aspectof the question AT THE SAME TIME as you move through the narrative, which threatens to get cimbersome, especially as you can't really comment on the 'how-much-advance' issue until your chronological narrative reaches 1969.
Luckily I got a nice straightforward question this afternoon. I'd just like to thank everyone at this forum for helping me through my AS and A2 modules, especially Mr John D Clare! Absolute legend!
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