history essay questions

history essay questions

Exploring Key Historical Events Through Thought-Provoking Essay Questions

1. Introduction to Historical Inquiry and Essay Writing

Let us assume that many of our students are acquiring background knowledge of historical events, trends, and concepts in other high school level history classes, and let us focus on what we can do to help them improve their reading skills and essay writing in connection to and in preparation for the AP World History examination and course using the Socratic method. At every examination test development meeting for the history AP World History I have attended, the trainers have said to focus on historical context breathing in historical content. We do not know how the particular concretes will be used. Students might be asked to analyze one source from another or to compare and contrast them and explain how they might be used in a broader research project.

Many high school history teachers use their own judgments to determine how much of students’ time should be spent on meaningful exposure to historical or political content versus engagement in historical skills-building such as document analysis, research of historical controversies, and development of pro-historical analysis. These teachers’ decisions can be a challenge for a number of reasons, including finding reading materials that are interesting to students at a level that they can comprehend, and struggling with their sense of responsibility for imparting historical content with their colleagues’ frustrations about students’ inability to read and write analytically.

2. The Role of Essay Questions in Historical Analysis

One of the major goals that I have discovered through years of teaching introductory-level history classes is to prompt students to be aware of the importance of studying and understanding processes that have already played out in our past. With the hope in mind that this understanding will help them navigate similar issues in their own lives and enhance their ability to be informed voting citizens. In my capacity as a history instructor, I have found that preparing questions that are designed to inspire such discussions is one of the most important and optimistic functions that I serve. With this in mind, I have written the questions in this packet to encourage discussion of the contradictory and, at times, disturbing lessons from our history as a civilization within the context of more established expectations regarding content mastery within the framework of traditional history classes.

Essay questions are essential to a comprehensive history class because they require students to apply historical knowledge deeply rather than simply memorizing rote facts. While the latter is important, the ultimate goal of studying history is to deepen students’ understanding of the world and to help them see how both the past and historical interpretations influence and reflect the present. Accordingly, it is important to give students practice in reflecting deeply about the historical material they study, which can be achieved through in-class essay questions. From my experience, these questions should be thought-provoking, even troubling, in order to be fully successful. But the intellectual effort related to answering them (or even preparing for them) is well worth the students’ time.

3. Sample Essay Questions on Major Historical Events

Question: Discuss the conquests of Cyrus the Great. How were the conquered territories administered? Question: Describe the innovations of the reigns of Xerxes I and Darius I. Which of the innovations was most influential and why? Question: Discuss the Persian government as described in the texts. How did the government change? What were the weaknesses and strengths of the Persian state? Question: How did the administration of the Lydian Empire affect the Greek city-states with which it interacted? Question: Discuss the reign of Artaxerxes II. How did he come to power? What were his key policies? Question: Identify and analyze the various phases of the Peloponnesian Wars. In what ways were they beneficial to the Persians? Question: Discuss the reign of the first Seleucid ruler after the death of Alexander. What were the major sources of his power, and what were his aims? Question: What did legalism epitomize and what was its political philosophy? How did the various legalist writers propose to enforce their belief in strong, coercively willed government? Question: Compare the initial objectives of the three kingdoms that succeeded Alexander. What were the sources of their weakness?

4. Analyzing and Crafting Effective Essay Responses

The best way to work with essay questions is to answer them. This shows you how much you know or don’t know about a subject. Many students know what it is that they want to write but only put in the effort to fill in an answer once they see the question that they wish to answer. Do note that in many cases the “what happened” of a subject is not as important as “why” it happened. An instructor may acknowledge similarities between medieval Europe and modern-day Russia, but in many cases, is looking for reasons for changes over time or what factors encouraged or prevented change. In many cases, your explanation is more important than the topic to which the question refers.

Your analysis of an essay question should tell an instructor what general subjects or learning outcomes they should cover on an exam. As a writer, you can either use the question as the introduction to your essay or write a sentence or two that should help the reader. The rest of your essay should support your answer. This is if the question asks “Why did Republican policy in African American communities become more conservative by the late 1870s?” what follows should cover events and issues related to African Americans in the 1870s. After reading your essay, I should understand why you did not think that you should include factors unrelated to African Americans in the 1870s.

5. Conclusion: The Significance of Critical Thinking in Historical Studies

In using critical thinking skills, we can establish the well-rounded history student. It is difficult to know how much history one can really handle. To make it interesting is crucial. Creative teaching of history means using varied kinds of information, stimulating the mind, and bringing it to life. The quality of the answers should be measured not just by what the students know but also by what they think. Let us help make the study of history a lifelong adventure. Explore the studies of teaching technique. History’s legacy is truly significant. Understanding its process is crucial to the success of the concept.

One important goal of history instruction is to cultivate a sense of the continuities in historical processes as they govern the present. Children and young adults must be taught how to investigate established historical opinion. They must learn to form reasons for their own analysis of the past and to present their own reasoned opinions while respecting the views of others. The cultivation of a two-sided mentality will enable the student to function responsibly in the world of the future. There must be a balance so that the level of discourse that we employ to examine the past is commensurate with the future. Such an exploration of the past will not necessarily provide the answers but should help to clarify the problems and the dilemmas of what history is and can be.