Reflections on the Five-Point Assignment
The 5 points assignment turned out, to my
surprise, to be a difficult one. The
problem here is that it involves the concept of causality, cause and consequence,
and this is not an easy concept. I
should have given you a model to work from to begin with. I apologize for not having thought of this. You have one now (c in the Week 3
handout), but let me try to go once more through this exercise, to help us
clarify what's involved here (this is important for next week's test, for the
logic is the same):
The Assignment was:
I. Read: World War I (pp. 226-50) OR The World at Arms (pp. 6-39). Write: For me, the five
most significant points about this reading were . . . (Each point should
consist of 2-6 sentences, explaining to someone who knows nothing about WWI the
point you are referring to and its significance to you).
Let's look at one example. Here is one actual revision I've
received.
The Versailles Treaties were
significant because it (THEY) was (WERE) slap in the face to Germany. Germany
was defeated and now forced to sign less than honorable agreements. They were
the blueprints to (OF) World War II.
Now, to begin with, this is pretty good, for it
does give a single fact, and then does explain why this fact is important. So, grade-wise, it's about a C+. But it still has problems. How could this be brought to the A
level?
First, it is far too short. Remember, you are not writing for me, but
for someone who knows nothing about the subject. That is one of the key rules in college writing, for only this
allows your professor to decide if you know what you are talking about. Next, the connection between the event and
its significance has to be developed, spelled out clearly. Let me try to put these two deficiencies
together and give you an example of how the above could be transformed into an
A:
DESCRIPTION OF POINT: The way the war was
concluded was highly significant. With
Germany running out of steam and manpower, with the daily arrival of thousands
of fresh troops from America, with despair and malnutrition in the homefront
rising, and with the prospects of Russian-style social transformation appearing
on the horizon, Germany felt compelled to sue for peace. At the peace conference, the German
delegates were treated as untouchables, not consulted, placed behind barbed
wire, and given a take-it-or-leave-it peace terms, while their population was
still being starved by the naval blockade.
Harsh peace terms were imposed by the allies, including massive
reparations and French occupation of the Rhine region. The Germans, believing that the 14 points
would serve as the basis for peace, that they were owed something after 4 years
of war in which they proved themselves the military superiors of all European
combatants (but not of the Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and
Americans) felt cheated.
So far so good.
We made it clear to our readers that we know and understand the facts
whose significance we are trying to explain.
We next must explain why we single out this event as one of the 5 most
important events of the war (indeed, this was perhaps the single MOST
significant event).
SIGNIFICANCE OF POINT: I believe this treaty was highly significant because it made
Germany feel, with some justification, that it was stabbed in the back, and
because it lacked decisiveness and foresight.
Germany was neither dismantled, nor treated fairly. Instead, the Allies adopted an idiotic
middle ground. As many observers AT THE
TIME noted (e.g., the economist Keynes), the allies in their foolishness were
writing the script for WWII. Their only
rational choices were making sure that Germany never recovers, or treating the
Germans fairly, to avoid bitterness and a second round. They chose neither, and started the count
for chaos in Germany, the rise of Adolph Hitler, and all the tragedies that
followed.
That is more or less what I had in mind. Describing fully just one point, so
that the reader knows what you are talking about. Then making it clear that you move to the significance part of
your answer by saying something like:
"This point was significant because . . ." That way, I can readily follow the
progression of your argument. Finally,
showing the impact of that point on the future, on subsequent events, on how
that single point shaped the future course of WWI, or of history, or of our
lives. Now, if all this is unclear,
we'll carry out a critical thinking exercise next class, to further clarify.
Finally, let me give you an example from another
field:
Oldest human-like fossil uncovered in
South Africa
By Frank Gaglioti
30 December 1998
"The discovery of the oldest
complete fossilised hominid or human-like skeleton in South Africa announced on
December 9 will greatly enhance scientific knowledge of evolutionary history by
enabling an unprecedented examination of the bone structure of a primitive
human."
Here is the fact of the
discovery. Later, the articles fleshes
out this fact: "Dr Ron Clarke of Witwatersrand University of South Africa
made the discovery of the 1.2-metre adult Australopithecus (southern ape) in
the Sterkfontein caves near Johannesburg. Australopithecus is the immediate
ancestor of the genus Homo, the biological classification that includes modern
man or Homo sapiens. The skeleton has been dated at between 3.22 and 3.58
million years old by the Geomagnetism Laboratory at the University of
Liverpool. Previously the oldest complete hominid skeleton was a 1.5
million-year-old Homo erectus discovered in Kenya."
Significance: "It will greatly enhance . . ."
(that is, its impact on future events).
Later, the article gives another related point: "The analysis of "Little
Foot" has already yielded some valuable insights into the hominid's
ability to walk upright."
I'm spending so much time on this because it a
highly significant (pun intended) part of thinking well. Some events in history, science, are very
important, and we're often called upon to describe and explain them, and then
to state WHY they are important. That
is the exercise I had in mind. It is
one of the central threads that define good thinking, and it can be acquired.
So, what we should have done is this: I. Choose one fact. II. Describe and Explain it. III. Explain its future impact.
That is the basis for grading your assignment.