Essay Requirements
I. Introduction:
A. Describe the historical event from twentieth-century Europe, in this case the event is the Treaty of Versailles.
1. Where and when it took place
2. A brief explanation of what happened
3. Who was involved
B. Create a thesis statement that includes how this key event impacted Great Britain and Germany
II. First Perspective on the Event: Brief history and analysis of the event from Germany’s perspective. Address these specific areas in this section.
A. Explain how the event was experienced or perceived by the people in this first country.
B. Describe the engines of change in or related to this country that caused the event to happen the way it did.
C. Summarize the country’s motives for the decisions made or actions taken related to this event.
D. Describe the positive or negative effects the event triggered in this first country.
III. Second Perspective on the Event: Brief history and analysis of the same event, but from the perspective of Great Britain that may have perceived events quite differently. Address these specific areas in this section.
A. Explain how the event was experienced or perceived by the people in this second country.
B. Describe the engines of change in or related to this country that caused the event to happen the way it did.
C. Summarize the country’s motives for the decisions made or actions taken related to this event.
D. Describe the positive or negative effects the event triggered in this first country.
IV. Comparison of Narratives: This section provides an analysis of how best to understand the event in history, based on the primary and secondary resources. Use primary sources in particular to analyze these two perspectives on the event in question. Analysis must include the following:
A. Compare how the objective facts are represented differently by the opposing perspectives.
B. Identify biases present in each of the perspectives.
C. Explain how cultural norms, values, assumptions and histories created the biases observed in each perspective.
D. Identify information about the event that is still needed in order to develop a clear, unbiased record of this event.
V. Conclusion: In this final section, restate your thesis statement to summarize the paper’s main findings and arguments. Additionally, this section must include the following:
A. Explain the historical significance of this event in defining Europe or the rest of the world.
B. Explain the impact this event and the opposing perspectives on it continue to inform modern events and attitudes