Essay writing, installment #1

Now hear this...it might help you with more than history tests...

How to write an effective essay, part I—making a case.

Lots of exams require you to make a case for something, argue for or against, or argue degrees…like degrees of responsibility in the case of one of the Cold War questions. What you do here is first, decide how you will argue—choose the side you want to take(if you’re given a choice!). Then assemble all the evidence you have for your argument, and craft two or three paragraphs, taking care to include at least ONE specific piece of evidence for each one. Step three is writing the appropriate intro and conclusion…in the intro, you tell people what side you are taking and what they can expect to read, and in the conclusion, you tell them what they just read, in case they missed it(or, in the words of my grad advisor, Barbara, “in case you were too stupid to catch what I just said”).


So here’s an sample/example…Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are considered two of the most influential American Presidents. Which of them had the greatest impact?

I want to argue Franklin Delano Roosevelt, on the following grounds:

1) He had longevity as President. He served four terms; Lincoln, only one term plus a few months.
2) He steered America through its worst political and economic crisis to date, then helped the country confront aggressive, meglomanaical totalitarianism abroad.
3) He is responsible for the emergence of a middle class in America, through the creation of such anti-poverty measures as social security during the depression, and the GI Bill afterwards.


So now I can write the essay. First, I introduce it….


Many American historians have ranked Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt among the greatest US Presidents. I believe Franklin Delano Roosevelt had the greatest overall impact, because he served nearly four terms rather than one, he had to face two major threats to the nation rather than one, and was able to do more to put the nation on a firm footing for the future in the years following World War II.


Then I write up the three points I have chosen, as follows. Note how I work in at least one piece of evidence, a name of a person or thing, a date, SOMETHING that proves the point to the reader. You have to have evidence to convince a jury in a courtroom; same thing applies in a good essay. The operative words are, SHOW ME or PROVE IT!!!

Longevity isn’t a virtue in and of itself, but it helped Franklin Roosevelt. He had nearly two decades in which to affect the course of the nation, l933-l945. During his nearly four terms, he made seven appointments to the US Supreme Court, making possible the votes for Brown Vs. Board of Education, which gave legal foundation to those challenging Jim Crow laws and therefore facilitated the de-segregation of the south in the l960s. And he had the time, opportunity and skill to lead the nation through two serious crises, the depression and World War II. Serving only four years and three months, Lincoln lacked the time to compile a record of achievements to rival FDR’s.

While it is true that Lincoln had a unique achievement in leading the country through a terrible, divisive civil war, Franklin Roosevelt saw his countrymen through two serious crises, both of which threatened the existence of the nation. The Great Depression nearly plunged the nation into chaos, and while FDR did not solve the problem, he mitigated it, kept the country going with palliative measures like the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress adminstration as well as reform projects like the SEC. He then confronted the challenge of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan l941-45, partnering with friends and former opponents to defeat them, very important since both aimed at world domination. It is hard to argue against a President that successfully negotiated not one, but TWO existential threats to the nation.

Finally, Franklin Roosevelt was able to do more to prepare his country to meet the challenges of the future. President Lincoln had sketched the outlines of a generous program of Reconstruction, but was unable to implement it. President Roosevelt compiled an enviable record of achievement, including creating Social Security, the “most successful antipoverty program in US history,” and the G.I. bill, which sent an entire generation of veterans to college, fueling its future prosperity and creating one of the highest standards of living in world history.

Now for the conclusion, where I say again what I just said:

It is hard to compare Presidents across the centuries, but I believe Franklin Roosevelt had the greatest long-term impact on the United States. He had four terms rather than one, allowing him to get more accomplished, two serious crises to negotiate rather than one, and had more time and opportunity to prepare the country for the future.


And voila! You have a pretty successful essay. You don’t have to be Tolstoy, or any other kind of beautiful, skilled wordsmith to do this: what is required is some clear thinking, disciplined presentation and EVIDENCE. You can achieve this if you practice following this formula.