Module 3 Essay Assignment
MODULE 3 ESSAY ASSIGNMENT Due 11:59 pm on Thursday, April 29
You’re almost done! You’ve read the last four chapters included in the first half of the world history survey. Now it’s time to, you guessed it, prove that you understand the “big picture” of the time period covered in Module 3 by writing an essay. Please see Module Essays for specific requirements for the essay (length, citations, etc.). You’ll also want to review Tips for Writing an Effective Essay and How Your Essay Will Be Graded to make sure that you understand the expectations of the assignment. These tips and requirements apply to all three module essays in this course.
ESSAY 3 INSTRUCTIONS
Read the article The World in 1492 by Victoria Schofield.
At the end of the article, Schofield makes this statement about the world in 1492: “There is no doubt that Columbus’ incidental landing on the islands of America in 1492 brought tremendous changes for the entire world. But it was clearly not a world waiting to be ‘discovered.'” For this essay, you are going to assess this world before Columbus. Your essay should address this question:
If you were living on Earth at the start of 1492 (before Columbus sailed the ocean blue) and were asked what part
of the world would be the most powerful in 500 years, which would you choose? You can choose a single
country/empire or a larger region.
To answer this question, you must cite specific information from the textbook and “The World in 1492” There is no right or wrong answer to this question. The key is to make a clear argument and support your argument with evidence from the textbook and article. Remember that the module essay is your chance to prove how much you know, so you do not just discuss the part of the world that you think was the most powerful in 1492. You must also discuss major parts of the world that you did not choose.
Though the question involves a single year, 1492, you’ll want to discuss the broader time period covered in Module 3.
NOTE: Even though you are being asked to imagine you are living in 1492, do not use the first person. Instead, use the third person to make your argument: “Country X was the country that in 1492 showed the most potential to dominate the world.”