+1 862 207 3288 SECTION (A): Essay (15% 750-1000 words).
Choose one idea which we have studied in the course, from the list provided. Explain the idea, and provide
your own critique of this idea, explaining whether you think it has been useful. You must choose an idea
listed.
Is it ‘useful’: You may consider some (but not all) of the following in your essay
Did it contribute something new and important, or not?
How, where & when was the idea developed? Was is suitable for the context? Has it been useful since?
Where & how has it been used? Is it applicable for different places/countries and cultures? Has it been
applied more broadly or differently?
What results has it had – eg, other ideas, views of humanity, systems of organisation of society or
approaches to the search for truth?
Has it been productive of positive or negative results?
Is it incomplete or limited but still useful in some way?
Is the idea ‘true’ – ie supported by the evidence, research?
Is it rational? Can it be supported by reasoning?
Has this idea been successfully challenged?
Note that you do NOT need to talk about how the idea is used now (in the contemporary world) although
you may choose to do so in some part of your essay.
Note: You must not merely duplicate your first or second essay. If you wish to use any material from your
previous essays, you may only do so in 1 paragraph and you must combine this with other substantial
points. You may not re-use an essay substantially the same as one which you have submitted or presented or
will submit or present for any other subject.
References are not required in exams but if you use material from revision notes, or work published in books
or the internet, you must put this into your own words.
SECTION (B) (10% x 2 = 20%)
You will be given six primary source extracts, one from each of the periods listed below. You will be asked
to choose two of the extracts. For each one separately, you will be asked to analyse what ideas it contains
and to briefly explain how these ideas are typical of the period of history in which it was written. You
will need to support your discussion with brief quotations from the extract.
The periods will be defined as follows:
1) Classical Greece c.600-330 BC
2) The Roman Period c. 500 BC- c. AD 500
3) The Medieval Period c. AD 500-1400
4) The Renaissance c. AD 1400-1600
5) The 17
th
to 18
th
Centuries (1600-1799)
6) 19th Century to the present (1800-present)
