Sign In
Not register? Register Now!
Essay Available:
Pages:
5 pages/β‰ˆ1375 words
Sources:
No Sources
Style:
MLA
Subject:
History
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 18
Topic:

The Fundamental Reasons That Led To The Fall Of Rome

Essay Instructions:

 

Standards: Typed 12 point font, 1300 word minimum, parenthetic references only.

Sources: Textbook, Blackboard mini-lectures, Workbook: Antonio Santosuosso, Storming the Heavens; Peter Heather, The Huns and the End of the Roman Empire.

 

Due October 25th in class

 

In your first historical essay, you were asked to think about the historical context of the Hellenist Age and to analyze two primary sources.  For your second paper, we are going to focus on analyzing historical arguments made by contemporary historians. People who train in all disciplines analyze texts. They have to learn to summarize and critique published articles, evaluate their arguments, and relate their value to others. In order to do these things, they have to read complex texts carefully and understand them clearly.

Beginning after page 62 of your workbook, you will find two historian’s theory on the fall of the Roman Empire.

The first step in evaluating historical arguments is to understand the argument clearly. All thinking and writing has a purpose. Historical thinking and writing is always directed at solving some problem. Sometimes authors discover that no one has ever addressed an issue before. More often historians write to challenge or to refine earlier interpretations that they judge to be incomplete or simplistic. 

Reading it. (Reading and Taking Notes)

1. Survey first. Begin by reading the first and last pages of the article without taking notes to get an idea of where the author is going. If there are subheadings within the article, turn them into questions as a way of predicting what the articles main points might include.

2. Find the thesis statements. As begin reading the article, pay close attention to the first few paragraphs, especially if there is an introductory section. These first paragraphs are where the author articulates the thesis for the article and tells the reader what article is about and what problem he/she is addressing.  

3. Track the author’s argument and evidence. Argument is the method whereby evidence is logically arranged and expressed in support of some proposition or conclusion.  As you read the entire article, keep track of the points that the writer is making and the kind of evidence that the writer uses in support of those claims.  You may want to use a concept map to help you keep track of how the author’s argument is structured.

4. Look it up. Unlike the primary source study, where I prohibited you all from looking anything up, in this effort you should look up anything you don’t understand, if you think knowing it will help you understand the author’s point. 

4.  Log your own thoughts as you go. As you read and keep track of the writer’s points, but don’t forget that you are a writer too. By this time, you know something about this topic as well. Keep a running track of your own thoughts as you go. Remember do not judge or make any decisions before you are done, but you should have observations, ideas, and questions. Write them in the margins or somewhere else.  Do not wait until the end to start trying to put together your thoughts.

5. Keep a question log. One of the most important skills for critical thinking in any field is to know what to ask. No writer explains everything completely. Sometimes even professional historians and writers fail to adequately support their claims.  As you read, keep track of any questions that arise.  Whenever you are unsure that someone’s statements are backed by sound evidence, try saying “Before I am convinced, I would have to know _____________.”   Follow up questions are important tools when historians exchange theories as well. What follow up questions would you have for the writer of the article you didn’t choose?

Repeat this process as often as it takes for you to have a clear understanding of the articles. If you need to re-read, that doesn’t mean something’s wrong. We all have to do it.  

Writing it. (Writing your Essay)

1. Your essay should begin with an introduction in which you introduce the reader to your topic. Your introduction should also tell the reader what the main points of your essay are. Keep in mind that while your paper should begin with an introduction, you should not. As I advised earlier, write your introduction last.  You cannot introduce an essay until you know exactly what it’s going to say.

2. Analyzes each article independently. Without needless repetition, quoting or overreliance on the author’s wording, lay out the author’s argument based on the notes you took. Included any evidence the author references in support of his/her points. For example:

Cameron argued that Roman trade routes were still open even in the 5th century, pointing to the large number of Roman storage pots on the island….

Hammond’s argument that Alexander the Great’s reputation is underserved is based on Arrian’s account of Alexanders military career.

In the above examples, the points are linked to the evidence that supports them.

You need to force yourself to be judicious here. Do not give in to fear and feel like you need to reproduce the whole article. The skill is to reproduce the substance of the article

3. After you have analyzed each article, select the one that is most convincing to you based on the information you already have. Your job here is not to discredit the other writer, most of us are not equipped to evaluate experts anyway.  But you can and should be able to explain why you found one article more convincing based on your personal knowledge base. Explain why.

4. Finally, turn your attention to the article you found less convincing. Select two of the follow up questions that you came up with in your note taking. Share them with the reader and explain why you think that information would be useful in helping you understand the author’s point. That information should not be factual information that you could find out yourself.

5. Pull together your analysis with a concluding paragraph. Try to do more with the conclusion that simply repeat yourself.  For example, conclusions are a good place to suggest follow-up questions that would interest you. 

Essay Sample Content Preview:
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Title
Instructor
Date
In the last years of 2 B.C., the ancient world witnessed the Roman armies maintaining a subtle superiority within and outside boarders of Rome. However, a form of social turmoil existed within the roman territories, which was contributed by the rising numbers of evicted farmers, a flimsy workforce within the army, and an unavoidable conflict that prevailed between Rome and her allies who struggled to establish the roman dominion. In his book, “Storming the Heavens: Soldiers, emperors, and civilians in the roman empire”, Antonio Santosuosso explores Rome’s dramatic history from its dominion era to its fall. Other authors such as Peter Heather have looked into the fall of the Roman Empire, which had once forged the entire Europe as far as the rivers of Danube and Rhine, including North Africa and the Near East for a lengthy period in his article, “The Huns and the End of the Roman Empire in Western Europe.” What was once known that the fall was caused by the barbarians towards the close of the 5th century has now been demystified by most historians. Historians once argued that Rome fell due to the decadence that existed among Christianity, while others blamed the taxations and lead poisoning for its fall. Early observers in 375 would not have imagined such a miss to happen to the mighty Rome, but 100 years later, a crisis hit. Acknowledging the role of the Huns, the behaviors of armies and emperors following the 4th century B.C. can help decipher the fundamental reasons that led to the fall of Rome.
According to Heather, the crisis began during the spring of 376, with the empire facing a serious issue with modern resonance. There were tens and thousands of Goths seeking asylum who gathered mainly on the northern region of Danube asking to be let in. at first, Rome thought that the refugees would form a robust army to further strengthen its workforce. The Goths were finally let in, but what followed was a serious lack of food and land. The refugees resolved into a rampage through the Balkams, leading to the Battle of Hadrianopole two years after. In this battle, Rome suffered its worst defeat. As historians explain, the admission of the Goths was not a major reason that led to the fall of the empire. The Huns visited Rome and brought disaster that would see Rome to her knees. They came and swept in from the steppes of Russia, scattering others westward beginning from the Goths to the Alans, to the Franks, the Vandas, the Alemanni and Suebi. The Germanic tribes could manage to assemble about 120,000 armies to fight with over half a million well-trained imperial soldiers. Another problem was that these armies were largely divided and a defeat was eminent. While the Huns brought menace to Rome, they left afterwards, but their disappearance welcomed another yet serious trouble: the former pastoral nomads. These top predators who were known as the sharks arrived in Hungary, but did not settle as traditionally others could do. These tribes thrived by conquest as they gathered in more tribes until their commander, Attila, surrendered into the Balkans in the south then west afterwards. As he got to about two thirds of his journey, he was stoppe...
Updated on
Get the Whole Paper!
Not exactly what you need?
Do you need a custom essay? Order right now:
Order

πŸ‘€ Other Visitors are Viewing These MLA Essay Samples:

HIRE A WRITER FROM $11.95 / PAGE
ORDER WITH 15% DISCOUNT!
Order Now