Social Studies Essay Format. Preparation for the Unified State Exam in social studies and history. Electronic courses and books

Among all the 2019 Unified State Exam subjects, the social studies exam will traditionally be popular, which means that today 11th graders should ask what the structure of the essay should be, as well as what cliches can be used when writing a mini-essay.

We propose to analyze in more detail the features of task No. 29 of KIMs in social studies, and also find out what advice experienced teachers and USE tutors give to graduates.

What will change in the Unified State Examination in social studies in 2019

Due to the changes that affect tasks 25, 28 and 29, the total primary score of the 2019 Unified State Exam in society will increase to 65 points (in 2018 this parameter was 64 points).

FIPI officially announced that the following changes are planned:

More details about the changes that will come into force in 2018-2019 academic year read in the document.

For an essay, the specifications allow 45 minutes, but tutors recommend leaving at least 60-90 minutes for a mini-essay out of the total exam time, which in 2019 is 235 minutes (almost 4 hours).

Criteria for assessing a mini-essay/essay (task 29) at the Unified State Exam in Social Studies in 2019

(compiled based on Demo version KIM Unified State Exam 2019 in social studies)

Essay structure

3. The meaning of the statement.

4. Own point of view.

5. Argumentation at the theoretical level.

6. At least two examples from social practice, history and/or literature confirming the correctness of the opinions expressed.

1. Choice of statement

Choosing statements for an essay, you must be sure that

You know the basic concepts of the basic science to which it relates;

Clearly understand the meaning of the statement;

Can you express own opinion(fully or partially agree with the statement or refute it);

You know the social science terms necessary to competently substantiate a personal position at a theoretical level (the terms and concepts used must clearly correspond to the topic of the essay and not go beyond it);

You will be able to give examples from social practice, history, literature, as well as personal life experience to confirm your own opinion.

2. Definition of the problem of the statement
For a clearer formulation of the problem, we offer a list of possible formulations of problems that occur most often.

After formulating the problem, you must indicate relevance of the problem in modern conditions. To do this, you can use cliche phrases:
This problem is relevant in the conditions…

...globalization of social relations;

…formation of a unified information, educational, economic space;

...exacerbation global problems modernity;

...special controversial scientific discoveries and inventions;

…development of international integration;

...modern market economy;

…development and overcoming the global economic crisis;

...strict differentiation of society;

...open social structure modern society;

…formation of the rule of law;

...overcoming the spiritual and moral crisis;

…dialogue of cultures;

…the need to preserve one’s own identity and traditional spiritual values.

To the problem it is necessary come back periodically throughout the essay writing process. This is necessary in order to correctly reveal its content, and also not to accidentally go beyond the scope of the problem and not get carried away by reasoning that is not related to the meaning of this statement (this is one of the most common mistakes in many exam essays).

3. Formulation of the main idea of ​​the statement
Next, you need to reveal the meaning of the statement, but you should not repeat the statement verbatim. In this case, you can use the following cliches:

“The meaning of this statement is that...”

4. Determining your position on the statement
Here you can agree with the author completely, Can partially, refuting a certain part of the statement, or argue with the author, expressing the opposite opinion. In this case, you can use cliche phrases:

“Have you ever thought about the fact that...?”

5-6. Argumentation of your own opinion
Next, you should justify your own opinion on this issue. To do this, you need to select arguments (evidence), that is, remember the basic terms and theoretical positions.
Argumentation must be carried out at two levels:
1. Theoretical level- its basis is social science knowledge (concepts, terms, contradictions, directions of scientific thought, relationships, as well as the opinions of scientists and thinkers).
2. Empirical level - There are two options here:
a) using examples from history, literature and events in society;
b) appeal to personal experience.

When selecting facts, examples from public life and personal social experience, mentally answer the following questions:
1. Do they confirm my opinion?
2. Could they be interpreted differently?
3. Do they contradict the thesis I expressed?
4. Are they persuasive?
The proposed form will make it possible to strictly control the adequacy of the arguments presented and will prevent “going off topic”.

7. Conclusion
Finally, you need to formulate a conclusion. The conclusion should not coincide verbatim with the judgment given for justification: it brings together in one or two sentences, the main ideas of the arguments and summarizes the reasoning, confirming the correctness or incorrectness of the judgment that was the topic of the essay.
To formulate a problematic conclusion, cliche phrases can be used:
“Thus, we can conclude...”
"Letting us down common feature, I would like to note that..."

Main mistakes and shortcomings in graduates’ works

Analysis of graduates’ work allows us to identify some typical mistakes that are made in various stages essay writing.

When formulating the problem and the meaning of the author’s statement:

1) On the one hand, misunderstanding and inability to isolate the problem of the statement is associated with a lack of knowledge of the basic science to which the quotation relates, and on the other hand, with an attempt to fit known issues, discussed in lessons, in previously written, read, that is, finished essays.

2) The inability to formulate a problem is often associated with a lack of developed vocabulary and terminology in basic social sciences.

3) The inability to formulate the meaning of the author’s statement is associated with a misunderstanding or incorrect understanding of its content, and a lack of necessary social science knowledge.

4) Substitution of the problem author's position- due to the fact that the student does not see the difference between them. The problem is the topic of the author's discussion. It is always broad, provides for several opinions, positions, often absolutely opposite friends to a friend. The essence or meaning of the author's statement is his personal answer to the question posed, one of several existing in science or social thought.

When expressing and arguing your own position:

1. The lack of arguments is due to the student’s ignorance or ignorance of the requirements for an essay in social studies and its structure.

2. The graduate’s argument only repeats the statement.

3. Errors in operations with concepts: unjustified expansion or narrowing of the meaning of the concept in question, substitution of concepts.

4. Errors in working with information caused by the inability to analyze social experience. Often, the examples given by graduates are weakly related to the position under consideration (the connection is either not traceable or is superficial and does not reflect essential points).

5. Uncritical perception of social information from media reports and the Internet. As a result, unverified facts, unfounded or provocative statements, and biased assessments are often used by graduates as evidence in essays.

6. The predominance of a one-sided view of social phenomena, the inability to identify and build cause-and-effect relationships.

Topics for 2019

No one knows exactly what statements will be offered to 11th graders in 2018-2019. There is a certain bank of problems that are relevant to the main topics of social science, which can be guided by in preparation for the Unified State Exam.

Clichés for a mini-essay

Is it worth looking for ready-made essays for the Unified State Exam in social studies?

In fact, the idea of ​​finding and learning ready-made essay options comes to many graduates at the stage of preparing for exams. But you should be especially careful here, because there is a lot of irrelevant information on the Internet. Even the examples posted on the FIPI website are works from 2013, and since then there have been many changes in the evaluation criteria for this task. Moreover, you should not expect to get a high score for a standard version of an essay, because experts who have been working on the Unified State Exam for many years now also know these texts very well.

Conclusion - you need to look not for a ready-made text, but for clichés and clever thoughts that can be “strung” onto the above structure, getting your own unique essay for the Unified State Exam 2019. We offer you a selection of such blanks:

Secrets of a good mini-essay

In order for your essay to be holistic, concise, but at the same time deeply revealing the essence of the problem, you must:

• Understand the essence of the problem. Do not take statements whose problem you do not initially understand.
• Choose the right quote. This is an important stage that should be given enough time during the preparation stage.
• Build a chain of reasoning. All blocks of a mini-essay must be interconnected. It is recommended to periodically return to the main idea of ​​the statement in the text.
• Consider the issue from different points of view, if any..
• Find the right examples.

Here are a few useful tips, which will help you select examples and arguments that the new structure of an essay in social studies requires, taking into account the innovations of 2019:

Also watch the video lesson on completing task No. 29 in the Unified State Exam in social studies for the 2018-2019 academic year:

Description of the presentation by individual slides:

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Essay structure 1. Quote. 2. The problem raised by the author; its relevance. 3. The meaning of the statement. 4. Own point of view. 5. Argumentation at the theoretical level. 6. At least two examples from social practice, history and/or literature confirming the correctness of the opinions expressed. 7. Conclusion.

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1. Selecting a statement When choosing statements for an essay, you must be sure that you know the basic concepts of the basic science to which it relates; clearly understand the meaning of the statement; you can express your own opinion (fully or partially agree with the statement or refute it); you know the social science terms necessary to competently substantiate a personal position at a theoretical level (the terms and concepts used must clearly correspond to the topic of the essay and not go beyond it); you will be able to give examples from social practice, history, literature, as well as personal life experience to confirm your own opinion.

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2. Definition of the problem of the statement After formulating the problem, it is necessary to indicate the relevance of the problem in modern conditions. To do this, you can use cliche phrases: This problem is relevant in the context of... ...globalization of social relations; ...formation of a unified information, educational, economic space; ...exacerbation of global problems of our time; ...the special controversial nature of scientific discoveries and inventions; ...development of international integration; ...modern market economy;

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Development and overcoming the global economic crisis; ...strict differentiation of society; ...the open social structure of modern society; ...formation of the rule of law; ...overcoming the spiritual and moral crisis; ...dialogue of cultures; ...the need to preserve one's own identity and traditional spiritual values. The problem must be revisited periodically throughout the essay writing process. This is necessary in order to correctly reveal its content, and also not to accidentally go beyond the scope of the problem and not get carried away by reasoning that is not related to the meaning of this statement (this is one of the most common mistakes in many exam essays).

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3. Formulation of the main idea of ​​the statement Next, you need to reveal the meaning of the statement, but you should not repeat the statement verbatim. In this case, you can use the following clichés: “The meaning of this statement is that...” “The author draws our attention to the fact that...” “The author is convinced that...”

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4. Determining your position on the statement Here you can agree with the author completely, you can partially, refuting a certain part of the statement, or argue with the author, expressing the opposite opinion. In this case, you can use cliche phrases: “I agree with the author that...” “One cannot but agree with the author of this statement regarding...” “The author was right in asserting that...” “In my opinion look, the author quite clearly reflected the picture in his statement modern Russia(modern society... the situation that has developed in society... one of the problems of our time)” “I beg to differ with the author’s opinion that...” “Partly, I adhere to the author’s point of view regarding..., but... I can’t agree” “Have you ever thought about the fact that...?”

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5-6. Argumentation of your own opinion Next, you should justify your own opinion on this issue. To do this, you need to select arguments (evidence), that is, remember the basic terms and theoretical positions. Argumentation should be carried out at two levels: 1. Theoretical level - its basis is social science knowledge (concepts, terms, contradictions, directions of scientific thought, relationships, as well as the opinions of scientists and thinkers). 2. Empirical level - two options are possible here: a) using examples from history, literature and events in society; b) appeal to personal experience. When selecting facts, examples from public life and personal social experience, mentally answer the following questions: 1. Do they confirm my opinion? 2. Could they be interpreted differently? 3. Do they contradict the thesis I expressed? 4. Are they persuasive? The proposed form will allow you to strictly control the adequacy of the arguments presented and prevent “drifting away from the topic.”

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7. Conclusion Finally, you need to formulate a conclusion. The conclusion should not coincide verbatim with the judgment given for justification: it brings together in one or two sentences the main ideas of the arguments and summarizes the reasoning, confirming the correctness or incorrectness of the judgment that was the topic of the essay. To formulate a problematic conclusion, cliche phrases can be used: “Thus, we can conclude...” “Summarizing a general line, I would like to note that...”

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Formatting an essay It must be remembered that an essay is a small composition characterized by semantic unity. Therefore, a coherent text is compiled, linking words are used, and attention is paid to the correct writing of social science terms. It is advisable to break the text of the essay into paragraphs, each of which will express separate thought. In this case, the red line must be observed.

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In addition, an additional advantage of the essay is the inclusion in it brief information about the author of the statement (for example, “outstanding French philosopher-educator”, “great Russian thinker” Silver Age”, “famous existentialist philosopher”, “founder of the idealistic trend in philosophy”, etc.); descriptions of different points of view on a problem or different approaches to solving it; indications of the ambiguity of the concepts and terms used with justification for the meaning in which they are used in the essay; indications of alternative solutions to the problem.

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Essay structure 1. Quote. 2. The problem raised by the author; its relevance. 3. The meaning of the statement. 4. Own point of view. 5. Argumentation at the theoretical level. 6. At least two examples from social practice, history and/or literature confirming the correctness of the opinions expressed. 7. Conclusion. “Nature creates man, but society develops and shapes him.” (V.G. Belinsky) “The freedom of one person ends where the freedom of another begins.” (M. Bakunin) “Where great sages have power, subjects do not notice their existence.” (Lao Tzu)

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1. Quote “One man’s freedom ends where another man’s freedom begins.” (M. Bakunin) 2. The problem raised by the author, its relevance The problem of individual freedom in society is relevant in the conditions of the formation of a rule of law state. 3. The meaning of the statement The author claims that there cannot be absolute freedom in society. 4. For argumentation at a theoretical level, it is necessary to reveal theses and concepts: The concept of freedom. Boundaries of freedom. Freedom and responsibility. Social guarantees of freedom. Law as a limiter of freedom in a rule of law state. 5. Examples 1. The right to listen to loud music and engage in creativity (the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation introduces a restriction until 23.00) should not interfere with the exercise of the right to rest of other people. 2. The freedom of an entrepreneur in the field of food production is limited by the requirements of compliance with certain sanitary standards, established by law

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1. Quote “Nature creates man, but society develops and forms him.” (V.G. Belinsky) 2. The problem raised by the author, its relevance The problem of the biosocial essence of man, the mechanisms of socialization. 3. The meaning of the statement The author claims that a person has a dual essence, which includes a biological basis and a social component. Belinsky defines the leading role of society in the formation of personality. 4. For argumentation at a theoretical level, it is necessary to reveal theses and concepts: Man is a living organism, biological needs, biologically inherited traits. The concept of socialization, its stages, mechanisms, directions. Agents of socialization. Role social control in personality formation. 5. Examples 1. Long-term lack of sleep in a person destroys his ability for cognitive activity, adequate behavior, and self-control. 2. Facts of the existence of Mowgli children.

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1. Quote “Where great sages have power, their subjects do not notice their existence.” (Lao Tzu) 2. The problem raised by the author, its relevance The problem of the nature of the relationship between the state and citizens, the degree of legitimacy of state power is relevant in the conditions of modern political processes taking place in the world. 3. The meaning of the statement The author argues that the degree of respect and willingness of the population to obey state authority depend primarily on personal qualities rulers, their professionalism, means and methods of influencing society. 4. For argumentation at a theoretical level, it is necessary to reveal theses and concepts: What qualities do rulers - great sages - have? Under what conditions does state power not irritate society? The state must express the interests of the entire society so that there are no oppressed. It must implement the principle of social justice. The predominant method should be persuasion rather than coercion. Moral, moral character rulers, their dedication, strict adherence to the law. 5. Examples 1. Implementation of the idea of ​​social partnership in modern Sweden, Denmark, Austria, based on the consent and mutual responsibility of business, government, and employees. Denmark has the highest taxes in the world, and the inhabitants of this country consider themselves the happiest people. 2. The opposite example is fascist Germany: Hitler’s discriminatory, aggressive policies led to a split in German society, numerous casualties and the collapse of the state, which placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of ordinary citizens.

What could be more wonderful than school time? But despite this, we have to face many difficulties. The biggest obstacle that anyone who decides to graduate from 11th grade will have to go through is the Unified State Exam.

In almost all universities and in all areas you need to take a subject called social studies. The hardest part of the exam is the essay. Therefore, before writing, you need to draw up a plan for an essay on social studies and follow it strictly point by point. This is the only way to write a beautiful essay. An essay plan in social studies, as well as in other subjects, should contain three main parts: introduction, main part and conclusion. We will dwell on each point in detail.

Why do you need to know how to write essays?

Everyone forces us to express our thoughts consistently, correctly and with reason. This will definitely come in handy in life. Even if you just have a friendly conversation, then it would be appropriate here, not saturated with jargon and other “garbage” of the Russian language.

Also, writing essays teaches us to identify the main idea that they want to convey to us, analyze, and express our personal opinion about the problem.

If we talk about exams, then before writing you should develop a detailed plan for writing an essay on social studies. This will help you not get lost in your own thoughts and not move away from the main problem. Some people really like writing essays; all they need to do is write social studies in their heads. For the rest, it’s better to use a draft so that the plan is always in front of you.

The introduction and conclusion are short sections that are about three to four sentences each. All parts are separated by a paragraph. You should not write in a continuous canvas, it is very difficult for readers to perceive. You won't earn many points for such a "sheet".

Unified State Exam in Social Studies

The test part of the social studies exam is quite simple. You need to answer test questions, they all have 4 answer options. The second part is a little more difficult. Here you are asked to fill in the missing words, complete the table, or connect the corresponding points.

The hardest part is C. Here you need to choose an expression (quote) of a famous person from several proposed options. Next, write an essay-argument on the topic of the statement. In order to cope with the work and get a good score, you need to make an outline for your social studies essay. The Unified State Exam is quite easy to pass if you prepare for it a little.

It is worth setting aside at least an hour a day for self-preparation, or hiring a tutor or attending specialized training courses. Pay special attention to the creative part. It is possible to create an essay plan for social studies (USE) so that it can be used for absolutely all topics. This is what we suggest you do right now. We will highlight the main parts that should be contained in your essay and give the main cliches. All this will greatly simplify your work during the unified state exam.

Plan

The plan for an essay on social studies is practically no different from that for other creative works. Now we will provide a detailed plan for the essay, we will describe in sufficient detail what should be included in each part. So, the plan for an essay in social studies is as follows:

1. Introduction. It is worth saying right away that there are no strict requirements for this work. The main thing is that the topic is disclosed. You need to demonstrate your knowledge of the theory and confirm it with facts from history, literature or life. Entry is not mandatory, but recommended. Many schoolchildren cannot imagine an essay without an introduction. If you find it difficult to start your essay right away with thoughts, give a short introduction (2-3 sentences). Here we can clearly formulate the problem. If there is no introduction, points for this are not reduced.
2. The meaning of the quote. This short section consists of no more than five sentences. It is not at all necessary to quote the entire statement. A link to the author will suffice, followed by an interpretation in your own words. Here, many use clichés, for example: “In the statement of the philosopher Feuerbach, a phenomenon (process or problem) is considered (or described) ...” or “The meaning of the statement ... is that ....” In the examples you will see how to use these forms correctly.
3. Theory. In this part you must write whether you agree with the author’s opinion or not. In most cases, students confirm the opinion and simply rewrite the quote using special terminology. Also in this part you can give examples to defend your point of view.
4. Data. It is better to avoid any general phrases, you need to give specific examples(“as we know from the chemistry course...”, “as the famous philosopher said...” and similar forms).
5. IN conclusion we need to summarize everything we said earlier. Schoolchildren often use this form: “Thus, the examples given allow us to assert that...” Instead of the ellipsis, you need to insert a reformulated main idea of ​​the statement.

Introduction

The social studies essay (outline, cliches we have already provided) should be short, but reflect the main idea. In this part we will give you examples of possible introductions.

1. "Feuerbach is a famous German philosopher who argued that theory and practice are interrelated and complement each other."
2. "The most interesting quote for me was the statement American writer L. Peter, who spoke about the high purpose of economic culture."

The meaning of the statement

1. “The meaning of the statement is very simple - you need to be able to save and correctly distribute resources, which will help stop hunger throughout the world.”
2. "By raising this problem, the author says that the younger generation understands little about adult life. They seem to be foreigners who do not know the customs and way of life of the inhabitants of this country."

Theory

Let's look at the plan for writing a social studies essay. Next, we must demonstrate our theoretical knowledge acquired in social studies lessons at school. Here are some examples:

1. "The behavior of each individual person has great importance for the whole society. This is an isolated but connected group. Exactly social status determines the behavior pattern of each individual person. If someone stands out for his behavior, and this is unacceptable in society, then social control services are involved..."
2. “My opinion is this: I completely agree with the author’s position. Indeed, laws play a big role in a person’s life. They help and protect from bad, immoral acts...”

Data

We have almost figured out how to write an essay on social studies; all that remains is to understand what examples can be given in the next paragraph. Facts could be something like this:

1. Literary. For example: “I would like to give an example from the book “Rich and Poor Dad,” where the author R. Kiyosaki says that economic freedom is very important...”
2. From education, science, media and so on.“As an argument, we can cite the history of the development of the science of chemistry. How did people gain knowledge about possible reactions? Of course, from experience..."

Conclusion

The last part consists of 1-2 sentences, for example:

1. “I completely agree with the statement, because only... can lead to...”
2. “Thus, the philosopher... expressed quite smart idea... which requires analysis and reflection.”

Preview:

We prepare students to write essays on social studies and law.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

One of the main complaints about essay writing assignments is that students, teachers and parents do not know what criteria will be used to evaluate this work. In relation to the pact of tasks for the Unified State Examination in social studies, it will be easy to dispel the myth about the “opaque criteria” by referring to the instructions for students:

The last task of the work (C9) is an optional task. By completing it, you can demonstrate your knowledge and skills on the content that is more attractive to you. Choose one of the statements below. In answer form No. 2, write down the full number of the task, the selected statement, and then the detailed answer.

Using the text, let's highlight the requirements for this type of task. So this should be the answer:

1) expanded, form No. 2, A4 format);

2) compiled based on

3) based on

4) representing your position on this issue;

5} reasoned.

Now let’s compare these requirements with those presented by the authors in materials for experts:

When assessing the answer, it is necessary to highlight the following points:

Presenting your own point of view;

It seems that the authors of the assignments do not provide any classified information or unknown requirements. All information is equally open to those taking the exam,and for those who receive it.

TOPIC

Now let's turn to the topics proposed for writing an essay. Below is a list of topics that can be found in Unified State Exam packages in social studies.

Noteworthy is the fact that all the topics are aphorisms, and statements have been selected that can cause an ambiguous reaction from a person, encourage discussion, reasoning about the meaning of the phrase, the appropriateness of such an interpretation or such an approach to certain social phenomena, processes, facts .

Thus, a teacher planning to prepare students for writing essays by selecting topics for students’ work will be guided by these general approaches to their selection:

Brevity;

Connection with social science/legal phenomena, processes, events;

However, it would be wrong to limit yourself in preparing to write an essay by carefully reading the instructions for students and viewing the proposed topics. Once this genre has become established in literature and is designated by the corresponding term “essay,” it would be correct to get acquainted with the literary definition of this genre and, in addition to everything, highlight other features of its writing.

Let's use a combined definition based on several dictionary entries. Essay - prose work small volume and free composition, expressing individual impressions and considerations on a specific occasion or issue and obviously not claiming to be a definite or exhaustive interpretation of the subject.As a rule, an essay involves a new, subjectively colored word about something. The essayistic style is distinguished by imagery, aphorism and focus on conversational intonation and vocabulary.

A careful reading of this definition will also allow us to highlight some specific features that should be present in the essayist’s work:

Features of the language (imagery, aphorism, conversational intonation and vocabulary);

Free composition (however, it does not imply the absence of composition at all).

No matter how free it is compositional structure work, it will contain certain parts that create general structure, a kind of skeleton built according to certain principles. In other words, we assume that the work will have a traditional triad in its sequence:

Introduction;

Main part;

Conclusion.

In this regard, as one of possible options To prepare students for writing essays, you can suggest collecting clichés most often used in argumentative essays. This “piggy bank” can be collected together with students. For ease of accumulation and subsequent use of materials, you can use, for example, Table 1.

Table 1

In addition, to put forward arguments in the main part of the essay, you can use the so-called POPS formula:

P - Regulation (statement) - I believe that...;

O - Explanation - Because...;

P - Example, illustration - For example, ...;

WITH - Judgment (final) -Thus, ...

Without denying the importance of this approach to accumulating materials for writing an essay (a kind of “building blocks”), we note that it will be useful to select and bright phrases, unusual moves that can provide invaluable service to a beginning essayist.

Compiling a portfolio of student essays written in social studies and law will be a good help in your work. The principles for selecting jobs can be very different:

You can create a selection for only one subject (for example, law, which is especially important for children participating in the Legal Olympiad), etc.

ALGORITHM

However, all these arguments and approaches will be incomplete if we do not discuss the student’s order of actions, writing an essay in social studies or law. In other words, we need a tool such as an essay writing algorithm.

We offer a version of the algorithm, compiled on the basis of the work experience of N.L. Karnaukh and supplemented based on the results of joint discussions held by the author of this article with practicing teachers at teacher training courses at the Ryazan Regional Institute for Educational Development.

Essay writing algorithm

1. Carefully read all the topics (statements) proposed for writing an essay.

2. Choose one that will meet several requirements:

a) is interesting to you;

b) you generally understood the meaning of this statement;

c) you have something to say on this topic (you know the terms, you can give examples, you have personal experience, etc.).

3. Determine main idea statements (aboutit?), to do this, use the technique of periphrasis (say the same thing, but in your own words).

4. Write down arguments for and/or against the given statement (if you write down arguments for and against the aphorism taken as a topic, your essay may be polemical in nature).

5. For each argument, select examples, a fact from life, personal experience etc.

6. Look again at the selected illustrations: did you use your knowledge of the subject in them (terms, facts of social life, for an essay on law - knowledge modern legislation etc.).

7. Think about what literary devices you will use to make the language of your essay more interesting, lively (comparisons, analogies, epithets, etc.).

8. Distribute the selected arguments and/or counter arguments in sequence (this will be your conditional plan).

9. Come up with an introduction to the argument (you can write in it why you chose this statement, immediately define your position, ask your question to the author quotes, etc.).

10. State your point of view in the sequence that you have outlined.

11. Formulate general conclusion work and, if necessary, edit it.

Let us note that the compiled algorithm does not pretend to be absolutely complete; it can be clarified, specified, and supplemented.

Preview:

L.V. Mostyaeva

Technology for preparing students to write creative works

It so happened that Lately into the active vocabulary of students and teachers working in the field civic education, new terms and concepts were included, previously unused and still not fully understood today, but extremely fashionable and therefore popular. These can rightfully include the frequently used writing task creative work(or essays), usually aimed at a comprehensive assessment of the level of preparation of students in the field of civic education. This form of testing students’ preparedness is also actively used within school subjects: social studies (including economics and law), history, Russian language, literature, foreign languages, less often - in geography, computer science, biology, chemistry, physics and other subjects. Annual legal and social science Olympiads for students also involve writing and defending essays. This list can be continued by recalling that adults, when getting a job, applying for study at a particular university, participating in professional and other competitions (for example, “Teacher of the Year”) are subjected to a similar test.

Experience in organizing and conducting school competitions in history, social studies, law, and civics allows us to state that, unfortunately, not every Olympiad winner comes to the finals with a clear understanding of what the essence of the task is.

Lyudmila Vasilyevna Mostyaeva - Associate Professor of the Department of Theory and Methods of Social and Humanitarian Education of the Ryazan Regional Institute for Educational Development, Candidate of Historical Sciences.

Experience in organizing and conducting school Olympiads in history, social studies, law, and civics allows us to state that, unfortunately, not every Olympiad winner comes to the finals with a clear understanding of what the task is. Hence, several models of behavior: preliminary memorization of some “model” essays and an attempt to fit them into the proposed topic at an Olympiad or competition (which may not always be successful) or the agony of choosing a topic and the same torment of writing and defending the work itself without understanding what and how have to do. Therefore, at the time of a competition, exam or other test related to writing an essay, the most common question on the part of students, as well as their parents and teachers, can be recognized as the question: how to learn to write and present an essay well?

It is precisely these difficulties of students, observed annually at Olympiads, as well as when completing Unified State Examination tasks in social studies, that prompted me to take up the discussion of such complex topic. Complexity is determined by its dual importance: on the one hand, preparing students for the unified state exam, and on the other, the formation of general educational skills associated with formulating, expressing and justifying their own position, their attitude to a given topic. And this skill will undoubtedly come in handygraduate, regardless of how and in what he will self-actualize in the future, and where exactly he will use it.

In addition, the experience of communicating with teachers of civics, social studies and law shows that so far there is no targeted preparation of students for writing essays on the subject. In the pedagogical community there are different, sometimes opposing ideas about what an essay should look like, what the algorithm for writing it can be, etc. There are also discrepancies regarding the issue of essay evaluation.

Without pretending to be the ultimate truth, let us consider some technological aspects of preparing students to write essays in social studies in more detail.

One of the main complaints about essay writing assignments is that students, teachers and parents do not know by what criteria the work will be assessed. In relation to the package of tasks for the Unified State Examination By It will be easy for social studies students to dispel the myth of “opaque criteria” by referring to the instructions for students:

The last task of the work (C9) is an optional task. By completing it, you can demonstrate your knowledge and skills on the content that is more attractive to you. Choose one of the statements below. In answer form No. 2, write down the full number of the task, the selected statement, and then the detailed answer.

The answer should use the relevant concepts of the social science course and, based on the facts of social life and your own life experience, provide the necessary arguments to substantiate your position.

Using the text of the instructions, invite students (parents, teachers) to highlight the requirements for this type of task.

After working with the text, studying it carefully, students will report that this should be an answer that meets the following criteria(in bold We highlight words from the text of the instructions to show how, by carefully reading the preliminary instructions for students, you can prepare for a competent response):

1) expanded, but quite compact (a special form No. 2, A4 format);

2) compiled based onconcepts of social science course;

3) based onfacts of social life and personal life experience;

4) representing your position on this issue;

5) reasoned.

Then we will propose to compare these requirements with those presented by the authors in materials for experts. According to them, when assessing the answer, it is necessary to highlight the following elements:

- presenting your own point of view;

Disclosure of the problem at a theoretical level with the correct use of social science terms;

Argumentation of your position based on the facts of public life or your own experience.

As a result of the comparison, two main conclusions can be drawn. First, there is no proprietary information or unknown requirements for the essay. All information is equally open to both those taking the exam and those taking it (in in this case). Secondly, the quality of the essay will mainly depend on three interrelated components:

The source material that you are going to use (in our case, your own knowledge on the subject of discussion, ideas and accumulated experience on this issue);

The quality of processing of the available source material (its organization);

Argumentation (how closely it relates to the issues raised in your essay).

Now let's turn to the topics proposed for writing an essay. Below is a list of some of the topics that can be found in the Unified State Exam packages in social studies.

Noteworthy is the fact that all the topics presented above are aphorisms, and statements have been selected that can cause an ambiguous reaction from a person, encourage discussion, reasoning about the meaning of the phrase, the appropriateness of such an interpretation or such an approach to certain social phenomena, processes , facts.

Thus, when preparing to write an essay and selecting topics for work, students can focus on these general approaches to their selection:

Brevity;

Connection with social science (legal) civil science phenomena, processes, events; reliance on read literature, sources;

Problematic nature and possibility of ambiguous interpretation.

However, it would be wrong to limit yourself in preparing to write an essay by carefully reading the instructions for students and viewing the proposed topics. Once this genre has become established in literature, it is designated by the corresponding term essay, It would be correct to get acquainted with the literary definition of this genre and, in addition to everything, highlight other features of its writing.

We will use a combined definition compiled on the basis of several dictionary entries.

An essay is a prose work of small volume and free composition, expressing individual impressions and considerations on a specific occasion or issue and obviously not claiming to be a definite or exhaustive interpretation of the subject. As a rule, an essay involves a new, subjectively colored word about something. The essayistic style is distinguished by imagery, aphorism and focus on conversational intonation and vocabulary.

Invite students (parents, teachers) to carefully read this definition and highlight some specific features that should be present in the work of an essayist.

Features of the essay as a literary genre

It can be noted that no matter how free the compositional structure of the work turns out to be, it will contain certain parts that create the overall structure of the work, a certain skeleton, built according to certain principles. In other words, we assume that the work will not do without the traditional triad in its classical sequence:

Introduction (essence and rationale for choosing this topic); It would be useful to highlight in the introduction what you intend to do in the essay (your goals), and what will not be included in your essay (indicate the frame of reasoning), you can also give brief definitions key terms, for example: “By tender relations I mean the following...”; however, the number of definitions should not be too large (say, three or four) with a brief presentation (one sentence is enough);

Main part (topic development: reasoned disclosure of the topic based on the collected material);

Conclusion (generalizations and reasoned conclusions on the topic, indicating the scope of its application, etc.).

In this regard, as one of the possible options for preparing students for writing essays, we can offer a joint collection of clichés most often used in argumentative essays. This piggy bank can be collected together with students. For ease of accumulation and subsequent use of materials, you can use the table below.

Without denying the importance of this approach to accumulating materials for writing essays (a kind of “building blocks”), we note that it will be useful to select bright phrases and unusual moves that can provide an invaluable service to a novice essayist. Compiling a portfolio of student essays written on civic topics will be a good help in your work. The principles for selecting jobs can be very different, for example:

This could be all the works written by the student over a certain period of time (such a collection will be important for the student and teacher himself, since it can be used to trace how the quality of essay writing has changed: where did they leave and what did they come to, is it possible to note growth, movement forward );

The portfolio can only be composed of best works one or more students (then it can be used to present a “sample”, “standard” for writing an essay);

You can create a selection in only one subject (for example, law or civics, which is especially important for children participating in the corresponding Olympiad).

However, all these discussions and approaches will be incomplete if we do not discuss the procedure for a student writing an essay. In other words, we need a tool such as an essay writing algorithm.

We offer a version of the algorithm, compiled on the basis of the work experience of N.L. Karnaukh, and supplemented by the results of joint discussions held by the author of this article with practicing teachers at advanced training courses for teachers at the Ryazan Regional Institute for Educational Development.

Essay writing algorithm:

Carefully read all the topics (statements) proposed for writing an essay;

Choose the one that will meet several requirements: a) interesting to you; b) you understand the meaning of this statement; c) you have something to say on this topic (you know the terms, can give examples, have personal experience, etc.);

Determine the main idea of ​​the statement (what is it about?), to do this, use the technique of periphrasis (say the same thing, but in your own words);

Sketch out arguments for and/or against this statement (if you write down arguments for and against an aphorism taken as a topic, your essay may be polemical in nature);

For each argument, select examples, facts, situations from life, personal experience, etc.;

Look again at the selected illustrations: did you use your knowledge of the subject in them (terms, facts of social life, for an essay on law - knowledge of modern legislation, etc.);

Think about what literary devices you will use to make the language of your essay more interesting and lively (comparisons, analogies, epithets, etc.);

Distribute the selected arguments and/or counterarguments in sequence (this will be your conditional plan);

Come up with an introduction to the argument (you can write in it why you chose this statement, immediately define your position, ask your question to the author of the quote, etc.);

State your point of view in the sequence that you have outlined;

Formulate the general conclusion of the work and, if necessary, edit it.

Editing involves checking the work in the following areas:

Structure (check if there is a logical connection between parts of the essay);

Sincerity of tone (avoid overly emotional adjectives and adverbs);

Unity of style (it is important to decide so that in your work you do not jump from scientific style to journalistic, colloquial and vice versa);

The length of the essay (we remind you that the work should be brief, cut down all unnecessary);

The attractiveness of your work, its individuality (is there anything special in your work that allows you to stand out from other works).

Let us note that the compiled algorithm does not pretend to be absolutely complete; it can be clarified, specified, and supplemented in the course of preparing for writing an essay.

During a discussion with teachers of history, civics, social studies and law about the problems of preparing students to write essays, we identified some aspects that deserve the attention of schoolchildren and teachers.

What to pay attention to when writing an essay

1. It is worth noting that in humanities education there are no absolutely right or wrong answers to questions, as is the case in physics or mathematics - there are only more or less reasoned points of view.

2. The final mark (score) for an essay is usually given for ideas, students’ own judgments and their argumentation.

3. When putting forward your own position, the focus is on:

a) the student’s ability (opportunity) to critically and independently evaluate the range of data and points of view/argumentation of others;

b) the ability to understand, evaluate and establish connections between key points any problems and questions;

c) the ability to differentiate what is more and what is less important;

d) ability to understand analytical approaches and models;

e) willingness to differentiate opposing approaches and models and their application to empirical material, discussions about fundamental issues.

4. Those works that are written briefly, clearly and clearly win.

What follows Avoid when writing an essay:

1. Misunderstanding of the essence of the stated topic.

2. Lack of structure in the presentation.

3. Inability to stick to the answer to the main question (lengthy abstractions from the topic).

4. Using rhetoric (statements) instead of argumentation (evidence).

5. Careless handling of data, including overgeneralization.

6. Too extensive a descriptive part, not supported by analytical material.

7. Statements of other points of view without reference to the authors of these ideas and without expressing one’s own position.

8. Unnecessary repetitions.

Let us make some final remarks regarding the oral presentation and defense of the original essay. This type of task is also present in civic and legal competitions (for example, at the Internet Olympiad as part of the Russian-Canadian project “Spirit of Democracy”, All-Russian Olympiad schoolchildren by law).

Let us highlight those points that the jury members and spectators (listeners) primarily pay attention to:

1. General impression: appearance; speech (competent, independent, without the use of cheat sheets, confident, indicating knowledge of the topic, figurative); correct and polite attitude towards other participants of the conference or competition.

2. The logic of constructing a speech: the presence of an appeal to the audience; determining the relevance of the work; identifying the problem, goals and objectives of the work; a message about the most important content elements of the essay (perhaps about discoveries that occurred during the work); examples illustrating the presented work subjects; conclusions based on the results of the work; the presence of a final phrase (general result, prospects for developing the problem, etc.).

3. Correct use of special concepts in developing a topic.

4. Proper use of visibility (use of computer technology, conducting instant opinion polls, availability of diagrams, graphs, tables, photographs, etc.,working to reveal the topic).

Therefore, in preparation for the oral presentation and essay defense:

Think over your appeal to viewers/listeners;

Create a structure for your oral presentation (it will not necessarily completely repeat the written version of the work, but it will certainly be generally consistent with it);

If you plan to use an electronic presentation: make it in accordance with the structure of the oral presentation; choose a winning illustrative series; avoid the desire to include all the information (spoken texts) in the presentation slides; synchronize oral presentation and slide presentation electronic presentation; be prepared for the possibility of problems with technology (it is worth considering the option of presenting an essay without using technology);

Learn the structure of the answer: key phrase, most important definitions, ideas;

Remember that the meaning of the speech should be formulated within the first three minutes, the rest of the time will be spent working on the content of the question;

It is advisable to give an example and comment on each part of the speech;

Come up with an effective, memorable ending.

Thus, to summarize what has been said, we will try to imaginetechnological chain of writing and presenting essaysfor the student. It might look like this:

1) statement of the problem (acquaintance with the problem inherent in the topic proposed for writing an essay);

2) thinking about the problem (determination of content: ideas, examples, illustrating them);

3) planning an essay (determining the structure);

4) essay writing;

5) checking and editing the work;

6) preparation of presentation;

7) essay presentation.

Technology for preparing students to write essayswill be slightly different (technology for teachers):

Stage 1: organizing independent acquaintance of students with the essay - literary genre and requirements for writing an essay (within the framework of a specific test, for example, the Unified State Exam, Olympiad or competition);

Stage 2: introducing students to essay samples (preferably in a given subject);

Stage 3: “test of the pen”, or carrying out practical work for students to master the algorithm for writing an essay (note that this stage can be organized interactively; students can write essays in small groups, using all the materials necessary for work: from a textbook, dictionaries to other sources of information);

Stage 4: preparing a presentation of group essays;

Stage 5: presentation and collective assessment of essays developed in groups;

Stage 6: identification of common difficulties (errors, shortcomings) in the process of writing an essay and ways to overcome them (corrections);

Stage 7: writing individual essays.

In conclusion, let us turn to the question we raised at the beginning of this article: how to learn to write and present essays well? The answer is paradoxical - we must do it! Practice writing and presenting essays. And the reward will certainly find its hero!

Every graduate who is interested in preparing for the Unified State Exam in social studies will be faced with the task of writing an essay. From several proposed quotes, the student must choose one thesis and write an essay. There will be some changes to this final challenge in 2018. Now you can get a maximum of 6 primary points for a correctly completed essay (before 2018, the maximum you could get was 5 primary points). The word “problem” (which is raised by the author) has been replaced by the word “idea”. But this is completely unprincipled. The main thing is that the value of the essay has increased, which means you need to double your efforts to get maximum score.

So, the value of the mini-essay has increased, so you need to take the most significant task of the exam seriously. First, you should study the criteria for assessing essays in social studies in 2018.

1. The main criterion: revealing the meaning of the statement. It is necessary to correctly identify the idea put forward by the author and (or) put forward a thesis on the topic, which will be substantiated with the help of arguments. If there are 0 points for this item, the entire work is not counted.
2. Lack of theoretical justification for your point of view. It is necessary to explain the meaning of the concepts given in the quotation, using theory (definitions and statements from textbooks), reasoning (cause-and-effect justification for what you think about this) and conclusions (your opinion, supported by arguments). If there is no theoretical content, the result is 0.
3. New criterion! Factual error: if (from the point of view of the science of social science) you presented an erroneous position, made an incorrect conclusion, illogical reasoning, mixed up a term, etc., then you face 0.
4. Thematic incompatibility of an example or fact with the topic, conclusion and reasoning. Only those arguments that correspond to the stated topic will be counted. Incorrectly displayed and incomplete statements will also not be counted. You can get as much as 2 points for this point if both examples are correct. Facts must be formulated in detail and accurately, because a mistake can cost you the loss of points. Examples can be given from personal experience, other subjects ( fiction, history, geography), media (from magazines, newspapers, television and radio programs).

Essay plan

In order to write an essay for the maximum score according to the above criteria, first of all, you need to strictly adhere to the format or structure of the essay. So, the essay plan for the Unified State Exam in social studies is as follows:

• Identification of the problem and its interpretation.
• Agree or disagree with the author’s position (explain why)
• Argumentation of one's own position.
• Conclusion

We will examine each of these points in detail in the next paragraph.

Structure and writing algorithm

Problem Identification

When identifying a problem, the graduate should, first of all, comprehend the thesis proposed by the author and highlight some problem (idea) in it. More often than not, quotes include a variety of issues and their interpretations. It is better for the student to stop at one and consider it in detail, following further the points of the essay structure. You can highlight several problems (ideas) contained in the thesis and reveal them, but, in my opinion, the time frame of the exam will not allow you to thoroughly reveal several ideas at once and give arguments to them. You can identify the problem using cliche phrases, for example:

• In his statement, the author wanted to draw attention to the problem associated with...;
• The main idea formulated by the author of the quote..., I see...;

It is important that the words “problem” and (or) “idea” are included in the essay, otherwise they may be given 0 points for their absence. In the process of explaining the problem raised by the author, it is necessary to use social scientific terms and give them definitions; include material that was included in the school curriculum of the course.

Your opinion

In the second paragraph you should write about agreement or disagreement with the author about the problem. Just saying “agree” or “disagree” is not enough. Here it is important to write the reason on which you rely. This reason may generalize the arguments that follow. The cliche phrases are obvious:

• “I completely agree/disagree with the author’s opinion...”
• “It’s hard to disagree with the author’s opinion...”

You can also include theory from a social studies course at this point. With its help, you will competently and reasonably explain why you adhere to your voiced opinion. Please note that it is easier to agree than to prove the opposite, so if you are not confident in yourself, do not run into ideological polemics with invisible examiners, but do your job impartially and detachedly. It is not at all necessary to express your real views on certain issues.

Arguments

The next point is the most complex and voluminous part of the essay. Making suitable arguments is often difficult. You need to give at least 2 arguments that CLEARLY illustrate this problem. The main thing at this point is specificity. Examples containing “a lot of water” will be scored 0 points. Your arguments can be examples from fiction and scientific literature(history, chemistry, biology and other disciplines), biographies of great people, situations from films, TV series, life and personal experience. It is important to consider that these statements should be from different sources, for example, from personal experience and fiction. You cannot get the maximum score for examples taken from one area. Let's say that even if both arguments taken from books perfectly illustrate the problem, you will not be able to get the maximum score. Each argument should have a separate paragraph. Cliché phrases:

• “To confirm my point of view, I will give the following argument...”
• “An argument that can confirm my point of view is...”

Conclusion

The last point is the conclusion. The conclusion summarizes the thoughts given above. This part is no different from what you have to write in essays on the Russian language and literature. Cliché phrases:

• “Thus, we can conclude that...”,
• “To summarize, I would like to note that...”

It will be enough to write 2-3 sentences in the conclusion.

Essay example

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