Research task (Creative Writing):
Write an accurate historical depiction of a realistic timeline that would lead the Germans and the Axis powers to winning World War II. What would need to happen for the Germans to succeed, and how would this have affected the World after and what would a potential world in the present day look like as a result?

Evaluation rubric:
criterion: The response provides a dated timeline that lists at least five distinct, fictional events occurring between 1939 and 1948 (inclusive) which would've led to the victory of the Axis powers (e.g. 1940 German advances at Dunkirk and annihilates British Force, 1940 Luftwaffe bombs Royal Air Force base, 1941 Britain makes peace with German, 1942 USSR surrenders).
weight: 4
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response states at least four specific divergences from real history that enable an Axis victory and provides justification on why the divergences were critical to the victory (e.g. German's advance at Dunkirk and defeating British Force leaves Britain hopeless and ultimately willing to negotiate peace, Japan's decision to attack Soviet in 1942 instead of Pear Harbor postpones USA's entry into war).
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response discusses the immediate post-war global order (1940s–1950s) with the Axis victory in at least three of the following regions: Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
weight: 3
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response presents the immediate post-war global order (1940s–1950s) with the Axis victory in at least two domains from: diplomatics, politics, economy, or human rights.
weight: 3
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response articulates the hypothetical present day (2020 or later) status of at least three regions from the following: Europe, North America, East Asia (Japan, China), USSR.
weight: 3
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response describes conditions in the hypothetical present day (2020 or later) in at least two separate domains chosen from: international politics, technology, culture/society, economy, or human rights.
weight: 3
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response accurately states that Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, marking the starting point of World War II.
weight: 1
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response claims that Germany or any other country possessed or deployed operational nuclear weapons before 1945.
weight: -3
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response introduces technology first deployed after 1950 into events dated way earlier (e.g. German is armed with ICBM in 1945, US used microprocessors to optimize its arsenal in 1950, Japan achieves Artificial General Intelligence in 2015).
weight: -4
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response cites at least one specific secondary historical source (e.g. book title, historian name) published in 1950 or later to support plausibility of the fictional events and the Axis victory.
weight: 2
axis: References & Citation Quality

criterion: The response endorses or justifies actions committed by the Nazi regime in the alternate timeline.
weight: -3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response explicitly acknowledges the Holocaust, the maltreatment of Slavs, and/or other major Axis atrocities and indicates whether they persist, worsen, or change in the alternate timeline.
weight: 4
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response discusses the power balance between countries in the alternate post-war order with respect to military, diplomatic, and/or economy.
weight: 3
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response describes at least one economic factor (e.g. oil supplies, industrial output, logistics, trades) that contributes to the Axis victory.
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response describes at least one diplomatic factor (e.g. alliances, negotiated peace treaties, resource sharing, strategic coordination) that contributes to the Axis victory.
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response describes at least one military factor (e.g. strategy, campaign outcome, weapon development, production) that contributes to the Axis victory.
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: Vocabulary is clear and avoids unexplained military or historiographical jargon (e.g. explains acronyms such as U-boat, RAF, or names like Operation Torch when first used) in order to be accessible to all readers.
weight: 2
axis: Communication Quality

criterion: All real historical facts and dates prior to the divergence points are correct (e.g. World War II begins on 1 Sep 1939; Operation Barbarossa starts on 22 Jun 1941; Pearl Harbor attack is on 7 Dec 1941) if relevant to the discussion.
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response addresses both the European and Pacific theaters or explains how events in one theater affect the other in the Axis victory scenario.
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response provides at least one fictional scenario with no supporting evidence to make the events realistic (e.g. Japan invades all USSR, USA, and Britain and defeats them all, Italy betrays German post-war and gains global power, African countries decide to unite and join the Axis).
weight: -4
axis: Implicit Criteria