Research task (Business Planning & Research):
Was the Western Roman Empire's fall an inevitable system-wide collapse or a preventable accident of history? Pinpoint a single, realistic post-395 CE turning point and justify how a different outcome there could have ensured its survival.

Evaluation rubric:
criterion: The response must begin with a clear thesis that directly addresses the "inevitable vs. preventable" dichotomy.
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response must identify a single, specific, post-395 CE event as the critical turning point (e.g., a political change like the transition to hereditary leadership, an enviornmental event, a moment in the rise of Christianity, a barbarian invasion). 
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response must justify why the chosen event is more critical than other potential crises (e.g., a political change like the transition to hereditary leadership, an enviornmental event, a moment in the rise of Christianity, a barbarian invasion).
weight: 4
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response does not name key historians from both major schools of thought (e.g., A.H.M. Jones or Alexander Demandt for the inevitable collapse school and Peter Heather or Bryan Ward-Perkins for the contingent school)."
weight: -2
axis: References & Citation Quality

criterion: The response mentions does not mention a negative consequence of the proposed counterfactual scenario (e.g., a new power imbalance, a rise of nation-states, religious instability, linguistic change).
weight: -3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response must analyze the comparative political stability of the Eastern court relative to the West (e.g., ability to manage powerful generals like Aspar, clear imperial successions, effective administration, strategic benefits of Constantinpole relative to Rome) .
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response must directly analyze a passage from a relevant primary source (e.g., Procopius, Salvian, Hydatius, Theodosian Code), not just name the source.
weight: 2
axis: References & Citation Quality

criterion: The response must explicitly acknowledge at least one other major post-395 CE event (e.g., a political change like the transition to hereditary leadership, an enviornmental event, a moment in the rise of Christianity, a barbarian invasion) and argue why it was less decisive.
weight: 3
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response must provide a working definition of "collapse" for the purpose of its argument.
weight: 2
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response must include the role of the African senatorial aristocracy, addressing their potential loyalties or actions during the Vandal invasion itself.
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response analyzes the religious dimension of the Vandal conflict, explaining how the friction between Arian Vandals and Nicene/Catholic Romans impacted the occupation of Africa.
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions the potential role of long-term environmental factors (e.g., climate change, plagues, migration, drought).
weight: 1
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response should mention the bagaudae, the peasant revolts, when discussing the villa system and rural distress.
weight: 1
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response must explain the evolution of the role of foederati, from auxiliary troops to autonomous political entities within the empire.
weight: 1
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response refutes the potential counter-argument that Africa's economy was already in decline.
weight: 1
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response analyzes the strategic military advantages of Ravenna's location, such as being protected by marshes and having naval access, in addition to its political distance from the Senate in Rome.
weight: 1
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response must analyze Gaiseric's long-term state-building strategy in Africa, including his use of the Vandal fleet as an instrument of economic and political policy beyond mere raiding.
weight: 1
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions specific commanders (e.g., Areobindus, Majorian, Basiliscus, Marcellinus) and locations (e.g., the Battle of Capo Bon, Cartagena fleet discussion, Sicilian retreat by Areobindus, Sardinian conquest associated with the failed attempts to retake Africa.
weight: 1
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response shows or discusses a pair of "before and after" maps illustrating the Vandal conquest of Africa and its impact on Roman territory.
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response provides a brief list identifying the main actors (e.g., Aetius, Bonifacius, Galla Placidia, Gaiseric) and their roles to help the reader track the complex political intrigues.
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions the immense cultural and political friction inherent in forming a stable Romano-Germanic state (comparison with Hellenic culture in the East, legal distinctions between citizens, religious differences, discourage intermarriage).
weight: 3
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response mentions the benefit from addressing how a solvent state could reverse the aristocracy's flight from the central economy to their self-sufficient estates (more taxes, great social cohesion, larger pool for military leadership, maintainance of infrastructure).
weight: 2
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response must explain why the strategic shift to 'defense-in-depth' was economically unsustainable for the West (e.g., financial cost of maintaining a mobile army, costs of maintaining a frontier, equipment costs, debasement of currency due to payroll requirements).
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria