Students synthesize information when they are asked to draw from the many factors presented in class and the text the most important cause of imperialism and justify their answers. They discover connections when a test question requires comparison of the consequences of the French and American Revolutions. Students are presented with tables of mortality in the two world wars. They are asked to demonstrate their ability to develop hypotheses about the wars and use the figures in the tables to test them. Critical thinking thus permeates all features of the Modern World History course.
Students demonstrate their ability to communicate by writing essays.
The three quizzes on the reading are all essays, and the mid-term and final exams have significant essay components. The essays ask students to articulate and support a hypothesis. Students are expected to answer the question in the affirmative or negative and then support their arguments with evidence or examples from the book. Part of their grade depends on how well they introduce the relevant evidence as well as how well they make their argument. A mid-term exam question similarly asks students to describe what they have learned from a trip to the Boott Mills Museum about working conditions during the Industrial Revolution.