Essay on USE law. Preparation for the Unified State Exam: social studies essay

Examples of essays on social studies for the Unified State Exam

Essay samples

“A child at the moment of birth is not a person, but only a candidate for a person” (A. Pieron).

It is necessary to understand what meaning A. Pieron put into the concept of man. At the moment of birth, the child is already a person. He is a representative of a special biological species, Homo Sapiens, who has the inherent specific features of this biological species: a large brain, upright posture, prehensile hands, etc. At the moment of birth, a child can be called an individual - a specific representative of the human race. From birth, he is endowed with individual traits and properties unique to him: eye color, body shape and structure, the design of his palm. This can already be defined as individuality. Why then does the author of the statement call the child only a candidate for a person? Apparently, the author had in mind the concept of “personality”. After all, man is a biosocial being. If a person is given biological traits from birth, then he acquires social ones only in a society of his own kind. And this happens in the process of socialization, when the child learns, through education and self-education, the values ​​of a particular society. Gradually he turns into a personality, i.e. becomes a subject of conscious activity and has a set of socially significant traits that are in demand and useful in society. It is then that he can fully be called a human being. How can this assumption be confirmed? For example, on March 20, 1809, in Sorochintsy, a son was born into the family of the landowner Vasily Gogol - Yanovsky, baptized with the name Nikolai. This was one of the landowner's sons born on this day, named Nicholas, i.e. individual. If he had died on his birthday, he would have remained in the memory of his loved ones as an individual. The newborn was distinguished by characteristics characteristic only of him (height, hair color, eyes, body structure, etc.). According to the testimony of people who knew Gogol from birth, he was thin and weak. Later, he developed traits associated with growing up and an individual lifestyle - he began to read early, wrote poetry from the age of 5, studied diligently at the gymnasium, and became a writer whose work was followed by all of Russia. He showed a bright personality, i.e. those features and properties, signs that distinguished Gogol. Apparently, this is precisely the meaning that A. Pieron intended in his statement, and I completely agree with him. When a person is born, he must go through a long, thorny path in order to leave a mark on society, so that descendants will proudly say: “Yes, this man can be called great: our people can be proud of him.”

“The idea of ​​freedom is connected with the true essence of man” (K. Jaspers)

What is freedom? Independence from the powers that be that money and fame can give? Lack of bars or overseer's whip? Freedom to think, write, create without regard to generally accepted canons and public tastes? This question can only be answered by trying to figure out what a person is. But here's the problem! Every culture, every era, every philosophical school gives its own answer to this question. Behind each answer is not only the level of a scientist who has comprehended the laws of the universe, the wisdom of a thinker who has penetrated the secrets of existence, the self-interest of a politician or the imagination of an artist, but there is also always hidden a certain position in life, a completely practical attitude towards the world. And yet. From all the various, contradictory ideas about man, one general conclusion follows: man is not free. He depends on anything: on the will of God or gods, on the laws of the Cosmos, the arrangement of stars and luminaries, on nature, society, but not on himself. But the meaning of Jaspers’s expression, in my opinion, is that a person cannot imagine freedom and happiness without preserving his personality, his unique, inimitable “I”. He does not want to “become everything,” but “wants to be himself in spite of the universe,” as the author of the famous “Mowgli” R. Kipling wrote. A person cannot be happy and free at the cost of trampling on his personality, renouncing his individuality. Truly ineradicable in man is the desire to create the world and himself, to discover something new, unknown to anyone, even if this is achieved at the cost of his own life. Becoming free is not an easy task. It requires from a person the maximum effort of all spiritual forces, deep thoughts about the fate of the world, people, about his own life; a critical attitude towards what is happening around and towards oneself; search for the ideal. The search for the meaning of freedom sometimes continues throughout life and is accompanied by internal struggle and conflicts with others. This is precisely where a person’s free will manifests itself, since from various life circumstances and options, he himself has to choose what to prefer and what to reject, what to do in this or that case. And the more complex the world around us, the more dramatic life is, the more effort is required from a person to determine his position and make this or that choice. This means that K. Jaspers was right in considering the idea of ​​freedom to be the true essence of man. Freedom is a necessary condition for his activity. Freedom cannot be “gifted,” because unsought freedom turns out to be a heavy burden or turns into arbitrariness. Freedom, won in the fight against evil, vices and injustice in the name of affirming goodness, light, truth and beauty, can make every person free

“Science is merciless. She shamelessly refutes favorite and habitual misconceptions” (N.V. Karlov)

We can completely agree with this statement. After all, the main goal of scientific knowledge is the desire for objectivity, i.e. to study the world as it exists outside and independently of man. The result obtained should not depend on private opinions, preferences, or authorities. On the path to searching for objective truth, a person passes through relative truths and errors. There are many examples of this. Once upon a time, people were absolutely sure that the Earth was disk-shaped. But centuries passed, and the journey of Fernando Magellan refuted this misconception. People learned that the Earth is spherical. The geocentric system that existed for millennia was also a fallacy. The discovery of Copernicus debunked this myth. The heliocentric system he created explained to people that all the planets in our system revolve around the Sun. The Catholic Church forbade the recognition of this truth for more than two hundred years, but in this case, science really turned out to be merciless to people’s misconceptions. Thus, on the way to absolute truth, which is final and will not change over time, science passes through the stage of relative truths. At first, these relative truths seem final to people, but time passes and with the emergence of new opportunities for a person to study a particular area, absolute truth appears. It refutes previously acquired knowledge, forcing people to reconsider their previous views and discoveries.

“Progress only indicates the direction of movement, and it is indifferent to what awaits at the end of this path - good or evil” (J. Huizinga).

It is known that progress is the movement of the development of society from simple to complex, from lower to higher. But the long history of mankind proves that moving forward in one area leads to a rollback in another. For example, replacing an arrow with a firearm or a flintlock with an automatic rifle indicates the development of technology and related knowledge and science. The ability to kill a mass of people at once with deadly nuclear weapons is also unconditional evidence of the development of science and technology of the highest level. But can all this be called progress? And therefore, everything that has appeared in history as something positive can always be contrasted as something negative, and very much that is positive in one aspect can be said to be negative in another. So what is the point of the story? What is the direction of its movement? What is progress? Answering these questions is far from easy. The very abstract concept of progress, when trying to apply it to the assessment of certain events specifically - historically, will certainly contain an insoluble contradiction. This inconsistency is the drama of history. Is it inevitable? But the fact is that the main character of this historical drama is the man himself. Evil is, as it were, inevitable, because a person sometimes receives as a result something for which he did not strive at all, which was not his goal. And the objective fact is that practice is always richer, always exceeds the level of achieved knowledge, which gives rise to a person’s ability to use what has been achieved differently in other conditions. Evil, therefore, like a shadow, pursues good. Apparently this is what the author of this statement meant. But I would like to continue the discussion and encourage people, especially scientists, to think about their future discoveries. After all, to define what is truly progressive there is a concept developed throughout the history of mankind. Expressed by the word “humanism,” it denotes both the specific properties of human nature and the assessment of these properties as the highest principle of social life. What is progressive is what is combined with humanism, and not just combined, but contributes to its elevation.

“Revolution is the transition from untruth to truth, from lies to truth, from oppression to justice, from deception and suffering to straightforward honesty and happiness.”

(Robert Owen)

A revolution is often called a social explosion, which is why, in my opinion, a revolution does not completely solve the problems that have arisen in life.

In Russia's historical past, the most significant revolution was the October 1917 revolution. Its most important result was the beginning of the construction of communism, which meant a radical change in the life of the entire country. And if this is the same truth, justice and honesty that Owen speaks of, then why is Russia now trying with all its might to join the Western model of development and doing everything to become a capitalist country in the full sense of the word? And this despite the fact that in Soviet times Russia achieved a lot: it became a superpower, was the first to carry out a human flight into space, and won the Second World War. It turns out that the revolution did not lead our country to the truth. Moreover, by the end of 1991, Russia found itself on the brink of economic disaster and famine.

Is it necessary to talk about social revolutions, if even during the scientific and technological revolution in the modern world many questions arise. Among them are environmental problems, rising unemployment, and terrorism.

On the one hand, during the scientific and technological revolution, healthcare is improved, the most hopeless patients are saved from death by the efforts of doctors, and on the other hand, weapons of mass destruction, including bacteriological ones, are produced. The media daily cover millions of events taking place in all corners of the planet, informing and educating people, but at the same time, the media act as a manipulator of human consciousness, will, and reason.

Many more examples of revolutions can be cited, but the conclusion remains clear: a revolution is a multilateral and contradictory process, during which the problems being solved are replaced by others, often even more complex and confusing.

Religion is wisdom justified by reason

I completely agree with this statement and want to prove the truth of this saying using the example of famous BOOKS that contain such wisdom that humanity will always turn to.

New Testament. It is already 2 thousand years old. With his birth, he created an unprecedented, unprecedented excitement in hearts and minds, which has not calmed down to this day. And all this because it contains wisdom that teaches humanity kindness, humanism, and morality. This book, written simply and without any embellishment, captures the greatest mystery - the mystery of human salvation. People can only fulfill these Great Wisdoms: do not kill, do not steal, do not offend your neighbor, honor your parents. Is this bad wisdom? And when people forget to implement these wisdoms, misfortune awaits them. In our country, during the years of Soviet power, people were excommunicated from this book. All this led to the destruction of the spirituality of society, and therefore to lack of will. And even the communists, when drawing up their law - the Moral Code of the Communist, took as a basis the moral principles contained in the Bible. They just exposed them in a different form. This proves that the wisdom of this book is eternal.

Koran. This is the main book of Muslims. What is she calling for? Particular attention is paid to nobility, which, in turn, implies respect for parents. The Koran teaches Muslims to be firm in word and obligatory in deeds and actions. It condemns such base human qualities as lies, hypocrisy, cruelty, and pride. Is this bad wisdom? They are reasonable.

The given examples prove the correctness of the above statement. All world religions contain such wisdom that instructs people only to do good deeds. Showing people the way at the end of the tunnel.

Science reduces our experiences of fast-flowing life.

One cannot but agree with this statement. Indeed, with the advent of science, the progress of mankind began to accelerate, and the pace of life of human society is accelerating every day. All this happens thanks to science. Before its appearance, humanity moved rather slowly along the path of progress. It took millions of years for the wheel to appear, but it was only thanks to scientists who invented engines that this wheel could be driven at a higher speed. Human life has accelerated dramatically.

For thousands of years, humanity has had to look for answers to many seemingly unsolvable questions. Science did this: the discovery of new types of energy, the treatment of complex diseases, the conquest of outer space... With the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution in the 50-60s of the 20th century, the development of science became the main condition for the existence of human society. Time requires a person to quickly solve global problems on which the preservation of life on Earth will depend.

Science has now come to every home. It serves people by truly reducing the experiences of fast-paced life: instead of washing by hand - an automatic washing machine, instead of a floor rag - a washing vacuum cleaner, instead of a typewriter - a computer. And what can we say about the means of communication that have made our globe so small: in one minute you can receive a message from places located on different ends of the world. The plane takes us in a few hours to the most remote corners of our planet. But just a hundred years ago it took many days and even months. This is the meaning of this statement.

Political strength is strong if and only if it is based on moral strength.

Of course, this statement is correct. Indeed, a politician must act based on moral laws. But for some reason, many people associate the word “power” with the opposite opinion. There are many supporting examples of this in history, ranging from ancient Roman tyrants (for example, Nero) to Hitler and Stalin. And modern rulers do not shine with examples of morality.

What's the matter? Why do deeply moral norms such as honesty, conscience, commitment, truthfulness in no way fit into political power?

Apparently, a lot has to do with the nature of power itself. When a person strives for power, he promises people to improve their lives, restore order, and establish fair laws. But as soon as he finds himself at the helm of power, the situation changes dramatically. Many promises are gradually forgotten. And the politician himself becomes different. He already lives by different standards, he has new views. Those to whom he promised are increasingly moving away from him. And others appear nearby who are always ready to be at the right moment: to advise, to suggest. But they no longer act in the interests of society, but in their own selfish interests. As people say, power spoils a person. Perhaps this is true. Or maybe there are other reasons? Coming to power, a politician understands that he is unable to cope with the burden of problems that the state faces: corruption, the shadow economy, organized crime. In such difficult conditions, there is a retreat from moral principles. We have to act tough. It seems to me that it is better to rephrase this statement as follows: “A political fortress is strong if and only if it is based on the force of law.” For politics, this makes the most sense. Only the laws must also be moral...

• Philosophy,
• Economy,
• Political science,
• Jurisprudence.

• historical facts;
• personal experience and observations;

3. Theoretical part

4. Factual part

5. Conclusion

remember, that

remember the terminology

write straight away

If you are “floating” in the topic

Essay similar to an essay, usually has a free composition and a small size. Although the task should seem easy, for some reason it frightens the students and takes them by surprise.

You will need

• - educational literature;
• - computer.

Instructions

Think over a rough work plan. As a rule, an essay consists of a short introduction, which reveals the essence of the topic; the main part, which sets out the opinions of scientists on the subject of the story; the attitude of the author of the work to these opinions, as well as the conclusion, which provides brief conclusions about the research done. The last page of the essay indicates the sources used.

Select the required material. Write down the various points of view of scientists on the chosen topic on paper and note the order in which statements are used in your work.

Video on the topic

note

Check that all literature used is up to date. Textbooks should be no older than 8-10 years, periodicals - no older than 3-5 years.

To avoid being branded as a plagiarist, provide all citations with links indicating the author, title of the publication, and imprint.

Helpful advice

When writing an essay, you should not use a lot of literature so that the work does not turn out to be too long and overloaded with unnecessary information.

When working with literature, it is not necessary to copy notes onto paper; you can immediately make them on the computer. This makes it easier to edit text.

When writing an essay, be careful and try not to make mistakes. After finishing the work, read it and correct any mistakes.

Essay By statement This is a short essay in which you can demonstrate your knowledge not only in a specific discipline, but also information from related scientific subjects.

Instructions

Choose one statement from those proposed as topics for the examination paper on which you will write an essay. It is important that it is clear and close to you. Remember that to justify your position regarding these words, you will need to make clear arguments, and not just appeal to the fact that “this is immoral” or “this makes no sense in modern life.” Think about what areas of knowledge you have in order to justify this information.

Reveal the meaning of the statement. To do this, simply describe what exactly the author wanted to say with these lines, as you see it. For each person, the same things mean different things, so your version cannot be correct or incorrect, any adequate thought has to exist. precisely in the context given by the scientific subject on which the essay is written. For example, you should not disclose value added tax in the sense if in the statement it is mentioned exclusively in the economic aspect.

Give reasons for your opinion. To do this, use the knowledge gained in the process of other sciences, but do not “get hung up” on this information. Additional justification is good if it only emphasizes your rightness. For example, when writing an essay on the statements of political figures, be sure to remember what historical events might have influenced his beliefs.

Formulate your own point of view regarding the statement. If you partially or completely disagree, suggest your own version of the phrase. Be sure to give reasons for exactly what you disagree with and why your position is more appropriate. Rely on your own experience, on the facts of social life.

Related article

Sources:

• how to make an aphorism

Writing an essay is the last task in the Unified State Exam in social studies. And when preparing for an exam, it is this that raises the most questions. What are the requirements for the work, how is it assessed, and how to get the maximum score for a social studies essay?

What is a task

A mini-essay on the Unified State Exam in social studies is an alternative task. This means that the exam participant can choose from several proposed options the one that is closer and more interesting to him.

Essay topics are short quotes - aphorisms related to the five blocks of the curriculum, one for each. The thematic areas of statements are as follows:

• Philosophy,
• Economy,
• Sociology, social psychology,
• Political science,
• Jurisprudence.

Of the five statements, you need to choose only one (the closest or most understandable) and write a mini-essay that reveals the meaning of the chosen aphorism and contains illustrative examples.

The “weight” of the social studies essay in the final points is quite small: about 8% of the total points. A perfectly written paper can earn only 5 primary points out of 62 possible, about 8%. Therefore, you should not approach the work as fundamentally as when writing essays on the Russian language or essays on literature.

The compilers of the Unified State Examination themselves suggest taking 36-45 minutes to write an essay on social studies (this is exactly the time period indicated in the specification). For comparison: an essay on the Russian language takes 110 minutes, and a full-length essay on literature takes 115.

All this suggests that the approach to social science should be different: there is no need to create a “masterpiece”, there are no mandatory requirements for presentation style (or even literacy), and even the volume of work is not regulated. Here it is not necessary to write 150-350 words of text: after all, the task is positioned as a “mini-essay” and if you manage to reveal the idea briefly and succinctly, this will be welcome.

It is enough to simply demonstrate knowledge of the subject and the ability to find suitable examples to support your point of view - and express your thoughts coherently and convincingly on the exam form.

Criteria for assessing essays in social studies on the Unified State Exam

The essay is scored based on three criteria in total. To earn the maximum five points, you must meet the following "required minimum":

Reveal the meaning of the original statement, or at least demonstrate that you correctly understood what its author meant (1 point). This is a key point: if you did not understand the quote and received 0 points on the first criterion, the work will not be assessed further.

Demonstrate knowledge of theory(2 points). Here, to get a high grade, it is necessary to analyze the meaning of the statement, using the knowledge acquired during the study of the school social studies course, remember the main points of the theory, and use the terminology correctly. Incomplete compliance with the requirements, deviation from the original topic or semantic errors will result in the loss of one point.

Ability to find relevant examples(2 points). To receive the highest mark on this criterion, you must illustrate the problem with two (at least) examples - facts that confirm the main idea of ​​the essay. Moreover, they must be from sources of different types. Sources can be

• examples from fiction, feature films and documentaries;
• examples from popular science literature, the history of various branches of science;
• historical facts;
• facts gleaned while studying other school subjects;
• personal experience and observations;
• media reports.

If only personal experience is used as examples or examples of the same type are given (for example, both from fiction), the score is reduced by a point. A zero for this criterion is given if the examples do not correspond to the topic or if there is no information at all.

Social studies essay writing plan

There are no strict requirements for the structure of the essay - the main thing is to reveal the meaning of the statement, demonstrate knowledge of the theory and support it with facts. However, given that you don’t have much time to think about it, you can stick to a standard essay plan that includes all the necessary elements.

1. The optional part is the introduction. General statement of the problem (one or two sentences). In an essay on social studies, this point of the plan can be omitted and go straight to the interpretation of the proposed aphorism, but schoolchildren often find it difficult to deviate from the usual compositional scheme, when the “gist of the matter” is preceded by general reasoning. Therefore, if you are used to starting with an introduction, write it, if this is not important for you, you can omit this point, the points will not be reduced for this.

2. Revealing the meaning of the original statement– 2-3 sentences. There is no need to quote in full; it is enough to refer to its author and state the meaning of the phrase in your own words. It must be remembered that, unlike an essay in Russian, where it is necessary to isolate a problem, an essay in social science can be devoted to a phenomenon, a process, or simply a statement of fact. To reveal the meaning of a statement, you can use templates like “In the proposed statement, N.N (a famous philosopher, economist, famous writer) considers (describes, talks about ...) such a phenomenon (process, problem) as ..., interpreting it as ... " or “The meaning of the statement ( expressions, aphorisms) N. N is that...”

3. Theoretical part(3-4 sentences). Here it is necessary to confirm or refute the author’s point of view, relying on the knowledge gained in class and using special terminology. If you agree with the author’s point of view, then, by and large, this part is a detailed translation of the original phrase into “textbook language.” For example, if the author called children’s games in the yard a “school of life”, you will write about what institutions of socialization are and the role they play in the process of an individual’s assimilation of social norms. Here you can also quote quotes from other philosophers, economists, etc., confirming the main idea of ​​the text - however, this is not a mandatory requirement.

4. Factual part(4-6 sentences). Here it is necessary to give at least two examples confirming the theses put forward in the previous paragraph. In this part it is better to avoid “general words” and talk about specifics. And do not forget to indicate sources of information. For example, “experiments devoted to” have been repeatedly described in popular science literature; “as we know from the school physics course...”, “writer N,N. in his novel “Untitled” he describes the situation…”, “on the shelves of the supermarket opposite my school you can see...”.

5. Conclusion(1-2 sentences). Since an essay on social studies on the Unified State Exam is, by and large, a proof of a certain theoretical position, you can complete the essay by summing up what has been said. For example: “Thus, both real-life examples and reading experience suggest that...”, followed by a restatement of the main thesis.

remember, that the main thing is to correctly reveal the meaning of the statement. Therefore, when choosing from the proposed options, take a quote whose interpretation is beyond your doubts.

Before you start writing the text, remember the terminology on this topic. Write them down on a draft form so you can use them later in your work.

Choose the most suitable examples on this topic. Remember that examples from literature may not be limited to works of the school curriculum - in the social studies exam you can use any literary works as arguments. We should not forget that relying on reading experience in the case of social studies is not a priority: remember cases from life; news heard on the radio; topics discussed in society and so on. Also write down the selected examples on the draft form.

Since literacy, style and composition of the text are not graded, if you are confident enough to express your thoughts in writing, it is better not to waste time writing a full draft. Limit yourself to drawing up a thesis plan and write straight away- this will help save time.

Start the essay after you have answered all other questions.– otherwise you may not fit in the time limit and lose more points than you gain. For example, the first four tasks with detailed answers (based on the text read) can give a total of 10 primary points (twice as much as an essay), and formulating answers to them usually takes much less time than writing a mini-essay.

If you are “floating” in the topic and you feel that you cannot write an essay with maximum points - do this task anyway. Every point is important - and even if you only manage to correctly formulate the topic and give at least one example “from life” - you will receive two primary points for your social studies essay on the Unified State Exam, which is much better than zero.

In this article you will learn how to write an essay on social studies. Examples are attached.

First of all, it is necessary to understand that in order to learn how to write an essay in social studies, it takes quite a long time. Without preliminary preparation, it is impossible to write an essay that would be rated high by experts. Sustainable skills and good results appear after 2-3 months of work (about 15-20 essays written). It is systematic training and determination that bring high results. You need to hone your skills in practice with the direct help and careful supervision of a teacher.

Video - how to write an essay on social studies

If you haven't tried essay writing yet, watch the video.

Unlike an essay on literature or the Russian language, where the minimum amount of work is clearly specified and general reflection is allowed (“philosophizing” without specification), in an essay on social science the volume is not limited, but its structure and content are fundamentally different. A social studies essay is actually an answer to the question: “Do I agree with this statement and why?” That is why an essay on social science must contain strict argumentation, scientificity and specificity. At the same time, it should be noted that very paradoxical, unusual statements that require imaginative thinking and a non-standard approach to revealing the problem are often used as the topic of an essay. This inevitably leaves its mark on the essay writing style and requires maximum concentration of strength and attention.

I would also like to add that the exam essay is assessed by specific people. In order for an expert, who checks from 50 to 80 papers a day, to mark an essay as worthy of attention, this essay must not only meet all the requirements set out below, but also be distinguished by a certain originality, originality and originality - this is implied by the genre of the essay itself. Therefore, it is necessary not only to present scientific and factual material on the topic, but also to pleasantly surprise you with the originality and flexibility of your thinking.

Algorithm for writing essays during the Unified State Exam

1. First of all, during the exam you need to properly manage your time. Practice shows that writing an essay requires spending at least 1-1.5 hours out of the 3.5 hours allotted for the Unified State Exam in Social Studies. It is most advisable to start writing an essay after all other KIM tasks have been completed, because This type of work requires maximum concentration of the graduate’s efforts.
2. Carefully read all the topics offered to choose from.
3. Select topics that are understandable, i.e. – the student must clearly understand what this statement is about, what the author wanted to say with this phrase. In order to remove doubts about whether he understands the topic correctly, the graduate must restate the phrase in his own words, defining the main idea. The student can do this orally or in a draft.
4. From the selected understandable statements, it is necessary to choose one topic - the one that the student knows best. It is necessary to note the fact that examinees often choose topics that are easy, in their opinion, but which turn out to be difficult when covering the topic due to the limited scientific and factual material on this issue (in other words, the phrase itself says everything, nothing can be added). In such cases, the essay is reduced to a simple statement of the meaning of the statement in different versions and is rated low by experts due to poor evidence base. Therefore, you need to choose the topic of the essay so that the student, when writing it, can fully demonstrate the completeness of his knowledge and the depth of his thoughts (i.e., the topic must be winning).
5. When choosing a topic for an essay, you must also pay attention to which social science the statement belongs to. Practice shows that a number of phrases can refer to several sciences at once. For example, I. Goethe’s statement “Man is determined not only by natural qualities, but also by acquired ones” may belong to philosophy, social psychology, and sociology. Accordingly, the content of the essay should vary depending on this, i.e. must be consistent with said basic science.
6. There is no need to write the entire essay as a draft. Firstly, due to limited time, and secondly, due to the fact that at the time of writing an essay some thoughts come, and at the time of rewriting - others, and redoing a finished text is much more difficult than creating a new one. In the draft, the graduate makes only an outline of his essay, approximate short sketches of the meaning of the phrase, his argumentation, the points of view of scientists, concepts and theoretical positions that he is going to present in his work, as well as the approximate order of their arrangement one after another, taking into account the semantic logic of the essay.
7. Without fail, the student must express his personal attitude to the chosen topic in a clearly defined formulation (“I agree”, “I disagree”, “I don’t completely agree”, “I agree, but partially” or phrases that are similar in meaning and meaning) . The presence of a personal attitude is one of the criteria on the basis of which experts evaluate an essay.
8. Without fail, the graduate must state his understanding of the meaning of the statement. Those. The high school student explains in his own words what the author wanted to say with this phrase. It is more advisable to do this at the very beginning of the essay. And if you combine the requirements of this paragraph with the provisions of the previous one, then this is what, for example, the beginning of an essay on philosophy “Before talking about the benefit of satisfying needs, you need to decide what needs constitute the benefit” will look like: “I completely agree with the statement of the great Russian writer of the second halfXIX– beginningXXcenturies L.N. Tolstoy, in which he talks about real and imaginary needs."
9. You need to be very careful in selecting arguments to support your point of view. Arguments must be convincing and justified. Data from relevant sciences, historical facts, and facts from social life are used as arguments. Arguments of a personal nature (examples from personal life) are rated the lowest, so their use as evidence is undesirable. It should be remembered that any personal example can easily be “transformed” into an example from public life, from social practice, if you write about it in a third person (for example, not “The saleswoman in the store was rude to me, thereby violating my consumer rights”, A “Let’s say that the saleswoman was rude to citizen S. Thus, she violated his rights as a consumer.” The number of arguments in an essay is not limited, but 3-5 arguments are most optimal for revealing the topic. It should also be remembered that examples from history are most relevant in political science, partly in legal and sociological topics, as well as in philosophical topics related to the theory of social progress. Examples from social practice (public life) - in sociological, economic, legal topics. Data from the relevant sciences must be used when choosing any of the topics.
10. The use of terms, concepts, and definitions in an essay must be competent and appropriate in relation to the chosen topic and science. The essay should not be overloaded with terminology, especially if these concepts are not related to the chosen problem. Unfortunately, some graduates try to insert as many terms as possible into their work, violating the principle of expediency and reasonable sufficiency. Thus, they show that they have not learned to correctly use scientific terminology. The term should be mentioned appropriately; such a mention should indicate its correct understanding.
11. It is very welcome if a graduate in his essay indicates the points of view of other researchers on the issues under consideration, provides a link to different interpretations of the problem and different ways to solve it (if possible). Indication of other points of view can be direct (for example: “Lenin thought this way:..., and Trotsky thought differently:..., and Stalin did not agree with both of them:...”), but can be indirect, non-specific, non-personalized: “A number of researchers think this way:..., others think differently:..., and some suggest something completely different:....”
12. It is very welcome if the essay indicates who the author of this statement was. The indication should be brief but precise (see example in paragraph 8). If, when arguing your position on this issue, it is appropriate to mention the views of the author of the phrase, this must be done.
13. Arguments must be presented in strict sequence, the internal logic of presentation in the essay must be clearly visible. The student should not jump from one to another and return to the first again without explanation and internal connection, connecting the individual provisions of his work.
14. The essay must end with a conclusion that briefly summarizes the thoughts and reasoning: “Thus, based on all of the above, it can be argued that the author was right in his statement.”

Essay Examples on the topic of:

Philosophy “Revolution is a barbaric way of progress” (J. Jaures)

For the highest score

I completely agree with the statement of the famous French socialist, historian and political figure of the first half of the twentieth century, Jean Jaurès, in which he speaks about the features of the revolutionary path of social progress, about the distinctive features of the revolution. Indeed, revolution is one of the ways of progress, movement forward towards better and more complex forms of organizing the social order. But since a revolution is a radical disruption of the entire existing system, a transformation of all or most aspects of social life, occurring in a short period of time, this form of progress is always accompanied by a large number of victims and violence.

If we remember the revolutionary year of 1917 in Russia, we will see that both revolutions entailed the most severe confrontation in society and the country, which resulted in a terrible Civil War, accompanied by unprecedented bitterness, millions of dead and injured, unprecedented devastation in the national economy.

If we remember the Great French Revolution, we will also see the rampant Jacobin terror, the guillotine, “working” seven days a week, and a series of incessant revolutionary wars.

If we remember the English bourgeois revolution, we will also see a civil war and repressions against dissidents.

And when we look at the history of the United States, we will see that both bourgeois revolutions that took place in this country took the form of war: first, the War of Independence, and then the Civil War.

The list of examples from history can go on and on, but wherever a revolution occurs - in China, Iran, the Netherlands, etc. – everywhere it was accompanied by violence, i.e. barbarism from the perspective of a civilized person.

And even though other thinkers exalted revolution (like, for example, Karl Marx, who argued that revolutions are the locomotives of history), even though reactionaries and conservatives denied the role of revolutions in social progress, the point of view of J. Jaurès is closer to me: yes, revolution is a way of progress, a movement for the better, but carried out using barbaric methods, that is, using cruelty, blood and violence. Happiness cannot be created through violence!

For a small point

In his quote, the author talks about revolution and progress. Revolution is a way of transforming reality in a short time, and progress is moving forward. Revolution is not progress. After all, progress is reform. It cannot be said that the revolution does not produce positive results - for example, the Russian revolution allowed workers and peasants to get rid of a difficult situation. But by definition, revolution is not progress, because progress is all that is good, and revolution is all that is bad. I disagree with the author who classifies revolution as progress.

Essay outline

Introduction
1) A clear indication of the problem of the statement:
“The statement I have chosen concerns the problem...”
“The problem with this statement is...”
2) Explanation of the choice of topic (what is the significance or relevance of this topic)
“Everyone is concerned about the question...”
“The RELEVANCE of this topic lies in...”
3) Reveal the meaning of the statement from the point of view of social science, 1-2 sentences
4) Introduction of the author and his point of view
“The author argued (said, thought) from such a point of view...”
5) Your own interpretation of this phrase, YOUR OWN POINT OF VIEW (DO YOU AGREE OR NOT)
“I think...” “I agree with the author of the statement...”
6) Expressing your position, moving on to the main part of the essay

P.S. It would be a plus if in the introduction you provide information about the author of the statement and insert a definition of the chosen field of the essay (philosophy, politics, economics, law, etc.)

Argumentation:
1) Theoretical argumentation of the problem. At least 3 aspects of the theoretical discussion of the topic must be presented.
For example: reveal the concept itself, give examples, analyze features, functions, classifications, properties.
2) Practical argument or example from public life

Every year FIPI reforms the demo version of the Unified State Exam in social studies. This time the requirements and essay assessment system (tasks 29) have changed somewhat. I suggest you understand the innovations!

Changes in social studies essay 2018

Here's what the task looked like in 2017.

What has changed in the assignment text?

Let's figure it out.

1. Form: mini-essay, no changes.
2. The word problem (which the author of the quote raises) has been replaced by idea. It is fundamentally? I think not anyway this is those thoughts that arise when comprehending the author’s quote!
3. The requirement to write several ideas is more clearly formulated (in 2017 - if necessary...).
4. They are also asked to rely on facts and examples from public life and personal social experience, examples from other academic subjects.
5. Also assessed two examples from various sources.
6. The requirement is more strictly formulated detailed example and its obvious connection with the idea.

That is, in essence, volume requirement changes (examples need to be expanded, you need to see several ideas!) and let's just say that the essay really moves away from the genre of an easy and transparent essay, when it is not necessary to meticulously write out an example, it is enough to voice the idea. To a cumbersome essay, where all thoughts are ponderous, extremely clear and voiced. Probably next year we will come to a word limit, as in other subjects, unfortunately

How is an essay checked now?

First of all, the number of criteria has changed. There are more of them 4 instead of the previous three.

Criteria for checking task 29 essays for the Unified State Exam 2017

Let us remind you that in general you could get 5 points (1-2-2) for a mini-essay. now this 6 The value of the essay continues to increase, learning to write it in order to get the most important Unified State Exam points is a must!

Let's look at the new changed criteria!

Essentially, it has not changed; this is also a disclosure of the meaning of the author’s quote. And also, for non-disclosure you will receive a 0 not only for this criterion, but for the entire essay.

So, you need to find in the quote an idea (? problem?) related to the course and highlight a thesis (your complete thought on this statement), which you will further substantiate with information from the course and examples from social practice.

To be honest, I don’t see anything new. Instead of the meaning of the author’s quote, you write...

Essentially the same, criterion 2. Theoretical justification of the idea (problem) from the standpoint of scientific social science. terms, concepts, theories, scientific conclusions on this idea

So, let's break it down new criteria...

“The defense of rights is the defense of the greatest social value.”

(P.A. Sorokin)

Criterion 1. Its disclosure is played here by:

The author addresses the problem protection of rights, especially relevant in modern society.
In his opinion protection of rights is very important for society.
I can’t help but agree with the author’s opinion, because Law plays an important role in the life of any state, society and every person.

And also receive expert verification from us in our group

Social Studies Essay Example 2016

Writing a competent mini-essay on social studies is extremely important when testing the Unified State Exam. Moreover, it is not so much the writing itself that is important, but the ability to write essays in principle. You must understand that this skill is important for completing, in principle, part 2 of the Unified State Examination test. Well, can you, for example, complete task 25 if you don’t know the terms? No. Likewise, in a social studies essay you need to be able to use terms.

In November 2015, we conducted a study, the materials of which contained methods for writing essays. It's also in the video course. "Social science. Unified State Examination for 100 points".

Well, if you want to check your existing essay, or practice writing it, as well as practice in other tasks: you are welcome to receive materials.

Below is an example of an essay on social studies, written according to all the rules and canons. Moreover, the example of this essay is different from the one I gave. Blue indicates the explanation of the problem, as well as its aspect; red - theoretical argumentation, green - factual argumentation, brown - conclusions. An example essay was written by me yesterday in our Unified State Exam preparation courses with a detailed explanation to the student of how exactly what needs to be done.

« The majority has power, but not the right: the minority always has the right.”

This statement raises the problem of the relationship between the influence of the majority (for example, those who voted for something) and taking into account the opinion of the minority when exercising power; as well as the problem of realizing rights. This problem is relevant for both democratic and non-democratic regimes.

Let's consider this statement from the standpoint of elite theory. According to this theory, society is divided into an elite (an organized minority) and a governed class, which includes the majority of people. The majority of people can either support the existing elite, and then it has the right to make government decisions. In this case, political scientists talk about the legitimacy of power. Or the majority may not support the existing elite, and then we can talk about a crisis of legitimacy. In any case, this statement has a real basis: the majority has the power to choose one or another political elite, and at the same time transfer to it (the elite) the right to make nationally significant decisions.

We wrote above that this statement can be true for both a democratic regime and a non-democratic regime. Let's look at some examples.

Thus, the modern United States is pursuing a clear foreign policy aimed at destabilizing the balance in the world. Examples of this policy include the Arab Spring in Libya in 2011, when it was overthrown by Muammar Gaddafi, or two years later the same fate befell Egypt.

If we talk about non-democratic states, an example is the policy of Nazi Germany in the period from 1933 to 1945, which was de facto supported by the majority of Germans.

On the other hand, there is another aspect to this statement that is relevant only for a democratic regime. Namely, when voting on a decision, the majority has both the power and the right to make it. But at the same time, the opinion of the minority who has the right to do so is taken into account.

For example, when elected to the country's parliament, the party that wins the election takes the largest number of seats. But parties that received fewer votes also receive seats in Parliament. This is the right of the minority to have its opinion taken into account.

But for non-democratic regimes, this situation does not apply, since after a decision is made, if the minority claims any rights to revise it, it (the minority), as a rule, is subject to repression. This happened in Nazi Germany, in the USSR during the Stalinist period, and in Cambodia under Paul Pot.

Thus, the statement stated in the topic of the essay is only partly true: when considering political life from the point of view of the theory of elites, if we understand the majority of citizens of the state, and the minority as the elite, then the statement is true: the majority has power, and the minority has the right. But when considering the statement from the standpoint of electoral technologies, it is true only for democracy, and not true for non-democratic regimes.