Prompt: Each culture or religion had its ups and downs in history. How do you view their rise and fall, especially in relation to the state or government?
A clue: You should use specific historical cases we have covered in this course to illustrate your point. These cases include Athens under Pericles, the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, China, and India. Do not dwell on generalities! You should write an analytical summary, not a descriptive one. That is, you organize relevant facts logically around a contested claim.
A reminder:
Things are often complex and cannot be understood in simple black-and-white terms. You should try to give a historically informed, ideologically unbiased, and logically coherent answer. The historical context cannot be overemphasized. It is easy to dwell on generalities out of context. It is also easy to see things from one’s own ideological perspective and rush to condemn alternative ones without trying to understand them. You can always disagree but should show respect. It is more important to help contribute to a greater understanding of the question at issue. Finally, it is easier to speak coherently, but a lot more difficult to write coherently. Make sure that you move logically from sentence to sentence and consistently from paragraph to paragraph. Do not deviate from your focus. Whatever you write should be directly relevant to the prompt. There is no need for long background introduction.