IB Docs (2) Team
Comparative essay planning for Authoritarian States
This page gives some suggestions for activities and plans which require students to compare two authoritarian states; this skill is key for this paper and students need plenty of practice in planning comparative essays.
Refer back to the page Essay writing for Paper 2 for hints for students on how to structure comparative essays.
Theme One: Emergence of Authoritarian states
The following grid will help students prepare for comparative questions. It is a good idea to start such a grid early on so that students are filling it in as they go along and thus thinking about comparisons and contrasts as soon as they do a second case study. Or it could used as a revision activity at the end of the course.
Task One
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
Complete the grid below using the case studies that you have studied.
Grid for comparing the rise to power of authoritarian states
Task Two
ATL: Thinking skills
Using the information from your completed grid, try planning out the following essays:
- Examine the role of the economy in the emergence of two authoritarian states, each chosen from a different region.
- Examine the impact of war on the emergence of two authoritarian states, each chosen from a different region.
- Analyse the methods used by one authoritarian state to establish power.
- To what extent is charismatic leadership key to the successful establishment of power by authoritarian states?
Theme 2: Consolidation and maintenance of power
The following grid will help students compare authoritarian states with a focus on the prescribed content for this theme:
Task Three
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
Complete the following grid using your case studies.
Grid for comparing authoritarian states re consolidation and maintenance of power
Task Four
ATL: Thinking skills
Use the grid to help you plan the following essays. Decide which case studies are appropriate for each question:
- Discuss the significance of the treatment of opposition in two authoritarian leaders’ maintenance of power, each chosen from a different region?
- “The use of force is the most significant factor for an authoritarian leader’s consolidation of power.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
- Analyse the impact of foreign policy on the consolidation and maintenance of power of two authoritarian states each taken from a different region
Theme 3: Aims and results of policies
The following grid will help students compare the policies of the authoritarian states that they have studied and will provide a basis for some of the essays below.
Task Five
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
Complete the following grid to help you compare the policies of the authoritarian states that you have studied.
Grid for comparing the policies of authoritarian states
Task Six
ATL: Thinking skills
Using the information that you have put in your grid on policies as a starting point, attempt to plan the following essays. Decide which case studies will be the most appropriate for each question.
For essays that have the stem 'Compare and contrast...' you will need to directly compare the two states you have chosen. With other questions that ask you to look at two case studies but use other stems such as 'Examine...', you do not need to directly compare your two case studies.
- Compare and contrast the treatment of minorities on two authoritarian states, each chosen from a different region.
- Compare and contrast the treatment of opposition in two authoritarian states, each chosen from a different region.
- Evaluate the impact of two authoritarian leaders on women and minorities, each chosen from a different region.
- Compare and contrast the impact of political policies in two authoritarian states, each chosen from a different region.
- Compare and contrast the impact of cultural policies in two authoritarian states, each chosen from a different region.
Task Seven
ATL: Thinking skills
In pairs, brainstorm an essay for the following question:
Compare and contrast the impact of economic policies in two authoritarian states, each chosen from a different region.
Below are two grids comparing the economic polices for Mao and Stalin which you might find useful if using these states as your case studies.
In a compare and contrast essay, the following language might be useful:
Comparing Similarly, … Likewise In both situations/In neither situation… Compared with… In the same way… Equally… As with… …are similar in that… | Contrasting Although… Conversely, In spite of this… On the other hand, However, On the contrary, Nevertheless, |
Grid comparing Agricultural policies of Stalin and Mao
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