Study Session

Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (1900-Present)

DBQ + LEQ Studio: Essay planning

View unit overview Practice tips

Key themes

Flashcard topics

Sample questions

45-minute plan

Keep moving so you get through every step.

7 min: Warm-up — Write down everything you already know about the topic.
8 min: Flashcards — Review 6 terms that could show up in the documents.
18 min: Outline — Write a thesis and outline 2 body paragraphs.
12 min: Review — Add a sourcing sentence (who wrote a document and why) and a complexity sentence.

Flashcard set

Start with these eight terms.

Cold WarContainmentTruman DoctrineMarshall PlanNATOWarsaw PactProxy warsCuban Missile Crisis

Practice prompt

Use this as your main timed prompt.

LEQ

In the period circa 1945 to 1975, most colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence from European empires. Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which the Cold War influenced the process of decolonization in Asia and Africa during this period.

DBQ + LEQ Studio checklist

Keep these in mind while you answer.

Write a thesis in 1-2 sentences
Label each paragraph with an argument
Add 1 sentence that shows complexity: another view, or a link to another time or place

Wrap-up checklist

Finish with these so what you practiced sticks.

Log 2 concepts you still need to review
Add 3 flashcards to tomorrow's deck
Write a 1-sentence thesis in your own words

More prompts

Use these to extend the session or build a full practice set.

Document based question

7 points. 60 minutes, including 15 minutes of reading.

Evaluate the extent to which Cold War rivalry shaped the course of decolonization in the period circa 1945 to 1975.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Document based question

7 points. 60 minutes, including 15 minutes of reading.

Evaluate the extent to which superpower rivalry, rather than local conditions, drove proxy conflicts in the period circa 1945 to 1991.

Write your answer and get it scored →

45-minute plan

Keep moving so you get through every step.

7 min: Warm-up — Write down everything you already know about the topic.

8 min: Flashcards — Review 6 terms that could show up in the documents.

18 min: Outline — Write a thesis and outline 2 body paragraphs.

12 min: Review — Add a sourcing sentence (who wrote a document and why) and a complexity sentence.

More prompts

Use these to extend the session or build a full practice set.

Document based question

7 points. 60 minutes, including 15 minutes of reading.

Evaluate the extent to which Cold War rivalry shaped the course of decolonization in the period circa 1945 to 1975.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Document based question

7 points. 60 minutes, including 15 minutes of reading.

Evaluate the extent to which superpower rivalry, rather than local conditions, drove proxy conflicts in the period circa 1945 to 1991.

Write your answer and get it scored →