Study Session

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

SAQ Builder: Short answer structure

View unit overview Practice tips

Key themes

Flashcard topics

Sample questions

45-minute plan

Keep moving so you get through every step.

5 min: Warm-up — Pick 2 key themes and outline a thesis.
10 min: Flashcards — Define 6 terms and connect them to context.
20 min: SAQ draft — Answer one prompt using ACE: Answer, Cite evidence, Explain.
10 min: Review — Underline evidence and add 1 missing detail.

Flashcard set

Start with these eight terms.

Cold WarContainmentTruman DoctrineMarshall PlanNATOWarsaw PactProxy warsCuban Missile Crisis

Practice prompt

Use this as your main timed prompt.

SAQ

(a) Identify ONE state that joined the Non-Aligned Movement in the period after 1945. (b) Describe ONE reason newly independent states chose nonalignment in the period circa 1945 to 1991. (c) Explain ONE challenge faced by new states in Africa or Asia after independence in the period circa 1945 to 2000.

SAQ Builder checklist

Keep these in mind while you answer.

Answer in 3-4 sentences
Underline the evidence you used
Circle the comparison or causation statement

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.

Short answer

Three parts, one point each. No thesis needed.

(a) Identify ONE state that joined the Non-Aligned Movement in the period after 1945.
(b) Describe ONE reason newly independent states chose nonalignment in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(c) Explain ONE challenge faced by new states in Africa or Asia after independence in the period circa 1945 to 2000.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Short answer

Three parts, one point each. No thesis needed.

(a) Identify ONE cause of the Cold War in the period circa 1945 to 1950.
(b) Describe ONE way the United States and the Soviet Union competed for global influence in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(c) Explain ONE effect of the Cold War on international organizations or alliances in the period circa 1945 to 1991.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Short answer

Three parts, one point each. No thesis needed.

(a) Identify ONE weapons system central to the Cold War arms race in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(b) Describe ONE way the arms race affected domestic economies in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(c) Explain ONE way nuclear weapons shaped superpower foreign policy in the period circa 1945 to 1991.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Short answer

Three parts, one point each. No thesis needed.

(a) Identify ONE leader associated with the Non-Aligned Movement in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(b) Describe ONE goal of the Non-Aligned Movement in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(c) Explain ONE reason it was difficult for states to remain nonaligned in the period circa 1945 to 1991.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Short answer

Three parts, one point each. No thesis needed.

(a) Identify ONE colony that gained independence in the period after 1945.
(b) Describe ONE factor that accelerated decolonization in the period after 1945.
(c) Explain ONE challenge new states faced in building national unity in the period circa 1945 to 2000.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Showing 5 of 16

45-minute plan

Keep moving so you get through every step.

5 min: Warm-up — Pick 2 key themes and outline a thesis.

10 min: Flashcards — Define 6 terms and connect them to context.

20 min: SAQ draft — Answer one prompt using ACE: Answer, Cite evidence, Explain.

10 min: Review — Underline evidence and add 1 missing detail.

Practice prompt

Use this as your main timed prompt.

SAQ

More prompts

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

Short answer

Three parts, one point each. No thesis needed.

(a) Identify ONE state that joined the Non-Aligned Movement in the period after 1945.
(b) Describe ONE reason newly independent states chose nonalignment in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(c) Explain ONE challenge faced by new states in Africa or Asia after independence in the period circa 1945 to 2000.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Short answer

Three parts, one point each. No thesis needed.

(a) Identify ONE cause of the Cold War in the period circa 1945 to 1950.
(b) Describe ONE way the United States and the Soviet Union competed for global influence in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(c) Explain ONE effect of the Cold War on international organizations or alliances in the period circa 1945 to 1991.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Short answer

Three parts, one point each. No thesis needed.

(a) Identify ONE weapons system central to the Cold War arms race in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(b) Describe ONE way the arms race affected domestic economies in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(c) Explain ONE way nuclear weapons shaped superpower foreign policy in the period circa 1945 to 1991.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Short answer

Three parts, one point each. No thesis needed.

(a) Identify ONE leader associated with the Non-Aligned Movement in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(b) Describe ONE goal of the Non-Aligned Movement in the period circa 1945 to 1991.
(c) Explain ONE reason it was difficult for states to remain nonaligned in the period circa 1945 to 1991.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Short answer

Three parts, one point each. No thesis needed.

(a) Identify ONE colony that gained independence in the period after 1945.
(b) Describe ONE factor that accelerated decolonization in the period after 1945.
(c) Explain ONE challenge new states faced in building national unity in the period circa 1945 to 2000.

Write your answer and get it scored →

Showing 5 of 16