"World War II was a continuation of World War I."

Write an argument essay (three to five paragraphs) supporting your position. Support your claim with logical arguments and evidence. Take time to view this tutorial on argument writing to help prepare your response.

Step 1: Determine Your Position

Decide whether you will defend or reject the following statement:

“World War II was a continuation of World War I.”

Analyze the causes, course, and consequences of both World War I and World War II.
What countries fought in World War I, and why did each fight?
What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I?
What were the effects of World War I?
What were the political, economic, and social developments in the period between the end of World War I and start of World War II?
Step 2: Plan Your Argument

Remember that a good response is one that incorporates a strong thesis (also called a position, stance, or claim), logical arguments that support your thesis, evidence to support each argument, and a conclusion that ties your ideas together. Before you begin writing, organize your thoughts. You can use the Argument Essay Template to guide you.

Step 3: Write Your Argument

Use your outline to write your arguments. Your final submission must include:

three to five paragraphs (introduction, body paragraphs, counterclaim paragraph, conclusion)
an introduction that introduces the topic, explains why it is important, and states your thesis/claim (World War II was a continuation of World War I or World War II was not a continuation of World War I)
logical arguments that support your thesis/claim
evidence to support each argument
a counterclaim and evidence to support the counterclaim
explanation regarding how the evidence supporting the thesis/claim is stronger than the evidence supporting the counterclaim
use of formal writing style (i.e. write in the third person, avoid statements that use "I," use formal language, avoid slang)

When we think of World War I, images of the bloody, muddy Western Front are generally what come to mind. Scenes of frightened young men standing in knee-deep mud, awaiting the call to go "over the top", facing machine guns, barbed wire, mortars, bayonets, hand-to-hand battles, and more. We also think of the frustrations of all involved: the seemingly simple goal, the incomprehensible difficulty of just moving forward, and the staggering numbers of men killed. The stalemate on the Western Front lasted for four years, forcing the advancement of new technologies, bleeding the resources of the belligerent nations, and destroying the surrounding countryside. I've gathered photographs of the Great War from dozens of collections, some digitized for the first time, to try to tell the story of the conflict, those caught up in it, and how much it affected the world. This entry is part 2 of a 10-part series on World War I. This installment focuses on Early Years on the front, part II will focus more on the final year of trench warfare.

Explanation: