Conclusion analysis

Good conclusions usually refer back to the question or title and address it directly - for example by using key words from the title.
How well do you think these conclusions address the title or question? Answering these questions should help you find out.

1. Do they use key words from the title or question?
2. Do they answer the question directly?
3. Can you work out the question or title just by reading the conclusion?

• By the end of the Potsdam Conference any hopes of a post-war alliance between the allies had disappeared. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

  "So in conclusion I wouldn't completely agree with the statement above because if they were able to form an alliance before the conference and were able to defeat Germany as I team, I think that if they had time to sort out their differences then they would have been able to form a strong post-war alliance. But I also believe that if they didn't trust each other from the beginning then they would have to work at it, because without trust they wouldn't be able to help one anther, and even when they were allies before the Potsdam conference they still didn't trust each other 100% that is why Britain was willing to go behind each others back and was willing to form an alliance with Russia if they had the chance. So I agree to a certain extent that after the conference hopes of a post-war alliance had disappeared, but I think if they started from scratch and gave each other a chance then they would have been able to form a good alliance, that could have taken control over countries in the East like the Russians did."

• To what extent was Stalin's foreign policy after 1945 aimed at the expansion of the communist system.

  "In conclusion there is much disagreement and contradiction in relation to Stalin's Soviet foreign policy after 1945 particularly between traditionalist and revisionist theorists. Traditionalists argued that Stalin's policies were predominantly motivated by communist expansionism and although particular documents tended to prove this, there is also great evidence that much of his foreign policy was actually grounded on security interests and fears. When discussing particular events in history it is difficult to obtain a completely unbiased view and although some arguments may offer more substantial evidence it is difficult to disregard all other factors which may have also been present. 1"

• The Soviet Union claimed to have made women equal to men. To what extent did it really succeed in doing so?

  "In conclusion, I believe the Soviet Union did not make women equal to men to a great extent, and that women had an unsteady role within society, sometimes being workers, sometimes mothers and sometimes even fighters, whilst men merely provided practical labour. Women still had to deal with family and domestic duties whilst working, and often large families which would have been hard to look after were promoted. The Soviet Union portrayed itself as a gender-equal, but I feel that for the reasons outlined above, it still had an awful lot to do before this ideal would actually have been realised."