Writing Workshop: Summarizing Historical Trends Answers

Read the writing prompt.Explain why the process of industrialization is called a revolution, and summarize the effects of industrialization on the people of the era. Include facts, details, and examples to support your discussion.Which of the following phrases best summarizes this writing prompt’s assigned topic?

Read this introduction paragraph from a sample essay about industrialization.[1] There are many examples of revolutions in human history that have resulted in tremendous change. [2] The transformation of manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution is one such example. [3] Although the revolution began in England, it soon spread to other countries in Europe, and the United States. [4] In each of the countries, the industrial revolution resulted in increased urbanization, changes in employment, and new technologies that changed the way people worked and lived.Which sentence in the paragraph includes the essay’s thesis statement?

Read the paragraph.Before the Industrial Revolution, most goods were made by hand, in peoples’s homes. Workers would buy raw materials and complete each step in the process to make a finished product. Manufacturing by hand took a long time, and therefore, the prices for finished goods was high. Industrialization changed all that. Machines took over the manufacturing process. These machines were much more efficient than workers creating items by hand. This meant that many more items could be produced, drastically reducing their price, and making them more affordable for consumers.Based on the information you were just given, which statement would make the best topic sentence for an essay about industrialization?

Read the passage from History of the United States, by Charles and Mary Beard.As necessary to mechanical industry as steel and steam power was the great market, spread over a wide and diversified area and knit together by efficient means of transportation. This service was supplied to industry by the steamship, which began its career on the Hudson in 1807; by the canals, of which the Erie, opened in 1825, was the most noteworthy; and by the railways, which came into practical operation about 1830.The railways followed the same paths [as the canals]. By 1860, New York had rail connections with Chicago and St. Louis—one of the routes running through the Hudson and Mohawk valleys and along the Great Lakes, the other through Philadelphia and Pennsylvania and across the rich wheat fields of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Baltimore, not to be outdone by her two rivals, reached out over the mountains for the Western trade and in 1857 had trains running into St. Louis.In a summary of this passage, which of the following is a central trend?

Read the list of facts about industrialization.1. Many people moved to cities to find jobs in factories. By 1850, the population of Manchester, England reached about one million people.2. Industrialization began in the textile industry in the 1730s with the invention of the flying shuttle. Over the next 50 years, new innovtions would dramatically change how textiles were made.3. In the United States, the Second Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s resulted in tremendous advancements in new technologies. Advancements in steel manufacturing, electricity, and the telephone were important inventions of this era.Based on the information you were just given, what would be the best way to organize the three body paragraphs of an essay about the Industrial Revolution?

Read the paragraph.Before the Industrial Revolution, most goods were made by hand, in peoples’s homes. Workers would buy raw materials and complete each step in the process to make a finished product. Manufacturing by hand took a long time, and therefore, the prices for finished goods was high. Industrialization changed all that. Machines took over the manufacturing process. These machines were much more efficient than workers creating items by hand. This meant that many more items could be produced, drastically reducing their price, and making them more affordable for consumers.Which would be the best example to use to support the information in this body paragraph?

Read this paragraph about America’s first president.[1] George Washington, the first president of the United States, took office on April 30, 1789. [2] Washington took his oath of office in New York City on the steps of Federal Hall. [3] He was the first president, and he was also the best president. [4] He served for two terms. Which sentence should be revised to make this paragraph more objective?

Read the summary about factory work during the Industrial Revolution.With the development of new technologies and manufacturing processes, the nature of factory work changed. Now, machines could do the heavy labor formerly done by men. This meant that women and children could work in factories. In fact, factories sometimes hired entire families. They earned hourly wages. While this could bring in a steady income, that income was not high. Women earned less than men, and children’s wages were especially low.The underlined sentence

Read the summary about factory work during the Industrial Revolution.Factory work was not easy. First of all, it involved long hours. Typical factory workers put in twelve-hour days, six days a week, and there were few holidays. Moreover, most workers had to do the same simple tasks over and over each day. At the same time, they had to work fast to keep pace with the machines they tended. Finally, factory work could be dangerous. Fingers, hair, and clothing often got caught in the many gears and belts of machines, making accidents common. Also, textile mills were filled with cotton dust, which damaged the lungs of the workers who breathed it in. Which of these sentences provides key details?

Which statement supports a discussion about the Irish potato famine in an objective manner?

Read the paragraph.By the end of the 1800s, there was a change in the nature of the immigrants coming to the United States. Immigration from Northern Europe—England, Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia—declined, while immigration from Italy, Russia, and Austria-Hungary grew. In fact, between 1900 and 1910, more than three-fourths of all immigrants came from these three countries. Unfortunately, these countries were far removed England, the home of our founders, and the immigrants who came from them had a hard time adjusting to life in their new country.Which of the following best summarizes this paragraph objectively?

Which of the following sentences from a summary about the Industrial Revolution should be rewritten?

Read the paragraph from History of the United States, by Charles and Mary Beard.In the second place, the reception accorded the newcomers differed from that given to the immigrants in the early days. By 1890, all the free land was gone. They could not, therefore, be dispersed widely among the native Americans to assimilate quickly and unconsciously the habits and ideas of American life. On the contrary, they were diverted mainly to the industrial centers. There they crowded . . . into colonies of their own, where they preserved their languages, their newspapers, and their old-world customs and views.Which of the following best summarizes this biased paragraph objectively?

Read the paragraph.During the Irish potato famine, about one million people died of starvation or related disease. This event was the most significant in Irish history, because it led to about two million people leaving the country in search of a better life. Which statement is a fact that could be used to support a body paragraph about Irish immigration?