What were the advantages and disadvantages of Sparta’s military society? In your two sentence response, include one advantage and one disadvantage

The Spartan way of life was, in the Peloponnesian War as in all wars before and after, their greatest advantage: absolute loyalty to their autocratic kings coupled with a nearly undefeatable army gave the Spartans staying power that the Athenians, subject to the whims of the civilian population, could never match. Spartiates were the best soldiers and did not have to be paid wages. Disadvantages of the military society: Surrounded by hostile city-states. Unhealthy babies were left to die.

1. The question limits what the writer can include about trans-Saharan trade networks to only state formations and limits the networks to only trade networks. It also limits the location of networks to trans-Saharan and limits state formation to West Africa. The writer can choose different trade networks and can pick one or many West African states.

2. The prompt requires causation processing because it is asking how trade networks affect state formation. Causation describes causes and effects of historical development and the question is asking for the effect trade networks have on state formation in West Africa.

3. To get full points on the exam you need a defensible claim or thesis that can be backed by historical reasoning, support the argument with relevant evidence, and demonstrate an understanding of historical development from the focus of the prompt. You also need to describe the historical context to the prompt.

4. Thesis a is not an acceptable thesis because it can not be backed by historical reason. Thesis b includes direct examples that provide evidence to support the thesis’s response to the prompt.

5. Evidence in the long essay needs to be relevant and accurate and support the thesis. This excerpt uses specific evidence to clearly support the thesis and stays relevant to the topic. The evidence does a good job of supporting the thesis.

6. To provide contextualization in a long essay you relate the topic of the prompt to other historical events or developments before, during, or after the time frame from the prompt. The excerpt contextualizes by referring to Niger Valley’s development and North Africa development and compares it to West Africa’s development.

Explanation: