This is the most important step of your analysis. Reread your worksheets for the prior steps. Your evaluation of the major policy that was enacted to deal with the problem involves your assessment of how well that policy addressed the problem. In so doing, you also need to review the causes. Did the policy succeed in eliminating or lessening the causes? Could the policy solution have actually resulted in additional social problems? For example, most analysts consider that the harshness of the Treaty of Versailles so devastated Germany that it facilitated the rise of Hitler, thus contributing to, rather than preventing, another world war.

After you discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the major policy, you will decide whether another policy should have been enacted. For example, would a more moderate Treaty of Versailles have helped to establish a more permanent peace? If so, then you would explain some of the provisions of the original that you would have eliminated or changed. Question #4 gives you the opportunity to fully use your critical thinking skills. If appropriate, develop some feasible, realistic policy solutions and explain why they would have been more effective in addressing the problem. Be sure, though, to keep in mind the historical context and culture for which you are providing your alternative solution.

Worksheet4: "Evaluate the Policy"(HTML Version)
Worksheet4: "Evaluate the Policy"(MSWORD Version)

Example