I have finished writing the entire essay and am now in the process of cutting my words down. I have successfully cut down from 7400 words to currently 6300, which I am pleased with. I am also in the process of sorting out all my references as they have all been mixed up and I have lost some sources.
15/2/18
0I have finished my literature review as well as my abstract, and I hope I have written everything in the right place. I am a bit worried my abstract sounds similar to my conclusion. On 16th I will write my final chapter on economics, then send Saturday and Sunday editing and cutting words out.
2/2/18
0Conclusion
I have finished my conclusion and have split it into three parts. The first asks a series of questions that I haven’t really covered in the essay but if I had more words/time I would address. The second looks at an essay which covers whether people truly desire equal distribution of wealth or a capitalist system, as I feel the conclusion of my essay primarily comes down to whether you agree with communism or capitalism. The third makes a final conclusion about how communism was effective for the time due to the immense poverty across the country, but Cuba may benefit in today’s modern world by re establishing relations with America and reducing its communist aspects.
24/1/18
0I have written about half of my essay now and am finding It a very slow process as my research has not been as useful as I’d have liked. I have had to write and research things at the same time which is ok but annoying as I spent so much time over the summer doing research that hasn’t helped a lot. I have had to cut down the number of things I am writing about simply because I know I won’t have enough space in the word count to fit it all in. I have completed the introduction, the education chapter and the international relations chapter. I have made notes on the literary review and am going to start the final chapter on economics this week. After that is finished I will only have to write up my literary review, write my abstract and my conclusion which I don’t think will take too long + editing time. I think I am on track to finish in time but it is taking a lot longer than I would like.
1/12/17
0I have visited Worthing Library and taken out ‘The Cuban Revolution’ by Hugh Thomas, which I am going to use for my literary review and as a basis of my factual knowledge. I also found two other books in Worthing library which will act as sources from different genres. The first of which was ‘Fidel Castro Speaks’ by Martin Kenner and James Petras, which included extensive interviews with Castro himself about his opinion on his ruling and regimes. Secondly, I will investigate ‘Cubans’ by Lynn Geldof which interviewed a range of the population about how Castro’s regime had effected their lives in the modern world. I would like to read these books to give me a wider view of Castro’s regime and hopefully some of it will be compared to Batista’s regime, as I have yet to find a source that covers this.
17/11/2017
0Over the last two weeks I have done lots of research (but forgotten to log it). I have been given the book “Red heat” which discusses the political climate of Latin America which has helped me a lot and given me starting points to research in other online articles as well. I have begun thinking about the structure of my essay to make my research areas clearer. I think I am progressing well and spending enough time on my research and am on track to start writing in December.
31/10/2017
01 hour – Universal healthcare under Castro
I would like to find out a bit more about exactly what he did, the information I have collected shows good results but not specific changes he worked on.
I have also found a general article from the guardian about the pros and cons of Castro, and it will be to analyse the author as he is American and obviously anti-Cuba
I now need to find out some bits on Castro’s economics as well as Batista’s social reforms
October Half Term
0Researched into the economic benefits of Batista’s regime, including economic diversification. Not sure I understand a great deal, so will have to look into this further.
Also looked into Castro’s universal healthcare polices, but am struggling to find historical facts out rather than how present day is benefiting.
Have updated my comparison chart.
12/10/17
045 minutes – Finished investigating the Cuban literacy campaign
Next step: find a social element of Batista’s regime
8/10/17
045 minutes – 1 hour: Literacy Campaign
* I need help writing an appropriate question/title to cover exactly what I’m writing about.
Looked at my research for the Literacy Campaign and realised it was all information about today, which is mostly irrelevant when you’re doing a HISTORY EPQ.
Found a very good report explaining the consequences and background of the campaign and also comparing Castro’s regime to Batista’s. “Perspectives on the Cuban National Literacy Campiagn” http://lasa.international.pitt.edu/LASA98/Supko.pdf
