SKILLBUILDERHANDBOOKR11
2.3 Drawing Conclusions
DRAWING CONCLUSIONSmeans analyzing what you have read and forming an opinion
about its meaning. To draw conclusions, you look closely at the facts, combine them
with inferences you make, and then use your own common sense and experience to
decide what the facts mean.Understanding the Skill
STRATEGY: COMBINE INFORMATION TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS.The passage below
presents information about the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990. The
diagram that follows shows how to organize the information to draw conclusions.STRATEGY: MAKE A DIAGRAM.
Applying the Skill
MAKE A DIAGRAM.Look at Chapter 6, pages 160–162, on the collapse of the Roman
Republic. As you read, draw conclusions based on the facts. Use the diagram above as a
model for organizing facts, inferences, and conclusions about the passage.Section 2: Higher-Order Critical Thinking
Read carefully to understand
all the facts. Fact: Reunification
brought social and political free-
doms to East Germans.Read between the lines to
make inferences. Inference:
After a market economy was
introduced, many industries in
eastern Germany failed, which
put people out of work.Use the facts to make an infer-
ence. Inference: Reunification put
a strain on government resources.Ask questions of the material.
What are the long-term economic
prospects for eastern Germany?
Conclusion: Although it faced
challenges, it seemed to have a
greater chance for success than
other former Communist countries.4
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Summarize the facts, infer-
ences, and your conclusion in
a diagram.Germany is Reunified
On October 3, 1990, Germany once again became a single nation. After more than 40 years
of Communist rule, most East Germans celebrated their new political freedoms. Families that had
been separated for years could now visit whenever they chose.
Economically, the newly united Germany faced serious problems. More than 40 years of
Communist rule had left East Germany in ruins. Its transportation and telephone systems had not
been modernized since World War II. State-run industries in East Germany had to be turned over
to private control and operate under free-market rules. However, many produced shoddy goods
that could not compete in the global market.
Rebuilding eastern Germany’s bankrupt economy was going to be a difficult, costly process.
Some experts estimated the price tag for reunification could reach $200 billion. In the short-term,
the government had to provide unemployment benefits to some 1.4 million workers from the
east who found themselves out of work.
In spite of these problems, Germans had reasons to be optimistic. Unlike other Eastern
European countries, who had to transform their Communist economies by their own means, East
Germany had the help of a strong West Germany. Many Germans may have shared the outlook
expressed by one worker: “Maybe things won’t be rosy at first, but the future will be better.”1
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East Germans gained
freedoms.
Transportation and
telephone systems were
outmoded.
State-run industries
produced shoddy goods.Unemployment skyrocketed.
Cost for reunification could
be $200 billion.East Germans welcomed
the end of Communist rule.Rebuilding took time.Industries couldn’t compete
in free-market economy.Reunification put a great
financial burden on Germany.Although eastern Germany
was in bad shape at the
time of reunification, it
had the advantage of the
strength of western Germany
as it made the transition to
democracy and capitalism.Facts Inferences Conclusion About Passage