“Mao's ideology was the primary cause for the failure of the Great Leap Forward of 1958 to 1962.” Assess the validity of this view.

Getting started: This question is asking us to assess the validity of a particular view which means that we need to relate the interpretation to the evidence that we have, and assess how valid/accurate this interpretation is. It is really important in exam conditions to set aside some time to planning your essay before you launch into writing it, so lets begin with that. When faced with an interpretation we might like to consider other interpretations of the historical event (in this case the Great Leap Forward) and this leads us naturally into a factorial essay structure in which the factor identified in the given interpretation (Mao's ideology) is considered alongside others in an assessment of their validity. Once we have listed about three other causes (for the failure of the Great Leap Forwards), and jotted down some key evidence and features that can be discussed for each, we are ready to start writing. The Introduction:The introduction should pick apart the question, to show your understanding of the chronological parameters of the question, and to lay out your argument in germinal form. you might write for instance: "Many factors contributed to the failure of the Great Leap Forwards (GLF), as far back as the results of the First Five Year Plan, in 1956 and 1957, and as immediate as the Cadre's inflation of grain figures right up until 1962." Then going on to lay out the alternative factors you have identified. The main paragraphs:Each of our essay's three or four main paragraphs will share the following useful structure: Topic sentence (which introduces the factor you will analyse), The analysis (in this case an assessment of an interpretation against key features of the period, with use of key pieces of evidence), The conclusion (which summarizes the argument you have made and links it back to the question). It is always best to start with factor/interpretation given in the question. In this example we might follow this up by considering the other main causes of the failure of the GLF, such as mass mobilization, collectivization and environmental changes. we might argue that the former two were in fact part of Mao's ideology. The Conclusion: This is where we express the overarching verdict from the above discussion, we need to refer to all of the factors argued and the conclusions of each, in order to reach a balanced and comprehensive judgement on the validity of the given interpretation.