The Free-Response Question

1. The Free-Response Question FRQ

2. What Is the Free-Response Question? • Two part essay section • Pre – 1870 (one prior to 1740) • After – 1870 (one after 1950) • Two questions in each group – select one from each group • 70 minutes to plan and write both essays

3. What Is the Free-Response Question? (cont.) • No correct answer • All outside information • Not as long or in-depth as DBQ • Defensible thesis • Information to support thesis • Evidence, Evidence, Evidence

4. Question Types • Most FRQ’s ask you to analyze, assess or evaluate cause and effects 2. Assess the impact of any THREE of the following on the United States’ decision to declare war on England in 1812: the Napoleonic wars the Embargo Act of 1807 America’s desire for Western land America’s military preparedness

5. Question Types • How were the lives of the Plains Indians in the second half of the nineteenth century affected by technological developments and government actions

6. Question Types • In what ways did economic conditions and developments in the arts and entertainment help create the reputation of the 1920’s as the Roaring Twenties? • How do you account for the appeal of McCarthyism in the United States in the era following the Second World War?

7. Which Questions to Choose • The one you know most about • Not the easiest at first glance • The more you know about the subject, the better the final grade

8. How to Write the Essays • Read the question thoroughly • Analyze and breakdown the question • Circle and/or underline important words and phrases • Create a grid or chart and take notes

9. How to Write the Essays • Assess information and devise a thesis • Quick outline • Split time between both essays (35 minutes) • Write clearly and neatly • Evidence, Evidence, Evidence