How To Do an APUSH ESSAY

1. How To Doan APUSH ESSAY EUGENIA LANGAN MATER ACADEMY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL HIALEAH GARDENS, FLORIDA BASED ON SUSAN POJER’S “HOW TO DO AN APAP DBQ”

2. A “Dazzling” APUSH ESSAY Is Like a Tasty Hamburger

3. THE SKILLS YOU LEARNED FROM THE CORE RUBRICS IN APWH AND APEH ARE THE SAME ONES YOU NEED ON THE APUSH ESSAYS • GROUPS, POV, COMPARISON, CCOT, CAUSE & EFFECT – BUT YOU WON’T LABEL THEM ON APUSH ESSAYS. • IF YOU DIDN’T TAKE APWH OR APEH, DON’T WORRY: YOU’LL LEARN TO WRITE APUSH ESSAYS IN THIS CLASS

4. BEFORE YOU START WRITING: 1. READ THE PROMPT 2. NOTE THE PERIOD THE PROMPT ASKS ABOUT

5. 3. COUNT HOW MANY QUESTIONS ARE IN THE PROMPT EXAMPLE: Analyze the responses of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration to the problems of the Great Depression. How effective were these responses? How did they change the role of the federal government? HOW MANY QUESTIONS? 6: IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE AT LEAST 2 RESPONSES FOR EACH, 2 TYPES OF ANALYSIS (REMEMBER AP RULE OF 3, THOUGH!)

6. EXAMPLE: "1968 was a turning point for the United States.” To what extent is this an accurate statement? In your answer, discuss TWO of the following: (1998) • National politics • Vietnam War • Civil Rights HOW MANY QUESTIONS? AT LEAST 4: "TO WHAT EXTENT" AND "ASSESS THE VALIDITY" PROMPTS ALWAYS REQUIRE YES AND NO! SO 2 X 2 OF THE CHOICES (POLITICS, WAR, ETC.)

7. ONCE YOU KNOW HOW MANY QUESTIONS THERE ARE, COME UP WITH THE ANSWERS • THE ANSWERS IN BRIEF ARE YOUR THESIS • AND YOUR THESIS IS THE ROAD-MAP TO YOUR ESSAY (THE RECIPE FOR THE BURGER!)

8. WRITING THE ESSAY A. THE BASIC ESSAY (THE FRQ)

9. The Introductory Paragraph The “Top Bun” of your essay! 4-6 sentences

10. The Introductory Paragraph • Establish TIME & PLACE. • Create a clear, THESIS STATEMENT.[underline or highlight it!] • THE THESIS IS THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS IN THE PROMPT! • MUST ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS! • MUST CONTAIN SOME ANALYSIS (CAUSE, EFFECT, ETC.) • MUST BE EITHER IN ONE SENTENCE OR IN CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES (NOT SPLIT!)

11. BRIEFLY note the SUB-TOPICS or categories you will discuss to support your thesis statement. Focus on the question at hand—do NOT begin with a “flowery” sentence! NO LAUNDRY LISTS! IN FACT --– NO FLOWERY OR PURPLE LANGUAGE ANYWHERE IN ESSAY & NO FIRST OR SECOND PERSON (I, WE, YOU, ETC.

12. Example - The question for the second FRQ in 2008 was: Analyze the impact of the market revolution (1815–1860) on the economies of TWO of the following regions: The Northeast The Midwest The South

13. In an essay that scored 9, The College Board rated this thesis as “strong.” “Throughout United States history, industrialization has always had a major impact. Soon after the War of 1812, nationalism increased, contributing to the industrialization of the country overnight. Textile mills and other factories sprang up and many people became employed. The era from 1815 to 1860 represented a major shift from agrarianism to industrialism. Its effects were felt and transformed the entire nation but in different ways. The Market Revolution seemingly starkly contrasted the Northeast and Southern regions, but also brought them together.”

14. This thesis in this introductory paragraph, in an essay that scored only 3 points, was rated inadequate because it didn’t address the effects of the Market Revolution in the South and strayed off-topic. “Prior to the time of the Market Revolution from 1815 to 1860, the United States was growing into two primarily distinct regions, the North and the South. The North mainly favored manufactured goods while the South relied on slavery and a dominant agricultural culture. Throughout the time period, the North received a great advantage over the South through tariffs, the industrial revolution and a more “supported” working class while the South focused on an agriculturally based economy.”

15. FOOLPROOF THESIS FORMULA: THE ______ INCLUDE. ANALYSIS. THE _____ INCLUDE. ANALYSIS.

16. The “”Meat”” Paragraphs • The “tasty” part of your essay! • This is where you prove your thesis with facts • Organized by questions in prompt • 1 idea per paragraph • 4-8 sentences per paragraph

17. The “”Meat”” Paragraphs = • First sentence of every paragraph is the TOPIC SENTENCE = (“thesis of the paragraph. It identifies the category or suptopic of your first argument and summarizes the ONE argument you’ll make in that paragraph. (If essay is big burger, each paragraph is a slider!) • Support for your arguments in the FRQ is historical facts = OI – outside information. That means correct facts!

18. REMEMBER THE AP RULE OF 3 (OR ONE MORE) BUT DON'T GO FOR MORE UNTIL YOU'VE DONE THE MINIMUM

19. Meat”” Paragraphs CONCLUDING SENTENCE – sums up paragraph. Begins with “Thus,” “Therefore,” etc. TRANSITIONS – every paragraph after the Introduction begins with an appropriate transition, for example: FOR CONJUNCTION FOR DISJUNCTION (SIMILAR IDEAS) (CONTRASTING DEAS) * Also, * But * In addition, * However, * Moreover, * In contrast, * Furthermore, * On the other hand, * Similarly, * So too,

20. The Concluding Paragraph The “Bottom Bun” of your essay! It holds it all together! 3-4 sentences, including reiteration of thesis in different words than in intro. and principal supporting evidence.

21. The Concluding” Paragraph • Start with a CONCLUDING TRANSITION • (In conclusion,/ In sum, / Clearly,) • Restate your thesis statement a bit differently (in case it’s not great in intro) • If you can, put your essay answer in a larger historical perspective. End of some trend/movement/idea, etc. Beginning of some trend/movement/idea End of one & beginning of another. Do NOT end on the note that this is the reason we are where we are today!

22. GENERAL WRITING RULE: K.I.S.S. KEEP IN SIMPLE, STUPID! REFERS TO YOUR LANGUAGE AND WRITING STYLE, NOT YOUR IDEA OR ANALYSIS!

23. THE K.I.S.S. RULE IS ALSO KNOWN AS KILL THE DAMN DOG!

24. “One morn when the glorious disk of the sun shone brightly, Dick was frolicking in front of his parent’s manse with his frisky pet canine, Spot. Dick picked up a stick, and raising his strong young arm, Dick flung the stick into the air, hoping that Spot would retrieve it and return it to his Master. Alas! Tragedy struck! The rays of glorious Sol beamed into the eyes of the ill-fated canine, thwarting his ability to see the trajectory and ultimate destination of the fateful stick. Trotting into the thoroughfare in front of the manse, Spot encountered a moving motor vehicle which steamrollered him and snuffed out his life.”

25. “One sunny morning Dick was playing fetch-the-stick with his dog Spot in their front yard. Running after a stick Dick had thrown, Spot was blinded by the sun and ran into the street. He was run over by a car and killed.” Or even: “Running to fetch a stick that Dick tossed, Spot was blinded by the sun and ran into the street and was run over by a car and killed.”

26. THE DBQ 1. The DBQ is the same as an FRQ. It has all the same elements 2. AND AS IN THE FRQ, THE PRIMARY EVIDENCE FOR YOUR THESIS IS OI. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS: YOU MUST ALSO USE MOST OF THE DOCUMENTS AS ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE! USE ALL OR ALL BUT ONE!

27. 3. THE DBQ IS NOT AN ESSAY ABOUT THE DOCUMENTS – JUST SUMMARIZING OR DISCUSSING DOCUMENTS = 0 POINTS • DO NOT ORGANIZE THE ESSAY BY THE DOCUMENTS – ORGANIZE BY THE QUESTIONS • EXAMPLE: ON PURITAN DBQ, ORGANIZATION SHOULD HAVE BEEN: SOCIAL,POLITICAL, ECONOMIC • 5. DON’T QUOTE THE DOCUMENTS!YOU DON’T HAVE TIME, AND ALSO, QUOTING DOESN’T NECESSARILY SHOW YOU UNDERSTAND A DOCUMENT!

28. Questions to Ask Yourself About the Documents • Attribution  Who is this person? • Why might they be significant? • What is the point of view (POV) of the author? • How reliable and accurate is the source? • What is the tone or intent of the document author? • What other information does this document call to mind? Use all available clues. Remember, docs. can be used in a variety of ways and many can be used more than once. Example: An economic document might also be political.

29. How to Reference a Document in Your Essay • Thomas Paine, in his pamphlet, Common Sense (Doc. A),advocated _________ (PARAPHRASE),which shows . . . • Joe Smith, a mid-Western delegate to the Republican convention in 1912 (Doc. C.) agreed with…..The 19c historian, Frederick Jackson Turner, theorized that_________ (Doc. E). This shows . . . NEVER begin with: In Document 3, …

30. 3. Always paraphrase (briefly) the essential ideas you are using for evidence in the documents. • Writing “Documents A, B, C and F show” does not indicate that you understand the documents and doesn’t count! • 4. Where necessary, discuss POV, context, etc. (to indicate why you used particular documents the way you did).

31. Put It All Together, And . . . .

32. Ummmmm, Burger! I Mean, A Perfect Essay!

33. OUR FIRST FRQ: Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this difference in development occur? Discuss: how many questions? At least 6: pick three kinds of differences (economic, religious/social, political, demographic, etc.) and discuss for each of the two regions

34. DO-NOW In Class: Create a rough draft in outline form for your FRQ using this format: Write out your introductory paragraph. Create a loose outline of your “meat” ¶s in this manner: Skip a line from your intro. ¶ Topic sentence of first “meat” ¶ [underline or highlight it] Indent bullets listing all “o.i.”that you will need in that ¶ When done with that ¶, skip a line and do the same for the other “meat” ¶s (start with transition!) Skip a line after your last “meat” ¶ and write your concluding ¶ out in full.

35. YOU MAY USE YOUR OUTLINE IN CLASS NEXT TIME TO WRITE THE FRQ • DON’T FORGET TO BRING THE “MY APUSH FRQ” RUBRIC (BOTH PAGES). • NO RUBRIC, ESSAY = Z

36. Dazzle MeWith Your Brilliance! YOU CAN DO IT!