Writing an historical essay

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Writing an historical essay

• Prep for the AP exam

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The Prompt (aka the question?)

• Read the question!!! (really, you think? Yes! I
  think!)
• 1 - Figure out what the prompt is NOT asking?
• Aka many prompts give you info, which you have
  to accept as fact.
• Ex. 2005 DBQ In the early nineteenth century,
  Americans sought to resolve their political
  disputes through compromise, yet by 1860 this no
  longer seemed possible. Analyze the reasons for
  this change. (use the docs and your knowledge of
  the period 1820-1860 in constructing your
  response.)

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The Prompt (continued)

• 2 - Figure out what the prompt is asking!!
• Is it a cause or effect? ex.(compromises before
  1860) causes of the
• Is it a support or refute? Ex. A statement.
• Analyze? HOW and WHY???

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The Prompt (continued)

• To what extent,????
• This is a tricky way of giving you lots of
  options!!!
• Ex. 2005 - FRQ To what extent was the US
  Constitution a radical departure from the
  Articles of Confederation?
• 1 a completely radical departure
• 2 it was a radical departure in , but did
  not radically change
• 3 it was not a very radical departure

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The Prompt (continued) still?

• If you want to get better at writing essays, then
  you want to re-write the question
• Or you want to figure out the heart of the
  question!
• Ex. 2008 FRQ - Analyze the reasons for the
  Anti-Federalists opposition to ratifying the
  Constitution.
• The heart of the question is what were the
  Anti-federalists main arguments against the
  Constitution?

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Outline

• 1 Figure out what your argument (AKA THESIS)
  will be, and how you are going to support it!
• Jot down examples
• If it is a DBQ go through all of the Docs
  after you write down anything and everything you
  already know.
• Make sure to organize your ideas around themes or
  topics ( or even drinks?!!!)

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What is your favorite historical drink?

• SPRITE Social, Political, Religious,
  Intellectual, Technological, Economic
• this is a great way to create topics for your
  essay if it is a general question that is asking
  for the CAUSES or the EFFECTS of an event (on
  America.)
• Ex. How did the Vietnam War effect America?
• I would probably go with socially, politically
  and economically.

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Intro (paragraph)

• You always want to start by giving the time and
  place!
• Ex. The 13 colonies prior to the American
  Revolution
• Ex. In the years following the Civil War, the
  southern states

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Intro (continued)

• There is no length requirements, but a few
  sentences is fine.
• Your sentences should all lead into
• Your.
• THESIS, duh?!
• Thesis should always be the last sentence of your
  intro, BUT it can be the last two sentences?!

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Thesis

• This is the make or break of your paper!
• But no pressure!
• STICK TO THE PROMPT!!
• If the question is asking you about the causes of
  WWI, then you can NOT talk about WWI, or WWII
  for that matter.
• Your thesis needs to stay within the time period
  and the limitations given in the question. (ex.
  During a presidency)

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Thesis (continued, of course)

• Your thesis needs to be an argument.
• I know Im crazy!!!
• This means that it can NOT be a fact, like FDR
  was the president elected in 1932 and he created
  the New Deal.
• You also can NOT just copy the prompt, this shows
  that you have no clue how complex the question
  is.

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Thesis (statements)

• What effect did WWII have on America?
• America was effected socially, politically, and
  economically by WWII.
• WWII drastically impacted American society,
  politics and its economy.
• WWII had a positive effect on the American
  economy, increased the powers of the federal
  government, and created a more unified society.

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Body paragraphs

• First, you need to have clear TOPIC sentences.
• Topic sentences what the entire paragraph is
  going to cover
• So topic sentences should be more general,
  rather than specific.
• However, they can NOT be facts!!!
• If you have problems creating them, then maybe
  write your paragraph (while leaving space for the
  topic sentence), and then write your topic
  sentence afterwards.

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Body paragraphs (continued)

• Within the body paragraphs should be details and
  facts, but more importantly you need to analyze
  and synthesize!
• ANALYSIS WHY and HOW?
• Ex. Why didnt the Compromise of 1850 prevent the
  Civil War?
• How did the Chinese Exclusion Act impact
  immigration?

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Body paragraphs (still)

• Synthesis (the best essays have this!)
• Synthesis is connecting your analysis back to
  your thesis, and/or connecting analysis with
  other analysis in your essay.
• Ex. Analysis Comp. of 1850 did not address the
  future of slavery.
• Analysis Comp. of 1850 upset abolitionists.
• Synthesis For many southerners the Comp. of
  1850 appeared to limit the expansion of slavery,
  so abolitionists who did not help recover runaway
  slaves, only increased the chances of a civil
  war.

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Conclusion (?)

• It will surprise you, but a conclusion is not
  necessary for AP US History.
• No I am not joking!
• If you have time, a conclusion is great, but if
  all you can do is repeat your thesis and your
  topics, then skip it.
• However, great essays have analysis and synthesis
  of the whole essay in the conclusion.

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Conclusion (finally?)

• The conclusion is also where you can finally make
  connections to THE NEXT STEP!
• THE NEXT STEP is what event, concept, or time
  period that followed up the prompts inquiry.
• Ex. If question is about causes of Civil War,
  then conclusion could mention the Civil War, and
  maybe quickly, Reconstruction, but NOTHING about
  TODAY!!

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FINAL TIPS, Dos and Don'ts

• Dos
• Have an argument!!!!
• Organize your topics
• Analyze
• Synthesize
• Supersize?? j/k

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FINAL TIPS, Dos and Don'ts

• Don'ts
• Use I, we, us, our, etc.
• Make grand generalizations, like all wars or
  people like to fight.
• Go off-topic
• Use random quotes
• Use analogies America is like a tiger
• Give advice, like If Lincoln would have just
• Make connections from the past to today! Why?
• Write on something unrelated or beyond the
  prompt!!!