ANSWERING APUSH ESSAY QUESTIONS

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ANSWERING APUSH ESSAY QUESTIONS
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Free response essays, in many ways, are the very
heart of the AP exam. They measure your
reasoning ability as well as your historical
knowledge. To succeed with these essays, you
must understand the prompts, organize your
information, and write a clear and accurate
response.
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Essay Prompt

• All college-level essay test answers are written
  in response to an essay prompt.
• You must answer the question asked in order to
  score well.
• Answering essays is a skill that takes practice.

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Overview

1. READ the entire prompt!
2. Reread Mark the IMPORTANT WORDS.
3. Understand your TASK (question verb).
4. Define any loaded TERMS.
5. Make a quick OUTLINE.
6. Cover the entire TIME PERIOD.
7. Determine your THESIS.
8. Write your ESSAY, using facts to prove your
   thesis

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1. Read the ENTIRE prompt.

• The first mistake that many students make is in
  reading and answering only part of the prompt.

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2. Carefully REREAD the prompt mark the
IMPORTANT WORDS

• Verbs,
• Conjunctions, and
• the time period

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2. Mark the important words

• Analyze the impact of the American Revolution on
  both slavery and the status of women in the
  period from 1775 to 1800.
• Compare and contrast United States foreign policy
  after the First World War and after the Second
  World War. Consider the periods 1919-1928 and
  1945-1950.

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2. Mark the important words

• In what ways did the French and Indian War
  (1754-1763) alter the political, economic and
  ideological relations between Britain and its
  American colonies? Use your knowledge of the
  period 1740-1766 along with the documents
  provided.

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3. Understand the TASK

• Commonly used verbs and explanations for the
  tasks they indicate
• Analyze Explain how AND why something occurred.
  Any question that uses how and/or why is an
  analysis question even if the word analyze is
  not in the prompt.
• Discuss or Explain frequently used in recent
  prompts. They should be written as analysis
  essays, not merely a list of events or facts.

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3. Understanding the Task Commonly used verbs
and verb phrases

• To what extent How true is some development or
  description of history? AP essay questions will
  invariably be about a complex topic that is not
  completely true or false.
• Assess the validity How true is a given
  statement? (variant Evaluate the validity)

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3. Understanding the Task Commonly used verbs
and verb phrases (contd)

• Evaluate Which factor was most important? You
  usually need to rank several events or factors
  and specify which is most and which is least
  significant.
• Compare AND contrast Discuss BOTH similarities
  AND differences between two events or periods.

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4. Define any loaded TERMS in the prompt that
need clarification

• Examples
• Assess the validity of the following statement
  Reform movements in the United States sought to
  expand democratic ideals,
• jot down some democratic ideals and be prepared
  to explain how they are democratic.
• From 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation
  provided the United States with an effective
  government. Using . . . your knowledge of the
  period, evaluate this statement.

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5. BRAINSTORM sketch out a quick, informal
OUTLINE

• This is crucial in helping you to
• Cover the entire question asked,
• Organize your response, and
• Include as many important details as possible.

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Outlines do not have to be formal, just sketch or
a structure
How did the American Revolution affect American
society? Be sure to explain the political,
social and economic effects during the period
1775-1800.
Political Economic Social
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6 Outline
1919-1928 similarities 1945-1950
differences

• Compare and contrast United States foreign policy
  after the First World War and after the Second
  World War. Consider the periods 1919-1928 and
  1945-1950.

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6 Outline
1919-1928 similarities 1945-1950
differences

• Alternatively
• Compare and contrast United States foreign policy
  after the First World War and after the Second
  World War. Consider the periods 1919-1928 and
  1945-1950.

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6. Cover the TIME PERIOD in the prompt

• If the prompt asks you to discuss reform between
  1865 and 1900, you must include information for
  the ENTIRE time period.
• Dates included in prompts are not random test
  writers put a lot of thought into them

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7. Develop your thesis

• Historical essays require that you
• take a clear position that responds to the prompt
  (state a thesis) and
• defend your thesis with facts.
• Thesis sentence that states a clear position in
  response to the prompt
• Better theses also tell the reader what evidence
  the essay will prove the thesis is true they
  give a brief overview of the essay.
• We will discuss developing a thesis in our next
  session on answering essays.

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8. Write your essay

• 4 -7 well-organized paragraphs, inclg intro
  conclusion
• 2-3 lined pages in 35-40 minutes
• Write with a goal Prove and support your thesis
  using evidence (facts) and explanation (analysis)
• Discuss/analyze as many relevant facts as
  possible
• Analysis, analysis, analysis - dont just list
  facts/events. You must explain why they are
  significant and/or how they support your thesis.
• Dont ignore important facts that dont support
  your thesis. Acknowledge them show why they
  dont undermine your thesis
• In-class essays are a rough draft

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8. Write your essay analysis

• Description
• Who
• What
• Where
• When
• Analysis
• How
• Why
• How much (to what extent)
• Causes, effects

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Summary

1. READ the ENTIRE prompt!
2. Mark the IMPORTANT WORDS verbs, conjunctions,
   time period
3. Understand your TASK. What exactly what you are
   being asked to do?. Consider the entire prompt.
4. Define any important loaded TERM(s).
5. Make a quick OUTLINE. Organize your thinking
   before you begin writing.
6. Cover the entire TIME PERIOD.
7. Determine your THESIS.
8. Write your essay, using facts to support your
   thesis

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Free response essay prompts put a lot of
responsibility on the writer

• Some prompts are very open. Here is an example
  of this type of prompt
• The government under the Articles of
  Confederation has been considered a failure.
  Describe three actions of the Confederation
  government and explain how these actions may or
  may not be considered failures.

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These prompts require you to define the terms,
specify the time period, and understand the task.

• For instance, read the prompt carefully
• The government under the Articles of
  Confederation has been considered a failure.
  Describe three actions of the Confederation
  government and explain how these actions may or
  may not be considered failures.
• To address the prompt, the following questions
  must be answered
• What time period does this question address?
  1781-1789
• What were 3 (no more) actions of the
  Confederation Congress that you are going to
  discuss?
• How are you defining failure or success?

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Some prompts provide clear time periods to be
addressed

• For instance, here are two prompts that specify
  very clearly the time periods to be discussed
• Compare and contrast United States foreign policy
  after the First World War and after the Second
  World War. Consider the periods 1919-1928 and
  1945-1950.
• How did the African American Civil Rights
  movement of the 1950s and 1960s address the
  failures of Reconstruction?

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These prompts require you to limit your evidence
and to define certain terms.

• With the first prompt
• Compare and contrast United States foreign policy
  after the First World War and after the Second
  World War. Consider the periods 1919-1928 and
  1945-1950.
• The following need clarifying
• Deal only with foreign policy decisions
• You need to pick decisions that are BOTH
  different and similar between the early and the
  later time periods.

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• The next prompt
• How did the African American Civil Rights
  movement of the 1950s and 1960s address the
  failures of Reconstruction?
• Requires you to specify
• Several failures of Reconstruction
• Which implies that you know when Reconstruction
  occurred.
• And to know several very specific results of the
  later Civil Rights movement that directly
  addressed the failures of Reconstruction.

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Practice Question 1

• Analyze the impact of the American Revolution on
  both slavery and the status of women in the
  period from 1775 to 1800.

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Practice Question 2

• Evaluate the relative importance of the following
  as factors promoting Americans to rebel
  parliamentary taxation, restriction of civil
  liberties, British military measures and the
  legacy of colonial religious and political ideas.

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Practice Question 3

• The United States Constitution of 1787
  represented an economic and ideological victory
  for the traditional American political elite.
  Assess the validity of that statement for the
  period 1781 to 1789.

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Practice Question 4

• How did economic, geographic, and social factors
  encourage the growth of slavery as an important
  part of the economy of the southern colonies
  between 1607-1775?

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An Actual Example

• In what ways did the French and Indian War
  (1754-63) alter the political, economic and
  ideological relations between Britain and its
  American colonies? Use your knowledge of the
  period 1740-1766 along with the documents
  provided to answer the question.

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Tip 1

• Make sure you understand exactly your task, what
  you must prove in the essay.
• Stay strictly within the time period. Dont
  wander.
• You must be specific, specific, specific.
• Use relevant and time-sensitive PEPS (people,
  events, places, significance). Think of PEPS as
  proper nouns (words that need to be capitalized).
• Never use generalities, i.e. many reforms, lots
  of reformers, many things changed.

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Tip 2

• Organize your thinking BEFORE you write.
• This doesnt need to be a long process
• Decide two or three things you need to discuss,
• Organize the facts you have under those headings,
• Check through them to see that you balance the
  discussiongive each part of the topic equal
  discussion.

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Outlines do not have to be formal, just sketch a
structure and put your facts into that structure.
PEPS
PEPS
Social
PEPS
PEPS
PEPS
PEPS
Political
PEPS
PEPS
Economic
PEPS
PEPS
PEPS
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Write with clarity and confidence dont be timid!

• Be definite. Your thesis should ANSWER the
  prompt with your opinion.
• Having brainstormed then organized specific
  facts, start each paragraph with a clear topic
  sentence.
• Refer to specific facts to support your thinking.
  Stick to your structure, refer to your outline
  as you write.

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Good writing is a problem-solving situation.
Work the process!

• After writing your thesis paragraph, go back and
  re-read the prompt.
• Ask yourself, Have I answered the prompt with
  my thesis?
• What three or four points MUST you make to
  support your thesis. Write these down.
• As you write, look back at the prompt and at your
  thesis. Are you sticking to the topic?

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Plan your time so that you can read your essay
before you finish.

• Check the clock. Know how much time you have to
  produce the essay.
• Check your thesis and your outline frequently.
• Make sure that you have time to go back and read
  quickly through your essay.
• Dont ignore a conclusion paragraph. Sometimes
  it makes up for weaknesses earlier in the essay.