1. The Long Essay– Free Response Essay (FRQ)

2. Long Essay (35mins) Scoring: Moving from 9pt scale to 6pt scale
Designed around Historical Thinking Skills, 7 Themes and Concept Outline (larger time periods)
Periods 1 and 9 will ALWAYS be paired with another time period.
More Objective then Subjective in grading.
5-8 minutes of the 35 minutes should be thinking and planning. The other minutes should be writing.

3. Grading
The Long Essay rubric

4. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
A. Thesis 0 – 1 Point
Skills assessed: Argumentation + targeted skill
States a thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question. The thesis must do more than restate the question.

5. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
B. Support for argument: 0 – 2 Points
Skills assessed: Argumentation, Use of Evidence
Supports the stated thesis (or makes a relevant argument) using specific evidence.
1 point
Supports the stated thesis (or makes a relevant argument) using specific evidence, clearly and consistently stating how the evidence supports the thesis or argument, and establishing clear linkages between the evidence and the thesis or argument.
2 points

6. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
C. Application of targeted historical thinking skill: 0 – 2 points
Skills assessed: 4 Targeted Skills
--Continuity and Change Over Time
--Comparison
--Causation
--Periodization

7. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
C. Application of targeted historical thinking skill: 0 – 2 points
Skills assessed: Continuity and Change Over Time
Describes historical continuity AND change over time
1 point
Describes historical continuity AND change over time, and analyzes specific examples that illustrate historical continuity AND change over time.
2 points

8. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
C. Application of targeted historical thinking skill: 0 – 2 points
Skills assessed: Comparison
Describes similarities AND differences among historical developments.
1 point
Describes similarities AND differences among historical developments, providing specific examples
AND
Analyzes the reasons for their similarities AND/OR differences
OR, DEPENDING ON THE PROMPT,
Evaluates the relative significance of the historical developments
2 points

9. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
C. Application of targeted historical thinking skill: 0 – 2 points
Skills assessed: CAUSATION
Describes causes AND/OR effects of a historical development.
1 point
Describes causes AND/OR effects of a historical development and analyzes specific examples that illustrate causes AND/OR effects of a historical development
2 points

10. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
C. Application of targeted historical thinking skill: 0 – 2 points
Skills assessed: PERIODIZATION
Describes the ways in which the historical development specified in the prompt was different from OR similar to developments that preceded and/or followed.
1 point
Analyzes the extent to which the historical development specified in the prompt was different from AND similar to developments that preceded and/or followed, providing specific examples to illustrate the analysis.
2 points

11. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
D. Synthesis: 0 – 1 points
Skills assessed: Synthesis
Response synthesizes the argument, evidence, and context into a coherent and persuasive essay by accomplishing one or more of the following as relevant to the question.

12. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
D. Synthesis: 0 – 1 points
Skills assessed: Synthesis
Appropriately extends or modifies the stated thesis or argument
1 point or
Explicitly employs an additional appropriate category of analysis (PIES) beyond that called for in the prompt.
1 point or
The argument appropriately connects the topic of the question to other historical periods, geographical areas, contexts, or circumstances.
1 point

13. History Helps Us Understand People and Societies
Timed Writing
History Helps Us Understand People and Societies
In the first place, history offers a storehouse of information about how people and societies behave. Understanding the operations of people and societies is difficult, though a number of disciplines make the attempt. An exclusive reliance on current data would needlessly handicap our efforts. How can we evaluate war if the nation is at peace-unless we use historical materials? How can we understand genius, the influence of technological innovation, or the role that beliefs play in shaping family life, if we don't use what we know about experiences in the past? Some social scientists attempt to formulate laws or theories about human behavior. But even these recourses depend on historical information, except for in limited, often artificial cases in which experiments can be devised to determine how people act. Major aspects of a society's operation, like mass elections, missionary activities, or military alliances, cannot be set up as precise experiments. Consequently, history must serve, however imperfectly, as our laboratory, and data from the past must serve as our most vital evidence in the unavoidable quest to figure out why our complex species behaves as it does in societal settings. This, fundamentally, is why we cannot stay away from history: it offers the only extensive evidential base for the contemplation and analysis of how societies function, and people need to have some sense of how societies function simply to run their own lives.

14. You must write with a purpose and legibly!!!
Writing a Long Essay
Timing is Everything!!!
You must write with a purpose and legibly!!!

15. (A Little Background first)
Writing the Perfect Long Essay
(A Little Background first)

16. 3 Areas: What will the College Board base their questions on? 7 Themes
Historical Thinking Skills
9 Time Periods
At the highest level, the course is organized around seven course themes. These themes structure the course around significant long-term trends and processes in what has become the United States. The themes provide an overarching framework for inquiry that can be used to guide students throughout the course.
The themes are:
Work, Exchange, and Technology;
Peopling;
Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture;
America in the World;
Environment and Geography—both Physical and Human;
Politics and Power; and
Identity

17. 7 Course Themes IMPORTANT Identity Peopling
Work, Exchange, and Technology
Identity
Peopling
Course Themes
IMPORTANT 7
Politics and Power
Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture
At the highest level, the course is organized around seven course themes. These themes structure the course around significant long-term trends and processes in what has become the United States. The themes provide an overarching framework for inquiry that can be used to guide students throughout the course.
The themes are:
Work, Exchange, and Technology;
Peopling;
Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture;
America in the World;
Environment and Geography—both Physical and Human;
Politics and Power; and
Identity
Environment and Geography — Physical and Human
America in the World

18. Historical Thinking Skills Foster Critical Analysis and Interpretation
Skill Type
Historical Thinking Skill
Chronological Reasoning
Historical Causation
Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
Periodization
Comparison and Contextualization
Comparison
Contextualization
The curriculum framework defines historical thinking skills that are central to the study and practice of history. Students who become proficient in these skills will be able to act as apprentice historians—using the cognitive tools of the discipline to master its subject matter.
The curriculum framework describes four categories of skills and nine unique historical thinking skills within those categories.
The skills chronological reasoning and comparison and contextualization pertain to “thinking historically,” or the habits of mind that historians use when they approach the past in a critical way.
The skills crafting historical arguments from historical evidence and historical interpretation and synthesis pertain to the tools used by historians when they construct and test historical arguments about the past.
Students best develop historical thinking skills by investigating the past in ways that reflect the discipline of history, particularly through the exploration and interpretation of a rich array of primary sources and secondary texts, and through regular development of historical argumentation in writing.
These Historical Thinking Skills will be identical in all three AP History Courses.
Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence
Historical Argumentation
Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence
Historical Interpretation and Synthesis
Interpretation
Synthesis

19. Creating Essay Topics based on (Periodization)
Date Range
Approximate Percentage of…
Instructional
Time
AP Exam 1 5% 2
10%
45% 3
12% 4 5
13% 6 7
17% 8
15% 9
1980-Present 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

20. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
Instructions given to your students:
In your response you should do the following:
State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the questions.
Support your argument with evidence, using specific examples.
Apply historical thinking skills as directed by the question.
Synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay

21. Long Essay – 6 Simple Rules
Read the question and underline important words (understand what Historical Skill is being assessed)
Organize outside information into Topic Paragraphs (Remember to support your Thesis)
Make sure you target the Historical Skill being assessed (CCOT, Comparison, Causation, Periodization).
First sentence in each T.P. should contain THE TOPIC AND HISTORICAL SKILL being assessed!!!
Synthesize your essay (Extend the argument; use another category; extend to another time period, geographical area, context or circumstance; use another field.
Cover the ENTIRE time period!!!

22. How to answer a essay question
State what the answer in a thesis statement (1st paragraph).
Explain the answer elaborating in each paragraph with supporting, factual evidence(Body paragraphs)
State what you have already explained and what comes next (Conclusion).

23. How to Write your 1st Paragraph
1st Sentence: Write an introductory sentence addressing things relevant to the question just prior to the time period (Tell A story in order to introduce your thesis).
2nd Sentence: Answer The Question (THESIS statement using all aspects of the question). Explain to the Reader which question you are answering along with the historical thinking skill and the time period in the question.
3 – 5 Sentences: Give the Reader some idea how you are going to ATQ by sharing a few of your sub-topics. This should be a road map for your Essay.

24. Importance of the 1st Paragraph
The first paragraph sets the stage for the supporting paragraph. I should be able to read the first paragraph and tell what you are going to tell me.
APUSH Readers can usually tell in the first paragraph what score most essays will receive…SCARY right!?!?!
Most essays that are written are read in 2-3 mins!!!
GET TO THE POINT W/ ANALYSIS!!!

25. Attacking the Body Paragraphs
Choose your strongest Topic (that supports your thesis) and begin your first sentence of your topic paragraph with your Topic Paragraph. You then will support your Topic with subtopics keeping in mind to use the historical thinking skill being assessed. Make sure that you explain in detail WHY (analysis) things are taking place.
End every topic paragraph with Analysis!!! This will come by using the Historical Thinking skill being assessed. That is the key to getting a higher score on the Long Essay!!!
You can incorporate your Synthesis into a topic paragraph to get that point or wait until the conclusion.

26. Attacking the Conclusion
Restate your thesis and how you supported the thesis with examples.
This is your chance for the SYNTHESIS POINT!!!
--Extend or modify the stated thesis or argument
--Explicitly employs an additional appropriate category w/analysis.
--Connect topic to other historical periods, geographical areas, contexts, or circumstances.
--Draws appropriate idea and methods from different fields of inquiry or disciplines in support of the argument.

27. Minimum Essay Outline 1st Paragraph: 2nd Paragraph: 1st Topic
1st Sentence: Set the scene for the reader. What happened just before the time period?
2nd Sentence: ATQ – Thesis statement (Topics, H. Skill, and Time Period)
3rd – 5th Sentence: Give the Reader the road map for your essay
2nd Paragraph: 1st Topic
Start paragraph by telling the reader which topic you are going to cover. Describe your Topic in terms of how it supports your thesis. Use subtopics to help explain “why this Topic is relevant to the thesis”. Make sure you incorporate the Historical Thinking Skill! You can have multiple paragraphs about the same topic, what changes are the subtopics.
3rd Paragraph: 2nd Topic
Ditto 2nd Paragraph (possible Synthesis)
4th Paragraph: 3rd Topic
5th Paragraph: Conclusion
Don’t forget Synthesis point!

28. Time Constraints You have approximately 30mins to write this essay.
Planning is always the key to success. I always tell my kids to take a little more time planning so they can write quickly and with purpose!

29. AP US History Class (Grading Scale for Long Essays)
Essays are part of the test category of grades (the test category is weighted at 60%)
6 – 100%
5 – 90%
4 – 80%
3 – 70%
2 – 60%
1 – 50%
0 – 0%

30. Assess the validity of this statement
1st Paragraph Practice
The color blue is the best color to use when painting the exterior of a house.
Assess the validity of this statement

31. Example Practice Paragraph
The exterior of a house sometimes shows the character of the owner. The color blue can be used to paint the exterior of a house, but it is not the best choice in many cases when painting the exterior of a house. If you live in the desert or forest the color blue might not match the color scheme of the landscape, but if you live next to a body of water the color blue might be a fitting color to use.

32. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
Example 1:
Some historians have argued that the American Revolution was not revolutionary in nature. Support, modify, or refute this interpretation, providing specific evidence to justify your answer.

33. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
Example First Paragraph:
After the French and Indian War, the American colonies were faced with the end of salutary neglect and had to decide whether to continue with monarchial rule or completely change their style of government. The American Revolution transformed an almost feudal society into a democratic one, did not result in a reign of terror or indiscriminate bloodshed, and unleashed social forces that would soon transform American society. Therefore, the American Revolution was truly revolutionary in nature.

34. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
Your turn, 1st paragraph only:
Some movie critics have stated that Guardians of the Galaxy was the best movie of Summer Support, modify, or refute this interpretation, providing specific evidence to justify your answer.

35. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
Example 3:
Evaluate the extent to which the introduction of new plants, animals and technologies altered the natural environment of North America and effected interactions among various groups during Spanish exploration.

36. Long Essay Rubric (35mins)
Example 4:
Evaluate the extent to which increasing integration of the United States into the world economy contributed to maintaining continuity as well as fostering change in United States society from 1945 to the present.