1. How to write an APUSH essay
There are 2 types of essays
DBQ-Document Based Question
FRQ-Free Response Question

2. This will be a stressful time for you and you will have a bunch of things running through your head…so it will be beneficial to have a formula to help you with the process.
Step #1…Read the question!
Step #2…Read the question!!!
Step #3…Read the question!!!!!!!
Step #4…brainstorm data
Step #5…outline a response
Step #6…outline a thesis
Step #7…start writing

3. Now you are writing…how should your intro be constructed?
There is no perfect way to write and each of you will have different styles, but this format works very well. Think of a funnel…you start big and then narrow it down.
First sentence should open the topic to the big picture
2nd sentence should narrow the topic down
3rd sentence should be your thesis (can be 4th too)
4th sentence should be your “plan of attack”

4. Here is the prompt… 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? Use the documents AND your knowledge of the colonial period up to 1700 to develop your answer

5. After Columbus’s discovery of the new world, European countries began to seek the riches and resources to be had in North and South America. While the Spanish came to dominate Middle and South America, the English attempted to colonize the eastern seaboard of North America. These English settlers shared cultural and ethnic origins, however, the colonies they would establish would develop over time into distinct societies. These regional differences could be attributed to the type of people who came over, the motives for immigration and settlement, and the economic development that emerges because of the geography of the land.

6. Where is the thesis?
After Columbus’s discovery of the new world, European countries began to seek the riches and resources to be had in North and South America. While the Spanish came to dominate Middle and South America, the English attempted to colonize the eastern seaboard of North America. These English settlers shared cultural and ethnic origins, however, the colonies they would establish would develop over time into distinct societies. These regional differences could be attributed to the type of people who came over, the motives for settlement, and the systems of living enabled by the geography of the land.

7. How do you write a thesis?
Remember, your thesis is a statement of your belief/argument.
You want to come across as being sophisticated
Try to include the word ‘although’ or ‘however’
In doing that, you have to recognize the antithesis and then demonstrate it is not correct

8. Body Paragraphs are very simple…
The first sentence should be a connection to the thesis.
That is, it connects to your overall argument
The rest of the paragraph should be evidence justifying your argument
Need to include outside data here (learned content knowledge)
If a DBQ, this is where you have doc references
Conclude paragraph summarizing your argument and connecting back to your thesis

9. You should have 3 body paragraphs
You can get away with 2 big ones if necessary.

10. Conclusion? Return to the theme in the introduction
Synthesize, don't summarize
Include a provocative insight or quotation from the research or reading you did for your paper
Point to broader implications
DON’T
Begin with an unnecessary, overused phrase such as "in conclusion," "in summary," or "in closing." Although these phrases can work in speeches, they come across as wooden and trite in writing
State the thesis for the very first time in the conclusion.
Introduce a new idea or subtopic in your conclusion.
End with a rephrased thesis statement without any substantive changes
Make sentimental, emotional appeals
Including evidence (quotations, statistics, etc.) that should be in the body of the paper

11. HW…
Analyze the ways in which British imperial policies between 1763 and 1776 intensified colonials’ resistance to British rule and their commitment to republican values. (09)