1. Do the Things that Will Earn You High Marks with College Board Readers
Writing for APUSH
Do the Things that Will Earn You High Marks with College Board Readers

2. What is Included in the Essay Portion of the Exam?
The free-response section covers the period from the first European explorations of the Americas to The section has three parts. Part A has one document-based essay question (DBQ). Parts B and C each offer a choice of two standard essay questions.

3. How Much of the APUSH Exam Score Comes From Essays?
The multiple-choice and free-response sections each account for one-half of your final Exam grade. Within the free- response section, the document-based essay question counts for 45 percent and the two standard essays count for 55 percent.

4. The Truth About All APUSH Essays
The most important task is to ANSWER the QUESTION!

5. Don’t Forget Everything You’ve Learned About Essays…
Adapt to New Rules
Every AP Test Has Unique Requirements
It is Not “One Size Fits All”
It Makes No Sense to Insist Upon Doing it YOUR WAY!

6. In Class, You Have Three Readers to Worry About
Miss Carlson
Mr. Chapman
Mr. Devaney

7. But With the APUSH Exam…
You need to write with the understanding that any one of more than 1200 readers could get your essay Therefore you should follow the rules in order to “pass” the exam

8. Assume the Role of an Attorney

9. The Jury for your Argument is the Reader
The Jury for your Argument is the Reader. You Must Convince the Reader of the Validity of Your Argument
Provide Evidence to Support Your Argument
Provide Analysis to Explain Your Evidence

10. Steps for Writing an AP U.S. History Timed Essay
Carefully read and analyze the prompt
Highlight key terms (e.g. assess, explain).
Identify and plan to answer all parts of the essay prompt.
Develop a preliminary thesis/position
This is the argument your paper will make and support.
Make sure your thesis addresses all parts of the prompt, is well- developed, and supported by several main points.
Brainstorm & Categorize
List every relevant issue, historical term, name, event, etc. from the time period that might apply to your essay.
Create categories (or use the categories suggested by the prompt) to help organize your ideas.
Always complete steps 1-3 BEFORE looking at the documents in a DBQ.

11. Steps for Writing an APUSH Timed Essay
Read the Documents (Skip if not a DBQ)
Read each document.
Look for the main idea of each document as it relates to your thesis.
Examine each document for connections or links to outside information.
Consider the questions that are part of SOAPS, APPARTS, etc.
Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject
Author, Place, Prior knowledge, Audience, Reason, The main point, Significance
Ignore any documents that you don’t understand or know how to use.
Revise your thesis, categories and outlines as necessary
Incorporate the main points from the documents and the outside information suggested by the documents in your outline
Revise your thesis, if necessary, and consider creating a complex type of thesis statement by using key words such as “although,” “despite,” “however,” etc.
Make sure that each main point is well supported with appropriate analysis and multiple examples.

12. Steps for Writing an AP U.S. History Timed Essay
Write the essay
Introduction with background, timeframe, and thesis
Body paragraphs – one for each main idea – that address each of the parts of the prompt. Cover all points with evidence and analysis. Transition smoothly between paragraphs.
Conclusion – summarize and restate your thesis. Wrap up with a final statement that brings closure.
Proofread
Use any extra time to reread your essay.
Make corrections that are neat and easy to read and understand.
If you remember new information, write a new paragraph, circle it, and draw an arrow to indicate where the new paragraph should be inserted into the essay.

13. HOTT Introductions Hook statement that draws the reader in
Overview or Background with a timeframe
Thesis – your answer to the prompt
Topics – sentence(s) that introduce the main points that will support your thesis and be fully developed in the essay. It is best to keep these in the same order throughout the essay.

14. Body Paragraphs that Pass the TEST
Topic Sentence – the theme of the paragraph
Evidence and Analysis – factual information along with the How and Why (analysis)
Summary Statement – a reminder of the sub- points of the paragraph
Transition – finish off paragraph and introduce theme of the next paragraph

15. Come to a STOP with a Good Conclusion
Summarize the themes/main points
Thesis restatement
Omit any new information
Perspective – Finish essay with a sentence that unifies the essay and/or puts it in historical perspective

16. History Essay Tips Things to Do:
Adhere to the steps to writing a good essay and its basic structure
Deal honestly with counter-evidence and arguments in either the appropriate body paragraph or in a separate one. Never create “straw man” arguments
Start off essay with your strongest argument/evidence. Consider presenting your weakest argument in the middle so that you can finish strong.
Remain objective. Do not inject your personal opinion, but take a position on the prompt. Watch your wording.

17. History Essay Tips Using Primary Source Documents in an Essay:
Identify the main point of each document and relate it to your thesis/argument
Use the documents to remind you of other outside information to incorporate in the essay
Do not paraphrase or summarize a document. Never allow the focus of a paragraph or an essay to shift from the prompt and your thesis to the documents
Try to use the main ideas and outside information suggested by as many documents as possible, however, never use a document you don’t understand or are unsure of.

18. History Essay Tips Using Primary Source Documents in an Essay:
Use at least HALF + One to attain substantial usage
Refrain from quoting a document – it wastes precious time and most readers consider it a sign of desperation
Do not explicitly refer to a document (e.g. “As it says in Document A…”)
Cite documents parenthetically (Doc. A) but the reader will recognize skillful use of a document even without a citation
Jefferson believed that the Line would cause more sectional issues. (Doc. F)

19. History Essay Tips Mistakes to Avoid:
Generalizations and unsupported statements
Equivocation (Take a reasonable position, don’t try to argue both sides of a question)
Use of the first or second person voice (e.g. “I,” “You,” “We,” “Us,” “Y’all,” etc.)
Absolutes (e.g. “never,” “always,” “completely,” etc.)
Vague verbs (e.g. “felt,” “thought,” “said,” etc.)
Contractions (e.g. “don’t,” “won’t,” etc.)
Slang, figures of speech, & other non-academic phrases

20. Common Types of Essay Terms
Analyze: to break into parts and explain the parts Assess: to weigh the evidence and make a judgment Compare: Show how things are alike Contrast: Show how things are different Discuss: to tell about the main points and important details Evaluate: to give your opinion of what is important; discuss its good and bad points; discuss its strengths and weaknesses Extent: how much, to what degree

21. Common Types of Essay Terms
Identify: to name and explain Infer: to draw a conclusion based on fact Justify: to give reasons and evidence to support your thinking Relate: to show how things are alike or connected Sequence: to put in correct order Synthesize: to combine parts or pieces of an idea, situation or event Validity: how accurate something is

22. Ten Types of History Essay Questions
Change Over Time
“The period from 1783 to 1815 was a period of evolution to economic maturity for the infant United States.” Assess the validity of this view.
“Between 1790 and 1870 the economic growth of the United States was significantly stimulated by governmental aid.” Assess the validity of this statement.
Cause and Effect
Why did the United States enter the First World War?
What caused the Civil War?
Compare and Contrast
Compare and contrast Jacksonian Democracy and Jeffersonian Democracy.
Compare and contrast three colonies—Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts
Define and Identify
Discuss Jacksonian Democracy
Statement, React To It
“Presidents are rarely successful in both foreign and domestic policy.” Assess the validity of this statement.
“Slavery was the sole cause of the Civil War.” Evaluate this statement.

23. Ten Types of History Essay Questions
Evaluation
Pick any three of the following and evaluate their effectiveness as political leaders.
George Washington
John C. Calhoun
Thomas Jefferson
Henry Clay
John Quincy Adams
Daniel Webster 
Was colonial society democratic?
A Statement From a Particular Viewpoint
Defend British policies during the period from 1763 to 1776.
According to radical historians, what have been the foreign policy objectives of the United States in the twentieth century?
Given Framework
“The powers of the President grew because of war and foreign crises.” Evaluate this statement.
“The United States displayed all the typical characteristics of a new nation during the early republic, ” Assess the validity of this view.

24. Ten Types of History Essay Questions
Problem-Solution
“What causes of the Civil War were resolved by the Civil War and Reconstruction?
The Progressive movement solved problems that arose from Industrialization.” Discuss this statement.
Answer and Include
Analyze the relative importance of three of the following as contributing to the Civil Rights movement.
Gunnar Mydral, An American Dilemma
The desegregation of the armed forces
Brown v. Board of Education
African American demographic shifts 
Identify and analyze the issues separating the United States and the
Soviet Union during the Cold War as illustrated by three of the following.
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
The Korean War
The Berlin Wall
The nuclear arms race

25. This is a real College Board rubric for a previous FRQ.
Let’s Look at a Rubric
This is a real College Board rubric for a previous FRQ.

26. Lots O’ Prompts!
Prompts-A-Plenty!