WRITING THE APUSH ESSAY

Is it formulaic, or is it liberation?
Responding
p g to the Prompt
p
Prompt Example
How successful was organized labor in improving the position of
workers in the period from 1875 to 1900? Analyze the factors that
contributed to the level of success achieved.

… Read the WHOLE prompt

… Big
g mistake: answering
g onlyy part
p of the prompt
p p
… Circle or underline the VERBS.
† Your task ANALYZE
† What does it mean to analyze?
„ Explain HOW and WHY
Responding
p g to the p
prompt
p

Analyze
Explain how AND why something
occurred
Responding
p g to the p
prompt
p

Discuss
scuss oor Co
Consider
s de
Usually same as analysis
essays.
essays
Responding
p g to the p
prompt
p

Assess The Validity

How true is the statement?
There are shades of gray!
Responding
p g to the p
prompt
p

Evaluate
Which factor(s) was most (and less)
important?
p
Responding
p g to the p
prompt
p

To What Extent
cause &effect relationship
state ranking (evaluation)
Responding
p g to the p
prompt
p

Compare
p &Contrast
discuss BOTH similarities AND
differences
Responding
p g to the Prompt
p
… Define terms in the prompt that you need to explain
† “Reformmovements in the United States sought to
expand democratic ideals.”
… Jot down some “democratic ideals” and be
prepared to explain how they are democratic.
Responding
p g to the prompt
p p
… Pay attention to the time period!
… If the prompt asks you to discuss reform between
1865 and 1900, you must include information for
the WHOLE time period.
Constructing
g a Thesis
… A Thesis…
† tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of
the subject matter under discussion.
† is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the
reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
† directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is
an interpretation of a question or subject,
subject not the subject
itself.
Constructing a Thesis

Sample Question: To what extent did the

Civil War constitute a revolution in
A
American
i society?
i t ?

… Establish the setting of the essay. Briefly

introduce the reader to the subject.
† Example: “The Civil War, occurring between
the years 1861 and 1865, was the most
d
devastating
t ti conflict
fli t in
i American
A i hi t ”
history.”
Constructing a Thesis

… PProvide
id an insightful
i i htf l commentt that
th t establishes
t bli h
your basis for analysis.
† Example:
Example “In In determining whether the Civil
War was a revolution in American society,
one must assess the extent to which society
was changed by the war.”
Constructing a Thesis

… PProvide
id a partitiontiti th t establishes
that t bli h th
three
major sub-topics you plan to discuss.
† Example:
Example "Politically
Politically, the war established the
supremacy of the Republican party in
national politics for much of the next fifty
years. Socially, the war saw significant gains
in African American g
rights. And
constitutionally, the war established the
supremacy of the federal government over
the states.”
Constructing a Thesis

… Finish
Fi i h paragraphh with ith a clear
l th i
thesis
statement that establishes the purpose of
the essay
† Example: "Thus, the Civil War did, in fact,
represent a political, social and
constitutional revolution in America.”
Thesis types
yp
… Simple thesis … Simple-split thesis
† “The Civil
“Th Ci il War
W was a revolution
l ti i
in † “The Civil War was a revolution in
American society.” (Rating: poor) America politically, socially, and
† far too simplistic constitutionally.” (Rating: fair)
† no partition or analysis. † provides a partition
† lacks explanation/ general analysis
i the
in th partition.
titi

… Complex-simple thesis
† “In some respects, Americans
experienced profound changes
during the war. After the war, it was
clear that society had also been
changed dramatically in a number of
important areas.” (Rating: fair)
† no partition is established
† thesis doesn’t establish
American society was changed by
the war.
… Complex-split thesis
† "Politically, the war established the
supremacy of the Republican party in
national politics for much of the next
fifty years. Socially, the war saw
significant gains in African American
how i ht And
rights. A d constitutionally,
tit ti ll the
th war
established the supremacy of the
federal government over the states.
Thus, the Civil War did in fact
represent a political, social and
constitutional revolution in America."
((Rating:
g superior)
p )
The coveted gray-area Thesis

… The more sophisticated complex-split gray area

thesis
† "Although
"Alth h the
th Civil
Ci il War
W resulted
lt d in
i the
th supremacy
of the Republican party for the next fifty years and
led to a constitutional revolution regarding African
American rights,
g , blacks in the South were virtually
y
abandoned by the North in 1877 and subsequently
dominated by the white-supremacist Democratic
party of the “Solid South. Thus, to a larger extent,
the Civil War did represent a revolution
constitutionally and in national politics but it was
not a complete revolution regarding social and
political issues in the South."
Building
g Your Partitions
… Categories
g of support
pp for the thesis
… PERSIA
† Political
† Economic
E i
† Religious
† Social
† Intellectual
† Artistic
… Time Frames
… Comparison/contrast paragraphs
… Order them as theyy are listed in intro
An intro to Introductions
… Think about your prompt
† Let’s use the following question as an example
„ Drawing on The Narrative of the Life of
F d i k Douglass,
Frederick D l discuss
di the
th relationship
l ti hi
between education and slavery in 19th century
America. What role did education play in the
acquisition of freedom? Most importantly,
consider the degree to which education was or
was not a major
j force for social changeg with
regard to slavery.
An Intro to introductions
… Try writing your intro last

Or

… Write a loose introduction and return to it after you

y
have written the body of your essay
… Tryy opening
p g with an attention-grabber
g
† BUT, avoid clichés
 An Intro to introductions

… A puzzling scenario
† Frederick Douglass says of slaves that "[N]othing has been left undone to
cripple their intellects, darken their minds, debase their moral nature,
obliterate all traces of their relationship to mankind;
mankind and yet how
wonderfully they have sustained the mighty load of a most frightful
bondage, under which they have been groaning for centuries!" Douglass
clearly asserts that slave owners went to great lengths to destroy the
mental capacities of slaves
slaves, but yet his own life story proves that these
efforts could be unsuccessful.)
… A thought-provoking question
† Given allll off th
Gi the freedoms
f d that
th t were denied
d i d enslaved
l d individuals
i di id l in
i th
the
American South, why does Frederick Douglass focus his attentions so
squarely on education and literacy?)
An intro to introductions
… An intriguing example
† The mistress who initially taught Frederick
Douglass eventually ceased her instruction as
she learned more about slavery.
… A provocative quotation
† Douglass writes that "education and slavery
were incompatible with each other.
other "
Introductions- What to avoid
Introductions
… Th Placeholder
The Pl h ld
† Vague sentences that don’t say much
† Just filling up the introduction space
† Weak Example: Slavery was one of the greatest tragedies in
American history. There were many different aspects of slavery. Each
created different kinds of problems for enslaved people.
… The Dawn of Man
† Weak Example: Since the dawn of man, slavery has been a problem
in human history.
… Webster’ss Dictionary
Webster
† Weak Example: Webster's dictionary defines slavery as "the state of
being a slave," as "the practice of owning slaves," and as "a
j
condition of hard work and subjection."
… The Restated Question
 Body Paragraphs + Analysis
Do not be limited to the 5 paragraph essay

… Body Paragraph #1
† Topic Sentence
„ Term, event, detail, proof #1
„ Definition
„ Significance/ relate to thesis
„ Term, event, detail, proof #2
„ Definition
„ Significance/ relate to thesis
„ Term event,
Term, event detail,
detail proof #3
„ Definition
„ Significance/ relate to thesis
† Transition
… B d Paragraph
Body P h #2 & #3 and
d so on…
† Topic sentence and segue from previous paragraph
„ Repeat from above
 Conclusion Strategies
… 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
ON’
† 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.
Citations
… USE MLA
… Cite your sources in a bibliography
† No need for in-text unless you use a quote.
quote
 Revisions1, Peer Reviews2,
P f di 3
Proofreading

…
1 A good idea
… 2 A good
d id
idea
… 3 A great idea
Avoiding
g the Temptation
p of Plagiarism
g

… Don’t’ do
D d iit
… If you are caught….
† You
Y will
ill ffailil th
the assignment
i t
† You will conference with Mr. Correa, your parents,
me,, and yyour counselors
† You will be embarrassed
† You will only be cheating yourself!
General writing
g tips
p
… MLA format … Refer to p
people
p byy full
† 1.5” Margins names first, then last names
† Last name page # top right
header
… No contractions
† Times New Roman, 12 pt font … No cliches
† Double-spaced … A country is an “it” not a
… No slang “they”
they
… No colloquialism … Active verbs
… No FIRST OR SECOND … Check grammar and
person (EVAARRR!) spelling