Requirements:
•Black/blue ink or typed
•Write on one side of the page only
Standard size paper only
•Must be turned in on due date for full credit. (Exception: Excused absence)Essays turned in one class period late will receive no more than 50% value. If assignment has still not been turned in by that point, than a zero will be recorded.
•Essays must be a minimum of two pages – A shorter paper will be returned for rewriting and a 10 point reduction
•Heading – Upper right hand corner including the following information:
Last name; First name
Period
Date Assigned
Essay Structure
Be certain you understand the question – Reread it! – Consider the command words - Is there more than one part to the question – Make note of it!
Part One – Introduction – First Paragraph
Includes:
•A broad attention-catching comment on the topic
•Points to defend the thesis
•A clear, well-developed thesis statement (Your viewpoint or opinion) – Should be last sentence of the introductory paragraph to be the most effective
Part Two – Body
Presents evidence to defend or support the thesis
Topic sentences should be used to introduce each paragraph – Supports the thesis
Includes facts, details, statistics, quotes
Part Three – Conclusion
Restates the thesis in a different way
Provides a closing comment
Tips
•Show you are aware of both sides of an issue by acknowledging the opposing point of view in the introduction - This frames the debate for the reader By going on to state why your thesis best fits the question, it enhances your essay
•Make an outline to structure your essay – It provides you a brainstorming opportunity
•Avoid using "I" or "My opinion is"
•Use at least 3-5 facts per paragraph – All facts should reinforce the thesis
•Paragraphs should include 5-7 sentences
•Include 6-7 paragraphs per essay
•Use proper English grammar
•Pay attention to spelling – Especially historical terms and proper names
•Avoid attempts at humor
•Proofread your essay if time allows
APUSH Essay Command Words
Analyze
Separate something into its parts or major components; of what is something composed
Assess
Judge the value or character of something; assess the validity
Compare
Examine for the purposes of noting similarities and differences; in what ways are two things alike and different
Contrast
Compare in order to show unlikeness or points of difference
Criticize
Make judgements as to the merits and faults; you may approve or disapprove
Define
Give the meaning of a word, phrase, or concept
Describe
Provides an account of; tell about
Discuss
Talk over; write about; examine by argument from various points of view; present the different sides of
Enumerate
Mention or list separately
Evaluate
Give the good points and the bad ones; appraise; give an opinion; discuss the advantages and disadvantages
Explain
Make clear or plain; make known in detail; tell the meaning of
Identify and With another command word such as “identify and evaluate”
Define and give the significance of
Illustrate
Make clear or intelligible by examples
Interpret
Explain the meaning of; make plain; present your thinking about
Justify
Show good reasons for; present your evidence; offer facts to support your position
Prove
Establish the truth or genuineness of something by giving factual evidence or logical reasons
Reconcile
Bring in harmony; make consistent by use of argument and evidence
Summarize
State or express in concise form; give the main points briefly
Trace
Follow the course of; give a description of the progress of; ascertain by investigation
ESSAY RUBRIC
AP GRADE: (1-5)____
CLASS GRADE: (% of 100)____
Superior Essay “5”: A
____ Superior thesis
____ Excellent use of outside information
____ Excellent analysis of key issues
____ Excellent use of concrete facts
____ Extremely well-organized essay
____ Addresses all areas of the prompt
____ Extremely well-written essay
Strong Essay “4”: B
____ Strong thesis (contains general analysis)
____ Good use of outside info. (needs more)
____ Good analysis of key issues (needs more)
____ Well-organized essay
____ Addresses all areas of the prompt; may
lack some balance between major areas
____ Well-written essay
Adequate Essay “3”: C
____ Clear thesis – needs general analysis
____ Fairly well-organized essay
____ Addresses all areas of the prompt but
essay may lack balance.
____ Includes some outside information (but
clearly needs more)
____ Needs more analysis of key issues
____ Contains some evidence; more needed
____ May contain some historical errors
____ Contains facts irrelevant to the time period
“2” Essay: D
____ Undeveloped thesis (simple thesis)
____ Thesis does not fully address question
____ Documents control the essay
____ Weak organization
____ Lacks outside information
____ Essay does not address one or more aspects
of the question
____ Lacks analysis of key issues
____ Lacks evidence to support main ideas.
____ Contains major historical errors
____ Much irrelevant information to time period
“1” Essay: F
____ No thesis
____ Facts not specific, accurate & relevant.
____ Poor or no analysis of key issues
“0” Essay: Did not do the question
Document Based Questions (DBQs)
Strategy:
1. Read the question three times. Do not move on until you fully understand it.
2. Identify the task by circling the command words. (For example: assess the validity, compare and contrast, evaluate relative importance, analyze the significance, etc.)
3. Ask yourself “what do I have to prove?” (e.g. Foreign policy is more important than domestic policy).
4. Pay special attention to economic, political, social issues that need to be included.
5. Make a list (outline) of outside information (as if you were writing a standard essay).
6. Examine the documents, underlining any key words or phrases that you may use later in the essay. Reread the question again after reading the first three documents.
7. Construct a thesis that is well-developed and clear.
8. Write your essay.
Some Key Points to Remember:
DBQ – 45% of writing grade – Two essays – 55% of writing grade - You will have 15 minutes for reading and analyzing the documents and taking notes before you begin writing your essay. 45 minutes to write your essay
·Start with outside information first and write it down; then read the documents; then construct a thesis.
Make your life easier by constructing a thesis that can reasonably include most/ all of the documents (even if you don’t really believe your thesis). It is better to be “practical” than “right.”
Use as many documents as you can as long as they fit your thesis. Do not merely write summaries of the documents - Use documents to reinforce your main points and outside information.
Use documents by grouping common ideas found in them.
Don’t rewrite large portions of documents. Try to limit quotations to one sentence or less.
Reference author’s you are citing (e.g. …“In the letter by Abraham Lincoln”)
Cite every document used, e.g., (Doc. A), (Doc. F) – Refute documents that do not support you thesis with evidence from outside sources.
Write in third person. Don’t forget: we, us, and our are not 3rd person pronouns. Do not use these.
Balance your support of your thesis with 40-50% document analysis and 50-60% outside information.
Specific people, places, events, and dates are considered outside information. Avoid generalizations.
Unless you have a specific reasoning for doing so, do not use the documents in order. This is often a sign of desperation. However, if you have a purpose for doing so (the documents are listed chronologically) and are not doing it out of desperation, don’t worry about this.
Don’t summarize or quote the documents. Instead, use the documents to support your argument. If a document
doesn’t support your argument, you can either discount the document’s slant/argument, or discard it altogether.
Avoid using words as “no”, “always”, and “it didn’t happen.” Leave the door open. Avoid over-exaggerating, and remember more is not better.
Avoid placing document citations in the introduction or conclusion of your essay. These are the places to introduce or conclude your position, not argue your case. Keep the document citations and the arguments they support in the body of your essay.
Documents usually contain clues such as dates, authorship, geographic locations (such as Richmond, VA Times-Courier on a political cartoon) that will reveal the point-of-view of the creator. Look for these clues and use them.
A conclusion is a must for a tired reader, but avoid the following:
Repeating what you just said, other than the gist of your argument
Providing new outside information or document analysis
Going on and on. Keep your conclusion brief.
The students may need to qualify a position based on recognizing that the author may have a political or social "agenda." Students are not required to recognize bias on the AP English Language synthesis question or the AP U.S. History DBQ. However, on the AP World History Exam, recognizing bias is part of the scoring guidelines. – A.P. Central – College Board
More tips for writing a good DBQ:*
1) The thesis statement:
A DBQ thesis needs to do 3 things:
A) It must be explicit and in-your-face. The reader shouldn’t have to guess what the thesis is.
B) It must be based on the documents. You can have a great thesis, but if it does not address the documents it’s worthless.
C) It must deal with all parts of the question. If the question asks you to compare and contrast, then you need to address those issues.
2) Be sure to use all documents:
As simple as this sounds, many students make this mistake on the AP exam.
3) Point of View (POV):
This is the most difficult part of the question for many students. To help you with this part, ask yourself these simple questions:
a)Why would this person say / write this?
b)How reliable is the document?
c)What is the tone or intent of the document?
d)What makes this document different from other types of documents?
** Focus on POV for AT LEAST THREE (3) of the documents
** The first time you mention a document, comment on the POV. For example, “John Smith would have said this because he was a member of the upper class.”
* Source: Barron's 2008 and Monty Armstrong’s “Introduction: The Document-Based Question” in DBQ Practice.
DBQ ESSAY RUBRIC
AP GRADE: (1-5)____
CLASS GRADE: (% of 100)____
Superior Essay “5”: A
____ Superior thesis
____ Excellent use of documents (at least two
more than half)
____ Excellent use of outside information
____ Excellent analysis of key issues
____ Excellent use of concrete facts
____ Extremely well-organized essay
____ Addresses all areas of the prompt
____ Extremely well-written essay
Strong Essay “4”: B
____ Strong thesis (contains general analysis)
____ Good use of documents (at least 1 more
than half)
____ Good use of outside info. (needs more)
____ Good analysis of key issues (needs more)
____ Well-organized essay
____ Addresses all areas of the prompt; may
lack some balance between major areas
____ Well-written essay
Adequate Essay “3”: C
____ Clear thesis – needs general analysis
____ Adequate use of documents
____ Fairly well-organized essay
____ Addresses all areas of the prompt but
essay may lack balance.
____ Includes some outside information (but
clearly needs more)
____ Needs more analysis of key issues
____ Contains some evidence; more needed
____ May contain some historical errors
____ Contains facts irrelevant to the time period
“2” Essay: D
____ Undeveloped thesis (simple thesis)
____ Thesis does not fully address question
____ Poor use of documents
____ Documents control the essay
____ Weak organization
____ Lacks outside information
____ Essay does not address one or more aspects
of the question
____ Lacks analysis of key issues
____ Lacks evidence to support main ideas.
____ Contains major historical errors
____ Much irrelevant information to time period
“1” Essay: F
____ No documents used
____ No thesis
____ Facts not specific, accurate & relevant.
____ Poor or no analysis of key issues
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