APUSH EXAM WRITING CLINIC

OUTLINE OF EXAM

I. a) MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

– 55 QUESTIONS IN 55 MINUTES

b) SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS– 4 QUESTIONS IN 50 MINUTES

B R E A KII. 15 MINUTE PLANNING PERIODa) DBQ

– 1 QUESTION IN 40 MIN.

b) LONG ESSAY QUESTION– PICK 1 OF 2 IN 35 MINUTES

THESIS FORMULA

X. However, (A), (B). Therefore, Y.

YOUR “X” STATEMENT WILL DEPEND ON THE TYPE OF PROMPT .

THESIS FORMULA

Example Prompt: The American Revolution was, politically and economically speaking, a conservative movement. Support, modify, or refute this statement with specific historical evidence.

Example Thesis: The American Revolution ostensibly abolished hereditary monarchy and facilitated a movement away from the centralized mercantilist policies of Great Britain. However, the call for revolution was initiated and maintained by the colonial elite who sought to preserve the status quo by restricting suffrage and fostering a climate conducive to capitalist business. Therefore, the American Revolution was both politically and economically speaking a conservative movement.

TYPES OF PROMPTS

1. HISTORICAL CAUSATION (CAUSE & EFFECT): What are the major causes or consequences of “event” and what were the most important causes or consequences of “event?”

X = Least important cause or consequence, whyA, B = Most important causes/consequences, why, broken up into organizational categoriesY = your assertion statement

Example: Explain the major political and economic causes and consequences for the growth of big business in American society from 1870 to 1900.

HISTORICAL CAUSATION(CAUSE & EFFECT)

TYPES OF PROMPTS

2. CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OVER TIME: What are the major patterns of continuity or change over the time period and was there more continuity or change over that time period?

X = Continuity or change, your counter argumentA,B = continuity or change during the specified time periodY = your assertion statement

Example: Evaluate major changes and continuities in the social and economic experiences of African Americans who migrated from the rural South to urban areas in the North in the period 1910-1930.

CCOT

TYPES OF PROMPTS

3. COMPARE AND CONTRAST: What similarities and differences are there between the two things, are there more similarities or differences, and why, account for those similarities or differences.

X = More similar or different, your counter argumentA,B = similarities or differences between the two thingsY = your assertion statement

Example: Immigration has always played an important role in the history of the US. Compare and contrast immigration during the 1840s/50s with immigration during the 1870s/80s. Be sure to address two of the three in your answer: patterns of settlement, reasons for immigrating, reactions of nativists.

COMPARE & CONTRAST

TYPES OF PROMPTS

4. PERIODIZATION (Take a position OR Turning Point): Evaluate whether something was a turning point of a major marking period in history, noting what things were like before and after that period.

X = counter argument, why something was or was not a turning point.A,B = argument, why something was a turning pointY = your assertion statement

Example: To what extent was the Containment Doctrine, after WWII, successful in dealing with the problems during the Cold War. Be sure to address both domestic and foreign issues.

DEFINING THE PERIOD

TURNING POINT

CONCLUSION

• Must have three (3) sentences of contextualization.– Each prompt is a subset of a larger whole. Find that larger picture.

• Must have three (3) sentences of synthesis.– “Similar in kind, but in a different time.”

Example Conclusion:The American Revolution is an illustrative example of the intellectual movement sweeping through Europe at the time. Enlightenment thinkers, such as Rousseau and Montesquieu, set the tone for the rhetoric used by the colonial intelligentsia with ideas like the separation of governmental powers and the abolition of the monarchy. With that said, the preservation of the status quo by colonial leaders will be seen again at the dawn of another new era – the New South. There too, elements of the elite sought to limit suffrage and reinstitute political hegemony.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

IDENTIFY THE TYPE OF ESSAY

1. Analyze and evaluate the impact of Alexander Hamilton’s economic policies, including his views on banking during the early years of the republic.

2. Compare and contrast the characteristics and influences of the three major sections of the United States by the mid-19th century.

3. It has been argued that the US constitution came about primarily through an evolving series of meetings, conventions, and congresses. Support, modify, or refute this contention using specific evidence.

4. Analyze and evaluate the ways that both external and internal migration changed over time from 1830 to 1900.

5. Analyze the causes and effects of changes in internal migration patterns from 1900 to 1945.