AP United States History Tips on Essay Skills

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO WRITE A GOOD ESSAY ON A TOPIC ABOUT WHICH YOU KNOW NOTHING!!!  Pay attention in class!  Take good notes!  Study for the essay!

Writing for History  Consider your audience.  Different from your English class.  No personal voice!

The Prompt  Read the question or prompt carefully.  Your basic purpose is to answer the question!  Read the question three times!  Paraphrase the question and know the essential task demanded by it.

Creating a Framework  Break the question down with dates, and points asked for, make sure you are aware of the entire question.  Be mindful of the verb—what exactly are you supposed to do?

Brainstorm  Get your brain in gear!  What do you know?  Put down on paper everything that comes to mind regarding the topic.

Make an Outline  Organize your thesis  Develop three main points  Put your brainstormed information in an outline or chart format for your three body paragraphs.

Introduction  Brief explanation of any key theme or complex idea contained in the thesis  May be where you put the question into historical context  May be where you explain why the question is worth answering

The Thesis Statement  CRITICAL FACTOR!!!  Serves as your answer to the question  Acknowledges that you are aware of the complexity of the question  Main organizational points that will be used to structure and present the data used to defend the thesis  Develop three key points from your brainstorm.

Sophistication  We don’t want a straight narrative composition!  Use key words that indicate judgment and analysis.  Don’t make a laundry list of facts  Think causation, repercussions, etc.

Sophisticated Verbs  Vocabulary matters!  “The assassination caused the war.”  “The assassination provoked the outbreak of war.”  “The diary showed the prejudice…”  “The diary vividly illustrates the deep prejudice…”  Do not use the verbs SHOW, FEEL, or BELIEVE when another stronger verb will work.

Dwell in the Gray  Stay away from absolutes!  Never, always, completely…  Think of issues in terms of a scale of 0 – 10.  Anybody can answer true or false. Good students of history address “how true” or “how false.” (To what extent did the Missouri Compromise create further sectionalism in the United States?)  Stay away from overly simplistic words!  Good, bad, great, fantastic.

How many body paragraphs?  Determined by the organizational list in the introductory paragraph  Generally, you should expect three body paragraphs unless the essay guides you to do more.  ALWAYS ANSWER THE QUESTION!

What order do I put them in?  In order of importance  The only exception would be if you were going to address the question chronologically.  Get your strongest point down on paper first!

Topic Sentences  Clear and relevant sentences  Let the reader know what the paragraph is about.  Links back to the thesis

 One thing that did unite Americans from the distant past: they’re all dead now. Use past tense.  Don’t use rhetorical questions. They abuse your reader. You don’t like to be abused, do you?  Always avoid “always”; never use “never” in your essays.  I think that first person undermines your effectiveness. We, as Americans, need to learn not to use it in expository essays.  The use of proper grammars, speling, and “wonderful verbs” shows that your smart.