1. APUSH DBQ Writing: Formulating your thesis statement
Mrs. Alison Sinacore, 2015

2. The directions say that in your essay, you must:
State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question.
Support the thesis or a relevant argument with evidence from all, or all but one, of the documents.
Incorporate analysis of all, or all but one, of the documents into your argument.
Focus your analysis of each document on at least one of the following: intended audience, purpose, historical context, and/or point of view.

3. The directions say that in your essay, you must:
Support your argument with analysis of historical examples outside the documents.
Connect historical phenomena relevant to your argument to broader events or processes.
Synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay that extends your argument, connects it to a different historical context, or accounts for contradictory evidence on the topic.

4. For the DBQ we are looking at now, the question is:
Although New England and the Chesapeake regions were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this difference in development occur?
Use the documents AND your knowledge of the colonial period up to 1700 to develop your answer.

5. States a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question
So, in this case, what do you have to state in your thesis?
WHY the regions were different. Although you will mention differences, you MUST analyze the reasons for the differences. Your thesis MUST be clear… WHY WERE THE REGIONS DIFFERENT?

6. Seems so easy, right?
Over the years, the common mistake has been that students wrote a descriptive essay.
Remember, the College Board is testing your knowledge AND your skills.
You must analyze the reasons why the regions were different.

7. Components of your thesis:
Differences between the Chesapeake and New England regions
Reasons for the differences

8. Where should your thesis go?
The best “plan of attack” is to write an INTRODUCTION paragraph that:
Begins with a “grabber”
Includes some basic background information that acknowledges the time period in question
Ends with a one or two sentence thesis statement

9. An Example:
Although most of the settlers in the Chesapeake and New England regions came from England, the two regions developed into two distinct societies by the 1700s because the original settlers had different motivations to settle in North America, encountered very different geographical features, and related to Native Americans in different ways.

10. An Example:
Although most of the settlers in the Chesapeake and New England regions came from England, the two regions developed into two distinct societies by the 1700s because the original settlers had different motivations to settle in North America, encountered very different geographical features, and related to Native Americans in different ways.

11. An Example:
Although most of the settlers in the Chesapeake and New England regions came from England, the two regions developed into two distinct societies by the 1700s because the original settlers had different motivations to settle in North America, encountered very different geographical features, and related to Native Americans in different ways.

12. An Example:
Although most of the settlers in the Chesapeake and New England regions came from England, the two regions developed into two distinct societies by the 1700s because the original settlers had different motivations to settle in North America, encountered very different geographical features, and related to Native Americans in different ways.

13. Now what?
Each of the “reasons” will be the topics of the three body paragraphs in this essay.
Motivations:
WHAT documents would you use?
WHAT outside information would you use?
Geography:
Relations with Native Americans: