1. Make your writing matter!
Teaching APUSH students how to write a good LEQ
*adapted from APUSH LEQ 100 slides

2. Proper Grammar Requires Proper Punctuation!
Punctuation directs you how to read, in a way musical notation directs a musician how to play.
EX: “A woman, without her man, is nothing”
“A woman: without her, man is nothing”
EX: “Panda. Large black & white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots, and leaves”
“Panda: large black & white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats shoots & leaves”

3. Some Professors are SUPER SERIOUS
Some Professors are SUPER SERIOUS! U of Wisconsin, Economics Class 2003

4. Professor Pet Peeves
Papers that read like greeting cards. Leave cuteness and humor to late night TV. Show your scholarship, not your wittiness.
Papers that aren’t proofread. These are laced with common spelling errors.
Informal writing. Do not use slang or the first person.
No clear thesis. The thesis must be clear and interesting and argue something.
No fluff. A professor is not fooled by students padding essays with bigger fonts and margins.
Penmanship. If it is not legible, it won’t be graded

5. Writing the Long Essay
APUSH candidates have a choice between two questions that focus on the same historical thinking skill (HTS) but may apply to different time periods and thematic learning objectives

6. What are the HTS again?

7. Chronological Reasoning
Causation. Cause AND effect. Short & long, term. Interactions among multiple causes.
Continuity AND Change. Analyze and evaluate historical continuity. Turning points. Making connections
Periodization. Grouping events/processes within a time period. Compare competing models/view points

8. Comparison & Contextualization
Comparison. Compare AND contrast developments across time & space
Contextualization. Connect events & developments to broader themes (ie: M Sanger’s movement for birth control  women’s rights/liberation). Making connections to other periods (ie: tying it to affirmative action 1980s)

9. Crafting Historical Arguments
Historical Argumentation. Analyze commonly accepted interpretations & why. Convincing interpretations using contradictory evidence. Persuasive historical arguments.
Relevant Historical Evidence. Analyze features of PDs. Draw supportable inferences & conclusions

10. Interpretation & Synthesis
Interpretation. Analyze diverse historical interpretations. Evaluate how interpretations change over time. (ex: use of atomic bomb 1940s vs 1990s)
Synthesis. PS & SS to create understanding of the past

11. THE L.E.Q.

12. Essays are evaluated on four criteria:
Argumentation. Develops a thesis or relevant argument that addresses all parts of the question
Use of Evidence. Supports the thesis using specific evidence, clearly linked to the thesis
Targeted HTS. Demonstrates ability to think beyond content – causation, comparison, continuity & change over time, periodization.
4. Synthesis. Extends argument by connecting it to a different time, historical context, or connecting it to a different analysis category (geographic, economic, social, political, cultural)

13. STEPS TO THE L.E.Q.

14. STEP 1: Analyze the Question
Take time to consider what the question REALLY asks. Identify the targeted HTS (causation, comparison, continuity & change over time, or periodization)
Circle the main tasks required & organize your answers accordingly. Look for buzz words: “analyze, explain, support, modify, refute…”
Underline the time period in the question
Identify all parts of the questions that need to be addressed.

15. You will NOT receive full credit on an LEQ by simply reporting information. You must meet the HTS
“Evaluate the relative importance of domestic and foreign affairs in shaping American politics in the 1790s” You must discuss BOTH foreign AND domestic affairs, as well as 1790’s politics. You must do more than just describe what they were like, you must Evaluate (causation) To gain the synthesis points, extend your LE to go beyond, (contextualization, comparison, show impact on geographical boundaries....)

16. STEP 2: Develop the Evidence
Spend some time planning before writing. Organize your info in a brief outline.
Domestic Affairs
Foreign Affairs
Politics
Hamilton’s plan: ntl debt, tariff, excise tax
French Revolution
British v French
Jefferson v Hamilton
Two-party system

17. STEP 3: Develop a Thesis & Introductory Paragraph
Take a position that you can back up
DO NOT just restate the question
Parts to the Introductory Paragraph BTR:
Background statement (brief explanation of the topic)
Thesis (your argument, stance, hypothesis, position)
Roadmap (your main arguments which you’ll prove in the body-don’t be too specific, leave that for the body. But do state your intended synthesis)

18. STEP 4: Write the supporting body paragraphs
Usually, but not always, 3-5 paragraphs.
Depends on your thesis, main points of your argument, and the amount of historical evidence you provide
Focus on the HTS
Identify the MOST IMPORTANT supporting evidence. Simply stating everything you know is not going to earn you points. You must make that information meaningful

19. CONTINUITY & CHANGE OVER TIME
HISTORICAL CAUSATION
WHY did stuff happen? What’s the impact (long/short)
COMPARISON
Similarities & differences w/in or between topics
CONTINUITY & CHANGE OVER TIME
What stayed the same? What changed? Why’d it change & how much?
PERIODIZATION
Why historians start/end time period? (turning points!)
SYNTHESIS
Understand how past is relevant to present (connections across time, ideas, people, events)

20. Use BAGPIPE to help you with the SYNTHESIS
Belief Systems
America in the World
Geography & the Environment
Peopling
Identity
Politics & Power
Economy

21. STEP 5: Conclusion DO NOT INTRODUCE NEW EVIDENCE OR IDEAS
Sums up what the reader has learned
Restates the Thesis in a fresh & interesting way
DO NOT thank your reader or “hope they learned something”

22. Finally…
Memorize the guideline for writing analytical essays (see handout)