Transcript WRITING the AP Essay - Arlington Public Schools

WRITING THE AP ESSAY
Understanding the Prompt

The first thing you need to do is to read the WHOLE
prompt, every word of it. This is especially true if the
prompt is in two sentences like this one.
 How
successful was organized labor in improving the position
of workers in the period from 1875 to 1900? Analyze the
factors that contributed to the level of success achieved.


Having read the whole prompt, circle or underline the
VERBS. These words will give you your task.
After finding the verbs, look carefully and mark any
CONJUNCTIONS and circle or underline them. For
instance: Compare and contrast
Commonly used verbs and verb
phrases

Analyze
 Explain
how AND why something occurred. Any
question that uses “how” and/or “why” is an analysis
question even if the word “analyze” is not in the
prompt.

Assess the validity
 How
true is the statement. The statement doesn’t have
to be all true; it can be true in one instance or
circumstance and false in another.
Verbs cont.

Evaluate
 Which
factor was most important. You usually need to rank
several events or factors and specify which is most and which
is least significant.

To what extent
 This
prompt frequently requires you to specify a cause and
effect relationship and then state which causes were more
important.

Discuss or Consider
 These
are frequently used in free response prompts. They
should be written as analysis essays.
Outline

After you are clear as to your task (analyze,
evaluate, etc.) sketch out a quick, informal
outline of how you are going to proceed. This
is very important to guaranteeing that you
cover the whole prompt.
Write a clear thesis

a single declaratory sentence that “answers”
the prompt with a clearly and simply stated
opinion that does not restate the prompt.
Example



After reading the whole prompt, marking the verbs
and conjunctions, and sketching out how you intend
to proceed. . .
Answer the prompt in a simple sentence.
For instance, consider this DBQ prompt:
 How
successful was organized labor in improving the
position of workers in the period from 1875 to 1900?
Analyze the factors that contributed to the level of
success achieved.
Example cont.

What do you think about this prompt?






Were labor unions successful in improving working conditions and the power of
working people during this time?
At the end of the period had the lives of working people substantially
improved due to organized labor?
What factors caused or stopped improvement from happening?
Let’s say that you think this time period was not a period of labor
success.
Write a simple statement that answers the prompt with your
opinion. Like this. . .
 Although this was a period of intense labor pressure, unions
failed to make the lives and status of workers better.
Or. . .

Organized labor unions were unsuccessful because they were not
unified in their demands and were associated with radical European
political groups.
The Introductory Paragraph



Having written your thesis sentence, you are ready
to put it into your essay introduction. For most AP U.
S. History essays, an introduction “paragraph” need
not be particularly long.
The thesis sentence should be the last sentence in
your introduction paragraph.
Take a step back from your thesis and write a
general sentence that introduces the topic.