APUSH PREWRITING SKILLS

1. APUSH PREWRITING SKILLS Or how to prewrite in a short time frame

2. Identifying Critical Words in an Essay Question (Prewriting Skills) The Basic Questions to ask yourself What is the time period of the question? What am I to do with the question? What content is appropriate in answering the question?

3. Common Phrases likely to appear in Free-response questions What is the question asking you to do: Content Areas: Political Diplomatic Economic Social Cultural Intellectual • Evaluate/assess the validity (AKA: Is this an accurate or inaccurate statement about history) • Analyze the extent to which… • Discuss • Compare • Contrast

4. Writing: APUSH STYLE • There are four main steps to writing a historical essay • Understand the prompt and identify key words • Generate a working Thesis • Categorize and connect historical information and documents • Organize your response through an outline As you have to work within a limited time to complete your essays we will be practicing these skills all year!

5. STEP 1: Understand the prompt and identify key words • Consider the following prompt: Using the documents above and your knowledge of the historical period, analyze the extent to which economics, religion, and politics shaped the earliest contacts between Europeans and native peoples in the Western Hemisphere. • You need to address ALL parts of the question to get a “5” • The topic • The task • The categories

6. How to address the Prompt: • Draw a box around your topic • Underline your task • Circle your categories Let’s revisit our prompt now

7. Economics, Religion, Using the documents above and your knowledge of the historical period, analyze the extent to which , and shaped the Politics earliest contacts between Europeans and native peoples in the Western Hemisphere.

8. STEP 2: Generate a Working Thesis Your Thesis statement includes your main argument in response to a prompt. • Create a list of important information that comes to mind • Then go back to the prompt, and begin to organize some of this information loosely into other categories of you question (economics, religion, politics) • Finally, generate a thesis statement (argument) based on the information you have brainstormed

9. STEP 3: Categorize and connect historical information and documents • This step we will cover in more detail when we get to Document Based Questions (DBQ’s)

10. Step 4: Organize your response through an outline This is the most important step after your thesis to help you create a logical and coherent historical argument. • Thesis and Introduction • Category 1 • Compose a claim that answers the prompt in term of CATEGORY 1 • Compose one or two evidence statements that prove your claim about CATEGORY 1. These evidence statements should use the historical information and documents that you gathered in your brainstorming. • Category 2 • Compose a claim that answers the prompt in term of CATEGORY 2 • Compose one or two evidence statements that prove your claim about CATEGORY 2 These evidence statements should use the historical information and documents that you gathered in your brainstorming. • Category 3 • Compose a claim that answers the prompt in term of CATEGORY 3 • Compose one or two evidence statements that prove your claim about CATEGORY 3 These evidence statements should use the historical information and documents that you gathered in your brainstorming.

11. Let’s Practice!