Writing Essays for the AP World History Exam

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Writing Essays for the AP World History Exam

• Document Based Question
• Change and Continuity
• Comparative

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APWH essays

• 3 essays
• Doesnt matter which essay you write first
• Label the essay so that a reader can figure out
  which one you are writing
• ½ or 50 of total test score and each essay is
  equally weighted
• Must not spent all of your time on one essay
  although the DBQ will take a little longer as you
  must read the documents
• Every single point count and even if you are
  running out of time you write whatever you can

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Document Based Question

• Know the rubric
• Quickly tackle the documents to look for
  categories to form your thesis
• Draft your thesis and note your groups
• Draft your issue sentences (list the possible
  documents that relate to this issue)
• Find your evidence (from the documents)
• Make a quick list of the documents or devise a
  manner to determine when you have used all of the
  documents
• Tackle your documents again for POV (a 3rd time)
• Finish your outline, THEN write your essay

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Rubric

• You can score 9 points on the DBQ.
• You can score 7 points on the Core.
• In you earn all 7 points on the core, you might
  be able to earn 2 bonus points.
• Dont worry about the expanded core as it will be
  there if you follow the steps to writing the DBQ

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Thesis

• If you dont have a thesis or you have a really
  bad one it could cost you THREE points.

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Using Documents

• EVERY DOCUMENT must be mentioned at least ONE
  time in your essay.
• You cannot double-dip for document points
  (besides mentioning them). You must use documents
  more than once for it to count more than once.
• Understanding means you interpret it correctly
  (discuss/analyze it).
• You then use the document as evidence.
• To get points for grouping, you only need to put
  it in a group.

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Specific question
Start with thesis If it includes dates, they are
important You must make your points inside the
time frame. You can mention events outside the
time frame but these will not get points. Should
include the dates in the thesis
statement Factors Identify the time period or
region or even the issue and you might have some
clues. Start with systems (Social, Political,
Economic, Cultural, Educational, and even
Technology, Intellectual or Religious issues)
then narrow down the issues within this system.
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Attack the Documents and look for factorsthat is
your question and will guide your thesis
READ THE DOCS AND PULL OUT COMMON THEMES,
CONCEPTS AND WRITE THEM AROUND EACH DOCUMENT
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Attack the documents and look for issues and
factors and common themes. That will shape your
thesis. Fine tune the issues and factors by
creating narrow categories
Factors, factors? PEACE or nationalism???
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Another
Factorsfactors Nationalism or the economy!!
Notice you might be able to use document in
several categories
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Continue identifying factors issues
Oh this is also about making money economics
earnings, profits, etc2 documents make a group.
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Thesis

• Think of your thesis in three parts
• Answer the question that is asked in one
  sentences (this is your argument and what you
  assert).
• Indicate the grouping and categories that you
  will use to address the question. You will have
  more groups than just 3 more later.
• Define your categories as to what you will
  address in each group (especially if it is a very
  broad category) by narrowing the category using
  words like type (of profits) methods (of
  earnings)
• Leave space around thesis so that as you write
  you can place new phrases or alter the thesis
  based on what you proved

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Thesis

• The initial goal of the modern Olympics planned
  in 1892 was to promote world peace, but from 1892
  to 2002 issues such as corporate profit, the rise
  of nationalism and feminism, as well as cold war
  issues that required the demonstration of
  political and military power influenced the
  individual and overall goals of late 19th and
  20th century Olympics.

One sentence and preferably at the end of the 1st
paragraph.
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Improve this to get points
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This also need tweaking
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More Thesis Information

• These are historical INFORMATIVE essays and the
  only thing that matters is if you use evidence to
  support your argument.
• You must make an assertion then prove your
  assertion

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Application
The initial goal of the modern Olympics planned
in 1892 was to promote world peace, but from 1892
to 2002 issues such as corporate profit, the rise
of nationalism and feminism, as well as cold war
issues that required the demonstration of
political and military power influenced the
individual and overall goals of late 19th and
20th century Olympics.
Group 1 concept Sentence
Group 2 concept Sentence
Group 3 concept Sentence
Evidence from Docs and when possible POV
Evidence from Docs and when possible POV
Evidence from Docs and when possible POV
Conclusion and if you have not done additional
document do it NOW!!
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Application
The initial goal of the modern Olympics planned
in 1892 was to promote world peace, but from 1892
to 2002 issues such as corporate profit, the rise
of nationalism and feminism, as well as cold war
issues that required the demonstration of
political and military power influenced the
individual and overall goals of late 19th and
20th century Olympics.
One of the factors that shaped the Olympics was
the rise of nationalism.
Nationalism created a new role of women and the
Olympics created an environment where this role
could be promoted
Nationalism sometimes dictated the demonstration
of political and military power.
Evidence from Docs and when possible POV
Evidence from Docs and when possible POV
Evidence from Docs and when possible POV
Conclusion and if you have not done additional
document do it NOW!!
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Point of View must be analysis and not just a
statement

• WHO/WHAT says it
• WHAT does he/she say (this could be used as
  evidence to support your thesis)
• WHY does he/she say it (this is the POV and this
  is where you get POV points.

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Examples
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Point of View
This is a POV.
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No point for this because incorrect
This is incorrect. The Cold War did not end in
1980.
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You dont have to do POV for every document

• Attempt to do POVs for EVERY documentYes, every
  document.
• Do enough correctly and you get into the expanded
  core!!!!

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Example of Point of View
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Example of Point of View

• Willy Brandt, Chancellor of West Germany
  expressed great support for the ECC. Brandt
  stressed the importance of the ECC and how it
  might lead to lasting peace in Europe. According
  to Brandt, the ECC would be as significant to
  Europe as the Marshall Plan was however, since
  Brandt made these comments at Harvard University,
  he might have chosen the American Marshall Plan
  to highlight so that he could better connect with
  the American audience (doc. 9).

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Another example
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Hints for POV

• Consider the following about each person
• Title, position, or job (economic motives,
  political motives, etc.)
• Male/female
• Country or religion of the person (in favor of
  country or historically doesnt like people from
  a different country supports or dislikes a
  religious group)
• Date the statement was made (around a war)
• Consider the type of document and why it was
  created
• Political speech, diary entry, newspaper article
  )what type of paper)
• Maps, graphs, charts who created it and why???
• Pictures, paintings who paid for it?

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Additional document Allows for another voice to
be heard

• The additional document
• Something that might change the outcome of your
  argument
• This is simple, if you do it rightyou are really
  saying whose voice is NOT heard and what their
  voice would add to the discussion.
• Women
• Poor
• Those who lost
• Workers
• Ethnic Groups
• Look for obvious omissions

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Where can I put the additional document?

• Officially, anywhere, but just like POV, about ½
  of the additional documents are wrong, so I say
  include one per group REMEMBER TO SAY WHY
  ANALYSIS

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Another one
Relate the factors to the Olympics
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Another prompt
So any additional document would have to apply to
attitudes toward technology
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Does this count?
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Why does only one of these count?
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Notice what counts here
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Another example
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All this counts
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Expanded Core

• Forget about it
• You are going to provide POV for each document
  and at least 3 additional documents (one per
  group) your Expanded Core is met!!!

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(No Transcript)
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Notice that they usually give the rubric..
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Change AND Continuity Over Time
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Rubric

• Same as DBQ for thesis (groups and time period)
  the global issue is the topic
• Evidence Rule of 3 include three pieces of
  evidence (facts, dates, names, etc) to prove your
  thesis. These must be discussed and/or analyzed
  in order to count!!!
• What happened in the world that made this happen.
  Include something outside of the region.
• How/why was this a change? What happened? What
  was the process that led to change and how/why
  did some things STAY THE SAME?

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Look closely at the prompt

• Know that something changed and something stayed
  the same or they would not have asked the
  question.
• Note the topic formation of national
  identities.
• Time Period what is the significance here (hint
  it has something to do with war)
• Specific countries in the region do you know at
  least 3 countries in each of the regions? What
  about empires in the region and time period. If
  no, learn them before the test.

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Regions

• Middle East Egypt, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Turkey
• Southeast Asia Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia,
  Indonesia, Malaysia
• Sub Sahara Africa Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia,
  Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South
  Africa

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Brainstorm
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Map it out Outline, tables, graphics
Thesis follow same rules groups include time
period answer question provide broad defining
categories about what changed and what stayed the
same over time include key changing event
What it was (P,S,C,E,Ed, I, T) like at the
beginning?
What were the key changing phenomena or events
What was (P,S,C,E,Ed, I, T) like after the change?
Evidence of what the conditions were like
Why did the key event occur (relate to phenomena)
and how did it cause change
What was the same and what was different as must
address continuity also Now either here or in the
conclusion state how the event caused changed
Conclusion and make sure that the issues of the
first paragraph are the same as the issues in the
last paragraph.
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Common Mistakes

• Wrong Regions
• Wrong Time periods
• Not saying what stays the same
• No/little analysis what did change and why did
  they NOT change
• Make a global or world connection mention
  something that is happening in another region or
  something that is worldwide
• Not addressing the question (or all parts of the
  question)

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Compare and Contrast
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Rubric

• Comparison means to say what is the same and what
  is different
• This says at LEAST on you need THREE Rule of
  3!!!
• Analyze means to say why why is there a
  difference or similarity

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Tackle the question
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Brainstorm
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Format of essay

• Remember you only get points for pointing out the
  similarities and differences.
• Consider the following

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Problems
Where are you going to compare and contrast???
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More problems
Can work, but not always
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Best format
This requires a lot of prewriting if you have
time, do this but not using the broad social,
economic or political categories. Narrow them to
themes and concepts
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Try to map it out or use tables or outline
Thesis Same as before address question, use
groups, include time period if noted and give
defining categories
Political (in a more defining category) Goals and
Outcomes
Political (in a more defining category) Goals and
Outcomes
Political (in a more defining category) Goals and
Outcomes
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Conclusion with some historical context
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Common problems

• Describing the two things/events separately (with
  great evidence) but never comparing and/or
  contrasting NO POINTS FOR DESCRIBING
• Confusing dates, people, and places
• Running out of time and not finishing

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GENERAL PROBLEMS

• NOT ADDRESSING THE PROMPT
• SIMILAR BUT NOT DIFFERENT
• CHANGE BUT NOT CONTINUITY
• LOSING FOCUS
• GIVING UP
• GOOD LUCK AND NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, GIVE UP