The DBQ and FRQ: - AP U.S. History
Historical Thinking Skills (HTS) & the LEQ (Long Essay Question)
The AP US History exam requires students to write a long essay within thirty-five minutes. You will have a choice between two questions that focus on the same historical thinking skill (HTS) but may apply to different time periods and themes. Each essay will be evaluated on the following criteria:
|Argumentation. Develops a thesis or relevant argument that addresses all parts of the question. |
|Use of evidence. Support the thesis using specific evidence, clearly linked to the thesis. |
|Targeted historical thinking skill (HTS). Each question will assess an additional thinking skill, such as causation, comparison, continuity and change over |
|time, or periodization. |
|Synthesis. Written answers need to extend the argument of the essay, connecting it to a different time period, historical context, or connect it to a different|
|category of analysis. |
Historical Thinking Skills: Each essay will require you to employ a specific HTS to shape your argument and choices of evidence. In a Long Essay, you'll explain how this historical evidence supports your thesis. To help identify which skill a prompt is asking you to use, think about how each of the associated 'Thinking Questions' best helps you answer a prompt:
|Causation. You describe the causes AND/OR effects of a historical development and analyze specific examples that illustrate these causes AND/OR effects. |
|Thinking Questions: What were the major causes and consequences (effects) of an event? What were the most important causes and effects of an event? |
|Comparison. You describe similarities AND differences among historical developments, providing specific examples AND analyze the reasons for their similarities |
|AND/OR differences. |
|Thinking Questions: In what ways and to what extant are the historical developments similarly significant? What were the major similarities and differences between|
|the events? Are there more similarities or differences between them, and why? |
|Continuity and change over time. You describe historical continuity AND change over time, and analyze specific examples that illustrate historical continuity AND |
|change over time. |
|Thinking Questions: What were the major patterns of continuity and change? Was there more continuity or change over the time period? |
|Periodization. You analyze the extent to which the historical development specified in the prompt was different from AND similar to developments that preceded |
|and/or followed, providing specific examples to illustrate the analysis. |
|Thinking Questions: To what extent, and in what ways, was the event a major turning point or significant period in history? In what ways was the US different |
|before and after that development? Did that change really boil down to events that took place in that specific time period? |
Here are some not-quite-real-history examples to practice with. Sometimes the required skill will be clearly stated in the essay prompt. For example:
|Evaluate the extent to which increasing media coverage of celebrity lifestyles has contributed to maintaining continuity as well as fostering change in American |
|society from 1945 to the present. |
|Which HTS is key to answering this prompt? |
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|Continuity and change over time |
|Paraphrase the prompt without using any of the key terms: |
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|How long have Americans been influenced by the actions and opinions of celebrities? To what extent has this influence undermined the values and integrity of |
|American culture and social norms? Has this influence always produced negative effects? |
|Thesis claim: |
|Although the American fascination with celebrity lifestyles dates back to the silent movie starts and 'It' girls of the early 20th century, the proliferation of |
|mobile media and the Internet since the 1990's has saturated American society with an unhealthy overexposure to vacuous personalities famous for anti-social |
|behaviour. |
However, sometimes the required skill it is not explicitly stated, so you need to identify it while deconstructing the question. For example:
|Some college graduates have argued that the second semester of 11th grade at high school marks a major turning point in a student's academic career. Support, |
|refute, or modify this contention using specific evidence. |
|Which HTS is key to answering this prompt? |
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|Periodization |
|Paraphrase the prompt without using any of the key terms: |
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|Thesis claim: |
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Name:____________________________________________________
Applying HTS's to your essays
Practice with these sample prompts. Which historical thinking skill does each prompt require you to use? (Look for the key verbs or verbal phrases in each prompt for clues.) Then, create a one-sentence thesis claim that appropriately answers the prompt. Finally, brainstorm at least three specific historical events or phenomena that support your thesis claim.
|Evaluate the extent to which technological innovations have contributed to maintaining continuity, as well as fostering change, in the lives of urban and rural |
|workers in the United States from 1865 to 1920. Continuity and change |
|Which HTS is key to answering this prompt? |
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|Paraphrase the prompt without using any of the key terms: |
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|Thesis claim: |
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|Some historians have argued that the Spanish-American War in 1898 marked a turning point in United States foreign policy. Support, refute, or modify this |
|contention using specific evidence. Periodization |
|Which HTS is key to answering this prompt? |
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|Paraphrase the prompt without using any of the key terms: |
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|Thesis claim: |
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|In what ways and to what extent did reform movements of the early 20th century achieve greater social and political equality for American women and |
|African-Americans? Comparison |
|Which HTS is key to answering this prompt? |
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|Paraphrase the prompt without using any of the key terms: |
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|Thesis claim: |
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|Analyze how debates over civil rights and civil liberties have influenced political life from the early 20th century through the early 21st century. Causation |
|Which HTS is key to answering this prompt? |
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|Paraphrase the prompt without using any of the key terms: |
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|Thesis claim: |
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