AP US History essay writing help is needed!?

Question

I'm a junior in high school and am currently enrolled in AP US History. I'm wondering what preparation can be done in order to get a good grade on the AP exam in May!
(I get frustrated with my teacher very easily!! She believes that all essay writing should involve facts, facts, and facts. I agree to an extent but believe that a certain analysis should be given, too.)
Anyways, what is the best style of writing to do in order to receive a passing grade on the AP exam?

Answer 1

I'm a senior and I took that class and test last year and got a 5 on it (yay, confetti...). It was hell, man, hell.


My teacher told me that not only must you cite facts, but you must also bring in your own analysis, as well as a good number of historical connections. My teacher characterized an essay without writer-analysis as a "regurgitation of information", AKA
you're just restating what the book tells you in a flowery way.

But what won me over with him was how much I related my writing topics back to previous and future events in history (like how the civil war might relate to the revolution, or world war II). Connections between otherwise unrelated events help your readers toward a better understanding of what you're trying to say.

With the DBQ, yes, you'll have a lot of documents and you'll find yourself using a lot of those documents. I used nearly all of them when I took it last spring. Usually, they all relate really closely together, so using them all isn't a hard task. But remember, they're grading you on your essay; the docs only help the reader understand better and support your points.



Don't chicken out between now and May; you'll be proud of yourself if you pass, even if you have to sit there and write for 2-3 hours straight.

Answer 2

I'm also a junior enrolled in AP US History. My teacher happens to be one of the AP essay readers for the test in May. For DBQ's he suggests using a majority of the documents given as well as about six outside facts. Introduction paragraphs should be about four sentences long and should include a thesis that answers the prompt as well as a sentence that explains the organization of the essay. Any facts used should be analyzed at least enough to tie to the thesis and explain the significance. Don't analyze too much because remember you're timed. Hope I helped you and good luck in May.