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A. P. U. S. History. Skills Emphasis. One of the keys to success in APUSH is having a strong vocabulary. Suggestion: maintain vocabulary cards and review them often. A. P. U. S. History. Use Cornell notes. Notes from PowerPoint slides & teacher’s lecture. Highlights, Questions,
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A. P. U. S. History Skills Emphasis One of the keys to success in APUSH is having a strong vocabulary. Suggestion: maintain vocabulary cards and review them often.
A. P. U. S. History Use Cornell notes Notes from PowerPoint slides & teacher’s lecture Highlights, Questions, Comments, Vocabulary words, other
A. P. U. S. History Here is the special note taking code for my PowerPoint presentations Any RED writing is key information, which may be used on tests. You should copy it down. Items in blue represent background or additional information— not needed in your notes. Items in purple or green have been previously presented. Take notes only if you have forgotten.
Essays on the national test OK. Today we are going to get right in and discuss the national A. P. U. S. history test. 80 multiple choice questions in 55 minutes 3 essays in 2 hours Document Based Question Different from A. P. Euro Two free response questions This test is harder than the vast majority of tests you will take in college. I’m going to spend from now until the first week of May preparing you.
Essays on the national test OK, we’re going to start by discussing the free response question.
Essays on the national test • Two essays, each with a choice from 2 prompts • READ (and reread) the prompt • Make an outline • Make a comprehensive thesis statement • Develop the thesis with substantial and • relevant historical information • Perform an in depth analysis of relevant facts • Ensure good organization, legible pen- • manship, and correct grammar
Essays on the national test • Thesis statements should: • Be your first paragraph • Be lengthy—tell the reader what you are • going to tell him/her in the essay body • 3. Be clear and ensure the thesis statement • is well-developed • 4. It is the most important part of the essay— • the essay body reflects the thesis statement • 5. This is not an English Language Arts essay— • forget the hook and get to the point. History • writing is different from ELA writing.
Essays on the national test On another presentation, which is also linked to my website, I’ll now go over examples of essays for Question 5 from last year’s exam. We’ll look at everything from a 1 to a 9. Now let’s see what you have learned. Respond to the following prompt in an essay: Evaluate the significance of your summer work topic to American history.
DBQs on the national test So now having briefly discussed free response questions, let’s talk about the Document Based Question. The DBQ is one assessment where you will have to use both your knowledge of history and also analyze documents. When you take a DBQ test, in about 20 minutes you must analyze about 9 documents (that’s 2 minutes per document) then comment on them in your essay AND weave into your discussion outside historical facts that we have learned in our study of a given era or topic.So in the next few slides, I’ll use some materials to give you tips on how to analyze various historical sources.
DBQs on the national test Bias or perspective • Most evidence that historians analyze is biased in one way or another. It represents a certain perspective from one person or a group. Historians use the following guidelines when reviewing evidence from the past: • Every piece of evidence and every source must be read or viewed skeptically and critically. • Evidence should not be taken at face value. The author’s point of view must be considered. (DBQ Key) • Each piece of evidence and source must be crosschecked and compared with related sources.
DBQs on the national test How to Analyze a Text What type of document is this? Is it a letter, an official proclamation, a private diary entry, an advertisement, or perhaps a coded message?
DBQs on the national test How to Analyze a Text • Why do you think the document was written? • What evidence in the document helps you know why it was written? • Is there a bias or certain perspective that the author is writing from?
DBQs on the national test How to Analyze a Photograph Study the photograph for several minutes and write down everything that you think is important. Then divide the image into quadrants (4 sections) and detail the important elements from each section.
DBQs on the national test How to Analyze a Photograph • What is the subject of the photograph? What does the photograph reveal about its subject? • What is the setting for the photograph? • What other details do you observe? • When and where in the past do you think the photograph was taken? How can you tell? • How would you describe the photographer's point of view?
DBQs on the national test How to Analyze a Political Cartoon Political cartoons use symbols and hyperbole (exaggeration) to make a point. Here are some helpful tips for analyzing a political cartoon:
DBQs on the national test How to Analyze a Political Cartoon • List the objects, people or symbols you see in the cartoon. • What do you think each symbol means? • Describe the action taking place in the cartoon. • Are there words? Do they help to clarify the cartoon’s symbols? • In your opinion, what is the message of the cartoon? Do you think others will interpret it differently?
DBQs on the national test How to Analyze a Historical Map Maps are symbolic representations of places set in relation to one another. All maps necessarily include some details and leave out others. Next time you look at a map ask yourself the following questions:
DBQs on the national test How to Analyze a Historical Map • When and where was the map produced? • What details has the map-maker chosen to include (or exclude) in order to complete this representation? • Why do you think the map was drawn?
DBQs on the national test After you have analyzed your documents, you must write a strong essay. DBQ writing differs somewhat from FRQ writing. So here goes. First off, READ and reread the prompt. Next, BEFORE YOU READ ANY OF THE DOCUMENTS, make an outline based on your knowledge of the topic. Then analyze the documents—take the extra time; don’t worry if you go 5-minutes into your writing time. This technique will keep you from simply discussing the documents—remember, OUTSIDE HISTORY IS KEY!
DBQs on the national test • Make a comprehensive thesis statement • Develop the thesis with substantial and • relevant historical information • Perform an in depth analysis of relevant facts • In the essay, be sure to bring in several • pieces of outside history—facts about the • topic not contained in the documents (KEY!!!) • Use documents to reinforce key points you • make in your thesis and LIMIT QUOTES—do • NOT simply go document-to-document • 6. Ensure good organization, legible pen- • manship, and correct grammar
Essays on the national test • Thesis statements should: • Be your first paragraph • Be lengthy—tell the reader what you are • going to tell him/her in the essay body • 3. Be clear and ensure the thesis statement • is well-developed • 4. It is the most important part of the essay— • the essay body reflects the thesis statement • 5. This is not an English Language Arts essay— • forget the hook and get to the point. History • writing is different from ELA writing.
DBQs on the national test Now we’ll look at the 2011 DBQ
DBQs on the national test We won’t worry about the 0-1 essay, because we don’t think about failure!
Essays on the national test On another presentation, which is also linked to my website, I’ll now go over examples of DBQ responses from the 2011 exam. We’ll look at everything from a 0 to a 9. You will take your first DBQ test after the Chapter 3 test—two days of tests—Day 1 will be multiple choice questions and Day 2 will be the DBQ. Tons of fun!
Common Writing Errors • Thesis statements should be extensive • and comprehensive: • state your case up front • tell the reader what you are going to • tell him/her in the body of the paper Its vs. it’s its=possessive; it’s=“it is” contraction Led = past tense of “to lead”
Common Writing Errors Use active voice NOT passive voice Passive: “John was given a high grade by Mr. Simoncini.” Active: “Mr. Simoncini gave John a high grade.” Passive: “Iraq was attacked by the U.S.” Active: “The U.S. attacked Iraq.” Always place the actor at the front.
Common Writing Errors This/that/these/those DO NOT use the above terms as stand alone nouns. “This was due to a conflict in Eastern Asia.” Use the above words as adjectives. “This situation evolved as a result of a conflict in Eastern Asia.”
Common Writing Errors This/that/these/those “This” and “these” imply things close by in terms of time or distance. Therefore those terms should not be used when referring to the past or to things in the distance. “That” and “those” imply things far away in terms of time or distance.
Common Writing Errors Avoid paragraphs that are too long. When referring to people in a formal history paper, you should refer to them by their family name. You may also use a title (President Lincoln); but avoid simply referring to a person by only their given (or first) name. One exception may be when you are discussing two people with the same last name; but try to find work-arounds in those cases.
Common Writing Errors The first time that you discuss a person in a paper, you should include the full name and title (Lieutenant Colonel Peter Simoncini). After you have introduced the individual, you may refer to him/her by simply their last name in the remainder of the paper. “The game was close, which made it exciting.”
Common Writing Errors 45=forty-five; 63=sixty-three Except for “its,” possessives require apostrophes (the dog’s bone) Place punctuation INSIDE close quotes (Bob said, “That was a fun time.”)
Common Writing Errors When you use an acronym, except for those that are VERY common (USA), you should write it out first, then show the acronym parenthetically. Subsequently, you may use simply the acronym. [Oakdale High School (OHS)] In the body of the paper, document EVERYTHING that you have obtained from an outside source EVEN IF YOU DO NOT QUOTE IT. Use parenthetical citations.
Common Writing Errors Avoid superlatives—all, everyone, etc.— if you use a superlative be certain that it is true: i.e. “all men are created equal.” This one is the pet peeve of pet peeves.
