THESIS
ALL THREE ESSAYS SHARE ONE COMMON COMPONENT: THE THESIS
The thesis is your introduction. The thesis is your preview. The thesis should tell the reader what you are going to be discussing in the rest of your essay. If you simply rewrite the question: Congratulations! You have shown the reader that you can rewrite a question into a statement. That will earn you absolutely nothing and you must go on with your life knowing that you struck out on the most crucial part of writing AP essays... DO NOT SIMPLY RESTATE THE QUESTION!!! To avoid a lifetime of shame and self-doubt, you should just write an ACTUAL thesis and save yourself years of therapy. Below are the generic rules to becoming a dominant Thesist.
1. SET THE SCENE
Have you ever walked into a movie late and have no idea what's going on? If your thesis does not set the scene of your essay, the AP Reader will have that same feeling. Don't make your AP Reader angry. You wouldn't like them when they are angry. So, you need to introduce your essay. While there are no points for a flower retrospective at the beginning of your essay, it does show that you have some writing skill. Feel free to wax poetic at the beginning. OK, now to the AP stuff. You need to answer the following questions right up front:
a. When is this?
b. Where is this?
c. What categories are you comparing/continuity & changing/DBQ-ing about (Society, Technology, Migrations)?
The above questions could fit into one sentence: "When comparing and contrasting the Roman and Han attitudes towards technology, there are many similarities and differences." I know what you're thinking... YOU JUST RESTATED THE QUESTION! True, and therefore you will not get a thesis point for this alone. However, you have now set the scene and all you have to do now is preview the points of your essay.
a. When is this?
b. Where is this?
c. What categories are you comparing/continuity & changing/DBQ-ing about (Society, Technology, Migrations)?
The above questions could fit into one sentence: "When comparing and contrasting the Roman and Han attitudes towards technology, there are many similarities and differences." I know what you're thinking... YOU JUST RESTATED THE QUESTION! True, and therefore you will not get a thesis point for this alone. However, you have now set the scene and all you have to do now is preview the points of your essay.
2. PREVIEW YOUR ESSAY
Now that you've set the scene, its time to apply your history skills. Now, this will vary for each essay:
COMPARE-CONTRAST: How are they similar and why (in society, politics, etc.) How are they different and why (in society, politics, etc.)
DBQ: What are your groups? Your groups should answer the question. Preview them here. Don't list each document; save that for the body.
CONTINUITY-CHANGE: What are the changes you are going to discuss? Why did they change? What are the continuities? Why did they stay the same?
This may run contrary to everything you've ever heard/believed/dreamed about:
YOUR THESIS CAN BE LONGER THAN ONE SENTENCE! So, be sure you cover your bases. Tell the reader what the rest of your essay is about. Preview your essay.
COMPARE-CONTRAST: How are they similar and why (in society, politics, etc.) How are they different and why (in society, politics, etc.)
DBQ: What are your groups? Your groups should answer the question. Preview them here. Don't list each document; save that for the body.
CONTINUITY-CHANGE: What are the changes you are going to discuss? Why did they change? What are the continuities? Why did they stay the same?
This may run contrary to everything you've ever heard/believed/dreamed about:
YOUR THESIS CAN BE LONGER THAN ONE SENTENCE! So, be sure you cover your bases. Tell the reader what the rest of your essay is about. Preview your essay.
3. SHOW ANALYSIS
Do you know a 4 year old? They have one question and one question alone: WHY? They will incessantly ask WHY? WHY? WHY? Write your essay like you are writing for a 4 year old. When you make a statement, answer why that occurred. It's not enough to point out a difference/put a document in a group/show a change over time. ALL THREE ESSAYS REQUIRE ANALYSIS. If you are answering why something happened: You are showing analysis.
METHOD Click below for sample essays
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