how to write thesis for leq

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AP U.S. History Long Essay Example

The second part of Section II of the AP exam contains three long essay questions—you must respond to one. The AP U.S. History long essay question assesses your ability to apply knowledge of history in a complex, analytical manner. In other words, you are expected to treat history and historical questions as a historian would.

This process is called historiography—the skills and strategies historians use to analyze and interpret historical evidence to reach a conclusion. Thus, when writing an effective essay, you must be able to write a strong, clearly developed thesis and supply a substantial amount of relevant evidence to support your thesis and develop a complex argument.

The College Board’s characteristics of a high-scoring long essay question response are listed below. Note that the requirements are very similar to those of the DBQ; the primary difference is that any requirements related to use of the documents are removed from the scoring requirements for the long essay question.

[ RELATED: Reading Strategies for AP US History Exam ]

Long Answer Sample Question

Evaluate the extent to which the migration of European colonists and the resulting encounters with American Indians affected social patterns in the period from 1495 to 1650.

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

As you choose which question you will answer, begin thinking about what your thesis will entail and how your essay will demonstrate a complex understanding. The notes of a sample high-scoring writer are below.

Thesis (with complex understanding): Spanish, French, and British each used territory differently; result: distinct social patterns

This writer claims that three different countries’ approaches to settling territories resulted in different types of social development, but other types of thesis claims are possible. For instance, the thesis could make a single claim about overall social patterns (such as “Europeans’ economic goals in the New World and their attitudes of superiority over American Indians resulted in exploitative and hierarchical social structures”) or focus on only one or two European nations.

Step 2: Plan Your Response

Context : motives for European exploration: new technology, navigation techniques, and trade routes
Thesis (with complex understanding ): Spanish, French, and British each used territory differently; result: distinct social patterns
goals: wealth and spread Catholicism
methods: mining, large-scale agriculture, encomienda, disease/weapons, missions
results: forced assimilation, social structure
goal: fur trade
method: mutually profitable trade relationships
result: alliances
goals: permanent settlements, Jamestown, religious freedom (New England)
methods: occupying more land for farming, smallpox, Metacom’s War
results: deaths of indigenous populations
¶ conclusion: where Europeans sought permanent settlements or forced labor, resulted in American Indian population decline, upheaval, and threats to tradition

Step 3: Action! Write Your Response & Step 4: Proofread

See the following high-scoring response, and be sure to read the rubric to help you identify what makes this response effective. Think about what features you can incorporate into your own free- response answers.

Sample High-Scoring Response

The Spanish had two major goals: to gain wealth and to spread Catholicism to the native populations. Realizing the potential to mine precious metals and profit from large-scale agriculture, the Spanish forced American Indians into labor, such as through the encomienda system. Violence and deception were often used to subdue the indigenous populations, aided by the technological superiority of European weapons and the spread of devastating diseases. Although some Spanish came as missionaries with the goal of converting American Indians to Christianity and often protested the abusive treatment of the American Indians, even missions sometimes essentially forced labor and coerced assimilation to Spanish culture. In the long term, a hierarchical social structure developed in the Spanish colonies in which the Spanish-born and their descendants (peninsulares and creoles) dominated those of mixed background (mestizos and mulattos) and especially those of pure African or American Indian heritage. Overall, millions perished between disease and mistreatment, devastatingly weakening traditional cultures but enriching the Spanish.

The French differed from the Spanish in their relationship with the indigenous populations. Using the St. Lawrence River for transportation and trade, the French profited from trading fur pelts, particularly beaver, with the American Indians, and then sending the pelts to Europe. These traders profited from the knowledge and goods of the American Indian populations who lived there, and certainly desired to develop mutually profitable relationships with them. Overall, this more cooperative relationship helped preserve American Indian cultures and led to alliances between the French and different American Indian nations. These alliances benefited the French in later wars with the British.

Six Things To Know About AP US History Period 3

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How to Craft a Robust LEQ Thesis: Key Steps and Techniques

The Long Essay Question (LEQ) forms an integral part of the AP examination. It tests your ability to articulate a thesis and substantiate it with evidence and historical reasoning.

Understanding the LEQ

An LEQ asks you to write about a specific topic related to world, US, or European history. It involves constructing a robust thesis answerable through historical evidence and reasoning. The thesis must be placed in either the introduction or conclusion section of your essay, and it must be a few consecutive sentences long.

Stages of Handling the LEQ

Creating a successful LEQ involves several stages:

Planning : Before you start writing, take some time to analyze the prompt and plan your essay. Even if you are pressured with time, planning is critical to your success.
Brainstorming : Break down the question and understand the requested reasoning skill. From there, brainstorm what you know about the topic, separating ideas into context or evidence notes.
Writing : After successfully creating a plan you like, you can start writing. Ensure your introductory paragraph includes contextualization and a complex thesis. Remember, your body paragraphs will vary in length but should maintain a consistent structure.

Writing a Complex Thesis

The thesis is the backbone of your essay. It introduces your main argument or claim, which is then supported with evidence and analysis. A strong thesis must be “historically defensible” – the evidence you present must be plausible.

Frequently, a complex thesis incorporates a counterclaim or an alternate viewpoint.

Importance of Contextualization

Contextualization involves providing a brief statement that outlines the broader historical background relevant to the prompt that can help readers understand the specific topic and argument you’re making. This is typically included in your introduction. Your contextualization must refer to events, developments and/or processes beyond the prompt’s time and place and must be connected to your thesis or argument.

Use of Evidence

Evidence is the backbone of your LEQ argument. Your evidence is drawn directly from your historical knowledge. Good evidence is accurate, relevant to the prompt, and specific.

Evidence should substantially populate your main body paragraphs, with each paragraph ideally having two pieces of quality evidence or more.

Analysis and Reasoning

Beyond having evidence, this phase is about using that evidence to support your argument. The recurring theme in your essay: connect your evidence back to your topic sentence and/or thesis. A good argument needs structure and your reasoning skills to create that structure.

Role of Complexity

The College Board rewards essays that demonstrate a complex understanding of the topic of the prompt. A complex argument often starts with a complex thesis, which can include a counter-claim or an alternate viewpoint.

Conclusions

The art of writing an LEQ entails creating a sophisticated thesis, providing contextual information, and supporting the thesis with historical evidence. Mastering the elements of crafting an LEQ might seem overwhelming at first, but with practice, it becomes much easier and leads to great success in your AP exams.

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