Welcome to the
Advanced Placement Essay
A.P. U.S. History I
Mr. Clark
EVERY essay written in Mr. Clark’s Advanced
Placement History class will follow the
traditional FIVE-paragraph essay structure:
Paragraph 1:
Paragraph 2:
Paragraph 3:
Paragraph 4:
Paragraph 5:
Introduction
Body Paragraph #1
Body Paragraph #2
Body Paragraph #3
Conclusion
We begin learning how to write
the A.P. Essay by breaking it
down into 3 steps: (1) How to
write the Introductory
Paragraph, (2) How to write
the Body Paragraphs, and
finally (3) How to write the
Conclusion.
INTRODUCTORY
PARAGRAPH
EVERY essay written in
Mr. Clark’s Advanced
Placement History Class
will follow the
designated introductory
paragraph format!
Each and every
introductory
paragraph will consist
of 6 sentences…
NEVER more…
NEVER less!!
The following is the proper format for
the A.P. U.S. History introductory
paragraph:
Background Sentence 1: ________.
Background Sentence 2: _______.
Thesis Statement: _______.
Body Sentence 1: _______.
Body Sentence 2: _______
Body Sentence 3: _______.
We begin learning how to write
the Introductory Paragraph by
breaking it down into 3 steps:
(1) How to write the Thesis
Statement, (2) How to write
the Body Sentences, and finally
(3) How to write the
Background Sentences.
Background Sentence 1
Background Sentence 2
Thesis Statement
Body Sentence 1
Body Sentence 2
Body Sentence 3
THESIS STATEMENT
• The THESIS STATEMENT is the MOST
important sentence of your introductory
paragraph, because it IS THE answer to the
essay question.
• The “reader” of your essay can tell what
your entire essay is trying to prove just by
reading your thesis statement.
• Therefore, we MUST write a correct thesis
statement without spending a lot of time on
it.
THESIS STATEMENT
• The THESIS STATEMENT is
simply a restatement of the
essay topic.
• You must turn the essay question
into POSITIVE Thesis Statement!
• For the most part, this will be an
easy task…
THESIS STATEMENT
SAMPLE ESSAY TOPIC:
What social, economic and
political effects did the
French and Indian War
have on the British colonies
in the New World?
THESIS STATEMENT
EASY!!!!
Huh???
ANSWER:
There were numerous social,
economic and political effects
that the French and Indian
War had on the British
colonies in the New World.
THESIS STATEMENT
EXAMPLE:
Why did slavery in the colonies
grow more rapidly in the last
decades of the 17th century
than in the earlier decades of
that century?
THESIS STATEMENT
EXAMPLE:
The so called, Indians arrived in
the Americas over a 30,000
year period. Discuss some
possible theories of their
migration to America?
THESIS STATEMENT
EXAMPLE:
How might have the
cultural attitudes of the
Indians and Europeans
lead to ethnocentric
conflict?
THESIS STATEMENT
EXAMPLE:
Vine Deloria (a Native American) points
out that the history of Native
Americans was, for the most part, not
written by them. Who wrote it? How
do you think this fact might influence
our judgment and understanding of
Native Americans?
THESIS STATEMENT
EXAMPLE:
Francis Jennings says, “that America's
discovery and exploration was really
an unprovoked act of aggression (an
invasion) that displaced and
destroyed a resident people."
Explain what he means by this
statement?
THESIS STATEMENT
EXAMPLE:
What events were occurring in Europe
between 1400 and 1600 that
promoted exploration and
discovery? Comment in each of the
following areas: religion, political
power, technology & commerce and
trade.
Background Sentence 1
Background Sentence 2
Thesis Statement
Body Sentence 1
Body Sentence 2
Body Sentence 3
BODY SENTENCES
• The BODY SENTENCES are the “roadmap”
for your entire 5-paragraph essay.
• The “reader” of your essay can tell what
your entire essay is trying to prove and the
order in which you will prove it by reading
your body sentences.
• Therefore, we MUST write three solid body
sentences that will directly parallel your
three body paragraphs.
BODY SENTENCES
• The first step in developing your three body
sentences begins with the essay topic (and your
thesis statement).
• You must re-read your essay topic, and thesis
statement, to find THREE (NEVER more… NEVER
less!) areas that you will focus on when trying to
prove your thesis.
• These THREE areas will be the basis for your
three body sentences as well as your three body
paragraphs
BODY SENTENCES
SAMPLE ESSAY TOPIC:
What social, economic and
political effects did the
French and Indian War
have on the British colonies
in the New World?
BODY SENTENCES
SAMPLE ESSAY TOPIC:
What social, economic and
political effects did the
French and Indian War
have on the British colonies
in the New World?
BODY SENTENCES
• Now that we have identified our THREE areas
that will serve as the basis for our THREE body
sentences and subsequently our THREE body
paragraphs, we can write our BODY SENTENCES.
• SOCIAL: The French and Indian War caused numerous
social changes within the British colonies in the New World.
• ECONOMIC: The economy of the British colonies in the
New World was impacted by the French and Indian War.
• POLITICAL: Finally, the political structure within the
British colonies in the New World was altered as a result of
the Seven Years’ War.
BODY SENTENCES
• There will be occasions where the
essay topic does NOT offer THREE
obvious choices for your THREE body
sentences / body paragraphs.
• In these cases, we will ALWAYS refer to:
S*P*E*R*M
S* … SOCIAL
P* … POLITICAL
E* … ECONOMIC
R* … RELIGION
M* … MILITARY
BODY SENTENCES
• You can ALWAYS find at least THREE
aspects of S*P*E*R*M in each and
every thesis question.
• If the essay question itself does not
give you an obvious three areas to
discuss in your body sentences and
body paragraphs, then turn to
S*P*E*R*M
BODY SENTENCES
SAMPLE TOPIC:
Why did slavery in the colonies
grow more rapidly in the last
decades of the 17th century
than in the earlier decades of
that century?
BODY SENTENCES
• In this topic there are NO
obvious THREE areas that will
serve as the basis for our
THREE body sentences and
subsequently our THREE body
paragraphs… so let’s
S*P*E*R*M!!!
BODY SENTENCES
SAMPLE TOPIC:
Why did slavery in the colonies grow more rapidly in the
last decades of the 17th century than in the earlier
decades of that century?
• SOCIAL: Social changes within the colonies caused slavery to
grow more rapidly in the late 17th century than in earlier decades.
• POLITICAL: Political acts passed by the American colonies aided
in the growth of slavery.
• ECONOMIC: The growing economy of the American colonies in
the late 17th century colonies led to a rapid expansion of slavery.
• RELIGION: Religious justifications for slavery lead to its growth in
the latter decades of the 17th century.
JUST PICK THREE!!
BODY SENTENCES
EXAMPLE:
The so called, Indians arrived in
the Americas over a 30,000
year period. Discuss some
possible theories of their
migration to America?
BODY SENTENCES
EXAMPLE:
How might have the
cultural attitudes of the
Indians and Europeans
lead to ethnocentric
conflict?
BODY SENTENCES
EXAMPLE:
Vine Deloria (a Native American) points
out that the history of Native
Americans was, for the most part, not
written by them. Who wrote it? How
do you think this fact might influence
our judgment and understanding of
Native Americans?
BODY SENTENCES
EXAMPLE:
Francis Jennings says, “that America's
discovery and exploration was really
an unprovoked act of aggression (an
invasion) that displaced and
destroyed a resident people."
Explain what he means by this
statement?
BODY SENTENCES
EXAMPLE:
What events were occurring in Europe
between 1400 and 1600 that
promoted exploration and
discovery? Comment in each of the
following areas: religion, political
power, technology & commerce and
trade.
Background Sentence 1
Background Sentence 2
Thesis Statement
Body Sentence 1
Body Sentence 2
Body Sentence 3
BACKGROUND SENTENCES
• The TWO background sentences
are a chance to show off your
knowledge of the topic, while also
throwing out some USELESS
information that you may not be
able to use in your actual essay
• These two sentences should
contain at least one fact AND
relate to the topic in some fashion
BACKGROUND SENTENCES
SAMPLE TOPIC:
Why did slavery in the colonies
grow more rapidly in the last
decades of the 17th century
than in the earlier decades of
that century?
BACKGROUND SENTENCES
POSSIBLE BACKGROUND SENTENCES:
1. Slavery was introduced in the
American colonies in 1620.
2. The first slaves to arrive in America
came to the English colony of
Jamestown.
3. The 20 slaves who were introduced in
the colony of Jamestown were brought
by Dutch traders.
BACKGROUND SENTENCES
EXAMPLE:
The so called, Indians arrived in
the Americas over a 30,000
year period. Discuss some
possible theories of their
migration to America?
BACKGROUND SENTENCES
EXAMPLE:
How might have the
cultural attitudes of the
Indians and Europeans
lead to ethnocentric
conflict?
BACKGROUND SENTENCES
EXAMPLE:
Vine Deloria (a Native American) points
out that the history of Native
Americans was, for the most part, not
written by them. Who wrote it? How
do you think this fact might influence
our judgment and understanding of
Native Americans?
BACKGROUND SENTENCES
EXAMPLE:
Francis Jennings says, “that America's
discovery and exploration was really
an unprovoked act of aggression (an
invasion) that displaced and
destroyed a resident people."
Explain what he means by this
statement?
BACKGROUND SENTENCES
EXAMPLE:
What events were occurring in Europe
between 1400 and 1600 that
promoted exploration and
discovery? Comment in each of the
following areas: religion, political
power, technology & commerce and
trade.
Now… let’s put the
whole thing together
to make a
SPECTACULAR
introductory
paragraph!
Background Sentence 1
Background Sentence 2
Thesis Statement
Body Sentence 1
Body Sentence 2
Body Sentence 3
B
B
T
1
2
3
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
SAMPLE TOPIC:
Why did slavery in the colonies
grow more rapidly in the last
decades of the 17th century
than in the earlier decades of
that century?
Slavery was introduced in the American
colonies in 1620. B The first slaves to arrive in
America came to the English colony of Jamestown. T
Slavery in the colonies grew more rapidly in the
B
last decades of the 17th century than in the
earlier decades of that century. 1 Social changes
within the colonies caused slavery to grow more
rapidly in the late 17th century than in earlier
decades. 2 Political acts passed by the American
colonies aided in the growth of slavery. 3 The
growing economy of the American colonies in
the late 17th century colonies led to a rapid
expansion of slavery.
If you do all these steps,
you will write a GREAT
introductory paragraph…
And you will make your
teacher HAPPY!
BODY
PARAGRAPHS
BODY PARAGRAPHS
• Now that we have learned to write
our Introductory Paragraph, all that
is left is to use the THREE body
paragraphs to prove our thesis
• Our Introductory Paragraph will
serve as a “roadmap” for the rest of
the essay.
BODY PARAGRAPHS
• Our THREE Body Sentences
should TELL us what our THREE
Body paragraphs should be
about (and in what order we
should write them)
Slavery was introduced in the American
colonies in 1620. B The first slaves to arrive in
America came to the English colony of Jamestown. T
Slavery in the colonies grew more rapidly in the
B
last decades of the 17th century than in the
earlier decades of that century. 1 Social changes
within the colonies caused slavery to grow more
rapidly in the late 17th century than in earlier
decades. 2 Political acts passed by the American
colonies aided in the growth of slavery. 3 The
growing economy of the American colonies in
the late 17th century colonies led to a rapid
expansion of slavery.
B
Slavery was
introduced in the American colonies in
1620. B The first slaves to arrive in
America came to the English colony of
Jamestown. T Slavery in the colonies
grew more rapidly in the last decades
of the 17th century than in the earlier
decades of that century. . 1 Social
changes within the colonies caused
slavery to grow more rapidly in the
late 17th century than in earlier
decades. 2 Political acts passed by the
American colonies aided in the growth
of slavery. 3 The growing economy of
the American colonies in the late 17th
century colonies led to a rapid
expansion of slavery.
BODY PARAGRAPH 1:
Should discuss the
SOCIAL changes caused
causing slavery growth
BODY PARAGRAPH 2:
Should discuss the
ECONOMIC changes
causing slavery growth
BODY PARAGRAPH 3:
Should discuss the
POLITICAL changes
causing slavery growth
BODY PARAGRAPHS
When writing your Body Paragraphs it is
important to keep in mind certain things:
[1] ALWAYS try and prove your THESIS.. Keep
referring back to it (almost once each
paragraph)
[2] ALWAYS use FACTUAL SUPPORT to prove
your point (facts show you learned something)
[3] NEVER give an opinion or speak in the 1st
person (unless the essay question requires this)
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
• Your essay conclusion is the LEAST
important of the 5-paragraphs in your
essay (you can still achieve a decent
grade even if you omit it)
• HOWEVER, we always want to try and
throw together some kind of conclusion
CONCLUSION
• The conclusion must be a minimum of 3
sentences long (as should all of your
paragraphs)
• The conclusion should contain a
restatement of your original thesis
statement as well as any other sentences
you feel are necessary to conclude your
essay (“tie up any loose ends”)