Hamburger Helper
for AP Essays
The AP ESSAY:
THE MEAT GRINDER!
Hamburger
Method
Appetizing
Introduction
1) A Broad Statement on the
Topic Question
2) Thesis: The Position you
want to PROVE
3) The Organization
Statement – 3 Points you
want to prove that make
up the ESSAY BODY
AP Hamburger
Method
Thesis
Body of
Your Essay
Conclusion
1) Restate your thesis
2) Recap your points
3) Analysis/Conclusion
3 Paragraphs
1) Topic
Sentence
2) Fact to
prove topic
3) Fact
4) Fact
5) Analysis/
Transition
1) Introduction
Key to a History Essay! It should sate what
you will do in the essay. Have a Thesis
statement that directly answers the
question. The rest of the introduction
should explain what to expect in the
coming paragraphs. A strong introduction
shows that you already know what you are
doing before you start to write.
What is a Thesis Statement?
• A thesis statement:
• tells the reader how you will interpret the significance
of the subject matter under discussion.
• is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the
reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is
an interpretation of a question or subject, not the
subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might
be World War II; a thesis must then offer a way to
understand the war.
• makes a claim that others might dispute.
• is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first
paragraph that presents your argument to the reader.
The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers
and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader
of the logic of your interpretation.
2) Body
Here you offer historical evidence (Specific
Factual Information) that supports what
you were saying in the introduction. Each
new paragraph should have a topic
sentence which supports your Thesis
statement. The sentences in the
paragraph should support the paragraphs’
topic sentence.
3) Summary
For goodness sake do NOT skim here! This
is where you “quickly remind the reader of
the points you have made and how they
support your Thesis statement. A good
way to remember how to do a summary is
to ask yourself, “So, what was the point I
was trying to make?”.
TIPS
• An essay with a strong conclusion, weak body,
and a strong summary is better than an essay
with a weak introduction, enormous amount of
information in the body, and a weak summary.
• Make sure your facts are relevant rather than
related. An example: You are trying to explain
how to write an essay and start using facts on
the manufacture of paper. Now paper is related
to an essay (you use it to write on) but it is NOT
relevant on how to write an essay.
Things to avoid
• Unnecessarily flowery language (use concise
language and get to the point).
• Irrelevant facts. They should all directly relate to
the points you make.
• Strong and highly opinionated statements
without adequate factual support.
• Dumping huge amounts of information rather
than reasoning historically.
• Avoid elementary statements, “I think, I believe,
In my opinion.” You need to show a level of
sophistication!
What is Fluff?
• Cute
• General
• Vague narratives
• Meant as filler
when you
don’t know
what to say!
What is Fluff?
• To this day, I’m glad this was
established because who knows
where we’d be without those
brave men and women fighting
for our united country!
FLUFF!!!
Fluff Or Fact?
• This changed when the Articles
of Confederation came to the
rescue!”
FLUFF!!!
Fluff Or Fact?
Question:
To what extent was the United States
Constitution a radical departure from the
Articles of Confederation?
Thesis Fluff Or Fact?
• The United States constitution was a radical departure from the Articles of
Confederation after the American Revolution. The Articles of Confederation
tried to protect Americans from the issues with Britain. As this attempt for
protection was issued, it became clear that America had become strong
enough to go on without the Articles of Confederation. This led to the
creation of the Constitutional convention and the creation of the
Constitution was issued.
FLUFF!!!
Thesis Fluff Or Fact?
• The United States Constitution was a very radical departure from the Articles
of Confederation. The United States Constitution formed almost a completely
new view on the way the states would be united. One major difference was
in taxation and control of money. A second large change in the government
was the emphasis on the strength of a central power. This was in contrast to
the states’ power over the federal government. A final drastic change, was in
the way the governing body was set up. The new government under the
Constitution was a very different government than had been seen under the
Articles of Confederation.
Fluff Or Fact?
Question:
Analyze the contributions of TWO of the following in
helping establish a stable government after the
adoption of the Constitution?
John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington
Thesis Fluff? Or Fact?
“Thomas Jefferson and George Washington have been two of our
greatest leaders. Besides being two of the top presidents to ever
hold office, they have had other accomplishments that has led our
country to outstanding heights. In order to obtain a stable
governments, leaders like Thomas Jefferson and George
Washington have done remarkable contributions in order to help
our nation after the adoption of the constitution.”
FLUFF!!!
Thesis Fluff or Fact?
“Many presidents and governors tried to establish a stable government after the
adoption of the Constitution. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson's eras or
terms, illustrated that a stable government is needed in order to establish a freestanding government after the adoption of a Constitution. George Washington
contributed the idea of neutrality, enforcement of federal law by summoning state
militias, thus illustrated in the Whiskey Rebellion and the support of Hamilton’s
national bank. These entities illustrated Washington’s contribution to help establish
a stable government…
Fluff? Or Fact?
“…Thomas Jefferson illustrated his contributions by the
purchasing of the Louisiana Purchase, the War of Tripoli
(Barbary Pirates) and his belief of a strict interpretation of
the Constitution. His contributions also showed us his
belief of establishing a stable government.
FLUFF!!!
Hamburger Helper
Which is better a LONG essay or a SHORT essay?
NEITHER! Size matters but what is MOST important is
whether or not you wrote a good Thesis and proved it
with SFI. You longest essays are not always necessarily
your best essays. A lot of long essays include a lot of
“fluff”. AVOID FLUFF!!
Use YOUR brain!
• DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!
• Plagiarism is a serious offense and will be
treated with severely!
– You will receive a zero and a parent meeting
will be called.
– You can get kicked out of college for
plagiarizing!
• Do NOT “re-use” past students’ essays!
Hamburger Helper
for AP Essays