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 * Welcome** to the Advanced Placement United States History "wiki" for essay-writing help. The purpose of this "wiki" is to help you become familiar with the types of essay questions that will appear on the midterm, final, and College Board exams. Fifty percent of the APUSH exam score is based on the writing section, so your ability to write effective essays is as essential to your success as is mastering the content of U.S. history.

The first ten pages below will take you to a bank of essays that relates to that particular unit of study*. You are encouraged to engage your fellow students in a discussion of these essay questions. You may post questions or respond to others' questions that have been posted here. [Note well: You are forbidden to post actual essays or portions of essays to this page. Likewise, you may not submit someone else's written work that you acquired from this site or any other source. Both actions would be considered academic plagiarism. This forum is for the discussion of //ideas// only.] You may also consider posting links to articles or websites that may be helpful in understanding the topics within a particular essay. In short, use this "wiki" as a forum to teach each other and learn from one another.


 * Be aware that not every essay is narrow enough to be placed within one unit of study. Many essay questions are so broad or expansive in chronological scope that they require a knowledge of topics in two or more units. When necessary, I have noted the other units to which a particular essay may apply.

Some things to consider as you examine and discuss the essay questions:
 * What is/are the task/s of the essay? What are you being asked to do in your essay?
 * What are the subquestions of this essay? (Consider the "implied tasks" -- How? Why? In what ways? Cause/Effect?)
 * What key words in the question require defining? Do you understand what the question is saying?
 * How would you structure your "organized brainstorm?" What "elements" are you asked to examine that would become your column headings, and what does the task want you to do that might suggest how to label your horizontal rows?
 * What evidence would be used in this essay? What might you include in your "organized brainstorm?"
 * What is a possible thesis for this essay? What might your subtopic sentences and thesis statement say?
 * What is the purpose of this essay question? What are the creators of the question looking for? What key ideas do they expect you to know about this topic in history?


 * Unit 1: Colonial America (1607-1750)**
 * Unit 2: Birth of a Nation (1754-1800)**
 * Unit 3: Jefferson to Jackson (1800-1840)**
 * Unit 4: Antebellum America (1820-1850)**
 * Unit 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)**
 * Unit 6: The Gilded Age (1860-1900)**
 * Unit 7: Turn of the Century (1890-1920)**
 * Unit 8: Normalcy, Depression, and War (1920-1945)**
 * Unit 9: Cold War America (1945-1963)**
 * Unit 10: Modern America (1964-Present)**
 * General Writing Questions**
 * General APUSH Questions**
 * Reasons Why My Historical Figure is Cooler than Yours**