5
Cracking the Free-Response Questions
CHANGE-OVER-TIME AND COMPARATIVE ESSAYS
The other two AP World History Exam essays bear some resemblance to the DBQ and require similar strategies to achieve good scores: a solid thesis, evidence to support all assertions, etc. However, for each of these essays, you must provide the evidence from the resources in your brain on this subject—there are no documents to work from. This can either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how well you know the topic. Luckily, most change-over-time questions and comparative questions give you some amount of choice. While you won’t be able to pick the topic or period, you will often be asked to choose one or two countries, religions, or cultures, from a set that is provided to you.
The good thing about doing the DBQ first is that your mind is already geared toward supporting your statements with evidence, something you must do to get a good score on these essays. If it is helpful to you, think of the bits of info you know about a topic as your “mini-documents” when organizing your essay. As with the DBQ, you will create a framework in which to place the evidence you will use (i.e., your “documents” or bits of info from your brain). Once you’ve completed your framework, writing your change-over-time or comparative essay is a lot like writing your DBQ.
ALWAYS HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT
There are some differences, of course, as the name of each question implies. The rest of this chapter will detail the two remaining essay types, provide you with strategies and guidelines for each and, of course, give you some practice. And, if you are feeling a little anxious about getting an essay topic for which you don’t know the history, relax. Part II of this book not only reviews the salient points of each period covered on the exam, but also points out important changes and comparisons within each period.
BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED…
First, just a reminder about the thesis: As you write your thesis, keep in mind the basic rules of good AP essay theses (if this sounds like Greek to you, make sure you reread Chapter 3, “Cracking the Essay Questions”).
· Give ’Em What They Want
· Show ’Em Where You Got It
· Help ’Em Get There
CHANGE-OVER-TIME (AND CONTINUITY) ESSAY
Change over time is a major theme of historical study. An important aspect of understanding world history is recognizing these changes and understanding what caused them. The concept of change is tested in the multiple-choice questions, but also is the focus of its own essay. However, this essay also expects you to be able to discuss continuities that accompany these changes. Let’s take a look at the directions and scoring rubric for this type of essay and prepare an approach.
WHAT THE DIRECTIONS SAY
The following is a sample of the directions for the change-over-time essay:
Directions: You are to answer the following question. You should spend 5 minutes organizing or outlining your essay. Write an essay that:
· Has a relevant thesis and supports that thesis with appropriate historical evidence.
· Addresses all parts of the question.
· Uses historical context to show change over time and/or continuities.
Yeah, we see that and/or in the last line, too, but AP essay graders tell us that this is misleading. You MUST include continuities as well as changes over time in this essay to maximize your scoring potential!
WHAT THE DIRECTIONS MEAN
Here’s what you are supposed to do.
1. Write a thesis that points out the change over time.
Support your thesis with historical evidence.
2. Answer all parts of the question.
3. Show the change over time using relevant history.
Contrast how things turned out with how things were originally, and weigh what changed against what remained the same.
4. Analyze the process of change and/or continuity over time.
Explain how and why it happens.
So, to write a decent change-over-time essay you are going to write an essay with a thesis that identifies a change over time for each country or period required, support that thesis by referencing relevant history and contrast that change with a starting point or with something that did not change.
WHAT IT WAS, WHAT IT IS—NOT!
It is not enough to simply talk about how it was and then talk about how it is. For example, an essay that says, “Prior to 1948 the Jewish people had no homeland. In 1948, Israel was established” does not delineate the causes or events that led up to the establishment of the nation. To write a successful change-over-time essay, you need to talk about how things were prior to the change, and then make it clear why things changed. “In the early twentieth century, few people saw the need for the establishment of an independent Jewish state. However, once the world saw the massive genocide of Jews that took place during World War II, support for the establishment of Israel began to grow.” You MUST cover the historical development!
WHAT IF I DON’T KNOW THE SUBJECT?
While the change-over-time essay may be a little less daunting than the DBQ, you run the risk of encountering a topic with which you are not that familiar. Luckily, most change-over-time questions give you choices, such as “Select two countries and discuss …” The issues on the change-over-time essay tend to be global ones such as technology, trade, demographic change, or culture, so make sure you are ready to discuss these topics. Part II of this book will highlight important historical changes so you can start filing stuff away in your brain. Learn the content and the changes and you should be well prepared for this essay.
Like the DBQ, the change-over-time essay is scored first for a Basic Core of items. If your essay has all the Basic Core items (i.e., earns all 7 of the Basic Core points), it is then considered for Expanded Core items.
Notice that you can receive partial credit—1 point instead of 2 points—for some of the items. The other two points come from Expanded Core items. Once again, let’s connect the Basic Core items to what you are supposed to write.
How do you get a 9 on the change-over-time essay? If you earn all 7 Basic Core points, the person scoring your essay will then look for Expanded Core items in your essay. The more Expanded Core items you add, the more likely you will receive an 8 or 9 on your essay.
Once again, some of the items in the Expanded Core are a more detailed version of the Basic Core items. To get an 8 or 9 on your essay, concentrate on doing a great job with at least three of the elements that are in both the Basic Core and the Expanded Core.
PUTTING PEN TO PAPER
Before you begin, you need to plan your essay. Because you don’t have to analyze documents, you won’t need as much planning time. Use the following steps to organize your essay.
Step 1: Process the Question
Once again, before you can write the essay, you need to be sure you are clear on exactly what you are expected to do. Notice that the Basic Core places a heavy emphasis on answering all parts of the question. To make sure you don’t miss any part of the question, circle each key phrase as you process the question. Take a look at the following example:
2. Choose ONE of the following political units (countries, empires, etc.) and discuss how technological developments from 1450 to 1750 changed its global influence. Be sure to describe its position of power and influence in the beginning of the period as your starting point.
England |
Russia |
Portugal |
Ottoman Empire |
Spain |
China |
Germany |
France |
What key phrases did you circle? Your list should include one of the above countries plus the phrases technological developments from 1450 to 1750, global influence, and position of power and influence in the beginning of the period as your starting point.What are you being asked to do? Choose one of the countries or empires listed, and discuss its role as a global player in the early 1400s or so (before some technological impact). Then walk through the technology or technologies that had an impact on the country, and describe the impact—what changes occurred as a result.
Step 2: Build a Framework
Once you have pulled apart the question, build a framework. The purpose of this framework is not only to provide you with an outline for your essay, but also to ensure that you don’t miss any part of the question.
To build your change-over-time framework, begin by choosing the number of countries as instructed. The above example asks you to choose one country. Once you have made your choices, create a chart like the one on the following page.
If you had been asked to select two countries, you would create a chart that had a column for each country.
Step 3: Build Your Essay
After you’ve created your framework, fill it in to build your essay. Be sure to fill in not only the information about each segment, but also the evidence (bits of info stored in your brain) to support each answer. For example, if you chose to discuss the impact of navigational technology on Portugal and what remained the same despite that technology, you might fill in your chart like this:
Completing your framework with both what changed and supporting evidence will help you create most of your essay. Here is the chart again. Choose the country or empire you would like to write about for this question and complete the chart below.
Step 4: Write It
Once you’ve filled in your framework, it’s time to start writing. As with the DBQ, your thesis is critical and must be supported by facts. First, Give ’Em What They Want—answer the question by including key phrases from the question. Next, Show ’Em Where You Got It by supporting each of your assertions with some introductory evidence (save the details for the body of the essay). Finally, Help ’Em Get There by transitioning the readers from the thesis to the body of the essay with a phrase like, “To better understand the changes that occurred during this time …” Here’s an example of how your thesis for this essay might read.
Technological advances in the period from 1450 to 1750 had a major influence on Portugal’s position in the global sphere. The development of nautical technologies rapidly made Portugal a world leader in exploration because the country was strategically placed near the coast of Africa, had long-standing trade relations with Muslim nations, and was home to Prince Henry the Navigator (son of Portugal’s John I), who sponsored and helped train Portugal’s explorers in the most up-to-date navigation technologies and techniques. The development of lanteen sails, which allowed ships to travel in any direction regardless of the wind direction, and three-masted caravels, which were larger ships that were not only capable of holding huge sails but also had lots of storage space to hold provisions for long journeys, suddenly made travel across the oceans feasible. In addition, the inventions of the astrolabe and magnetic compass, both of which were used to help sailors find their way, significantly increased the ability of these ships to reach their final destinations. The results were huge. Portugal suddenly became a global power. It established colonies in the New World and increased trade with Asia over sea routes. As a result, Portugal spread its language, religion, and culture to other parts of the world, changing the cultural landscape so profoundly that we still live with the consequences. To better understand the changes in Portugal’s global position that took as a result of these technological developments, one must first understand Portugal’s role in the global sphere prior to the Age of Exploration.
As you continue your essay, make sure that you address each portion of the question and that you support your claims with evidence. A good model to follow: after your introductory paragraph, each paragraph should address one change or continuity with specific evidence. In this case, a straightforward narrative of Portugal’s history won’t be enough to answer the question successfully. AP essay readers tell us that they often have to really search for what the changes and continuities are—and they often don’t find them. Be sure to spell it out for the grader, the sooner they find your examples, the sooner they give you points.
Before going on, try writing your own thesis for the above example, then continue on into at least the first two paragraphs, one that discusses a change, and one that explains continuity. Use the following space for your work:
IT’S A MATTER OF TIME
For both the change-over-time essay and the comparative essay, the AP folks suggest 40 minutes—5 minutes of planning and 35 minutes of writing. We recommend from 5 to 8 minutes of planning, again because a well-planned essay is easier and faster to write. You do need to be careful here, however. If you run out of time on your last essay and fail to include some core stuff, that can definitely hurt your essay score.
Use the practice essays at the end of this chapter plus the practice tests in Part III to determine how long you ideally would have to write each essay, then shave off time through practice. Truthfully, a well-planned change-over-time or comparative essay can be written in 20 minutes, leaving you a few minutes to go back and reread what you wrote.
COMPARATIVE ESSAY
Two down, one to go. By the time you get to the comparative essay, you will have been testing for more than two hours and writing for more than an hour. Because you will want your mind to be on autopilot at this point in the test, you need to make sure you are totally comfortable with this final type of essay.
AP essay readers tell us that, even though this essay is perhaps the easiest, it is also the one that students often score the lowest on. This may be the result of fatigue, but may also be the result of poor time management. Don’t let this happen to you! Leave yourself time to do your best on this essay, and try to focus; this is your last task!
I’D RATHER COMPARE THAN CHANGE
By the way, you do not need to write AP World History Exam essays in the order in which they appear. You are given two hours to write the three essays (plus the initial ten-minute reading period for the DBQ documents). You can write the essays in any order you want. You can also spend as much time on one essay as you want; however, the more time you devote to one essay means proportionately less time for the other two. We strongly recommend you do the DBQ first because you will have processed the documents during the prereading period. However, if you read the change-over-time essay and feel uncomfortable with the topic, or if you just prefer to write comparative essays, feel free to do the comparative essay before the change-over-time essay.
Making comparisons is a huge part of understanding world history. It comes up in the multiple-choice questions as well as the DBQ and change-over-time essays. To help you out with this aspect of the test, Part II of this book highlights some of the more critical subjects for comparison throughout the six periods of world history.
The comparative essay typically involves how two societies responded to a major theme or event. (Remember that comparing means finding similarities and dissimilarities!) Remember how we mentioned at the beginning of the book to be on the lookout for certain big-picture ideas or themes as you review your history? This is where that information will be most helpful. The major themes tested on the AP World History Exam comparative essay include the following:
· How different societies responded to events, to each other, or to other societies
· How different societies changed—or didn’t—in response to an event
· How different societies developed
· How different societies responded to new technologies or new ideas
The directions and scoring rubrics for the comparative essay are very similar to those for the change-over-time essay. Therefore, the steps to writing the comparative essay will also be similar to the change-over-time essay.
Here are the directions.
Directions: You are to answer the following question. You should spend 5 minutes organizing or outlining your essay. Write an essay that:
· Has a relevant thesis and supports that thesis with appropriate historical evidence
· Addresses all parts of the question
· Makes direct, relevant comparisons
WHAT THE DIRECTIONS MEAN
Here’s what you are supposed to do.
1. Write a thesis that makes your major points of comparison.
Support your thesis with historical evidence.
2. Answer all parts of the question.
3. Make at least two direct, relevant comparisons of the given societies.
Include both similarities and differences. (You lose a core point if you don’t.)
4. Analyze relevant reasons for those similarities and/or differences.
Explain why these societies are similar or different.
To write a good comparative essay, you will need to write an essay with a thesis, support that thesis by referencing relevant history (sound familiar so far?), and compare and contrast as the question indicates, making sure you include not only similarities but also differences.
Again the Basic Core for the comparative essay is worth 7 points (you can get partial credit for some items). The other 2 points come from Expanded Core items. Once again let’s connect the Basic Core items to what you are supposed to write.
To get an 8 or 9 on the comparative essay, you need to focus on expanding three areas of your essay that are covered in both the Basic Core and the Expanded Core. Here is the Expanded Core for the comparative essay.
WRITING YOUR COMPARATIVE ESSAY
Use the same steps to plan the comparative essay as you used to plan the change-over-time essay. Take about five minutes to plan your essay before you begin writing.
Step 1: Process the Question
Circle the key phrases in the following example:
3. Western incursion was a common theme in the years from 1750–1914. Different societies responded to the outside forces in a variety of ways. Compare and contrast the responses between TWO of the following societies. Be sure to address the reaction of the native populations.
China
India
Latin America
Africa
Does your circled list include Western incursion, from 1750–1914, compare and contrast the responses, and reaction of the native population? Remember also to circle the two societies on the list that you want to focus on! What are you being asked to do? Compare and contrast the reactions of two societies to the invasion of Western culture and ideology. To do this, you will need to note what each society was like before Western influences were felt and how each reacted to the imposed changes.
Step 2: Build a Framework
Build a framework similar to the one you used for the change-over-time essay.
Step 3: Build Your Essay
After you’ve created your framework, fill it in to build the essay. Be sure to enter both the information about each segment and the evidence to support each answer.
Using the above example, select two societies and complete the chart below.
Step 4: Write It
Once you’ve filled in your framework, it’s time to start writing. As you write your thesis, remember to Give ’Em What They Want, Show ’Em Where You Got It, and Help ’Em Get There. Write an analytical thesis for the sample question in the space provided. Be sure to include both the focus of your essay and WHY you believe your claim is true.
How did you do? Did you Give ’Em What They Want? Do your opening sentences read something like the following?
Western imperialism in both China and Latin America brought about different responses, in part because the nature of the imperialism was very different in each place. While both regions experienced aggressive European influences, in Latin America the size of the native population had already been dramatically reduced by genocide and disease and was then replaced by European immigrants and African slaves. In other words, Europe established colonies and replaced existing cultures with their own. In China, on the other hand, the native population was subjected to European spheres of influence—far more economic than cultural—but the underlying culture remained largely intact. The Europeans established their spheres of influence “on top of” existing Chinese culture, as opposed to “instead of.” This difference between the underlying nature of imperialism in Latin America and China had a profound influence in the way each region eventually responded to Western imperialism.
Going on…
In Latin America the successful independence movements were initiated by the descendents of European colonists, and, in the case of Haiti, a freed slave. Therefore, the independence movements were similar to the American Revolution in that they were motivated more by who would control the region (Europe or locals) rather than which culture would dominate. Even after Latin American countries won their independence, the original native population remained subservient to the descendents of Europeans. Spanish and Portuguese remained the official languages. Catholicism remained the dominant religion.
In China, the reaction against European spheres of influence was far more cultural in nature. The native Chinese were trying to remove European influence, not just European control…
Take some time now to finish writing your essay on a separate sheet of paper. Once you have written your own, ask a classmate or teacher to critique your work.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Now that you know how to write each of these essays, it’s time to practice. Here are a few more essays for you to practice your AP essay writing skills. If you can, team up with another student in your AP class and take turns grading each other’s essays using the scoring rubric.
EXAMPLE 1
Directions: You are to answer the following question. You should spend 5 minutes organizing or outlining your essay. Write an essay that:
· Has a relevant thesis and supports that thesis with appropriate historical evidence.
· Addresses all parts of the question.
· Uses historical context to show change over time and/or continuities.
2. Analyze the political, social, and economic impact of ONE of the following belief systems on China from about 500 B.C.E. to about 1000 C.E.. In your analysis, be sure to discuss the reasons for continuities as well as changes.
Confucianism
Legalism
Daoism
Buddhism
EXAMPLE 2
Directions: You are to answer the following question. You should spend 5 minutes organizing or outlining your essay. Write an essay that:
· Has a relevant thesis and supports that thesis with appropriate historical evidence.
· Addresses all parts of the question.
· Makes direct, relevant comparisons.
3. Compare and contrast the impact of exploration and colonization on Africa and the Americas.