WRITING THE LEQ
The long essay question requires students to do the following:
- Respond to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis or claim that establishes a line of reasoning.
- Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt.
- Support an argument in response to the prompt using specific and relevant examples of evidence.
- Demonstrate a complex understanding of the historical development that is the focus of the prompt, using evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument that addresses the question.
On the actual AP Exam: Students must select one of the three long essay questions. Each question focuses on the same reasoning process, but historical developments and processes in different time periods. The first option focuses primarily on historical developments or processes between 1200 and 1750, the second primarily on historical developments or processes between 1450 and 1900, and the third primarily on historical developments or processes between 1750 and 2001.
Basic Instructions (as they appear on the World History AP Modern Exam): Answer the question below being sure to include the following.
- Thesis: Present a thesis that makes a historically defensible thesis/claim that establishes a line of reasoning.
- Contextualization: Describes a broader historical context relevant to the prompt.
- Supporting the Argument with Evidence: Utilize specific examples of evidence to fully and effectively substantiate the stated thesis or a relevant argument.
- Analysis and Reasoning: Uses historical reasoning to frame or structure an argument that addresses the prompt. Also, demonstrate a complex understanding of the historical development that is the focus of the prompt, using evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument that addresses the question.
Topic 1.7 covers the following specific College Board Objectives:
Unit 1: Learning Objective N: Explain the similarities and differences in the processes of state formation from c. 1200 to c. 1450.
Skill: Argumentation:
- 6.A Make a historically defensible claim.
- 6.B Support an argument using specific and relevant evidence.
Reasoning Process 1 Comparison
- 1.i: Describe similarities and/or differences between different historical developments or processes.
- 1.ii: Explain relevant similarities and/or differences between specific historical developments and processes.
- 1.iii: Explain the relative historical significance of similarities and/or differences between different historical developments or processes.
Key Concepts that the LEQ may cover: State formation and development demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity in various regions.
- As the Abbasid Caliphate fragmented, new Islamic political entities emerged, most of which were dominated by Turkic peoples. These states demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity.
- Empires and states in Afro-Eurasia and the Americas demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity in the 13th century. This included the Song Dynasty of China, which utilized traditional methods of Confucianism and an imperial bureaucracy to maintain and justify its rule.
- State formation and development demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity, including the new Hindu and Buddhist states that emerged in South and Southeast Asia.
- In the Americas, as in Afro-Eurasia, state systems demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity, and expanded in scope and reach.
- In Africa, as in Eurasia and the Americas, state systems demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity, and expanded in scope and reach.
Sample LEQs
#1
In the period from circa 1200 to circa 1450, governments responded to a variety of internal and external factors in order to develop administrative institutions and centralize power.
Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which levels of centralization in the Song Dynasty in China and in the Abbasid Caliphate differed in this period.
#2
In the period from circa 1200 to circa 1450, a variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline.
Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which state formation occurs in both the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa.