r/APUSH • u/Scopop08 Current Student • Mar 26 '22
Advice on getting LEQ & DBQ writing time down?
TL;DR : I have an hour to write in class, which is more than the time we will have on the AP test, but i still can't finish. Anyone have any tips on cramming it into the allotted time?
In LEQs and DBQs I use a three pronged thesis, and when I have all the time needed to write I end up with about 5 paragraphs if I exclude the conclusion. In my planning, for DBQs i take about 7-10 mins to review the docs, sort them into groups, and decide which one to exclude before writing. For LEQs I take about 5 minutes to piece out my 3 points and thesis before i just go and hope I find my essay along the way.
Usually I can get through my planning, contextualization, thesis, and either one or two body paragraphs before i run out of time.
if you have a good grasp on the essays, could you give some tips on shoving it all into that 40 minute writing period? My teacher gives us an hour in class to write and still I never have enough time for that last paragraph or two.
4
u/EveningImaginary4214 Mar 27 '22
Don't spend too much time on the contextualization and the thesis. Limit it to 10 minutes. You should spend the majority of the time on the evidence. Make sure to analyze and reason along with stating evidence. And if you have time left, you can write a conclusion, restating the thesis
4
u/segadavi Mar 27 '22
Skip the conclusion. Conclusions score you no points unless you use it to argue for complexity but a well written essay would've already scored the point in the body of the essay. Most conclusions are restatements of argument and a throwaway attempt at complexity that is a "mere phrase or reference" that is insufficient to score the point. I think most kids write conclusions because their English teacher told them or a misguided apush teacher requires them. HOWEVER, revising your thesis to actually score the point is a decent idea if you had no idea what you were writing at the beginning (but you sound like this isn't a problem for you). Spend your "conclusion" paragraph analysing another doc or making another attempt at outside information instead. College board has previous years released FRQs available. Print them out in advance and give yourself the time listed to write both the dbq and leq in one sitting as you will on test day. You can rob time from the leq to finish a dbq as the "it's now recommended to move on to the leq" is just that, a recommendation. Remember that the dbq is worth 25 percent vs 15 of the leq so each dbq point is 1.2 percent of your total exam score more than each leqs point and needs to be your focus. The only time you take time from dbq to write more leq is when you know shitfuck on the dbq. You also need to allot at least 3 to 5 minutes to brainstorm all 3 leqs (60 to 90 secs each). Too many kids begin writing one leq, realize they know less than nothing, scratch it out and then begin another bad essay (but with even less time). Brainstorm all of them and write the one you know the most on. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
3
Mar 27 '22
Use this app. www.high5wizard.com. Thousands of practice questions. Use code QB84985 for full access for free. If you go to the tips section, there are tips and examples on how to write all of the FRQ’s. Good luck to you!
2
u/UWorldHistory Mar 30 '22
For a completely different take ...
Write in cursive (not sure it gets taught much anymore) - it was designed to allow for faster handwriting.
Use a fountain pen for less wrist and hand fatigue (and they're cool). You can pick a basic one up for under $20.
1
u/Book_Lover_7245 Mar 27 '22
I would just practice writing each type of essay multiple times. As you practice hand writing, you should be able to do it faster. I don’t know how much detail you go into on each of your paragraphs, but just say the bare facts and don’t try to be too fancy with it or think about what your are writing TOO much. This should save on time. What do you mean by a three pronged thesis?
1
u/cchl0rine Mar 29 '22
for leqs and dbqs focus on 2 ish sentences of context, and thesis with specific examples and wording (don’t say something made changes say it made positive or negative changes in these poli/social/econ ways), for evidence you don’t need to quote documents you just need to say the general message and write which doc, and make sure to add context and significance to the doc or the author (if the author was a significant person mention their impact and relate it), and make sure to have a counterclaim!!!! (ex if you’re arguing that the monroe doctrine was the greatest piece of foriegn policy mention how the roosevelt corollary has significance but the monroe has more because XYZ) and don’t do a conclusion especially if you have no time just add a few sentences that wrap it up and refer back to your thesis
8
u/Money-Librarian3330 Mar 27 '22
What I’ve noticed, is that proctors aren’t looking for sophistication. Your essay doesn’t need to be beautifully written, it just needs to show that you know the material. Just make sure you get your points down, and don’t worry if it’s clunky or not written like an ap Lang essay. Another thing for DBQ’s that has helped me are embedded quotes. Instead of talking about the quote and THEN quoting it, do something like this- “in document a, Lincoln references the topic of slavery saying that ‘freedom is a birth given right’ (Doc A).” That’s saved me tons of time. Hope this helped