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Unit 4 Essay Activity

  • Students will be able to construct an AP-Style Long Essay using resources from Unit 4 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness to practice constructing a historical argument.
  • Students will be able to analyze the AP Long-Essay Rubric to reflect on their own skills in the context of the AP Exam.

Students review Handout A: Long Essay Rubric.

Remind students that this rubric is used for scoring all Long-Essay Questions on the exam and they should craft their response with these criteria in mind.

Address any student questions on rubric categories.

Two student volunteers should read aloud the two options for the essay question on Handout B: Long Essay Options.

Clarify any questions on what each prompt is asking.

Allow students five to ten minutes to brainstorm their responses to their selected prompt.

After brainstorming time has passed, announce that students should now begin writing their essay. It is suggested you time students at this point in the year so they become used to writing for a deadline. Students should use approximately 35 minutes to plan and write their essay.

After the teacher has had the opportunity to evaluate student essays on the basis of the rubric, students should be provided with the opportunity to reflect on their writing progress and set intentional goals for growth, using Handout C: Writing Reflection.

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