Welcome to the 8 Month Writing Clinic Archive Page!This page houses all materials that have been featured in the 8 Month Writing Clinic. Each year, some materials are updated and others are added in order to build value for continuing subscribers.
When the page is updated, I will email all subscribers about the materials that have been added and/or revised. Please don't hesitate to contact me if there's anything I can add here that would be helpful to you. |
Sample EssaysMore samples coming soon - including samples for AP World History!
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Click a button to go directly to a session:
Session 1: Thesis Statements
DBQ & LEQ
In this session, we will model strategies for writing thesis statements that will score points on the DBQ and LEQ and put students in a great position to write an organized essay.
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Clinic DBQ FilesThese are the DBQs for AP US History and AP European History that I will be using during most of the Writing Clinic sessions.
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Session 2: Using Documents
DBQ
In this session, we will demonstrate how to effectively use documents to both demonstrate comprehension and to advance an argument in the DBQ.
AP US History Broadcast |
AP European History Broadcast |
Session 3: Outside Evidence
DBQ & LEQ
In this session, we will demonstrate how to effectively use outside evidence in the DBQ and LEQ.
Session 4: Structuring Your Essay
DBQ & LEQ
In this session, we will share strategies for structuring the DBQ and LEQ through effective prewriting. The structure of the essay is important because it ensures that the entire essay is committed to advancing the thesis and supporting it with sound arguments and specific evidence.
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Session 5: Contextualization
DBQ & LEQ
In addition to specific outside evidence in the body paragraph to support the thesis, DBQs and LEQs must also include useful background information that is relevant to the prompt. We will demonstrate how to effectively use contextualization at the beginning of a student's essay to lead the reader to the thesis.
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Session 6: Explaining Documents
DBQ
This session will focus on explaining at least three documents through the lens of Point of View, Situation, Context, and Purpose. We will model how this is done and how to best employ this strategy to score one of the more difficult points on the DBQ.
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For this session, I used a DBQ that I wrote about African Americans in World War I. Feel free to use this in your classroom.
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Current events can be a great tool for teaching POV and demonstrating how it is used in everyday life. In this video, I analyze the competing claims about the language President Trump used in a meeting with members of Congress.
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Session 7: Complex Understanding
DBQ & LEQ
Teachers generally agree that the Complex Understanding point will be the hardest for students to earn on the DBQ and LEQ. In this last instructional session, we will focus on the best strategies to score this point on the DBQ and LEQ.
Session 8: Essay Critiques
DBQ & LEQ
When we return from spring break, exams will be nearly upon us! In April, I plan to host multiple sessions, during which I will critique work submitted by VIP subscribers in an effort to help students fine tune their writing before crunch time. My current plan is to schedule four distinct sessions, with each session focusing focusing on a subject-specific DBQ or LEQ for AP US History or AP European History.
APUSH DBQ Critique |
AP Euro DBQ Critique |
AP Euro Sample Essays
Industrialization of ManchesterThis is a revised version of the
2002 DBQ that is in line with the current exam format. |
APUSH Sample Essays
European Colonizers LEQ
Comparison Focus
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American Revolution LEQCausation Focus
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