Mastering the APUSH Thesis Point

By Utilizing Two Different ‘Two-Sentence’ Strategies

The APUSH Course and Exam Description (CED) makes it crystal clear. All exam-day LEQ and DBQ prompts will either begin with the words, ‘Evaluate the extent to which,’ or they will begin with the words ‘Evaluate the relative importance of.’

For APUSH students aiming to achieve high scores, mastering the thesis point as it relates to both prompts matters, as it provides a clear roadmap for their essays, demonstrates their understanding of historical events and themes, and showcases their ability to construct a well-organized and persuasive argument.

In this article, I will describe how I teach my students to earn the thesis point, employing a two-sentence writing strategy for each of the two distinct types of prompts.

The ‘Evaluate the Extent’ Two-Sentence Strategy

This strategy is to be used when faced with a prompt beginning with “Evaluate the extent to which.”

• The First Sentence — Establishing a Claim: Start with ‘To a great extent,’ then integrate all key terms from the prompt, including the specific time period.
• The Second Sentence — Providing Reasoning: Begin with ‘During this time period,’ followed by at least one line of reasoning supporting your claim, with this sentence to reveal the ‘why’ or ‘how’ behind your claim.

Here’s how the two-sentence formula can be applied to various ‘extent to which’ prompts:

Prompt #1:
Evaluate the extent to which the lives of women changed economically in the period from 1875 to 1910.

• The First Sentence of the Thesis: “To a great extent, the lives of women changed economically in the period from 1875 to 1910.”
• The Second Sentence of the Thesis: “During this period, the economic lives of women changed in terms of the number of women employed in factories and the number of women who joined unions advocating for their rights

True, this is a thesis with two lines of reasoning, though it’s important to note that on the APUSH exam, only one line of reasoning is required to earn the thesis point. In other words, while additional lines of reasoning can strengthen the thesis, they are not necessary for meeting the basic criteria as laid out in the scoring rubric. Therefore, the thesis point would have been earned had it only read as follows: “To a great extent, the lives of women changed economically in the period from 1875 to 1910. During this period, the economic lives of women changed in terms of the number of women employed in factories.”

Prompt #2
Evaluate the extent to which the United States economy changed in the period from 1865 to 1890.

• The First Sentence of the Thesis: “To a great extent, the United States economy changed in the period from 1865 to 1890.”
• The Second Sentence of the Thesis: “During this period, the economy changed in terms of the number of factories constructed, where these factories were located, how raw materials were brought to these factories, and how factory-manufactured products were moved from these factories to the marketplace.

This thesis should be viewed as a strong thesis, one containing at least three lines of reasoning, although the thesis point would have been earned with only one line of reasoning.

The ‘Relative Importance’ Two-Sentence Strategy

This strategy is to be used when faced with a prompt beginning with “Evaluate the relative importance of.”

• The First Sentence — Listing Factors or Outcomes: Begin by concisely listing the different factors or outcomes that are pertinent to the prompt. This sentence should cover all key elements that you plan to discuss in your essay, directly relating to the prompt.
• The Second Sentence — Establishing the Most Critical Factor or Outcome: State which of these factors or outcomes is the most significant, and briefly indicate why. This sentence provides a clear point of view and sets the stage for your essay’s argumentative focus.

Here’s how the two-sentence formula can be applied to the “relative importance” prompts:

Prompt #1:
Evaluate the relative importance of different causes behind rapid industrialization in the United States in the period from 1865 to 1890.

• The First Sentence of the Thesis: “In the period from 1865 to 1890, rapid industrialization in the United States was caused by the rise of influential industrialists like Rockefeller and Carnegie, the availability of large numbers of immigrants willing to work for little pay, and the implementation of laissez-faire government policies.”
• The Second Sentence of the Thesis: “Of these, the most important was the rise of influential industrialists like Rockefeller and Carnegie, as their leadership revolutionized production methods and industry management and also significantly influenced the shaping of government policies and labor practices.”

The second sentence of the thesis contains three distinct lines of reasoning. While each point represents a separate line of reasoning, it’s important to note that only one line of reasoning is required to earn the thesis point.

Prompt #2:
Evaluate the relative importance of different causes for the expanding role of the United States in the world in the period from 1865 to 1910.

• The First Sentence of the Thesis: In the period from 1865 to 1910, the expanding role of the United States in the world was caused by its willingness to industrialize, to go into the world in search of political and economic gain, and to use its military when either challenged or threatened.
• The Second Sentence of the Thesis: Of these, its willingness to industrialize was the most important, as it led to economic growth, technological advancements, and military might.

Here too, the second sentence of the thesis contains three distinct lines of reasoning. Only one line of reasoning is necessary to successfully earn the thesis point.

Your Turn Now

Select one of the prompts listed below and try to earn the thesis point using the appropriate formula:

• Evaluate the extent to which the lives of African Americans changed as a result of the Market Revolution.
• Evaluate the extent to which America’s political parties changed during the Market Revolution of the 1820s and 1830s.
• Evaluate the extent to which the Civil War led to political gains for African Americans in the period 1865–1877.
• Evaluate the extent to which westward expansion led to sectional differences in the period 1840–1865.
• Evaluate the extent to which ideas related to popular sovereignty in the period from 1830 to 1860 led the United States into the Civil War.
• Evaluate the relative importance of different outcomes from the amendments to the US Constitution, 1864–1877.

Sidenote #1:

I’m well aware that for years, many APUSH teachers have encouraged their students to begin their thesis with the word ‘although.’ And that’s because, as many of these teachers have told, they want their students to send a signal flare to the reader, saying, ‘Hey reader, heads up, in this essay, I’m going to try to earn the complexity point by weaving into my essay a contrasting or opposing viewpoint, with that contrasting or opposing viewpoint to be revealed by the words following ‘although” and well before I state my thesis.”

I’m not a fan of this approach for three reasons

1. It’s not needed to earn the point.
2. I’ve found that when it’s crunch time in a high-stakes test, most of my students don’t possess the writing/thinking skills to do this, and so they end up spending an inordinate amount of time trying to craft the ‘although’ clause, with the rest of the essay consequently suffering, and worse yet, the student not earning the complexity points. To put it another way, I’ve found that the ‘although clause’ strategy usually only works for those who are already word wizards, naturally gifted in the art of writing.
3. There’s a much easier way to earn the complexity point, and that’s via the ‘tack it on’ approach, with that approach described in an article I published in January 2024 and titled ‘7 APUSH LEQ Essays Utilizing the Tack-it-on Approach.’

As described in this post, I advocate for a simpler, more direct way to earn the thesis point, one that encourages the student to go straight to the heart of the matter, with no frills attached.

To summarize, I believe that for a student to start their thesis with ‘although’ is like putting a fireworks display before their essay — they better know what they’re doing or they will get burned — while my ‘two-sentence thesis earning point strategy’ I view as a reliable and easy to acquire flashlight — one that works for all, guiding the student time and again straight to success with little or no downside.