The WHAP Essays

Oh yeah! On the AP exam, 60% of your grade comes from writing - 3 SAQs, one DBQ and one LEQ. Big fun! Here you'll find all sorts of valuable stuff related to those essays. On this page are a number of files and items that pertain to all three essays, and then each essay type (SAQ, LEQ & DBQ) has its own sub-page, which you can click on below, that has materials specifically for that essay type.

Hand cramps, here we come!

WHY?

One of the most important skills you'll learn this year, and the skill which is DEMANDED by all three of the essays is that of ANALYSIS. Essentially asking that most important historical question, not who, what, where when or even how, but WHY?

Don’t Let “Why” Die!!!!*

Why, why why? - Important WHAP question.

Always ask “why?”

In the LEQ, no matter which Historical Thinking Skill is being targeted, “why” is “the analysis of the similarities and differences, of the changes and continuities, of the causes and effects, and of the significant historical turning points - “WHY were these things similar and why were these other things different?”

In the DBQ - “why” is your POV analysis – “WHY did this person say or write this at this time?

In the SAQ - “why” is almost always the third of the three questions you are asked.

*Came up with this after reading the thought-provoking book The Death of Why by Andrea Batista Schlesinger.

A good read, check it out.

Test/Exam Grades

The AP Exam is scored using the following weights for each of the sections:

MCQs = 40%

SAQ = 20%

DBQ = 25%

LEQ = 15%

Since we'll never sit for a full 3 hour and 15 minute test in class (thank goodness!?), we'll never have 4 SAQs or 2 essays. I've modified the percentages of the exam grade that comes from each of the sections as follows:

MCQs = 45%

SAQ = 20%

LEQ/DBQ = 35%

ESSAY GRADING SCALES

As you know, the essays on the AP World History exam are scored on a scale of 0-6 (LEQ) 0-7 (DBQ). Since writing for WHAP represents something of a steep learning curve, it doesn't seem quite fair to slam you at the beginning of the year, when most students will likely be writing essays that fall in the low end of that range. For that reason, your essay scores will be translated into percentages based on the following SLIDING SCALE.

What this means is that an essay you write at the beginning of the year that gets a score of “3” on the AP scale will translate to an __ on your test. However, that same essay, written near the end of year (by which time your essay-writing should have greatly improved) will only be counted as a __. As your essay-writing skill improves throughout the course of the year, better essays will be expected of you. Good luck!