APUSH Exam Logistics & Rubric Quiz
- Rosie Jayde Uyola
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Learning Target: I can identify a pattern in my APUSH writing feedback and create a plan to improve my SAQ and LEQ responses before the AP exam.
DO NOW: The Exam Triage Protocol
Background: Section II of the AP U.S. History exam includes two extended writing tasks completed under strict time constraints.
The Task: You have 15 minutes remaining in Section II and an incomplete final essay.
Design a decision-making protocol that would reliably maximize a student’s score in this situation.
Your response must:
Establish clear priorities for earning points under time pressure
Identify what will not be completed
Explain how your decisions maximize scoring outcomes
Be written so that another student could follow your system and achieve a higher score
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Part I: Exam Structure & Logistics
1. How much time do you have to complete Section II (DBQ + LEQ combined)?
a) 60 minutes
b) 95 minutes
c) 100 minutes
d) 130 minutes
2. What percentage of your total AP score does the DBQ represent?
a) 15%
b) 20%
c) 25%
d) 40%
3. What percentage of your total AP score does the LEQ represent?
a) 15%
b) 20%
c) 25%
d) 40%
4. How many total points can be earned on the LEQ rubric?
a) 5 points
b) 6 points
c) 7 points
d) 9 points
Part II: Rubric Requirements
5. How many documents must you use to support an argument and earn the second Evidence point on the DBQ?
a) 2 documents
b) 3 documents
c) 4 documents
d) 6 documents
6. For how many documents must you explain sourcing (HIPP: historical situation, audience, purpose, or point of view) to earn the DBQ analysis point?
a) 1 document
b) 2 documents
c) 3 documents
d) 4 documents
7. To earn the Contextualization point on either the DBQ or LEQ, your response must:
a) Include a relevant vocabulary term in your introduction
b) Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt
c) Present an opposing argument
d) Summarize multiple documents
8. True or False: To earn both Evidence points on the LEQ, you must provide specific, relevant evidence and use it to support your argument.
a) True
b) False
Part III: Rubric Application
Use the prompt below to answer Questions 9 and 10.
Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which the rise of big business altered American society during the Gilded Age (1870–1900).
9. Which of the following thesis statements would earn the Thesis/Claim point?
a) The rise of big business completely altered American society during the Gilded Age from 1870 to 1900.
b) While the rise of big business created new economic opportunities through industrialization, it significantly altered American society by widening economic inequality and contributing to the growth of organized labor.
c) Big business altered American society because industrialists became very wealthy.
d) There were many ways that big business changed society.
10. A student writes the following about a document by Andrew Carnegie:“Andrew Carnegie wrote this document in 1889. He was a wealthy industrialist, which is his point of view.”
Does this earn the sourcing (HIPP) point?
a) Yes, because it identifies the author
b) Yes, because it mentions point of view
c) No, because it does not explain how the author’s point of view is relevant to the argument
d) No, because all four HIPP categories must be used
Part IV: Short Answer Questions (SAQ) Logistics & Strategy
11. What percentage of your total AP score does the SAQ section represent?
a) 15%
b) 20%
c) 25%
d) 40%
12. During Section I, Part B, you have 40 minutes to complete how many SAQs that count toward your score?
a) 2 questions
b) 3 questions
c) 4 questions
d) 5 questions
13. Which best describes the structure of the SAQ section?
a) You must answer four required questions
b) You choose any three questions out of five
c) You must answer Questions 1 and 2, and then choose either Question 3 or Question 4
d) You answer three questions with no stimulus provided
14. To earn the point for a specific part (A, B, or C) of an SAQ, your response should:
a) Be a full paragraph with a thesis
b) Answer the question, include specific evidence, and explain the connection
c) List vocabulary terms
d) Only quote from the stimulus
15. Which of the following best describes Question 1 on the SAQ section?
a) It always includes a political cartoon
b) It always includes a primary source
c) It may include primary or secondary sources, images, or no stimulus
d) It never includes a stimulus
Once you are done with the quiz, please log into Jupiter Grades and read my feedback for your SAQs and LEQ from Mock APUSH exam. After reading your Mock APUSH feedback, identify one pattern in your SAQ/LEQ writing. What is your plan to fix it before the AP exam, and how will that plan help you earn more points? If you didn't take the Mock on Saturday: DBQ: Evaluate the extent to which transportation innovation contributed to American national unity in the period from 1800 to 1860. |
EXIT TICKET: The Universal Sourcing Scaffold
Background: A response that only identifies an author’s point of view without explaining its relevance will not earn the sourcing point.
The Task: Design a universal fill-in-the-blank sentence template that ensures a student connects a document’s historical situation, audience, purpose, or point of view to their argument.
Your response must:
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Answer Key
DO NOW: The Exam Triage Protocol
1. My scoring priorities under time pressure:
With 15 minutes left, I would focus on the points that are fastest and most reliable to earn. First, I would make sure I have a defensible thesis that directly answers the prompt.
Second, I would add broader historical context. Third, I would use at least two specific pieces of evidence and explain how they support my argument. Last, only if time remains, I would try to add complexity. This is strategic because the LEQ rubric awards points separately, so even an unfinished essay can still earn thesis, contextualization, evidence, and reasoning points.
2. What I will deliberately not complete:
I will not write a long introduction, a polished conclusion, or extra background that does not directly answer the prompt. I will also not spend time trying to make the essay sound perfect. Under time pressure, it is better to write direct, point-earning sentences than to write a beautiful but incomplete essay.
3. My step-by-step 15-minute protocol:
First, write a one-sentence thesis that answers the prompt and gives two reasons. Second, write two to three sentences of contextualization that explain the broader historical situation. Third, write one body paragraph with one specific piece of evidence and explain how it proves the thesis. Fourth, write a second body paragraph with a different specific piece of evidence and explain how it proves the thesis. Fifth, add one sentence using historical reasoning, such as causation, comparison, or continuity and change over time. Sixth, only if time remains, add a sentence showing complexity or qualification.
College Board confirms that the LEQ requires a thesis, broader historical context, at least two pieces of specific evidence, and historical reasoning/complexity; the LEQ is 15% of the exam and is recommended for 40 minutes.
Multiple Choice Answer Key
C — 100 minutes
C — 25%
A — 15%
B — 6 points
C — 4 documents
B — 2 documents
B — Describe a broader historical context relevant to the prompt
A — True
B
C
B — 20%
B — 3 questions
C — You must answer Questions 1 and 2, and then choose either Question 3 or Question 4
B — Answer the question, include specific evidence, and explain the connection
C
EXIT TICKET: The Universal Sourcing Scaffold
Full-credit model answer
1. Your universal template:
Because [author/source] was writing during [historical situation] for [audience] in order to [purpose], this document supports the argument that [claim] because [explain how that sourcing detail affects the document’s meaning, reliability, bias, or usefulness to the argument].
A simpler student version could be:
Because [author] had [POV/purpose/audience/historical situation], the document supports my argument that [claim] because [explain why that source detail matters].
2. Why this template consistently earns the point:
This template earns the sourcing point because it does not just identify the author, audience, purpose, point of view, or historical situation. It explains how or why that sourcing detail matters to the argument. That is the difference between merely naming HIPP and actually earning the sourcing point. College Board specifically states that for DBQ sourcing, students must explain how or why the document’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, or audience is relevant to an argument.
