Ap world thesis formula

If you’re taking AP World History or AP United States History and feel unsure about how to approach the DBQ thesis, you’ve come to the right place!

In this post, you’ll learn about a DBQ thesis formula that you can use to:


A) consistently earn the thesis point and

B) set up your essay to earn the difficult complexity point (less than 2% of students earn this!)


Additionally, you’ll find AP World History DBQ thesis examples and APUSH DBQ thesis examples to understand how the thesis formula is applied to real prompts.

Let’s get started!


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Why is the DBQ Thesis Statement So Important?


If you’re reading this article, then you probably already know that the DBQ thesis statement is extremely important. After all, you’re taking time out of your day to learn how to write one.

However, if you’re not sure why the DBQ thesis statement is so important, I’ll explain. In my Ultimate Guide to Get a 5 on APUSH post, I mentioned that the thesis statement accounts for 1 of 7 possible points on the DBQ essay.



Also, the thesis sets up the


Overview of the Long Essay Question (LEQ)

Section II of the AP Exam includes three Long Essay Question (LEQ) prompts. You will choose to write about just one of these. 

The formatting of prompts varies somewhat between the AP Histories, though the rubric does not. In AP World History, the prompt includes a sentence that orients the writer to the time, place, and theme of the prompt topic, while prompts in AP US History and AP European History typically do not. However, the rubrics and scoring guidelines are the same for all Histories.

Your answer should include the following:


A valid thesis

A discussion of relevant historical context

Use of evidence supports your thesis

Use of a reasoning skill to organize and structure the argument

Complex understanding of the topic of the prompt


We will break down each of these aspects in the next section. For now, the gist is that you need to write an essay that answers the prompt, using evidence. You will need to structure and develop your essay using one of the course reasoning skills.

Many of the skills you need to write a successful LEQ essay are the same skills you will use on the DBQ. In fact, some of the rubric points are i


APUSH Essays: The "Irish" Thesis Formula Explained



You may have heard about the “Irish” Thesis Formula—it is all over the internet. Some teachers like it, others hate it, but whatever you think about it, it works as a strategy for helping students set up a complex essay. The argument against it?It is too complex and asks students to do way too much for the thesis point on the AP exam. The argument for it? It is simple, straightforward, and gives guidelines for struggling students (and teachers) to help them set up a thesis for a complex essay.

Before we look at the strategy, let’s take a look at the expectations from the College Board with regard to the thesis point. First, the thesis point represents one point on the rubric for both the long essay question and the document-based essay question. Second, it asks each student to respond to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis/claim that establishes a line of reasoning. Third, to earn the point, the thesis/claim must respond to the prompt rather than restating or rephrasing the prompt. It must consist of one or more sentences located in one place, either in the introduction or the conclusion.

Let’s break this down:

Thesis Statement Formula for AP English Rhetorical Analysis Essays


Let’s look at an example of an excellent AP rhetorical analysis thesis statement:

In her indignantly critical and cleverly crafted speech given to the National Association for Women’s Suffrage, Florence Kelley clearly articulates and emotionally persuades her audience through the use of parallelism and inclusive language to advocate for changes to child labor laws.

If we look closely at this thesis statement and color code its component pieces, we see that it is designed this way:

In her adverb/adjective, adverb/adjectivename of genre and other identifying information such as the date the document was written, writer’s name adverb active verb and adverb active verbname of reader or intended audience through the use of describe or name rhetorical techniques you will focus on todescribe to the writer’s purpose.

(In her indignantly critical and cleverly crafted speech given to the National Association for Women’s Suffrage,Florence Kelleyclearly articulates and emotionally persuades her audience through the use of parallelism and inclusive language to advocate for changes to child labor laws.)

Voila! Done!

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