CE the SAQ!
Background
• The short answer question has been added to the APUSH Exam,
starting with the 2015 administration.
• There will be FOUR short answer questions, with a total of 50 minutes
to plan and answer them. You should plan for 10 minutes; this leaves
you with 10 minutes to answer your question.
• Some will have a stimulus, such as a quotation or a picture.
• Short answer questions do not require the formulation of a thesis
statement but must be answered in complete sentences. Bullet points
are not permitted as a gradable answer.
3 Tasks = 3 Points
• Each question consists of three tasks, and students receive one point
for successfully answering each task. Thus…each question is worth
three points. Each task tests one or more historical thinking skills.
How to ACE the SAQ!
• A = Answer. Directly answer the question by identifying your claim.
• C = Cite.
Briefly define/describe your claim.
• E = Expand. Connect your claim through historical context.
Example
• Prompt (i.e. Part A): Briefly explain ONE important political
development of the sectional conflict over slavery during the 1850’s.
• ANSWER: The Kansas Nebraska Act in 1854 was another attempt
to settle the sectional conflict over slavery during the 1850’s.
• CITE: The act split the Nebraska Territory into two new
territories, Nebraska and Kansas, and allowed each territory to
determine free state or slave state through popular sovereignty.
• EXPAND: Although the Kansas Nebraska Act attempted to settle
the conflict over slavery through a more democratic means, it
consequently allowed slavery to expand beyond the Missouri
Compromise line of 36’30 and was considered a political victory
for “slave power.”