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HISTORY REASONING SKILLS EXPLAINED RETURN TO AP WORLD REVIEW SHEET
AP
Historical Thinking Skills and Reasoning Processes The exam
focuses on 6 AP Historical Thinking Skills and 3 important AP
History Reasoning Processes. How they are applied to your DBQ and
Long Essay will be explained later. The skills and processes to
know are:
Developments and Processes –
You must be able to identify and
explain historical developments, processes, and concepts that have
occurred in the nine units mentioned earlier.
Sourcing and Situation –
You must be able to describe and
evaluate relevant evidence from both primary and secondary
sources. On primary sources, you should describe arguments and
explain how the source helps emulate the larger historical
setting. As will be seen in the DBQ, you should be aware of the
source’s credibility, context, situation, purpose, point of view,
and audience. For example, the writings of Mao Zedong had a
nationalistic and communist bias, with the purpose of gaining
support during the Chinese Civil War and beyond. His audience
might have been poor peasants who he was looking to persuade into
support. On secondary sources, you must understand arguments
and use of evidence, explain and analyze patterns or trends in
data, comprehend argument construction and effectiveness, and
explain how context could influence claims. Understanding the
arguments and evidence used by historians is important.
Claims and Evidence in Sources –
You need to be able to analyze
arguments in both primary and secondary sources whether it is
text-based or non-text based. Comparing arguments is key, as is
explaining how evidence supports, modifies, or refutes a source’s
argument.
Contextualization –
It is important to connect history to
the bigger picture by describing historical context accurately,
and explaining how that context influenced the development or
process of history. Furthermore, you should grasp the significance
of such historical development. For instance, socialist movements
coincided with rapid industrialization. So too did the increasing
gap between the rich and the poor and prolific child labor. Hitler
was able to rise in the 1930s because the League of Nations, which
stemmed from World War I, could not stop him.
Making Connections –
It is important to use the historical
reasoning processes mentioned next (comparison, causation, and
continuity and change) and analyze connections, patterns, and
relationships regarding historical developments and processes.
Argumentation – As will be explained with the essay writing, you must construct an argument using specific and relevant information. You must show the relationships between the historical evidence, and analyze to support a convincing thesis. You should be able to find diverse information that could modify the argument. Indeed, it’s also helpful to know both sides of an argument. What were the pros and cons of dropping the atomic bomb? Why is globalization viewed as positive or negative? You can argue either side if you have enough evidence.
Reasoning Process #1: Comparison
–
You need
to find similarities and/or differences between specific
developments or processes and explain the relative significance.
For instance, you might compare the similarities and differences
of the Japanese samurai warrior and Middle Ages knight, yet also
see how their roles changed throughout time. Get concrete
examples of this process on the following pages.
Reasoning Process #2: Causation
–
You need to be able to understand and
analyze the complex causes and effects of history (both long-term
and short-term, and primary and secondary). For instance, the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was a short-term cause
for World War I, while nationalism, imperialism, alliances, and
militarism were long-term causes. A short-term effect of the
French Revolution was the removal of the king. A long-term effect
was the rise and fall of Napoleon. One might argue a different
primary cause for certain events. Of course, that will depend on
how extensive your historical evidence is.
Get concrete examples of this
process on the following pages.
Reasoning Process #3: Patterns of Continuity and Change Over Time – Sometimes issues of history continue down the same path. Other times, there is change over time. For instance, decades before the Berlin Conference and imperialism, European countries were already establishing colonies in North and South America. However, anti-imperialist movements of the twentieth century led to great change, and eventual independence of nations. However still, the word neocolonialism was used, as Western nations and corporations continued to utilize labor and resources in developing countries for capital gain. Get concrete examples of this process on the following pages.
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HISTORICAL THINKING SKILLS EXPLAINED RETURN TO AP WORLD REVIEW SHEET
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