Ap Us History Essay Introduction
I have no idea how to make a strong thesis/intro. How to make it look appealing. The topic i'm writing about is me assessing President Andrew Jackson's presidency. If he was a successful leader or a failure(Note: We have to choose one then expand our opinion with reasons kind of like a persuasive essay). I basically already know what i'm going to write for the body- I'm going to be against Jackson, so i'll be talking about things such as the Indian Removal Act, the Bank War, the flaws of the Spoils System, and him abusing his power(Declaring himself as being worth 2/3 of the congress- Executive and the Judicial Branch I think.) I might put an ending paragraph if i feel the need to but at the moment i'm having trouble coming up with a good introduction. Any help/tips?
This is what i'm thinking of doing for the intro/thesis,
President Andrew Jackson was America's seventh president. Hated by many, love by millions, "Old Hickory" will forever be one of America's most controversial presidents.
..... That's what i got so far
10 Comments • Newest first
[quote=OasisAcoustixs]@fradddBS: They'll glance at your GPA and make sure you ACT is up to par and the rest is community service and clubs. That's why people always pressured me to join a lot of clubs and try new things. Although, I do regret it as I hated everybody in my high school.[/quote]
I'm not really caring to much about community service hours/clubs. Since i'll be going to Rutgers(majority of the students in my school get accepted there and really more than half the kids here aren't in any clubs/ have little community service hours). One of my friend's just got accepted yesterday and he didn't really have all that many community service hours although his grades were good(mine are a bit better than his). I don't have the liberty to choose what college i'll go to since my parents are in a tough financial situation atm(don't really want to have a 100k+ debt just because of going to a so call "good" college). The tuition fee for Rutger's isn't that high compare to others. Oh well, i guess Rutger's is better than nothing.
[quote=maplerescue]@Letstryit: Not really. Introduction would give a background of Jackson while a thesis would be more analytical.
Right now, your thesis statement is way too general. For one thing, every thesis needs a time period (they're an essential) so for yours, you could use Jackson's years of presidency (1829-'37? Double check that). Plus, you're talking about how he was loved by millions, yet you're going to go against him? You need a firmer stand since it's making me guess which side you're going to argue for.
Okay, so you're going against Jackson because of this, this, and this. [i]Why[/i] is this important? [i]Why[/i]should I care? So what Jackson was a bad president? 'Because' statements are also really helpful because it makes you think deeper about your topic. Andrew Jackson was a failure as president due to his constant misuses of his power (something along those lines; that was made up on a whim).
Your thesis should be between too much information (too much means you're not going to have anything left for your three body paragraphs) and too little bit. And you need to analyze, analyze, analyze.
Then once you're done with that, add your 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion. A conclusion can make up for some of your weaker parts of your essay. Reword your essay and put in a global context. How did Jackson's poor presidency affect the rest of the world, even up to today's society?
Have fun (if possible...)[/quote]
For once good information, thanks. Anyways my teacher told me the essay can be anywhere from 3 to 7 pages so i think i can afford to make a long intro/thesis if necessary.
@Imwada
Isn't that the standard AP US History book? O.o
Yeah 12th edition.
@Letstryit: Not really. Introduction would give a background of Jackson while a thesis would be more analytical.
Right now, your thesis statement is way too general. For one thing, every thesis needs a time period (they're an essential) so for yours, you could use Jackson's years of presidency (1829-'37? Double check that). Plus, you're talking about how he was loved by millions, yet you're going to go against him? You need a firmer stand since it's making me guess which side you're going to argue for.
Okay, so you're going against Jackson because of this, this, and this. [i]Why[/i] is this important? [i]Why[/i]should I care? So what Jackson was a bad president? 'Because' statements are also really helpful because it makes you think deeper about your topic. Andrew Jackson was a failure as president due to his constant misuses of his power (something along those lines; that was made up on a whim).
Your thesis should be between too much information (too much means you're not going to have anything left for your three body paragraphs) and too little bit. And you need to analyze, analyze, analyze.
Then once you're done with that, add your 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion. A conclusion can make up for some of your weaker parts of your essay. Reword your essay and put in a global context. How did Jackson's poor presidency affect the rest of the world, even up to today's society?
Have fun (if possible...)
[quote=OasisAcoustixs]@fradddBS:
AP won't get you into a better college, but it will help you finish college faster. There have been people who took core classes all the way thought and went to Harvard. They mostly look at your community service and clubs, ACT scores, etc. and just scan over the grades.[/quote]
It MIGHT get you into a better college depending on what TYPE of college you'll be applying for(what it's best known for) - business, engineering, medical etc.
If you're just applying for a regular college the lol you shouldn't be taking AP classes xD.
[quote=fradddBS]@OasisAcoustixs: "AP get's you into a better college blah blah blah".
I can't really decide. My parents control it...[/quote]
AP classes are only worth it if you get a least a 90... for me anyway.
[quote=YourArmSmells]Oh my gosh I'm doing this too![/quote]
... east coast?
@impulse
As i've said i already decided ill be going against jackson- he did more harm than good. So i'll be mostly explaining all of things that he's done which negatively effected the usa back then- spoils system, him being partly against clay's american system, bank war=>collapse bank=>Financial panic of 1837 etc. I'm just not sure how to make a strong thesis.
[quote=maplerescue]Most kids take US Gov as a half year course during senior year and it's paired with Economics. U.S. History is a full course during junior.
OT: Why in the world are you putting an introduction? Your first paragraph is usually just your thesis statement.[/quote]
Well yeah that's basically what i meant xD. I get them both mixed up. Although aren't they similar?
[quote=fradddBS]Should've taken AP US Government.[/quote]
Most kids take US Gov as a half year course during senior year and it's paired with Economics. U.S. History is a full course during junior.
OT: Why in the world are you putting an introduction? Your first paragraph is usually just your thesis statement.
[quote=fradddBS]Should've taken AP US Government.[/quote]
Don't have that in my school , is that even a class?
From what I remember in my APUSH class and college history classes, you don't need a fancy or long introduction. Get straight to the point, and mention that you'll be talking about his achievements and decisions as president.