write a thesis statement that responds to the prompt and establishes a line of reasoning

write a thesis statement that responds to the prompt and establishes a line of reasoning

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AP US Government and Politics Argument Essay

AP U.S. Government and Politics: Argument Essay

Question 4 of the AP U.S. Government and Politics free response section will always be the Argument Essay. These questions begin with a brief paragraph about a given topic, such as the balance between federal and state powers. The prompt will then give specific instructions about how you must format your essay, including a list of several required foundational documents that are relevant to the topic at hand. You will need to discuss one of the listed documents as well as another piece of specific evidence from your own knowledge.

Argument Essay Strategies

While the scoring for the first three free-response questions is more straightforward—you earn points (or not) based on fully addressing each part of the prompt—the scoring for the Argument Essay is a little more complex. The following rubric outlines what the AP readers are generally looking for when they grade your Argument Essay; note the various categories and the ways you can earn points.

Sample Question

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

Step 2: plan your response.

You’ll want to create a brief outline before you start writing, just like you would for any other full-length essay. As you saw from the rubric, AP readers are interested in your thesis development, your use of evidence, and your treatment of an alternative view. Everything you write should be toward one or more of those ends.

You will need to state a thesis that specifically addresses the prompt and makes a claim. Avoid rewording the prompt or being too general. A good question to ask yourself is, “Am I actually taking a position on this issue that someone else might argue against?” Also, while the Argument Essay necessitates a longer, more detailed response than the other free-response question types, it does not require a formal introduction; in fact, writing a lengthy introduction can take up valuable time and frustrate the AP reader who is scoring your essay. Assert your thesis as soon as possible, and then move into the rest of your response.

It is important to note that the Argument Essay’s topic and prompt wording will always intentionally allow for multiple positions. Therefore, you should be strategic and choose the position that you can best back up with evidence. You may even advocate for a different position than the one you personally agree with! To that end, no matter how strongly you feel about a topic, always present your evidence and claims in a balanced manner. Throughout your essay, even and especially when responding to an alternative viewpoint, avoid wording that makes it seem like your argument is simply your personal opinion (e.g., “I think” or “I believe,” or any language that is overly emotional).

With all of this in mind, a high-scoring writer might write the following outline:

Thesis: Trustee is the best model (ideals of Constitution)

Response to alternative view: Anti-Feds would fear large repub (Brutus), but pol system in place would keep trustee honest

Step 3: Action! Write Response & Step 4: Proofread

Sample high-scoring response.

The trustee model of legislative representation is the best reflection of the founders’ intentions in setting up American democracy because it offers the best hope for what the Preamble to the Constitution calls “a more perfect union,” one that will bring together war- ring factions and increase harmony.

As James Madison pointed out in Federalist 10, it is inevitable that a republic will contain many groups which vehemently disagree. The bigger a country grows, the more frequent and violent factional clashes are likely to become. Madison was looking ahead to the U.S. that would burst the bounds of the original colonies and create more factionalism. This vision of an expanding, clashing nation makes the trustee model very appealing. A trustee Congressperson is one who will listen to all sides, make an independent judgment, but then go on to explain it so that opponents may be persuaded to change their minds, thus bringing resolution to conflicts.

A trustee is a representative willing to do the principled thing even if the public thinks otherwise. Many issues in our history have seemed so polarized that they were beyond resolution and could not wait for popular consensus. This was the case with civil rights issues and legislation in the 1960s. Technically, African Americans had the right to vote since the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870. However, this right was violently suppressed through intimidation tactics and a variety of restrictive measures such as poll taxes and literacy tests. It was not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that substantial voting protections were extended to all black people. The Voting Rights Act outlawed literacy tests and other tactics; under this act, federal officials were sent to the South to ensure that African Americans were allowed to vote free from fear and intimidation, and the election practices of local governments were held under greater scrutiny. Civil rights movement leaders had challenged discriminatory practices for decades, but due to intense polarization in society, there was no public consensus on how to address racism in voting practices or even agreement as to whether to address it at all. Legislators had to go against the opinions of the majority in order to act in a way that advanced American ideals for all citizens, and the public eventually caught up.

Similarly, legislators pushed through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was supported by people within social movements but not by the general populace. Additionally, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 touched on the goals of not just the civil rights movement but also the women’s rights movement; for example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibited sex discrimination in public accommodations. Members of these movements had been working for years to get society at large to expand rights and protections to all people. However, if legislators had waited to act until a majority of their constituency approved of these civil rights bills, the bills may never have passed. In this way, the trustee model can be used to uphold the rights of the minority despite majority resistance.

The trustee idea would have been opposed by Brutus and other Anti-Federalists. Brutus 1 warns that a large republic would necessarily be disconnected from its people. Following this logic, a concern with the trustee model would be that the representative would deviate too far from the will of the people and become despotic. But it is important to note that the people have the ultimate voice if they disagree with the trustee’s judgments: the power of the ballot. The legislator’s desire to stay in power is a strong check on him or her, acting as an incentive to listen to constituents.

All in all, the trustee is in the best position to reduce the intense factionalism Madison feared. Even before the advance of mass media, the trustee had many means to learn of the people’s different views and to explain why the legislator was voting a certain way, or advancing this or that philosophy. This give and take of ideas surely helped to get the republic through its rocky early decades, and also helped the country to recover from the volatile growing pains and changes in the mid-twentieth century by finding ways to bring people together and advance equal rights for all.

Sample Response Explanation and Scoring

Question-Specific Rubric: 6 points (1 + 3 + 1 + 1)

Learn more about the other free response questions on the AP U.S. Government and Politics exam. Concept Application • Quantitative Analysis • SCOTUS Comparison

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write a thesis statement that responds to the prompt and establishes a line of reasoning

Line of Reasoning

Lerne mit deinen Freunden und bleibe auf dem richtigen Kurs mit deinen persönlichen Lernstatistiken

Nie wieder prokastinieren mit unseren Lernerinnerungen.

State your case. State your conclusion, state your evidence, and tell your audience how one leads into the other. In other words, what is your line of reasoning? A line of reasoning is your method to fully and logically explain your arguments in a logical essay format. If your lines of reasoning are sound, then your essay will be sound. However, if your lines of reasoning are faulty, then your essay will be faulty as well.

Line of Reasoning Definition

Accurate conclusions are built upon lines of reason.

A line of reasoning is the way you connect your evidence to your conclusions.

Here’s an example of a line of reasoning.

Because I’m sick, I’m not going to school today. Going to school sick makes me sicker and can infect other people as well.

I’m sick ➜ Sickness worsens the health of people ➜ I’m not going to school

In this example, you are using what you know about illness and the fact you are ill to conclude you shouldn’t go to school. This is a logical line of reasoning. Here's that in a basic template.

Evidence ➜ logic ➜ conclusion

Given that hurting people is bad, this example is a logical line of reasoning. What happens when a line of reasoning isn’t logical, though?

Flawed Line of Reasoning

Let’s turn our example on its head.

Although I’m sick, I’m going to school today, even if going to school sick makes me sicker and can infect other people as well.

This line of reasoning does not follow. Because it is a given that hurting people is bad, this reasoning indicates that you should not go to school. The conclusion is wrong.

Line of reasoning, line of reasoning fever example, StudySmarter

However, this student could attempt to create a persuasive line of reasoning to convince his mother, let’s say, that he should be able to go to school despite the downsides.

Persuasive Line of Reasoning

Unlike a basic line of reasoning, which may be a simple reason someone does something, a persuasive line of reasoning attempts to convince someone else to do something or believe something. Let’s return to the example of the sick student, who is trying to get his mom to let him go to school.

I know I’m sick, but I want to go to school today. Two of my classes have big study sessions for exams coming up next week, and I don’t want to miss them. I want to attend, so I do better on the tests!

Break down this line of reasoning.

I need to do well on the AP test ➜ The prep sessions today will help ➜ I need to go to school today (regardless of my illness)

This is the beginning of an argument . Mom might say something like this in return.

It doesn’t matter. Your health and the health of the other students is more important than your test. If you go to school, you will get sicker, and probably get someone else sick, too. You’re staying home.

You will spread your sickness ➜ student health is more important than your test ➜ you’re staying home

Evidence , logic , conclusions ; evidence , logic , conclusions . Rinse and repeat.

Now that you have a simple framework about what a line of reasoning is, it’s time to apply that knowledge to creating arguments within your essay.

Line of Reasoning in your Essay

You will create lines of reason in your essay both to create new points and to counter opposing points, just the way the mom and the son did in our previous examples. The main difference is that you will be doing so formally, in writing.

Begin with your main argument , which is also known as your thesis.

Line of Reasoning in Your Thesis

To formulate a line of reasoning, you first need something to prove (a thesis). This should not be something already proven, something unprovable, or something indefinite.

A thesis is an arguable statement about a given topic that will serve as the basis for an essay.

Here’s something already proven .

Gabriel García Márquez was born in 1927.

This is an agreed upon fact . This does not constitute a thesis, because it simply recapitulates a piece of evidence. A hypothesis must grow from evidence.

Here’s something unprovable .

Gabriel García Márquez is the best Colombian writer.

“Best” is subjective, and thus there is no evidence in existence to verifiably prove it. Keep opinions and all forms of non-testable hypotheses out of your essay.

Here’s something indefinite .

Gabriel García Márquez might use surrealist elements in a way that illuminates a human’s insecurities about the past and the future.

How can you prove “might” with evidence? Evidence cannot prove or disprove something that is by its nature uncertain. When creating a thesis for your line of reasoning, do not hedge or make a prediction.

So what do you do?

Your thesis statement should be provable or disprovable. Someone should be able to validate or invalidate your arguments through alternate lines of reasoning.

Your thesis statement should require a synthesis of evidence. If a single piece of evidence suffices to prove your point, you are not creating a thesis; you are restating someone else’s conclusion.

Your thesis statement should be relevant to the topic. If your thesis statement isn’t relevant to the topic at hand, it will be invalidated.

Gabriel García Márquez uses surrealist elements in a way that illuminates personal, and uniquely Colombian, insecurities about the past and the future. That said, Márquez breaks the boundaries of language and culture, because his unique stories are like fairytales: uncomfortable fantasies that strike a chord at the level of the uncanny, where "who and where" matters far less than "how it feels."

This example thesis is arguable, it requires a synthesis of evidence, and it is relevant to Gabriel García Márquez, who is the topical figure.

Line of Reasoning in Your Evidence

In terms of logical reasoning, your thesis is your conclusion (despite it beginning your essay). You start with your conclusion, then you cite your evidence .

So now is the time to gather your evidence. Find articles, passages, quotes, and statistics that seem to support your thesis.

For instance, say your thesis is something like this.

In The Big Blue Falcon, Agent 009 causes more damage than he fixes.

For this thesis, a piece of evidence that proves he caused $9 million in property damages would help to support your claim. But you’re not done yet. It is time to draw the line of reasoning from your evidence to your conclusion, and for that you need logic .

Logic in Your Line of Reasoning

If the conclusion is the lightbulb and the evidence is the power switch, then the logic is the wiring that connects the two. If your wiring is faulty, the circuit will not function and the lightbulb will not light. The same goes with your logic. It needs to work.

Much the way electrical wiring is not as visible as the switch or the lightbulb, logic is not visible as evidence or the conclusion, which makes it the trickiest part of assembling your line of reasoning.

A fantastic way to understand if your logic is sound is to understand rhetorical fallacies , also known as logical fallacies . If you know what is illogical and can identify it, then you will be able to identify what is illogical about your own arguments, so you can fix them.

There are many logical fallacies, including circular reasoning , the non-testable hypothesis , missing the point , and hasty generalization . Study up!

Once you are sure that your logic is not fallacious, and that indeed your evidence supports your conclusions, you have created a sound line of reasoning.

Line of reasoning lighbulb brain StudySmarter

Line of Reasoning Essay Examples

Here are two lines of reasoning that you might employ in an essay. Together, these lines of reasons feed into the same conclusion (your thesis ).

Line of reasoning 1:

Evidence : Chemical X hurts fish.

Logic: Hurting fish is bad.

Conclusion ( thesis ): Chemical X should not be dumped into the water , and the current practice needs to stop.

Line of reasoning 2:

Evidence : Chemical X gets dumped in the water.

Logic: Fish are in the water.

Conclusion (thesis): Chemical X should not be dumped into the water, and the current practice needs to stop .

The first line of reasoning helps to prove the first part of the thesis, that "chemical X should not be dumped in the water." The second line of reasoning helps to prove the second part of the thesis that "the current practice needs to stop."

This is how your essay should flow. Your numerous pieces of evidence should, together, validate the truth of your conclusion.

Line of Reasoning Synonyms

A line of reasoning is similar to an argument . However, a line of reasoning must be persuasive in order to be an argument, and an argument must present evidence, logic, and a conclusion to be a persuasive line of reasoning.

So while an argument and a line of reasoning can be the same, it is only under certain circumstances! Accurately, a persuasive line of reasoning is the same as a logical argument .

Line of Reasoning - Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions about Line of Reasoning

--> what is a line of reasoning, --> how do you write a line of reasoning.

Evidence ➜ logic ➜ conclusion. These are all parts of a strong line of reasoning, and be sure nothing is left out. Check for logical fallacies!

--> What are the types of lines of reasoning?

There are two types of lines of reasoning: basic and persuasive. A line of reasoning does not have to be persuasive. However, a persuasive line of reasoning attempts to convince someone else to do something.

--> Why is reasoning important in an essay?

A line of reasoning is your method to fully and logically explain your arguments in a logical essay format. If your lines of reasoning are sound, then your essay will be sound. However, if your lines of reasoning are faulty, then your essay will be faulty as well.

--> How does a line of reasoning relate to a thesis statement?

To formulate a line of reasoning, you first need something to prove (a thesis). Once you have your thesis, the rest of your line of reasoning (evidence + logic) should support it.

Final Line of Reasoning Quiz

Line of reasoning quiz - teste dein wissen.

A line of reasoning is the way you connect your evidence to your _____.

Evidence ➜ _____ ➜ conclusion

"Although I’m sick, I’m going to school today. Going to school sick makes me sicker and other people sick."

What is the flaw in this line of reasoning?

The following is not a persuasive line of reasoning. True or false?

"I used to drive the chip delivery van back in the 70s, and you need a someone to drive this load RIGHT NOW. Let me ride the big truck, boss!"

If an argument looks like this, evidence ➜ logic ➜ conclusion, what does a counterargument look like?

As they are both lines of reasoning, they look they same. Evidence ➜ logic ➜ conclusion.

Writing lines of reasoning in an essay is similar to a verbal argument, only it is _____.

To be sure you can chain together a strong line of reasoning, what are three things your thesis s hould not be?

Something already proven.

To create a strong line of reasoning, your thesis should be provable but never disprovable. True or false?

If a single piece of evidence suffices to prove your point, you are not creating a thesis; you are restating someone else’s conclusion.

Where are some places you should not go to gather evidence for your thesis?

Articles that support your thesis.

How can you test if your logic is without fault?

Understand your rhetorical fallacies (logical fallacies). If you know what is illogical and can identify it, then you will be able to identify what is illogical about your own arguments so you can fix them.

Name a logical fallacy you should avoid.

Circular reasoning.

In an essay, will multiple pieces of evidence lead to the same conclusion?

What is a synonym for persuasive line of reasoning?

Logical argument

If your lines of reasoning are faulty, then your essay will be _____.

Is this line of reasoning logical?

I studied for my exam. I still failed the exam. Therefore, studying doesn't help pass exams.

No, it's not logical.

What type of reasoning is the following passage? I need to read Les Miserabl es for school. I don't have enough money to buy it and the library doesn't have it in. I need to borrow your copy so I don't fail my class.

Where is the flaw in the following line of reasoning:

I eat a balanced, healthy diet. I don't eat fruits or vegetables of any kind, so I mostly eat meat and grains. Changing my eating habits would not cause me to lose weight.

Select the best answer to fill in the blank: You will create lines of reason in your essay both to create new points and to _________________.

Counter opposing points.

In terms of logical reasoning, your thesis is your conclusion. True or false?

of the users don't pass the Line of Reasoning quiz! Will you pass the quiz?

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AP World Long Essay Question (LEQ) Overview

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COMMENTS

AP U.S. Government and Politics Free-Response Question 4: Set 1
Do not make a claim that responds to the prompt. ... Provide a defensible claim or thesis that establishes a line of reasoning about.
AP U.S. Government and Politics Free-Response Question 4: Set 2
Responds to the prompt with a defensible claim or thesis that establishes a line of reasoning. Decision Rules and Scoring Notes. Responses that do not earn
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY FRQ # 4
PRACTICE Prompt #2_Thesis Write ... Respond to the prompt with a defensible claim or thesis statement that establishes a ... Establish a line of reasoning.
How to Approach the AP U.S. History Long Essay Question
Thesis: Make a thesis or claim that responds to the prompt. The thesis or claim must be historically defensible and establish a line of
AP U.S. Government and Politics: Argument Essay
Note the following successful features of the high-scoring sample response: Thesis (0–1 pt): The writer sets up a clear X because Y sentence to
AP English Quiz 2 Flashcards
Read the prompt ... Providing a defensible thesis, either with or without a line of reasoning ... How long do you have to write your argumentative essay.
Writing the Argumentative Essay
Articulate a defensible claim or thesis that responds to the prompt and establishes a line of reasoning. Support your claim with at least TWO pieces of accurate
Line of Reasoning: Definition & Examples
Your thesis statement should be provable or disprovable. Someone should be able to validate or invalidate your arguments through alternate lines of reasoning.
AP World Long Essay Question (LEQ) Overview
Your thesis should also establish your line of reasoning. ... Focus on writing the best essay you can that answers the prompt.
How to prepare/write a DBQ Response
Thesis: Make a thesis or claim that responds to the prompt. The thesis or claim must be based on historical facts and must establish a line of reasoning.