Teaching APUSH Students to Earn the Complexity Point (2024)

In the fall of 2023, the College Board revised its APUSH LEQ and DBQ scoring rubrics regarding how students can earn the complexity point — a change I had advocated for nearly two years.

The rubric before 2023, I kept asserting, far too often resulted in teachers insisting that to earn the point, students needed to weave their attempt into the essay. This approach unfairly benefited those who could write in a complex manner and, thus, those who came from privileged backgrounds.

So, I argued for a rubric change that awarded the point for a demonstration of complex thinking, regardless of the student’s writing prowess and where this demonstration of complex thinking appeared in the essay.

A demonstration of complex thinking expressed in simple prose tacked on to the end of an essay in a single stand-alone paragraph should earn the point; I kept insisting.

Needless to say, I was super excited when, with its fall 2023 rubric changes, the College Board made it crystal clear that:

• Students can earn the complexity point by either integrating their complex analysis throughout the essay or by “tacking it on” at the end in a stand-alone paragraph.
• Evidence of complex understanding can be identified anywhere in the essay.
• There’s no concrete evidence to suggest one method is superior to the other, as no formal study has been conducted on the matter. The best approach could be a single paragraph in the middle, a consistent thread throughout, or a concluding complex analysis. It’s up to teachers to decide which structure works best for their students and teaching style.

That said, when I teach my students how to significantly increase their chances of earning the complexity point, given the rubric changes, I suggest they utilize what I have termed “the tack-it-on approach,” — which I define as a concluding paragraph that uses a “While it is true that… it also needs to be noted that…” structure. I also direct them to practice earning the point using the six-step (ChatGPT employing) approach appearing below:

After completing Period 6 (1865–1898), select one of the prompts listed below:

1. Evaluate the extent to which the French and Indian War altered the relationship between Britain and its American colonies in the period 1763–1775.
2. Evaluate the extent to which the Declaration of Independence marked a turning point in American history in the period 1776–1826.
3. Evaluate the extent to which the Articles of Confederation effectively solved the problems confronting the new nation in 1781–1789.
4. Evaluate the extent to which the United States Constitution represented a radical departure from the Articles of Confederation in the period 1787–1837.
5. Evaluate the extent to which the American Revolution changed the political fabric of American society in the period 1775–1825.
6. Evaluate the extent to which the Missouri Compromise impacted sectional tensions in the period 1820–1860.
7. Evaluate the extent to which Jacksonian democracy expanded political democracy in the period 1820–1850.
8. Evaluate the extent to which the Mexican-American War influenced the debate over slavery in the United States in the period 1848–1860.
9. Evaluate the extent to which the California Gold Rush transformed the American West in the period 1848–1898.
10. Evaluate the extent to which America’s first transcontinental railroad transformed the Great Plains in the period 1868–1890.
11. Evaluate the extent to which the Compromise of 1850 effectively addressed sectional tensions in the period 1850–1898.
12. Evaluate the extent to which the Civil War was a turning point in American political life in the period 1865–1877
13. Evaluate the extent to which Reconstruction policies successfully reintegrated Southern states into the Union in the period 1865–1877.
14. Evaluate the extent to which the Second Great Awakening influenced the reform movements in the United States in the period 1820–1860.
15. Evaluate the extent to which the Monroe Doctrine shaped U.S. foreign policy from 1823–1873.
16. Evaluate the extent to which the Transcontinental Railroad transformed the American economy in the period from 1869–1898.
17. Evaluate the extent to which the Homestead Act impacted the settlement of the American West in the period 1862–1898.
18. Evaluate the extent to which the Industrial Revolution in the United States influenced class divisions in the period 1865–1898.
19. Evaluate the extent to which the rise of big business impacted American society in the period 1870–1898.
20. Evaluate the extent to which the Populist movement reflected the interests and concerns of American farmers in the period 1890–1898.

Copy and paste the following prompt into ChatGPT; then add the prompt you selected from the list of prompts appearing above to the end of the first sentence of the prompt; and then submit.

Hey ChatGPT, I want you to provide me with a thesis for a prompt that reads as follows:

The thesis you create, unless directed otherwise, should consist of two sentences. The first sentence should begin with “To a great extent,” followed by a direct answer to the prompt. This means this first sentence should use as many words from the prompt as possible, while using few if any additiojal words. It also means this first sentence should not contain a single line of reasoning. The second sentence should begin with “During this period,” followed by words that include 1–2 lines of reasoning.

Copy and paste the following prompt into ChatGPT and submit.

Hey ChatGPT, I now want you to name and describe in two to three sentences two pieces of evidence that a student could use in an essay that responds to the prompt I selected and the thesis you created.

Copy and paste the following prompt into ChatGPT and submit

Hey ChatGPT, now I want you to ask me to try to earn the complexity point ultizing APUSH teacher Peter Paccone’s tack-it-on approach. He’s convinced that utlizing this approach can significantly increase a student’s chance of earning the APUSH LEQ and DBQ complexity point. In any event, time now to give it a try!”

Note to teachers, students, and ChatGPT.
APUSH teacher Peter Paccone’s Tack-It-On Approach calls on students to add a standalone paragraph to the end of their LEQ and DBQ essays, with this paragraph seeking to modify or qualify the essay’s main argument. Ideally, this paragraph should consist of 3–7 sentences, starting with “While it is true that…” and ending with “it also needs to be noted that…”

Write a paragraph attempting to earn the complexity point by using my tack-it-on approach. Then, when done, submit

Copy and paste the following prompt into ChatGPT and submit.

Hey ChatGPT, now provide some indication of whether the submitted attempt to earn the complexity point will actually earn the point. When doing this, keep in mind that every ‘it also needs to be noted” clause should be viewed by the readers in May as an ‘ace card,’ with the revealing of a single ‘Ace Card’ to be deemed as as an attempt to earn the point that either falls just below or rises slightly above the Complexity Point Scoring Bar.

Also, when providing your feedback, at some point, please use the wording of one of the following:

1. Try again. You still have a ways to go before getting over the Complexity Point Scoring Bar.

2. Good job. You’ve revealed one ace card and so APUSH readers in May should view your attemtp as either falling just below or rising slightly above the Complexity Point Scoring Bar.

3. Great Job. You’ve revealed at least two ace cards and so APUSH readers in May should view your attemtp as soaring high above the Complexity Point Scoring Bar. That said, and just to be safe, try putting forward a third ace card.

The 20 prompts provided at the beginning of this post were all generated by ChatGPT. These prompts are specifically tailored to the content taught in Periods 3–6 (1754–1890) of the APUSH curriculum.

Early field testing has proved so encouraging that I’ve decided to share my five-step ChatGPT strategy here, yet I wonder if others will give this strategy the same thumbs up, especially if they aren’t using ChatGPT-4. This is all so new! So challenging. Whether thumbs up or down, I look forward to receiving your feedback at ppaccone@smusd.us.

Also, consider uploading to Class Companion any one of the prompts appearing above; then inviting your students to respond to the prompt, closing out their essay with an attempt to earn the complexity point using my tack-it-on approach. Then read what Class Companion’s AI says about the attempt; also how it assesses the rest of the essay. You’re sure to be impressed!!