What is a DBQ?

• A DBQ is a documents based question. It is an essay on the AP Exam in which the student is required to both interpret documents and use outside knowledge to answer a question.

Do’s and Don’ts on the DBQDO:

• Use outside knowledge

• Read and cluster the documents

• Build clear arguments from patterns

• Write a clear thesis that addresses

the question

Do’s and Don’ts of the DBQ:

DON’T:

• Panic when you see the question – you know more than you think you do

• Use absolutes like “all”, “never”, “throughout history”, “always”

• Quote entire documents

• Write a ‘laundry list’ essay that merely goes through each document one-by-one

What steps should you take to write

your DBQ?

1. DON’T PANIC - BRAINSTORM!

Don’t obsess over what you DON’T knowInstead, get ready to BRAINSTORM in writing what you DO know: ideas, innovations, individualsFrom the time period; core developments and Events. Remember: Don’t let theDocuments push you around.

Are you being asked to:

• “analyze different points of view”?

• Compare and contrast?

Not answering thequestion is the mostfrequently mademistake by historystudents.

2. UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION!

After reading the question, background information and documents, brainstorm what you DO know about the time period or theme:

Individual Ideas Innovations Turning points Big historical changes Continuity with the past

3. BRAINSTORM!

Look for patterns, themes,

commonalities such as bias, continuity, political point of view, change, chronological phases.

Seeing these generalizations will form the basis of your THESIS.

4. Cluster the Documentsand make GENERALIZATIONS

Always balance background knowledge with specific evidence from the documents

Don’t sacrifice clarity for quantity

HOW DO YOU USEDOCUMENTS?

How do you use the documents?

• paraphrase and generalize about them (ex. “some thinkers supported peasants’ rights”)

• analyze the time period they are from and what bearing it might have on your reason

• show you understand the point of view of the author

• demonstrate you understand subtle distinctions between or among the documents

4. NOW (and only now) write your THESIS…on the basis of your analysis of the documents, the generalizations, and your knowledge of the time period or theme.

Is this a persuasive thesis?

• “The Soviet state became totalitarian because of historical, cultural and political factors”

Is this a persuasive thesis?

• “The Soviet state became totalitarian because of historical, cultural and political factors”

• “The emergence of totalitarianism in the Soviet Union in the 1930’s was the result of a long history of autocracy, the transformation of the state during World War I throughout Europe, above all, the powerful ideologies and leadership of both Lenin and Stalin”

What’s a persuasive thesis?

• Has a strong conceptual framework

• Doesn’t merely restate the question

• Demonstrates an understanding of the time period (ANALYSIS)

• Demonstrates an understanding of the patterns in the documents

(SYNTHESIS)