DBQ Citations Direct and Indirect There are many

DBQ Citations: Direct and Indirect There are many different ways to cite references (MLA, APA, Chicago Style, etc. ). Students use the above styles for college-level formal writing but not on essays for the AP exam. With strict time limits during classroom or AP tests students only have time for quick direct and/or indirect citations. Direct citation means the essay writer leaves little doubt which part of the document source is cited in the analysis or evaluation. Using a quote from the document with text or a specific type of image. It is very important for an essay writer to not merely describe the document. The writer must use the document to support an analysis and/or evaluation and, ultimately, thesis. Do not simply write a report! Indirect citation means the essay writer’s analysis or evaluation is inferred to readers within the context of the sentence(s) using a simple parenthetical citation ex. (A) at the end of your text. [More on that in slide 3]

Direct Citation Below is an example of a direct citation where a writer wants to use Document A to evaluate the depth of threat to the U. S. posed by communists in the United States. In Document A the sentencing judge reprimanded convicted traitors Julius and Ethel Rosenberg declaring their betrayal of the U. S. , and its consequences, were so severe based on “casualties exceeding 50, 000” the Rosenbergs deserved execution to deter future acts of disloyalty. Where is the evaluation and where is the document citation? [Underline] Document A Judge Kaufman's Statement Upon Sentencing the Rosenbergs Citizens of this country who betray their fellow-countrymen can be under none of the delusions about the benignity of Soviet power that they might have been prior to World War II. The nature of Russian terrorism is now self-evident. Idealism as a rational dissolves. . . I consider your crime worse than murder. Plain deliberate contemplated murder is dwarfed in magnitude by comparison with the crime you have committed. In committing the act of murder, the criminal kills only his victim. The immediate family is brought to grief and when justice is meted out the chapter is closed. But in your case, I believe your conduct in putting into the hands of the Russians the A-bomb years before our best scientists predicted Russia would perfect the bomb has already caused, in my opinion, the Communist aggression in Korea, with the resultant casualties exceeding 50, 000 and who knows but that millions more of innocent people may pay the price of your treason. Indeed, by your betrayal you undoubtedly have altered the course of history to the disadvantage of our country.

Indirect Citation An example of indirect citation where a writer wants to use Document D to analyze, for inference, the meaning and/or purpose of the use of a movie to portray the threat to the U. S. posed by the spread of communism throughout the United States. In order to magnify the seriousness of the potential for communism spreading throughout the United States several 1950 s films such as The Blob and Invasion of the Body Snatchers played on the irrational fears of Americans (D) or (Document D). Where is the analysis and where is the document citation? [Underline] Document D

Summary • When writing a response for a DBQ prompt remember to use the document to help show your analysis and/or evaluation to prove your thesis. • The type of citation style, direct or indirect, is not as important as how you use the document to support your analysis and/or evaluation. • DO NOT MERELY DESCRIBE THE DOCUMENT WITHOUT EXPLAINING HOW IT HELPS PROVE YOUR THESIS! • Also be sure to outside sources of information from what you learned about the topic your DBQ prompt asks.