DBQ Document Based Question By Colette Spencer North

DBQ Document Based Question By: Colette Spencer North Myrtle Beach High School

What Is It? ? • An essay that answers a given question by using ALL of the documents (primary sources) given • Documents can be written, a chart, graph, picture, map, political cartoon

I Can’t Do This • Yes, you can! • This is the easiest of all three AP essays • You don’t have to pull information from your brain, just use the documents

The First 10 Minutes • You MUST spend the first ten minutes reading your documents, grouping your documents, and organizing your essay. • You are NOT allowed to start writing your essay • You MAY write all over your documents with your ideas, groupings, thesis, etc.

How to Write a DBQ

Group the Documents • Address ALL of the documents by grouping them in categories two or three ways • Many times the question will give your groups • Sometimes it won’t • Documents CAN be used in more than one group • You may NOT have a group with just one document

How Can We Group These Items?

Sample Question • Out of all subjects taught in high school, what is the most important subject to study?

• Your documents: • #1, English: Just How Awesome is It? , John Doe, college English professor, 2004 • #2, Why History is the Most Important Subject Ever, Colette Spencer, high school history teacher, 2009 • #3, Why I Love Math, Tom Brown, high school math teacher, 2007 • #4, Everyone Needs a Little History, Jane Doe, journalist for American History Magazine, 1995 • #5, Marvelous Math, Jimmy Jones, math teacher at a community college, 1994. • #6, English…. It’s the Greatest!, Tammy Thomas, editor for English: It’s Also a Language Journal, 2001

Thesis Statement • Write a thesis that addresses ALL parts of the question or statement • If the question mentions government, society and religion, you MUST discuss government, society and religion

Example • If a person wants to succeed in life, they need a good education inall core subjects. Out of those core subjects, it is clear that history is the most important due to the fact that the world is becoming a big melting pot of cultures and if people know about each others traditions and customs, it will create a more harmonious society worldwide. Documents 2 and 4 discuss why history is the most important subject. Documents 1 and 6 show why people think English is the most important subject. Documents 3 and 5 reveal that others believe math is the most important subject.

YOU MUST USE ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS AND SHOW UNDERSTANDING OF ALL OR ALL BUT ONE

Example • Document #2, Why History is the Most Important Subject Ever, by Colette Spencer, history teacher, 2009 • “…. never understood why we need anything more than basic math. History is much more important because it shows where we came from and how, in this ever changing world, we need to understand different cultures in order to live in harmony together. ”

• NOT understanding: – In Why History is the Most Important Subject Ever, Colette Spencer indicates that history is important because since the world changes, cultures have to change with it • Understanding: – In Why History is the Most Important Subject Ever, Colette Spencer indicates that since cultures live among each other now, it is important to understand them in order to be able to live together in peace.

Analyze the Documents • Tell how the documents help you answer the question • It may help to use the word “because”

Example • …this shows that history teachers most likely believe that history is the most important subject because it has a greater effect on harmony in the world

Point of View • You MUST show POV in at least two documents • What is the POV, bias, or perspective of the author in writing the document? • Just to make sure, show POV in three documents, that way if you don’t get one right, you have two backups

Example • …obviously Mrs. Spencer is bias in believing that history is the most important subject because she is a history teacher. • …obviously Mrs. Spencer believes history is the most important subject because she is writing from the perspective of a history teacher. • …obviously Mrs. Spencer believes that history is the most important subject because she is writing from the point of view of a history teacher.

Extra Document • You MUST identify one additional documents that would help you answer the question better. • I would identify two just in case one is not good enough. • Hints: – There isn’t usually a document from a peasant/commoner/farmer – There isn’t usually a document from a woman

Example • …it would help to have a document by a science teacher because science is one of the core subjects that all students must take and it would be nice to hear from their point of view.

Organization

First Paragraph • • This is your thesis statement Introduce the topic. It should include ALL parts of the question. It should contain your GROUPINGS.

Second Paragraph • The topic sentence should introduce the FIRST topic/grouping you are going to talk about • You MUST discuss each document individually • ANALYZE each document – how does it help answer the question • Include POINT OF VIEW of a document or two

Third Paragraph • The topic sentence should introduce the SECOND topic/grouping you are going to talk about • You MUST discuss each document individually • ANALYZE each document – how does it help answer the question • Include POINT OF VIEW of a document or two

Fourth Paragraph • If you have a third grouping • The topic sentence should introduce the THIRD topic/grouping you are going to talk about • You MUST discuss each document individually • ANALYZE each document – how does it help answer the question • Include POINT OF VIEW of a document or two

Fifth Paragraph • Conclusion - wrap it up • Tell what extra documents would help you answer the question

IF YOU CAN DO ALL OF THIS, YOU WILL GET 7 OUT OF 9 POINTS

Getting Extra Points • You have to do everything a little bit better – Comprehensive thesis – Excellent analysis – Analyze POV in most or all documents – Show additional ways to group the documents – Explain why more extra documents are needed • Including some of this could get you two extra points for a 9

Congratulations, now you know how to make a 9 on a DBQ So just do it