Write for a 9 The DBQ (Document Based Question) Essay Mr. Wyka’s AP World History

What do I need to know about history? Next to nothing. Everything you need answer the question is provided in the documents and “Historical Context”

OK, what’s next? Since everything you need is given to you, its your job to: Understand how you will be graded, Organize, Interpret, and Analyze the documents Writing a good DBQ essay is a skill, not a talent, and like every other skill, it can be learned.

How do I learn to write a good DBQ essay? PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. But remember, Practice doesn’t make perfect unless you practice perfectly.

The First 10 Minutes are VITAL Take the first 10 minutes to read the question, read the documents, and begin some analysis.

First Step Read the question (prompt). Underline the words that are most related to your task. “Using the following documents, analyze responses to the spread of influenza in the early twentieth century.” What did you underline? The key words you underlined are going to be a unifying link throughout your essay. They will help you stay on track and stay focused on answering the question. Don’t worry if you feel you don’t know enough to answer the question. The information you need is in the documents. From the 2015 Essay

Step Two Step 2 is reading any background information that is given. “Historical Background: The influenza pandemic of 1918–1919 killed an estimated 50 million people, many more than the total fatalities of the First World War. Approximately 20%–40% of the global population became ill. ” Don’t make the mistake of citing this background information in your essay. It’s only given to clarify the question and give you context. Cite the documents, not the background information.

Step Three Third, read the documents. Read ALL information in the documents, including the source. (It becomes important later.) As you read, use the margins to take notes, underline key phrases, and begin to organize your documents in to categories or groups. If you’re unsure of what groupings to use, fall back on the acronyms (P.E.R.S.I.A., which stands for Political, Economic, Religious, Social, Intellectual, and Artistic.; or S.P.I.C.E. or G.R.A.P.E.S.) What are some groups that come to mind from the six documents in our DBQ?

Step Four Re-read the question to make sure you’re on the right path.

Step Five Begin writing your essay. No pressure. First step is to construct your thesis. Your thesis is going to give you the structure you will follow in writing the rest of your essay. A thesis ANSWERS the question, but specifically, not generally. In other words, don’t just re-state the question but phrasing in such a way that you are taking a “yes” or “no” stance. Answer it and tell the reader why! After you write your thesis, take a moment and ask yourself if it answers the question. If it doesn’t, re-do it!

Step Six The Body Paragraphs Organize your body paragraphs into groupings (categories). Always use one more grouping than they ask for but never less than three. A document can be used in more than one grouping. Explain the grouping in the first or second sentence of the paragraph. “The following documents are economic in their scope.” It is a great idea to use the last sentence in each body paragraph to explain what type of document is missing from this category/grouping. For example, “Although these documents deal with political issues, they are all written from a nobleman’s point of view. A document dealing with politics from a peasant’s point of view would be useful in answering the question at hand.” Analyze each document. To do this, cite the document and give your opinion of how it proves, disproves, or is unrelated to your thesis. Point of View: Choose one document per grouping and analyze that document’s Point of View. Bias, Tone, Intended Audience, Type of Documents (letter, first person account, propaganda, etc.), is it Reliable (and why), Class, Religion, etc. In other words, who, what, when, where, and why?

Step Seven Conclusion A conclusion isn’t necessary in a DBQ. If you nailed the steps above, you’ve got it made. However, if you find in reading over your essay that you missed something important (you’re missing one “point of view”, for example), you can squeeze it into the conclusion. 

Thesis Group One Group Two Group Three Conclusion Summing Up… Explain the grouping Documents supporting thesis Point of View on one of these documents What document is missing? Group Two Group Three Conclusion Summing Up…