Helpful tips for the future ISLAM DBQ Helpful tips for the future

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS

HOW TO ANALYZE DOCUMENTS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION When you analyze each document, ALWAYS READDRESS THE PROMPT. If you do this for every document, you will receive the two points for “supports thesis with appropriate evidence from all documents.”

HOW TO ANALYZE DOCUMENTS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION “Doc A shows various trade routes throughout Southwest Asia and Northern Africa. A commonly visited city on these trades routes was Mecca, an important city to Islam.” - this demonstrates understanding of the document, but does not use the document to answer the prompt. You are simply telling me what the document is. ALWAYS readdress the prompt – use the document to answer the question – in this case, How did document A show the quick spread of Islam?

HOW TO ANALYZE DOCUMENTS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION “Doc A shows the various trade routes throughout the Classical Era in the Middle East; Mecca is in the crossroads of those trade routes, even before Islam was founded. Mecca becomes the holiest city in the Islamic faith under Muhammad; because Mecca was already a popular trade crossroads, and continued to be after Islam was founded, many people were exposed to the Islamic faith, which led to its spread. Also, non-Muslim merchants were taxed, but Muslim merchants weren’t; as a result of this, many merchants who traveled through Mecca converted to Islam, and as a result, spread Islam back to their original lands.” - This shows not only understanding of the document, but also uses the document to explain the spread of Islam.

The most often missed point POINT OF VIEW/BIAS

POINT OF VIEW You have to analyze point of view in at least two documents Point of view or bias, in the simplest terms, is prejudice or influence Why the author said what s/he said What factors influenced his or her position?

POINT OF VIEW Several factors influence determination of bias/pov: Name Position Male/female? Social status? Nationality Document date If it’s way after the event that happened, what does that mean about the reliability? Document type Primary source – letter, quote Secondary source – someone writing about something The point of view is from the author’s perspective You can also address the reliability of the source “The source is not reliable because of the author’s perspective, which is _____, which would mean ____.”

POINT OF VIEW

Break it down: Who is the author? How do we know? What is he writing about? How might his perspective affect what he is writing? How might his perspective affect the reliability of the source? With a partner, write a sentence that addresses the POV in this document.

NEVER WRITE A POV FROM… A map Someone whose background information you can’t guess **you will ALWAYS have at least two documents that will be highly biased or two documents of questionable reliability – use those.**

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT Should be a document from a point of view that isn’t already present in the DBQ Should be a document that will help you better answer the question

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT “It would be helpful to see a document from a non-Muslim.” This is a good start, but it needs to be way more specific. You also need to readdress the prompt – you need to see a document that will better help you understand the quick spread of Islam.

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT “It would be helpful to see a document from a non-Muslim of a lower class to see why Islam was attractive from an outside perspective, rather than relying only on documents from higher-class Muslims to explain why people converted.” “To further understand the social implications of Islam, it would have been helpful to see a document from a Muslim woman in order to analyze the affect the spread of Islam had on women’s roles.” “To further the understanding of the reputation Islam created, it would be helpful to have a document from a non-religious person to gain better insight into whether or not the spread of Islam was forceful or peaceful.”