DBQ Essay CP World History

Purpose The purpose of the DBQ essay is to show how well you can analyze documents. You can do well on the DBQ essay even with little knowledge of the subject.

Step 1: READ the question Annotate!!!! Be sure you are doing what the question is asking. Using the documents, analyze Han and Roman attitudes toward technology. Identify one additional type of document and explain briefly how it would help your analysis.

Step 2: Group the documents Based on the questions, come up with a minimum of 3 groups. A group must have at least 2 documents. Try not to re-use documents.

Step 3: Use ALL the documents You must use & show that you understand all documents. You may misinterpret one document & still get the point. DO NOT QUOTE!!! This shows you can copy the document, but doesn’t show you understand it.

Step 4: Additional Information What outside/additional information do you need in order to understand/ answer the question? Must include analysis: why would this information be useful?

Step 5: Write a Thesis You need to answer the question without just re-writing it. Include: time, place & groups. Try not to begin with words like: the, a, etc. Instead, use: although, despite, even though, etc. Q: Analyze the reasons for the fall of the Roman & Han Empires. Th: Even though there were several factors that led to the fall of the Roman & Han Empires, political instability, social unrest, and overextension were the primary reasons.

Step 6: Evidence Evidence needs to tie your understanding of the document to the original question. Give an example of how your document helps explain the prompt.