DBQ “Intensive Training”

“A DBQ IS LIKE…..”: Some metaphors to live by A DBQ is like a puzzle….you need to use all the pieces to complete it. One missing piece and the puzzle is not done. A DBQ is like a buffet potluck with lots of dishes (documents) provided for you to complete your plate. (But don’t forget you have to bring something to the party too! See “outside evidence”) A DBQ is like a box of chocolates…you never know which documents you are going to get….

Exercise #1: Context and Thesis 1. On the back of your document packet write CONTEXT and XYZ THESIS for the question: Why was England the first to Industrialize? Use the documents to guide your thesis. HOW DID YOU ORGANIZE YOUR X,Y,Z GROUPS? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THESE? NOTE: You don’t always need 3 groups

Exercise #2: Organizing Documents and Subtopics NOW – plan your outline. Your XYZ thesis is a road map of the subtopics you will use. Which documents will go in each subtopic? List the documents to go in each and write a brief explanation (1 sentence) about why it will go in the subtopic you chose.

Exercise #3: Analysis and Extended Analysis You already did this for homework – let’s review it! Analysis – just like in LEQs, analysis explains the document in connection to your group. For example if your subtopic says “England industrialized because it was economically stable” then you would explain how the document illustrates that. You need to do this for every document. Extended Analysis – pull out your homework from the document packet. Use Historical Context (HC), Point of View (POV), Purpose of Document (POD) or Intended Audience (IA) to extend the document. Historical Context and POV are the most versatile. Why did this person (NAME THEM) write this given what was going on at the time? Why did this person say this given who they are? Do this for every document to get a 7.

Exercise #4: Outside Evidence –the “dish” you bring to the potluck. So now you have used documents provided to you, and provided analysis to support your thesis, you now need your own information to provide facts and evidence to support your thesis. Outside evidence is a well explained fact (or facts) that add evidence for your thesis. It should be in a subtopic and be additional to the documents. Your key term sheet can give you ideas. It can not be a “drive by” fact – it should be explained and analyzed like you would a document. More than one of these is good if you have time. This is in addition to any Historical Context (HC) you provide on a document. BRAINSTORM WITH A PARTNER TWO PIECES OF OUTSIDE EVIDENCE THAT COULD GO IN THIS DBQ AND WHERE THE EVIDENCE COULD GO.

Exercise #5: Synthesis – connecting your DBQ to long run themes in history. You already know the drill with synthesis. Let’s discuss possible synthesis statements you could include in your conclusion paragraph.