Writing a Stellar DBQ WORLD HISTORY

Stinger 1. How should you arrive at a thesis statement? 2. How can you organize documents before writing? 3. How can you organize an essay before writing? 4. How can you improve an essay draft? 5. How should your final essay look?

Step 1- Read the Question Not Kidding- Read the Question! ◦Is there any way that the question can be naturally grouped? ◦Is it a three part question (common) ◦If you can group the question, then write the groupings on a prewriting paper for note-taking purposes ◦As you read the documents, place them in the groups you designed ◦Don’t be married to these groupings, you may want to change them. ◦Do you have any pre-existing knowledge that would help you address the question? ◦Use the groupings from the first step to arrange your notes ◦Jot down what you know in a brainstorming kind of way ◦You may not use everything

Step 2- Read the documents For each document ◦Note the source ◦Does this person have ulterior motives? ◦Is this a primary or a secondary resource? ◦Is there any inherent bias? ◦Is this a person of power, an observer, a historian? ◦Underline, highlight, or circle important portions of the document ◦Make a note for yourself about how the document relates to the overall question Decide place the document in your organizational grouping

Step 3- Revisit your original groupings and notes Continue with the notes you were taking in regard to the question Incorporate and organize additional information you have taken from the documents Create a pre-writing web to organize your groupings and visually attach information together.

Step 4- Choose a Thesis Based on all of the information you have gathered, how would you directly and CONCISELY address the question ◦Do Not Qualify ◦Take a position

Step 5- Use deductive reasoning You are going to build from the documents up. Documents are the foundations of your argument and your explanation of your points. You should have three body paragraphs that include ◦Three Facts ◦A body thesis that addresses some part of the main question ◦A body conclusion that explains how your facts support the body thesis You should have an introduction ◦Start with a thesis statement that is ◦Easily recognizable ◦Concise ◦A direct response to the question ◦Introduce your three groupings ◦Transition to the body paragraphs by explaining how your supporting information supports your thesis Conclusion ◦Restate your thesis ◦Explain how your thesis was proven by giving special attention to your three distinct sections

Step 6- Write a First draft Make sure that you are referencing the documents ◦If you take information from a document and paraphrase it, put the document name in parentheses ◦You can introduce the document in the sentence ◦You can quote the document directly and identify it Blend what you are learning from the documents with what you know Make smooth transitions Vary your sentence structure Never start two sentences with the same word in the same paragraph unless you are using an alliterative technique

Step 7- Edit Read your paper out loud and make adjustments to the places in which your paper is awkward Hand your paper to friends, teachers, or parents. ◦Allow them to read quietly without interruption ◦Allow them to give uninterrupted feedback while you take notes for 5 minutes ◦Ask questions and have a dialogue about the paper for 5 minutes

Step 8- Rewrite Rewrite your paper with your feedback in mind Consider ◦Spelling ◦Grammar ◦Flow ◦The strength of your argument ◦Repetitive words (avoid them) ◦Clarity ◦neatness