1. Point of View (POV) and Additional Document (AD)
Examples

2. Point of View (POV)

3. Point of View
Point of view explains why this particular person might have this particular opinion, or what particular feature informs the author’s point of view.
You must move beyond mere description by explaining a document’s tone, the characteristics of the author, the intended audience, and/or how the intended outcome may have influenced the author’s opinion.

4. Point of View Example: Attribution
Minimal approach and is not sufficient as a sole method for demonstrating POV.
Example:
“John Taylor, an English writer, said…”
“A Dominican monk in Florence described…”

5. Point of View Example: Authorial point of view
Shows an awareness that the gender, class, religion, nationality, political position, or ethnic identity may well have influenced the views that are expressed.
Example:
“ Baltsasar Rusow, as a Lutheran pastor, was naturally upset by the celebration of Saint’s Day since Lutherans do not venerate saints.”

6. Point of View Example: Reliability and accuracy of source
Critically examine a source for its accuracy by questioning whether the author of the document would be in a position to be accurate and/or would likely be telling the truth. Evaluating the type of source (e.g., a private letter, official report, or speech transcript), showing an understanding that different types of sources vary in their probable reliability.
Example:
“R. Lassels’s report of the Carnival celebrations in Italy is probably accurate because as an outside observer, he is more objective.”
“R. Lassels’s report on the Carnival celebrations in Italy is probably inaccurate because as an outside observer, he would not full understand local customs.”
A. Lambert’s diary entry that expressed his special hatred for glitter is particularly trustworthy, as it was intended to be a private document.

7. Point of View Example: Tone or intent of the author
Examine the text of a document to determine its tone (e.g., satire, irony, indirect political commentary) or the intent of the author. This may be particularly useful for visual documents.
Example:
“Brueghel painted The Battle Between Carnival and Lent to warn people that their love of celebrating was overwhelming their religious observance of Lent.”

8. Point of View Example: Grouping of documents by author
Grouping the documents by type of author demonstrates an awareness that certain types of authors, simply by their authorship, will express similar views or consider events in a similar way.
Examples:
The 2002 DBQ contained three such groups of authors: government officials, clergy, and writers.

9. Additional Document (AD)

10. Additional Document
Identify an appropriate additional document, source, or voice and explain how the document or source will contribute to analysis of the prompt’s theme/topic.

11. Additional Document Example: Unacceptable
Unacceptable: “It would be good to have a document from a peasant.”
Does not explain WHY it would be “good” to hear from a peasant.

12. Additional Document Example: Acceptable
Acceptable: “A document from a Japanese merchant would provide an opportunity to compare the impact of the silver trade on the Japanese economy with the Chinese and Spanish economies.
Description and explanation provided.