1. Give ‘Em What They Want & Show ‘Em Where You Got It
DBQ for APUSH
Give ‘Em What They Want
&
Show ‘Em Where You Got It

2. Test Info 130-minute free-response section Part A: DBQ (60 Mins)
15-minute reading period
a. analyzing the documents and planning their answer to the document-based essay question (DBQ) in Part A.
2. 45 minutes writing DBQ
2.Part B & C: Free Response
each include two standard essay questions
required to answer one essay question in each part in a total of 70minutes.

3. What Topics & Documents
Age of Exploration to Present
Letters, paintings, graphics, maps, primary resources
Use Documents as additional form of evidence
Demonstrate you can handle different opinion/evidence
DBQ: have two or three parts to the question

4. General Info on Essay Writing
Spelling and punctuation errors won’t affect your performance rating unless person CANNOT understand what you wrote
Thesis Statement that addresses the question
Arguments need to lead to a viable conclusion
DBQ: use at least 75% of documents in essay
Outside information (extra details to support)
ANALYZE (DO NOT DESCRIBE THE TOPIC)
End of essay restate the thesis like if your are approving what your write

5. Your Audience
Write like if you are lawyer presenting a case before a jury
Present a set of arguments that support your position (thesis statement)
From Documents & outside resources
Convince a jury that your position is correct
JURY= your reader

6. Breaking Down Question
Break down the question into different parts
Jot down ideas to cover
List outside facts
Look through the documents and see how to use them

7. DBQ Writing Tips 8-Step Strategy:
1.         Read the question three times. Do not move on until you fully understand it.
2.         Identify the task by circling the main words. (For example: assess the validity, compare and contrast, evaluate relative importance, analyze the             significance, etc.)
3.         Ask yourself “what do I have to prove?” (e.g. Foreign policy is more important than domestic policy).
4. Pay special attention to economic, political, social issues that need to be included.
5.         Make a list (outline) of outside information (as if you were writing a standard essay)
6.         Examine the documents, underlining any key words or phrases that you may use later in the essay. Reread the question again after reading the first three documents.
7.         Construct a thesis that is well-developed and clear. If the thesis is a mystery to the writer, it will be a mystery to the reader!
8.         Write your essay.

8. Thesis Statement At the beginning of your essay
Tell the reader the position you will attempt to prove
DO NOT DESCRIBE
DO NOT REPEAT THE QUESTION
Intro Paragraph + Thesis= direction of your essay
ANALYZE: “how” and “why”

9. DO’s & Don’ts
Scratch outs, messy, difficulty to read can hurt your evaluation
Do keep essay prganize
No abbreviations or symbols, colored pens, highlighters
Do underline/break down your question
DON’T add info that is irrelevant
Do define when necessary (common sense)
NO personal opinion (NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU THINK)
Do close w/ a good conclusion that restates your thesis
When you cite a document, do not call it by its letter (Document A, Document B…).

10. DO’s & Don’ts DON’T site documents in the intro
DON’T use a document you don’t understand
Use as many documents 75%
DON’T use documents in order in your essay
DON’T quote or copy caption of graphics
Don’t explain documents -- that is not your task.! AP readers have a list and a summary for each document. Use documents to reinforce your main points and outside information.
Don’t rewrite large portions of documents. Try to limit quotations to 1 sentence or less.
Reference author’s you are citing (e.g. …“In the letter by Abraham Lincoln”)
Cite every document used, e.g., (Doc. A), (Doc. F)

11. DO’s & Don’ts Avoid factual mistakes.
DON’T describe documents and how they relate to the topic
Documents DON’T control essay

12. Citing Documents
Ex: “The complaints of the Rhode Island legislators (Doc. A)…” or “F.D.R.’s speech given two months before his bid for reelection (Doc. E)…”

13. What are you asked to do
Analyze: determine their component parts; examine their nature and relationship
Assess/evaluate: judge the value or character of something; appraise; evaluate the positive and negative points; give an opinion regarding the value of; discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
Compare: examine for the purpose of noting similarities and differences
Contrast: examine in order to show dissimilarities or points of difference
Describe: give an account of; tell about; give a word picture of
Discuss: talk over; write about; consider or examine by argument or from various points of view; debate; present the different sides of
Explain: make clear or plain; make clear the causes or reasons for; make known in detail; tell the meaning of