1. APUSH Review: DBQ Writing Tips
APUSH Review: DBQ Writing Tips
Everything You Need To Know About Writing The DBQ To Succeed In APUSH

2. First Thing You Should Do….
Read the prompt VERY, VERY CAREFULLY.
Make sure you know what it is asking you to do
Are you determining the effectiveness of something?
If yes, CLEARLY STATE if it was or was not effective
Comparing and Contrasting?
Make sure to do both!
Analyzing?
Don’t just list events, describe why they are important and how they relate to other events

3. The first 15 minutes
Take 15 minutes to read the documents, summarize them, and list outside info
Documents are in chronological order
They start at the beginning of the time period
Note the author of the document
This can help provide valuable outside info
Confused on a document?
Skip it!
You do NOT need to incorporate every document
If the prompt asks you to determine the effectiveness of a topic…..
Write “effective” or “ineffective” next to each document

4. Writing The Essay Make sure you have a strong intro paragraph
How long should the essay be?
Depends on the essay topic
NEVER less than 2 body paragraphs
In many cases, at least 3 body paragraphs
Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that relates to your thesis
Define historical terms!
Cash and Carry, Lend-Lease Act, etc.
When in doubt, use “because”

5. Referencing the Documents
Never write, “Document A says the Republican Party opposed World War II in 1940.”
The document says nothing, the author does
Instead, “Many Americans opposed entrance into World War II, even as the war raged on in Europe. The Republican Party platform from 1940 articulated this exact position.”

6. Miscellaneous Tips Be careful of overgeneralizing
Don’t use “all,” “never,” etc.
Focus on sophisticated vocabulary
Instead of writing: “says,” “states,” “shows,” “feels,” etc…
Use: “demonstrates,” “portrays,” “depicts,” “illustrates,” “symbolizes,” “exemplifies,” “articulates,” etc.
Never, EVER use “I” or “you”
Instead of saying, “As you can see, the causes of World War I were….” write:
“The events that contributed to the outbreak of World War I were”