DBQ Tutorial

Part I- 

What is a DBQ?

Document-based questions (DBQs) are for all students, from elementary school through high school. They are a type of authentic assessment and a way for students to interact with historical records.

A DBQ asks students to read and analyze historical records, gather information and fill in short scaffolding response questions, assimilate and synthesize information from several documents, and then respond (usually as a written essay) to an assigned task, by using information gleaned from the documents as well as their own outside information.

DBQs help students compare and contrast issues from differing perspectives, reconcile differing positions, evaluate the strength of particular arguments, provide authentic opportunities at a high level of thinking, and develop life skills.

Ok first thing- the do's and don'ts of a DBQ:

DBQ Do's and Don'ts*

Do the following things with a DBQ	Don't do the following things with a DBQ
Read carefully and make sure you understand the question being asked.	Respond to a question that isn't asked.
Quickly jot down the major themes/events/people you associate with this topic or question.	Use "I" statements such as "I think that Document A portrays..."
Read over the documents, noting the year and author/source of each one. If the document seems to support or oppose a possible perspective or opinion on the question, note that in the margin.	Summarize the documents. The reader knows the content of the documents and is interested in how you view the document relating to the question.
Write out a preliminary thesis and outline of your major points.	Quote long passages from the documents. Use an ellipsis "..." if you need to quote.
As you begin to write, remember to weave the documents into your answer, always focusing on the thesis.	Try to impress the reader with big words that are used incorrectly. This has the opposite effect of what is intended.
Include your knowledge of the era along with your analysis of the documents.	Spend so much time reading and underlining the documents that you have to rush your writing when answering a DBQ in class.
Be sure to include your own analysis/perspective on the question.	Begin writing your answer until you have a good sense of your thesis and how you want to approach the question.
If you can knowledgeably quote or refer to an historian who has a perspective on this question, include his or her perspective.	Write "I ran out of time" on the bottom of your essay.
When answering a question in class, keep an eye on the clock so that you can have time to re-read your essay for any obvious technical errors.	Do not use exclamation points unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary.
Be as specific as possible when you include historical information.	DON'T BEGIN UNTIL YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION
Be assertive and forceful in making your points.

PART II:
DBQ Tips: the 12 Step Program

1.  The point of the AP US Document Based Question is to answer a question about American history in essay form, incorporating as many of the given primary sources as possible. Graders expect that most of your answer will come from your own knowledge. The documents are there to provide evidence and examples, not to be your main information source. Note that this is different from the AP European DBQ. It may help to think of the AP US DBQ as a Document Supported Question rather than a Document Based Question.

2.  AP US DBQs (and regular essay questions, as well) are graded on a scale of 0-9, with 9 being the best score possible. A score of 0 means you did not even attempt to answer the question.

3.  AP US DBQs do not get graded with a generic core scoring rubric. This, too, is different from the AP European DBQ. The AP US DBQs have individual rubrics that are unique to each question. This is "bad" because it means you cannot rely on memorizing a checklist formula. It is "good" because it means you will have freedom in answering the question and can tailor your answer as needed. You do not get to know the question-specific rubric in advance, because that would give away the question.

4.  Despite the above, you should consider the following to be cardinal rules in answering the AP US DBQ:

o  Use a majority of documents.

o  Have an explicit thesis sentence that directly answers the question and is not a rewording of it.

o  Answer all parts of the question.

o  Organize the essay and use your documents in a coherent manner.

o  Minimize grammar and spelling errors wherever possible.

5.  Question-specific rubric checkpoints are usually fairly intuitive, assuming you know your history. For example, if the DBQ asks you to assess the impact of the protest movement on Americans opinions of the Vietnam War, discussing the Kent State shootings should be considered a given. Don't be afraid of the "mystery rubric"! It's not really that mysterious if you use common sense.

6.  During the national exam, you will be given a 15-minute "reading" period for both the DBQ and the two regular essay questions combined. You are not allowed to start writing in the answer booklet until those 15 minutes are over. Make use of this time by marking up the documents with notes, creating an outline plan for your essay, and developing a thesis sentence.

7.  The number one mistake made by students taking the national exam is failing to answer all parts of the question asked. To make sure you don't become a statistic, the first thing you should do during the reading period is underline the action verbs in the question. Most AP US DBQ questions, like AP European DBQ questions, have at least two tasks you must complete. For example, the DBQ may ask that you describe the women's rights movement of Civil War era and assess the reasons for its lack of success. You must make sure you do both!

8.  To ensure the best thesis possible, it is recommended that you compose your thesis before looking at the documents. Doing it that way seems to result in a better essay because it guarantees that you are focusing on your own knowledge. (Remember, the AP US DBQ is a good essay with the documents thrown in to help develop the support. It is not an answer focused entirely on the documents you have been given.) Writing a thesis first also helps because it is then easier to see where the documents should be used in each support paragraph. Of course, once you look at the documents you might want to edit the thesis to take into account an idea you hadn't considered before, but students who know their material almost never need to do this.

9.  The best way to make sure your thesis statement is strong and appropriate is to imagine that it is the only sentence the graders will see. If the rest of your essay wasn't there, and your thesis had to stand on its own, would it still provide an answer to the question? If so, then it is a good thesis. If not, then you need to go back to the drawing board.

o  BAD THESIS: There were multiple reasons for politicians to feel uncomfortable ratifying the Constitution.

o  GOOD THESIS: Though the reasons for rejecting the Constitution were many, most of those against ratification focused on three primary issues: the Constitutional Convention's lack of authority to draft a new constitution for the nation, the perceived loss of states' rights, and the fear of tyranny in the form of the loss of personal rights.

10. AP US DBQs (and regular essays, as well) are not the place to do the following:

o  Get inventive with your essay format and organization.

o  Abbreviate words or use text-message shortcuts.

o  Use conversational slang ("so he was, like, totally upset").

o  Use first-person POV.

o  Crack jokes, good ones or otherwise.

o  Make parenthetical or margin comments to the graders.

o  Bring up obscure historical trivia your teacher gave you for fun.

o  Role-play conversations between historical figures.

o  Make references to current fads and pop figures like Hannah Montana and the Transformers.

In short, you need to write a by-the-book essay. Spend your energy on making sure your information is thorough and well-organized, not being "cute" for the graders. Cuteness won't be appreciated and in most cases will hurt your score.

11. Please do try to do the following, to maximize your chances of success:

o  Use five-paragraph format.

o  Underline your thesis so that even an exhausted grader will have no trouble identifying it.

o  Refer to documents directly by letter (Doc. C) rather than making subtle and easily missed references.

o  Use as many of the documents as possible.

o  Make sure your conclusion is strong and memorable.

o  Avoid re-stating your thesis in the same words in the conclusion.

o  For the love of all that's divine, take at least a few minutes at the end to proof-read your essay. It is foolish to assume that you are so smart that you can write an entire essay without at least one mistake. That one mistake could cost you your score.

12. The best way to make your conclusion strong and memorable is to point out how the subject of the essay fares later in history. For example, if the subject of the essay is the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, point out in your conclusion that the movement inspired other rights movements in the 1970s -- such as the American Indian Movement (AIM), the gay rights movement, and the feminist movement -- by providing proven tactics and a blueprint for movement organization. This shows the graders that you understand the importance of the subject matter to the overall passage of history.

Part III- Sample 9 DBQ for World History AP

Sample “9” DBQ

Spread of Buddhism – AP World History

            As Buddhism spread from India to China beginning in the first century C.E., it was met with mixed results.  Many Chinese accepted Buddhism and defended its policies while others scrutinized Buddhism’s absence from past texts and used it as a scapegoat for political and social problems.  Still others remained indifferent, wishing to meld the aspects of belief systems in China to create a unique Chinese culture.  Documents 2 and 3 defend and support Buddhism in China, while documents 4 and 6 scrutinize it and discourage its spread.  Documents 1 and 5 neither encourage nor discourage the religions spread, but provide a third perspective on how it should be dealt with.  An additional document that shows the actual numbers of converts to Buddhism during this time, preferably in a graph, would be useful in determining whether or not the worries of the authors in documents against Buddhism were grounded.

            Documents 2 and 3 defend and support the spread of Buddhism in China during first century C.E.  Document 2 speaks of the many joys of joining the Buddhist religion.  However, the author, Zhi Dun, is of the upper class of China and as such, his testimony does not tell how lower classes felt.  Yet, in a time when Asian steppe nomads were invading northern China, Zhi Dun could have easily targeted Buddhism as a means of foreign corruption, but he does not.  Document 3 counters the scrutiny of anti-Buddhists with logic.  However, Since the author is anonymous, his bias in this document is difficult to pinpoint, yet his role as a scholar certainly dictates a slight upper class bias, as in document 2.

            Documents 4 and 6all discourage the spread of Buddhism in first century C.E. China. Document 4 ridicules Buddhism as “a cult of barbarian peoples,” citing Confucian sayings as the truth amongst Buddhist lies.  Han Yu’s position in the imperial court certainly makes his ideas a standard in the state, yet the Emperor acts otherwise and the peasants might not share the same opinions.  Document 6 presents Buddhism as the cause for the numerous problems in Chinese society.  Since the author is Emperor Wu himself, it is likely that his opinions carried a lot of weight in his nation, yet many times citizens will adopt prohibited acts merely in an attempt to rebel.

            Documents 1 and 5 neither discourages nor encourage Buddhism’s spread in China, but attempt to make a compromise.  Document 1 is directly from Buddhist tradition, laying down the basic principles to attaining a happy and enlightened life.  Since the document is taken straight from sacred texts, it is certain that all other Buddhists shared these same beliefs.  Document 5 attempts to create a compromise among the conflicts of belief systems in China.  Although Zong Mi’s intentions may seem unbiased,  he is himself a Buddhist scholar, so his ideals might simply be an attempt to defend Buddhism.

            The spread of Buddhism in China during the first century was met with many different responses.  Conflicts such as this that arose in China due to foreign ideals were the main reasons for China’s isolationist policies later in its history.