APUSHDOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION (DBQ) GUIDE

What is aDBQ? / ADBQ is a standard essay question that includes 7 documents that must be incorporated into the essay.
How many DBQsare on the APUSH Exam? / 1 essay – you do not have a choice of prompts.
How much time? / 55 Minutes (15 minutes recommended for reading documents & prep time, 40 minutes for writing)
What % of the APUSH Exam Score / 25%
How is it scored? / Using a 7-Point rubric, points are rewarded for Context, Thesis, Argument, Document usage and analysis, Outside Evidence, and Synthesis.
What types of questions are asked? / DBQs assess 1 of the following 4 Historical Thinking Skills: Comparison (compare & contrast), Causation (causes and/or effects), Continuity and Change Over Time, or Periodization (turning points)
What time periods are covered? / No essay prompts will exclusively cover Period 1 (1491-1607) or Period 9 (1980-Present) but a question’s date range could include before 1607 or after 1980.

The APUSH Exam format includes one document-based question. Students will have 55 minutes to answer it.

Guidelines

  1. Long-essay writing skills. The initial mystery of answering a DBQ largely disappears if you remember that it builds on the skills for writing the long-essay question, including the skills of developing a background statement, thesisthat takes a positionand has a roadmap with clear subcategories; argumentation supported with relevant historical evidence; use of targeted historical thinking skills;contextualization, and synthesis. The basic difference between the long-essay question and a DBQ is that in the DBQ students must analyze and use documents in your supporting arguments.
  1. Reading Period. Use the reading first 10-15 minutes to read and make margin notes on the documents. Develop and organizational matrix: organize documents and the relevant “outside information” (think key terms and details) that you can use to answer the question and develop a thesis statement.
  1. Focus on the question. As in the long essay, it is essential that students develop a strong thesis that makes a historically defensible claim and responds to all parts of the question. This sample DBQ illustrates how important it is to identify and address all parts of the question: Analyze major changes and continuities in the social and economic experiences of African Americans who migrated from the rural South to urban areas of the North in the period from 1910 to 1930. An effective answer would have to address the targeted HTS of continuity and change, and the historical social and economic conditions, in both the South and the North for the period.
  1. Incorporation Contextualization. Begin the introduction with three to four sentences setting up the broad historical context of the time of the essay – introducing the time and setting. This is also an opportunity to draw a conclusion about the topic – why was this event so significant? What led up to this event under investigation and what were the larger issues going on during it? The rubric requires contextualization to “situate the argument by explaining the broader historical events, developments, or processes immediately relevant to the question” that are going on at the same time (within a range of 20 years before or after the main topic of the essay). This must be outside information, new information not found in the documents. Contextualization is not just a phrase or reference. It requires an explanation and should be three to four sentences long.
  1. Argument development. Students must develop and support a cohesive argument that recognizes and accounts for historical complexity by explicitly illustrating relationships among historical evidence such as contradiction, corroboration, and/or qualification. Within your argument you need to specifically write how various pieces of evidence support one another or contradict one another. Remember that not all documents will have equal weight in supporting your thesis. Communicate to the reader your awareness of the bias or unreliability of a document or how a document that may not support your thesis fits into the context that is relevant to the question.
  1. Use of documents.
  • Quickly identify how each document can be used as evidence in the context of the prompt and to support your thesis/argument.
  • Use all (ideal) or all but one of the documents in your essay in support of your thesis.
  • In your analysis of each document focus on a least one of the following (CAPP): historical Context, Audience, Purpose, &/or Point of view (POV). But make sure this is done in the context of your argument.
  • A serious mistake in answering the DBQ is to simply write a summary of each document or little more than a descriptive list of the documents. This is called “laundry listing”. For example, “According to Document 1, blah, blah, blah” or “Document 2 says this, document 3 says this, etc.” The arrangement of the documents in the DBQ should NOT control the organization of the essay.
  • Instead, analyze the documents in terms of evidence to be linked to the thesis, and integrate them into a well-organized and persuasive essay. Group the documents in appropriate ways that that tie them to the thesis.
  • The readers already know the content of the documents, soNEVER QUOTE the documents, as it wastes precious time and most readers consider it a sign of a desperate student.
  • Use the documents to remind you of other outside information to incorporate into the essay.
  • Do not simply paraphrase or summarize a document. Never allow the focus of a paragraph or an essay to shift from the prompt and your thesis to the documents.
  • Use parenthetical citations at the end of a sentence when using documents. Do not explicitly refer to a document by its number (e.g. “As it says in Document 1…”)Cite your document evidence. For example, “The Founding Fathers decided that slavery would not be allowed in the Ohio Territory (Doc 4).”
  1. Incorporate CAPP. Students are expected to explain the significance of the author’s point of view, author’s purpose, historical context, and/or audience for at least FOUR (minimum) of the documents but I would suggest more.
  • Context (Use specific historical examples related to the document during the same time period. For example, if the document is cover art of Uncle Tom's Cabin, context might be related to Harriet Beecher Stowe, the date of its publication1852, the fact that it is anti-slavery novel, northern reaction to the book, etc.)
  • Audience of the document (Identify a person or group the author expects to inform or influence. How is this shown in the document?) – I would not recommend relying solely on Audience for your CAPP point but connect with Purpose.
  • Purpose of the document (What is the author attempting to convince the audience of? Why did the author create this document? How is this shown in the document?)
  • Point of view of the author (Who is the author and how did his gender/race/economic status impact the perspective?)

Here is an example of a successful HAPP: “The historical context of the Clayton Antitrust Act was passed under Wilson’s administration when progressives were desperately seeking help in enforcing anti-trust laws under a relatively inefficient Sherman Antitrust Act. The new law would give some enforcement power over anti-trust laws to the federal government.(Doc 6)”

8. Incorporate Outside Evidence (OI). Evidence BEYOND the Documents equals one point on the DBQ rubric. The example must be different from the evidence used to earn other points on the rubric. The point is not awarded for merely a phrase or reference. Responses need to reference an additional piece of specific evidence and explain how that evidence supports or qualifies the argument. This is not simply name-dropping, you cannot just rattle off a list of proper nouns expecting to receive OI credit. You also cannot give context to a document and expect to get OIcredit, this is a much larger element. This is bringing in something, not found in the documents, which is used to help support your overall argument. It does NOT have to be a separate paragraph, but needs to be a substantial contribution to the overall argument. Substantial contribution = 3 or 4 solid sentences, which add to the main point you are making.

9. Incorporate Synthesis. For the DBQ, synthesis extends the argument by explaining the connections between the thesis and a

different historical period. Finish your essay with a few sentences (3 to 4) that puts your essay in relative perspective by

clearly connecting and explaining how the topic connects to a similar (or clearly contrasting event or topic) in another era (any

time before or after date range). But, the students should not write how this is why we are here today! The connection must be

specific to earn credit. A good rule of thumb is 20 years or more before or 20 years or more after the main events of the essay.

But this can also include a comparison of something happening during the date range in another geographic region or part of

the world if appropriate.Synthesis requires an explanation of the connections to the different historical period and should be

included as part of the conclusion.

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