Guidelines and Directions for DBQ, LEQ, SAQ

Guidelines and Directions for DBQ, LEQ, SAQ

Document-Based Question

There will be one document-based question (DBQ) on the exam. The question will be based on documents (no more than 8) and the documents have been edited. This question is designed to test your ability to apply several historical thinking skills simultaneously, including historical argumentation, use of relevant historical evidence, contextualization, and synthesis. Your response should be based on your analysis of the documents and your knowledge of the topic. Students are advised to spend 15 minutes reading and planning and 40 minutes writing the answer (55 minutes total).

The DBQ will have ONE of the following historical thinking skills as its main focus:

• Historical causation(reasons for, results of, long and short term effects, significance, role of chance or choice)
• Patterns of continuity and change over time(chronological reasoning, what has changed and/or remained the same)
• Comparison (contrast, similarities, and differences)
• Interpretation (evaluation of historical viewpoints)
• Periodization(specific dates of era, common characteristics of time period, turning points)

One the above skills will be explicitly stated in the question

All DBQ’s will also always assess the historical thinking skills of:

• Argumentation
• Analyzing evidence
• Contextualization
• Synthesis.

The DBQ will have ONE of the following thematic learning objectives to be addressed:

• American and National Identity
• Politics and Power
• Work, Exchange, and Technology
• Culture and Society
• Migration and Settlement
• Geography and the Environment
• America and the World

One the above learning objectives will be explicitly stated in the question

DBQ Directions: The following question is based on the accompanying documents. The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise. You are advised to spend 15 minutes reading and planning and 40 minutes writing your answer.

In your response (a well-integrated essay) you should do the following:

• State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question.
• Support the thesis or a relevant argument with evidence from all, or all but one, of the documents
• Support the thesis or a relevant argument by accounting for historical complexity, relating diverse historical evidence in a cohesive way
• Focus your analysis of each document on at least one of the following: author’s point of view, author’s purpose, audience, and/or historical context
• Support your argument with analysis of historical examples outside the documents
• Connect historical phenomena relevant to your argument to broader events or processes.
• Synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay

LEQ Directions (Two Questions, choose one, 35 minutes – 5 minutes to plan)

In your response you should do the following:

• State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question.
• Support your argument with evidence, using specific examples.
• Apply historical thinking skills as directed by the question.
• Synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay that extends the argument, connects it to a different historical context, or connects it to a different category of analysis.

SAQ Directions (4 questions total with 3 parts for each question, 10-15 minutes per question, 50 minutes for all 4)

The Short-Answer (SAQ) section includes four short-answer questions that ask students to write short responses to a set of tasks. These questions address one or more of the thematic learning objectives for the course and allow students flexibility in illustrating their answers using evidence explored during classroom instruction. At least two of the four questions will have elements of internal choice, providing opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know best. All the short-answer questions will require students to use historical thinking skills to respond to a primary source, a historian’s argument, non-textual sources such as data, maps, or general propositions about U.S. History. Each question will ask students to identify and analyze examples of historical evidence relevant to the source or question. Students are not required to develop and support a thesis statement. All answers must be in complete sentences 2-3 at most. An outline or bullet list is unacceptable. Each question will have 3 parts to answer and each part is worth 1 point for a total of 0-3 points per question.