Student Notes—The DBQ

Complete Essay Graphic Organizer—include details, analysis, and documents to be cited

The DBQ

What’s the DBQ?

  1. An______—pure and simple. Some like to call it an “essay with a ______” since the documents often stir up memories that the usual essay wouldn’t.
  2. An opportunity for you to think like a historian—to look at documents and use them to ______
  3. A puzzle for you to figure out—someone made the DBQ—they ______. Can you put the puzzle together?

Succeeding on the DBQ

You must:

  1. ______—address all parts via a developed thesis.
  2. Correctly ______, and then use, the ______.
  3. Use the documents to ______
  4. Support your argument with ______(info from lecture)

a)Remember—if a fact is mentioned specifically in a document, it’s NOT ______!

  1. Provide ______of your facts to tie into the ______.

What NOT to do on the DBQ

Here are some things that will kill your score:

  1. Just going through the documents and telling me what they say—this is simple description and NOT the point.
  2. Use the documents to make an argument, but not use any outside information (info from lecture) to back up your points.
  3. Extensive quoting from the documents—I’d ______. It wastes time and is unnecessary.

How to Interpret the Documents

Some suggestions:

  1. As you read or examine a document, think of

S = ______—who is the source of the speech, cartoon etc.

O = ______—what was happening at the time to make this document?

A = ______—who was the intended audience for the words or message of the document?

P = ______—why was the document created at that time?

S= ______—why did the “puzzle maker” include this document? It should tie in somehow.

  1. If that seems too much, then think “What is the ______of this document in 1-2 sentences?” and “______?”
  2. What ______(info from lecture) does this document get me to think about?
  3. NOTE: you must use ______the documents for this class (other classes, you may only have to use 75%)

Citing the Documents

Some tips:

  1. Never use this—any variety of it is undesirable:

“As it says in document B”—this just invites you to describe the document and that isn’t necessary at all—I know the documents as do the “readers”—you DON’T need to describe them for me.

  1. Instead, refer to the documents in a sentence at most, and then put (B) or (Doc B)—that’s it!!!

DBQ Example—Using and Citing Documents

EXAMPLE #1:

EXAMPLE #2:

DBQ Summary

Remember it’s just an______—simply use the documents to “______” what you’re saying.

Remember to use the documents, but don’t abuse them—in other words ______.

Bring in lots of ______(in other words, information from lecture), just like you would on a regular essay. Never skim on ______—if we talked about it in class, you should include it in the essay!