Transcript DBQ Instruction - Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District

DBQ Instruction
AP United States History
The D.B.Q. question consists of a
statement and a time period, such as, "To
what extent did the status of Blacks in
America change during the period from
1940-1980?" Sometimes the question will
include subtopics, as in, "To what extent
did the social, political, and economic
status of Blacks in America change during
the period from 1940-1980?" If the
question includes subtopics, you must
write about those subtopics in your
answer.
Sometimes the question will not be a
question at all, but rather a statement
which you are asked to agree or disagree
with: "The status of Blacks in America
changed radically during the period from
1940-1980. Use the documents and your
knowledge of the time period to assess
the validity of the statement." The
question always calls for an opinion
answer, so there is no right or wrong
answer. The amount of points you get will
depend upon how well you support your
answer with the documents and with your
own knowledge.
There are generally nine documents
following the question, all of which date from
the time period of the question. You can
choose which to use, but you should use
most of them. Most of the documents are
short written excerpts, about 1-3 paragraphs
in length. They may be parts of laws, court
case rulings, official declarations,
presidential addresses, editorials, speeches,
books, or personal letters. Not all of the
documents will be written excerpts;
generally a D.B.Q. will include at least one or
two political cartoons, pictures, charts,
graphs, or maps.
When answering the D.B.Q., you
should refer to the documents and
also include historical details from
your own knowledge. The graders
look primarily for a thoughtful thesis
statement, sound historical support,
and good use of the documents to
support your answer.
Tips For The DBQ
Start with a clearly stated thesis.

Good essays begin with a thesis statement, back it up with
supporting evidence from documents and outside knowledge
and, if time permits, restate the thesis at the end.
Make sure you have additional outside
information beyond the documents
presented on the exam.

You need to demonstrate an ability to integrate outside
knowledge in your document-based essay question as well
as your ability to use the documents themselves
Organize your response carefully.

Make an outline before you begin your essay.
Tips For The DBQ
Make sure that your thesis matches your
own assessment and knowledge.

You should support a clear, simple thesis that can be
supported using the documents and other outside
information you may know. You may agree or disagree with
the statement.
Build an argument.

The best essays are those that marshal the positive
arguments in favor of their position but that also refute or
answer rival theses. Even if you think a statement is
completely true, it is better to confront and negate the
evidence that seems to refute it than to ignore the
counterevidence completely.
Tips For The DBQ
Integrate the documents and your
analysis.

You do not have to use all of the documents but you must
use the majority of them and integrate them well. Don't
merely explain what is stated in the documents. Use the
documents as part of an integrated essay in support of your
thesis.
Don't quote large portions of the
documents.

The reader of the essays are already familiar with the
documents. You can quote a short passage or two if
necessary to make your point, but don't waste time or space
reciting them.
Tips For The DBQ
Do take a stand on the question. Draw a
definite conclusion from the historical
facts and documents.

Do not spend your essay explaining that there are many
different points of view and that you cannot draw any
definite conclusion about the question.
Make Sure You Do Use the Documents

Using the documents means to refer to them and not to
depend on them. Generally, you should use one more than
half the documents.
Brainstorming
Identify both sides of the question
Elephant in the Closet
Analyzing the Documents
PEAKER
CCASSION
UDIENCE
URPOSE
IGNIFCANCE
Scoring
Scoring Guide: 8-9
1. Clear, well developed thesis that addresses
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
the question
Makes substantial use of relevant outside
information.
Provides effective analysis of the question
Uses substantial number of the documents
May contain insignificant errors
Well organized and well written
Scoring Guide: 5-7
1. Clear thesis with limited development
2. Uses some documents effectively.
3. Supports thesis with outside
information.
4. Limited analysis. Mostly describes.
5. May contain insignificant errors
6. Clearly organized, but not exceptional.
Scoring Guide: 2-4
1. Lacks a thesis, or thesis may be confused or
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
underdeveloped.
Ignores complexity. Deals with the question
or in a superficial way.
Quotes and briefly cites documents.
Contains little outside information, and that
which is inaccurate or irrelevant.
May contain major errors
Weak organization and writing.
Scoring Guide: 0-1
1. No thesis.
2. Restates the question
3. No analysis.
4. No outside information.
5. No understanding of the documents.
6. Contains many major and minor errors
7. Disorganized and poorly written.
Students who received top
scores did the following:
 Development of the Prompt
 Made analytical and thematic use of most
documents, offering at least two or three
examples of tension.
 Brought in significant outside information for
either or both questions.
 Made only minor errors that did not detract
from the overall knowledge of the essay.
Students who received good
scores did the following:
 Addressed the question generally or
one question in more depth.
 Used documents in support of answer.
 Brought in some outside information in
support of answer.
 May have had errors that did not detract
from the overall essay.
Students who received lower
scores did the following:
 Dealt with the questions in a superficial way.
 Restated the documents with little
interpretation, or demonstrated minimal use
of documents.
 Provided little outside information.
 Offered no analysis.
 May have had major errors.
Students who received the lowest
scores did the following:
 Provided an incompetent, inappropriate
response.
 May have simply paraphrased or
restated the question.
 Showed little understanding of the
question.