the dbq. primary purpose of dbq is not to test students’ prior knowledge of subject matter but...

The DBQ

• Primary purpose of DBQ is not to test students’ prior knowledge of subject matter but rather to evaluate their ability to formulate and support an answer from documentary evidence.

• There is no single “correct” answer; various approaches and responses are possible, depending on the students’ ability to understand the documents, communicate their significance, and construct an argument.

• The DBQ requires that students: (1) read and analyze the documents individually; (2) contextualize them based on their analysis of all documentary evidence; and (3) plan and construct an essay in response to the question.

About the DBQ

How to Work Through the DBQ

1) Read the Prompt

A. Find and underline the key phrase• You will use the key phrase

throughout your essay, but NOT in your thesis.

B. Determine what is the prompt asking


DBQs: Find the Key Phrase

2002-2013

2002Using the documents, compare and contrast the attitudes of Christianity and Islam toward merchants and trade from the religions’ origins until about 1500. Are there indications of change over time in either case, or both? What kinds of additional documents would you need to assess the consequences of these attitudes on merchant activities?

There will never be a DBQ like this again! This was not only a DBQ, but also a CC and CCOT essay. This DBQ has the lowest average

score ever on any DBQ.

2003Using the documents, analyze the main features, including causes and consequences, of the system of indentured servitude that developed as part of global economic changes during the nineteenth and into the twentieth centuries. What additional kind of documents would help assess the historical significance of indentured servitude in this period?

2004Based on the following documents, analyze the responses to the spread of Buddhism in China. What additional kind of document(s) would you need to evaluate the extent of Buddhism appeal in China?

2005Analyze the issue that twentieth-century Muslim leaders in South Asia and North Africa confronted in defining their nationalism. What additional kind of documents would be most helpful in furthering your analysis?

2006Using the documents, analyze the social and economic effects of the global flow of silver from the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century. Explain how another type of document would help you analyze the effects of the flow of silver bullion in this period.

2007

Using the documents, analyze Han and Roman attitudes toward technology. Identify an additional type of document and explain briefly how it would help our analysis.

2008Based on the following documents, analyze factors that shaped the modern Olympic movement from 1892 to 2002. Identify and explain what additional type of documents or sources would help you assess these factors.

2009Using the documents, analyze African actions and reactions in response to the European Scramble for Africa. Identify an additional type of document and explain how it would help in assessing African actions and reactions

2010Using the following documents, analyze similarities and differences in the mechanization of the cotton industry in Japan and India in the period from the 1880s to the 1930s. Identify an additional type of document and explain how it would help your analysis of the mechanization of the cotton industry.

2011Using the following documents, analyze the causes and consequences of the Green Revolution in the period from 1945 to the present. Identify one additional type of document and explain how it would help your analysis of the Green Revolution.

2012Using the following documents, analyze the relationship between cricket and politics in South Asia from 1880 to 2005. Identify an additional type of document and explain how it would help your analysis.

2013Analyze connections between regional issues and European struggles for global power in the mid-eighteenth century. Identify an additional type of document and explain how it would help your analysis of these connections.

2) Read and analyze the documents

•Read the document and note the author, time, place given to you in the attribution

•SOAPSTone (Speaker Occasion Audience Purpose Subject Tone)

•POV Statement

•Categorization (Kind? Fit in understanding? SPICE?)

•Additional POV / Who’s Missing?


3) Group the Documents

•Must have AT LEAST 3 groups

•The documents are chosen because they have similarities with one another; you have to find those.

•A document can be used twice (or more), but it MUST be used at least once.

•A group must include more than once document.


4) Write your thesis

• Provide an answer to the prompt, but not using the phrase (evidence should support thesis which answers prompt)

• Provide groups

• Provide Place / Time (exactly as stated in DBQ prompt if provided)

• Must be written in a single sentence (straightforward, state it quickly and move on)


6) Check your work

•Go through the rubric to make sure you have everything you need.

•Did you use every document?

•Is your thesis clear without being a simple restatement of the prompt?


Understanding vs. Using for Evidence

Christopher Columbus states that he was “shocked and appalled” by the nakedness of the indigenous people

(Doc 4).

This statement reveals that you understand Document 4. Though this statement is important for letting the reader know you understood what you have read, you are doing nothing but retelling what you have just read; this statement does not

count as evidence.

Understanding vs. Using for Evidence

Christopher Columbus states that he was “shocked and appalled” by the nakedness of the indigenous people

(Doc 4). Thus, we see Christopher Columbus imposing his European cultural ideas regarding clothing and decorum upon a group of people who are foreign to

those ideas. Clearly, pre-conceived cultural notions were at play during some of the first meetings of the Old and

New World.These statement reveals that you both understand Document 4 and are using this

document for evidence. The first sentence is a mere regurgitation of what Document 4 states; though this is not an eloquent way of indicating to the reader

you understand Document 4, it does the job. The next statement is YOUR INTERPRETATION of the document. You are pulling out what is significant about

the document and sharing it with the reader.

2008 DBQ

Marking it up

Summary of Documents

Documents are chosen on the basis of both the information they convey about the topic and the

perspective that they offer.

Documents should be used to substantiate and illustrate points made in the essay.

Students may group documents chronologically, culturally, or thematically, as appropriate, to demonstrate their ability

to analyze sources, but they are not expected to have particular knowledge of every document’s author or

topic or to include knowledge outside of the documents in order to receive the highest score.

Questions to Ask About the Documents

•Who is speaking? (Attribution)•Why is this person significant?•What is the speaker’s POV?

•Is this speaker/source reliable or accurate?•What is the author’s tone?

Document #1:

•Founder of Modern Olympics•Share athletes around the globe

•Process will promote peace•“utopia,” free trade


Document #2:

•2% women participation (attribution)•Picture

•Long skirt: still must adhere to cultural standards


Document #3:

•skis, cheating•Idea that Nazism > democracy

•More than just a skiing competition; political competition too


Document #4:

•Competed in the 1952 games•Soviets’ enemies, Cold War

•Russians vs. Americans•“Got to beat ‘em”


Document #5:

•“Defeated enemy syndrome”•World trade power

•“Magic of the Olympics,” national crusades•Saving economic power of Olympics


Document #6:

•USSR seen as “beacon of peace, democracy”

•Propaganda, Soviet achievements•POV?


Document #7:

•Corporations as top sponsors•Korean companies not among top sponsors

•“failed to avail itself of an opportunity”•“stand to make a lot of gold”


Document #8:

•29% female participation (attribution)•Women representation

•“Running in shorts”•“psychologically, they don’t think so”


Document #9:

•Millions of US dollars fees paid to Olympic Committee for broadcasting rights

•increase•Not US Government spending (misleading)


Document #10:

•2000 field hockey team•Pakistan’s team’s performance

“tarnished” national pride•Discusses partition of India, archrivals

•2nd place 1956, Gold in 1960


How to Cite Documents in the DBQ

•Winston Churchill, in a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, argued that . . . (Doc 7).•Tokugawa Ieyasu felt that . . . (Doc 1).•The graph reveals an increase in cotton production after the introduction of machines (Doc 4).

•DO NOT begin with “In Document 8 . . . “

Writing the Thesis

Four – Step Process

1.Restate prompt2.Flip

3.Define groups4.Develop time/relationships

Thesis

2012: Analyze the relationship between cricket and politics in South Asia from 1880-2005.

1)Restatement: The relationship between cricket and politics in South Asia from 1880-2005 revolved around political control, cultural traditions, and nationalism.

This is considered a simple restatement of the prompt and would not receive a point on the AP.

1) Restatement: The relationship between cricket and politics in

South Asia from 1880-2005 revolved around political control, treasured cultural traditions, and nationalism.

2) Flip:

Political control, treasured cultural traditions, and nationalism emerged out of the relationship between cricket and politics in South Asia from 1880-2005.

This is still a basic thesis as it uses the “phrase” in the thesis and has undeveloped groups.

3) Work on groups:

1. Political control British want this over South Asians2. Cultural traditions eliminate barriers3. Nationalism define new national identity of India under Britain, and then India after independence

1. Who is using cricket? Why?The British use it originally over the IndiansUltimately, the Indians adopt it for themselves

4) Develop relationships and time periods in final thesis:

The British by 1880 had used cricket as a way to gain political control of South Asia, yet the sport was adopted by South Asians in defining their nationalism and in eliminating cultural barriers to unification by 2005.

Example

2007: Analyze Han and Roman attitudes toward technology

1) Restatement2) Flip3) Work on Groups4) Develop relationships

1) Restatement: Han and Roman attitudes toward technology were favorable because technology strengthened the empires, helped to bring the empire together, and made daily life easier.

2) Flip: Strengthening the empire, bringing the empire together, and making daily life easier were reasons for the positive attitudes the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire held toward technology.

3) Work on groups:1) Strengthening the empire this can stay the same2) Bringing the empire together unification3) Making daily life easier simplification

4) Develop relationships/time period in final thesis: Throughout their existence, the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire utilized technology to strengthen the empire/dynasty, unify the various corners of the empire/dynasty, and simplify daily life, which resulted in the belief among these civilizations that technology was effective and worthwhile.

1) Read the Document and Source Information- Who is writing the document and when?- SOAPSTone

2) Determine the POV of the author- Who is saying what to whom and why?- What is the author’s tone regarding the subject?

3) Write a POV statement- Identify who is speaking and what their tone is- Explain what they believe- Why do they believe that? Is it tied it to their group/classification? Remember position informs opinion.

Think about the dress code . . . What would you think about that if you were the principal, or maybe a student? Does WHO you are change HOW you think about that issue?

Point of View

1) Authorial Point of View- Show understanding of the gender, class, religion,

occupation, nationality, political position, race or ethnic identity of the author and how this could influence his/her opinion.

- Why did the author write what he/she had?

Example:Aika Shunsuke, as a Japanese peasant overworked,

exhausted and often ill in the cotton factory, felt resentful towards the wealthy factory managers since she saw herself and her family as exploited by these men.

Different Kinds of Point of View

2) Accuracy/Reliability- Show an understanding of the accuracy and reliability of

a source by drawing attention to the ability (or lack thereof) of the author to be accurate and/or impartial.

- Why did the author write what he/she had?

Example:As a French peasant, Marie Beaufort’s diary entry about

Marie-Antoinette is biased because she believed the royal family was hoarding grain that should have been made available to farmers. Thus, this document is not reliable because Beaufort likely exaggerated the evils of Marie-Antoinette.


3) Author’s Intent/Tone- Show an understanding of the author’s tone

(commentary, irony, satire, etc).- Helpful for visual documents (photographs, art work,

political cartoons)- Why did the author/artist write/depict what he/she had?

Example:The political cartoonist depicted the starving peasants

using the hammer and sickle (the symbol of Communism) to illustrate that it was Communism’s agricultural and economic policies that were to blame for the hardships the peasants endured.


4) Multiple POV- Show an understanding that certain authors, based on a

particular quality (gender, race, ethnicity, religion, occupation, class, etc) will express a similar point of view.

- Why did the author/artist write/depict what he/she had?

Example:The Aztec and Inca Indians all believed that the Spanish

conquistadors were being violent and cruel towards them, especially their women and children.


• Discuss a document that you would like to see and WHY- At least 1 per paragraph- The additional document should be something that illustrates a perspective, point of view, or issue that is not represented in the document

• Doesn’t have to be a document that DOES exist . . . has to be one that COULD exist.

• Students get credit for the WHY

Additional Document

• Call for an Additional Document• An additional document that would

_____(use the phrase)_______ would be _______.

• WHY? (This must help you learn more, and satisfy the prompt.)• This would reveal/show _________.

Additional Document

Practice Additional Sources:

Document 1

An Olympic athlete competing in the 1892 games; did this person view the Olympics in the way that it was envisioned by de Coubertin?

An additional document that would help me learn more about factors that shaped the modern Olympic movement would be an article detailing the perspective of an Olympic athlete who competed in the 1892 games. This document could show us if this athlete viewed the Olympics in the way that they were envisioned by de Coubertin, thus revealing if de Coubertain’s dreams of political utopia were shared by others.

Practice Additional Sources:

Document 8

A male Olympic competitor and peer of Boulmerka; what he feels about Boulmerka; did the Olympics achieve the gender equality they strove towards?

An additional document that would help me learn more about factors that shaped the modern Olympic movement would be an article with the perspective of a male Olympic athlete who competed in the games with Boulmerka. This document could show us what this athlete felt about Boulmerka (and other women) competing, and would indicate whether or not the Olympics achieved the gender equality they were working towards.

DBQ Rubric Handout

1)What does the AP require I do?2)What must I do for this class?

Wednesday, August 21st – 2008 DBQ due

Write it at home and annotate the following parts:

1)Thesis – bold2)Groups – underline3)POV – italicize

4)Additional document - different font/size5)DBQ documents – in text citation (doc 8)

the dbq. primary purpose of dbq is not to test students’ prior knowledge of subject matter but...

Documents

additional kind of documents

following documents

kinds of additional

system of indentured

spread of buddhism

century muslim leaders

global economic changes

extent of buddhism appeal