一 Hook
五 Bucketing
二 Background Essay
六 Thesis
Development
三 Understanding the
Question / Pre-Bucketing
七 Essay Outline
四 Document Analysis
八 Essay Writing
A DBQ for civics
When you get your packet, write your name and class period on the top line.
The principal has asked you to help choose the rule for next
semester’s study hall. Here are the four options:
Students can decide for themselves whether to do their
homework in study hall.
 Students don’t have to do homework in study hall if
they have at least a B average.
 Students who do their homework in study hall (or
complete it) will get a vending machine credit in the
lunchroom.
 Students who do not do their homework in study hall
will get detention.

Turn to page 335 and follow along with the pictures as we click through
history.
abc
def
ghi
Skim the background essay for these words and use context clues and nearby
student to come up with approximation definitions. You have 6 minutes.
 electorate
 consent of the governed
 legitimacy
 registration
compulsory
Check your definitions. Did you get close? Add as much as you need to
from these definitions.
 electorate – the voters
 consent of the governed – a theory of government as being
an instrument of the people who have consented to give it
certain powers in return for protecting their basic rights (tl;dr
permission to be ruled)
 legitimacy – authenticity (legit!)
 registration – process of recording the identification and
residence of a voter
 compulsory – mandatory or required
Please follow along with your finger as I read the background essay aloud.
 electorate – the voters
 consent of the governed – a theory of government as being
an instrument of the people who have consented to give it
certain powers in return for protecting their basic rights (tl;dr
permission to be ruled)
 legitimacy – authenticity (legit!)
 registration – process of recording the identification and
residence of a voter
 compulsory – mandatory or required
DO NOT GET INTO YOUR GROUPS
UNTIL I’VE READ ALL THESE INSTRUCTIONS!
• Your group is based on your row (so no more than 4 per group).
• Move your desks together and keep apart from other groups.
• Re-read the background essay on page 333 together.
• The group leader (the person whose birthday comes up next) will
start by reading the first paragraph.
• Everyone in the group will then share their first impression starting
with the person to the left of the group leader.
• Everyone will write one of those quickthinks in the margin of the
DBQ.
(YOU CAN GET INTO GROUPS NOW)
Turn to page 335 again.
As a group, answer the
background essay
questions.
Check your work: do your answers have this information?
• I will read the answers in the teacher’s
guide out loud.
• Please put a checkmark next to the ones
that you feel you “got right.”
• If you need to see the teacher’s guide,
come see me later.
1.
2.
What is the analytical question asked by
this mini-Q? see title page
What terms in the question need to be
defined? maybe required, maybe vote
Rewrite the question in your own words.
3.
Should Americans have to vote?
Should voting become a requirement for American citizens?
Should we make people vote?
Should folks haveta vote?
YES
Reason #1
NO
Reason #2
Reason #3
Document number or letter ______
Title of Document (if present)
Source (Where did the document come from?)
Date of document
Author of Document
Primary Source
Possible Author Bias / Point of View
Secondary Source
What important facts can I
learn from this document?
What inferences can I make
from this document?
How does this document help
answer the question?
Overall, what is the main idea
of the document?
Analytical category
(bucket):
Document number or letter ______
Title of Document (if present)
Source (Where did the document come from?)
Date of document
Author of Document
Primary Source
Possible Author Bias / Point of View
Secondary Source
What important facts can I
learn from this document?
What inferences can I make
from this document?
How does this document help
answer the question?
Overall, what is the main idea
of the document?
Analytical category
(bucket):
In document A , put a star next to the harshest punishment. Circle the
countries with that harsh punishment.
In document B, write one guess why people without a high school
diploma are not likely to vote as more educated folks. Write another
guess about why votes under 30 are not as likely to vote as older
Americans.
In documents C, D, E, and G, underline the sentences that makes the
best point (in your opinion).
In document F, make sure you read the sentence from 1924.
Document A
Many Americans associate compulsory voting only with authoritarian or dictatorial regimes.
This chart provides students with a larger portrait many well-known modern democracies.
Within the United States, the revolutionary era (1777) constitution of the state at Georgia called
for compulsory voting. In the Progressive Era, both North Dakota (1898) and Massachusetts
(1918) amended their constitutions to allow compulsory voting, but neither legislature ever
passed a law to make voting compulsory.
As the International Institute for Democracy Electoral Assistance notes, the list of countries
with compulsory voting systems needs to be understood in terms of how such laws are upheld.
Some countries quite vigorously enforce their systems of compulsory voting, while others
merely have it on the books. The extra notes on the chart help explain some of these
differences. See http://www.idea.int/vt/compulsory_voting.cfm for more information.
Document B
An important fact about voting in the United States is that turnout varies significantly among
different portions of the population. Not all groups participate at the same rate, and certain
variables are very determinative of whether or not someone in that group will vote. The United
States Elections Project at George Mason University has studied several of these variables. Two
of the most significant are voter age and voter education. See
http://elections.gmu.edu/CPS_2008.html for more information.
Document C
John Dean became legal counsel to the president of the United States in July 1970 at age thirtyone. He served as White House lawyer to President Richard M. Nixon from 1970 until 1973. He
was involved in covering up the break-in at the Watergate Hotel.
Dean pled guilty to one count of obstruction of justice (for which he served four months in
prison). He became a key witness in the Senate Watergate Hearings and later in the
prosecution of those associated with the scandal.
With a felony conviction, Dean could no longer practice law.
Document D
The countries in the former Soviet Bloc offered citizens little or no real choice in selecting
members of their government. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR or Soviet Union)
abolished free elections in 1919. For most of its history, voters were provided with a single
candidate to represent them in the 1,500-member Supreme Soviet, which met less than 60
days a year. Voter turnout was close to 100%.
According to a description in TIME magazine from around 1980, “The voters can drop the
ballots into the [ballot box] without marking them, signifying assent, or they can step into the
booth and cross out the name of the approved candidate, even going so far as to write in
another name. The catch-22 is that write-in candidates have no chance; all winners need official
approval. The only suspense is how close to 100% each district can come. Anything below a
99% turnout is unthinkable. . . . In 1979, TASS reported a 99.99% turnout, with 174,734,459
people voting for the official candidate and 185,422 either voting against or writing in another
name."
Document E, part 1
President Carter’s report was written less than six months after the US presidential election of
2000 when thousands of ballots were challenged and recounted in Florida. The results of the
Florida recount during the 2000 election gave George W. Bush a majority of votes in the
Electoral College. Although Al Gore won a majority of the popular national vote, Mr. Bush
became president. The 2000 election caused great controversy. For over 30 days, no one knew
the outcome. The voting procedures in Florida were revealed to vary dramatically.
Some counties used sophisticated electronic ballots while others used paper ballots. Some
ballots were very poorly designed. Election judges were forced to determine the intent of
voters whose paper ballots were poorly punched by the voting machines. The result of the
election was determined through a series of legal decisions, first in the Florida Supreme Court
and ultimately in the Supreme Court of the United States. During and after the election, the
voting processes of the United States were closely examined.
Document E, part 2
President Carter was struck by the conscientious approach to ensuring the fairness of the
election in Peru. His letter implicitly invites the reader to draw comparisons between the
system in Peru and what occurred in Florida.
The “fraudulent election" Carter refers to took place in 2000, when Alberto Fujimori was
President of Peru. Fujimori was completing his second term and sought a third term in violation
of the Peruvian constitution. He overrode the Peruvian Congress and Supreme Court and put
himself up for election. He won with a bare majority. Shortly afterward, secret videotapes
made by Fujimori’s security chief showed that an extraordinary campaign of bribery
had made the election possible. Following these disclosures, the people of Peru conducted
massive demonstrations. The international community pressured Fujimori to leave office. His
offers to stay were rejected, and he announced during a visit to Japan in November 2000 that
he was resigning as president. He was captured in 2005 during a visit to Chile, extradited to
Peru, tried, convicted, and imprisoned.
Document F
A central premise of civics education is teaching young people to become informed and
engaged citizens. Many supporters of compulsory voting believe that elections are important
democratic events in two respects:
1) they are an opportunity to educate citizens about important issues; and
2) they can engage citizens in civic life.
Document G
In this article, Randy Cohen goes on to refer to surveys that show many Americans lack basic
knowledge when it comes to the officials that represent them and the political issues they are
facing. You may want to have your students look at some of the survey data available or take an
online poll and compare their knowledge with overall results like this Pew political IQ quiz from
March of 2011: http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/.
Cohen is very critical of efforts like MTV’s Rock the Vote. He argues that such nonpartisan
efforts to get out the vote are rarely effective and do no good anyway. Such campaigns are
likely to rally individuals from each party in the same proportions as those who already go to
the polls, having little outcome on an election. Cohen is not opposed, however, to some
partisan efforts to encourage voting. He maintains that partisan efforts to educate citizens in
support of a candidate or ballot measure that may be in their best interest is a positive way
to bring those who may be less informed into the political arena.
Reason#1
Reason#2
Reason#3
Many countries use
it successfully
It improves the
legitimacy of the
government
It forces citizens to
get educated
A, C
C
F
Reason#1
Reason#2
Reason#3
It doesn’t improve
the democratic
climate
Non-voters are
uninformed
It requires a national
database
A,D
B, G
E
Americans should
be required to vote
because
compulsory voting
improves the legitimacy of
the government
Americans should
not be required to
vote because
non-voters will be
uninformed voters

Grabber:
 This essay is about voting.
(don’t say nothing)
 What is something that is exciting about voting?

Background (2 sentences):
 You can talk about voting rights in America.

 You can talk about compulsory voting in the world.
Restating the question with key terms defined:

 Copy what you wrote for page 337, #3.
Thesis and road map:
 Turn your chicken foot into a sentence.

Baby Thesis:
 “The first reason Americans should / should not be
required to vote is ________.”
 “The second reason…”
 “The third reason…”


Evidence:
 Look at the last two questions on each document.
 Make sure you use document citations (Doc G)!
Argument:
 Write your opinion about the evidence proves your baby
thesis.
 “This proves that Americans should / should not be
required to vote because ________.

Conclusion: “Although” statement:
 Write one reason why the other point of view is right. If
your essay is a NOT essay, write one good thing about
compulsory voting. If your essay is a FOR essay, write
one good argument against compulsory voting.

Conclusion: convincing restatement of the main idea.
 “Compulsory voting is a good / bad idea for America
because __CT1____, __CT2____, and __CT3____.” Baby
Thesis 1. Baby Thesis 2, Baby Thesis 3.
 Clinch your argument by putting the reader into a world
where compulsory voting has happened. Tell her/him
something very good or very bad that can happen.
Show me your outline when
you are finished.
Once I have checked your
outline, you may start writing.
If you need assistance, raise your hand and wait for me to come to you.
You may also come to the front table to scroll through this presentation
for help on your outline.
Good luck!
¡Buena suerte!
がんばって!
1.
If you have reached this slide, please
decorate your DBQ folder.
2.
Every slide after this refers to another
DBQ. The answers after this will be
wrong for this DBQ.
Don’t forget your home prep!
3.