The WHAP DBQ!
What you need to know to do well on the World History AP
Document Based Question.
Robin…
What’s is a DBQ?
WHAP the DBQ!
“DB… what?”
•
•
•
•
45-minute timed writing
Assesses your scholarly writing skills
Assesses your ability to think critically
Must analyze 8-12 primary source documents
Put on your "historian" hat to
demonstrate your ability to analyze
source materials and develop an
essay based on those materials.
Your goal: a unified essay that
integrates your analysis given
documents with your treatment
of the topic.
Document-Based Essay Question
You don’t need to “know” anything
about history to nail the DBQ.
The more you know, the better,
but you can score a 9 without
knowledge of history.
All the information that you need
to score high is contained or
can be inferred from the
documents you are given.
Writing the DBQ is a skill. Skills
can be learned.
What should you be on the lookout for with the DBQ?
Comparative topics on the major themes, including comparative
questions about different societies in situations of mutual contact.
10 minute reading period (mandatory).
– You cannot write in your green booklet
– Think about the documents
40 minutes to write the essay.
A set of 8-12 primary source
documents
–
–
–
–
–
Text
Painting
Sculpture
Photo
Artifact
A short paragraph or two of
background information
Can you crack the case?
The source materials are chosen for
two reasons: the information they
convey about the topic and the
perspective they offer on other
documents used in the section.
There is no one perfect DBQ answer;
a variety of approaches and
responses are possible depending
on your ability to understand the
documents and, ultimately, judge
their significance.
Remember: You'll most fully
understand some of the documents
when you view them within the wider
context of the entire series.
DBQ Prompt:
Read the prompt.
Underline the words that relate
to the prompt expectation
(task).
– Analyze
– Discuss
– List
– Contrast
Don’t let the prompt/question “riddle” you!
What is Joan of Arc made of?
Maid of Orleans!
DBQ Prompt:
Look at the VERB
Understand the task the prompt is
asking you to perform
What people are always in a
hurry?
Russians!
– Analyze: examine each part of the
whole in a systematic way, then
evaluate
– Define: briefly tell what something
means
– Discuss: give details about;
illustrate with examples
– Explain: Make something clear by
giving reasons or examples; tell how
and why
Don’t let the DBQ
FREAK you out, man!
I can’t… stop…
Looking at the VERB!
Categorize/classify: sort into groups based
on a given set of traits or features
Compare & contrast: point out similarities
(compare) and differences (contrast)
Determine cause & effect: decide what leads
to an event or circumstance (cause) and
what results from an event or circumstance
(effect)
Evaluate/judge: Determine the worth or
wisdom of an opinion, belief or idea
Argue/defend/justify/support: give evidence
to show why an idea is right or good
What is the question asking?
Example:
Compare and contrast the various religious and philosophical perspectives
that developed in the classical period.
Include in your discussion examples from at least two of the following:
Mesopotamia, Greece, China
Write down on your notes what you would have underlined from this prompt.
What did you underline?
You should have noticed
Compare and contrast (not describe, explain, etc.)
Religious and philosophical (not political, economic)
Classical period (not postclassical, not ancient, not modern)
Timing is important! You will not receive credit for information that does
fit within the specified time.
What about the historical background?
It sets the scene
Is intended to stimulate your memory
You DO NOT receive points for citing
the background information
When writing the document-based essay, it's important to:
READ THE DOCUMENTS!
Look at the source
Who wrote it?
What is their perspective?
The POINT OF VIEW of the document
is essential to understanding
An upper-class Greek man will have a very
different perspective on “democracy” than a
slave or a women!
A Buddhist will have a different perspective on
the meaning of life than a Jew
An enslaved African will have a different
perspective than a white plantation owner
AP PARTS
You should learn to do this every time you come into contact with a new document.
* Author - Who created the source? What is their
point of view?
* Place and Time - Where and when was the source
produced?
* Prior Knowledge - What do you already know that
would further your understanding of this sources?
* Audience - For whom was the source created?
Does this affect the reliability of the source?
* Reason - Why was this source produced at the
time is was produced?
* The Main Idea - What is the source trying to
convey?
* Significance - Why is this source important?
DBQ Tips:
Group or juxtapose
documents in a variety
of ways (according to their
ideas or points of view)
Suggest reasons for
similarities or
differences in
perspective among the
documents;
And identify possible
biases or
inconsistencies
within documents.
Don’t have regrets after the AP test is over about the DBQ!
Categories
Try to come up with 3
categories into which the
documents fit
– Remember, just like with
vocabulary, some of the
documents will fit into
MORE than 1 category
– Ask yourself: which is the
best fit?
Make a chart!
1
G
P
E
R
S
I
A
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Into what categories do the
documents BEST fit?
1
G
2
X
3
X
E
X
6
7
8
X
X
X
R
X
S
A
5
X
P
I
4
X
X
X
X
X
Write that thesis!
AP graders can assign a probable score to your essay by
glancing at the introduction.
–
–
–
–
Is there a thesis?
Does it respond to the prompt (and not restate it)
Does it include all of the necessary components?
No thesis, you will NOT score high; you might not even score at all!
Don’t FREEZE up and get SCARED.
You can do it.
Write that thesis!
Example:
Compare and contrast the various religious and
philosophical perspectives that developed in the
classical period.
Include in your discussion examples from at least two of
the following:
Mesopotamia, Greece, China
Let’s do some exploring.
Write a thesis based on a
guess of what you think
would be a good thesis.
Evaluate the thesis:
Many different religious and philosophical ideas
developed during the classical period.
Ouch. You are about to get crushed.
Ice cream is cold. The sun is hot. Freshman are losers.
That much is evident from the prompt. Furthermore, it just
restates the prompt but does not respond to it!
Evaluate the thesis:
Different religious and philosophical perspectives
arose in classical China and Greece. They were
different and similar in many ways.
Pizza-Taco anyone? If you can take two words (China/Greece) &
replace them with Pizza/Taco and make the same amount of
sense, you are in trouble.
You are wasting words!
Also, it is NOT the best idea to construct a 2-sentence thesis!
Evaluate the thesis:
Whereas the classical Greeks developed a secular, rational, or
scientific way to seeing worldly phenomenon, the ancient Jews of
Mesopotamia explained their world in terms of an all powerful
God who supernaturally intervened in human history.
There it is! It responds to the prompt, but
does not restate it!
Structure
Your thesis will anticipate
the essay structure.
Topic 1: Greek rationalism
• Proof 1 (document citation)
• Proof 2 (document citation)
• Proof 3 (document citation)
Topic 2: Supernatural Judaism
• Proof 1 (document citation)
• Proof 2 (document citation)
• Proof 3 (document citation)
How do I cite documents?
Cite them internally with a parentheses and the letter of the document.
Examples:
….therefore, the Hebrews clearly saw history as the product of an all knowing and
caring Deity rather than an impersonal forces of nature (doc. C)
Plato’s argument therefore (doc. A), reflects his aversion toward democracy in
favor of an authoritarian system in which philosopher-kings ruled.
ANALYZE THE DOCUMENTS, MAKE INFERENCES, AND
DRAW CONCLUSIONS. DON’T SUMMARIZE THEM!
NO
QUOTING
I said, “No Quoting.”
Thinking of adding outside
information?
Risky play!
It can help you, but only if
you have already nailed
each document,
analyzed point of view
three times, and made
no other mistakes.
My advice: concentrate on doc analysis
DBQ? What DB.. She is so…
pretty. I am the man.
This guy is handsome, but if
he plans on citing Mulan on
his WHAP DBQ, I’m dropping
him like a led balloon.
BASIC CORE (competence)
0-7 Points
1. Has acceptable thesis
1 Point
2. Addresses all documents. Understands the basic meaning of
documents.
(May misinterpret one document.)
1 Point
3. Supports thesis with appropriate evidence from all documents.
2 Points
(Supports thesis with appropriate evidence from all but one document)
(1 Point)
4. Analyzes point of view in at least two documents
1 Point
5. Analyzes documents by grouping them in two or three ways,
depending on the question
1 Point
6. Identifies and explains the need for one type of appropriate
additional document or source
1 Point
Subtotal
EXPANDED CORE (excellence)
(Historical skills and knowledge required to show excellence)
/7 Points
0-2 Points
Subtotal
/2 Points
TOTAL
/9 Points
BASIC CORE (competence)
0-7 Points
1. Has acceptable thesis
1 Point
2. Addresses all documents. Understands the
basic meaning of documents.
(May misinterpret one document.)
1 Point
3. Supports thesis with appropriate evidence
from all documents.
2 Points
(Supports thesis with appropriate evidence from
all but one document)
(1 Point)
4. Analyzes point of view in at least two
documents
1 Point
5. Analyzes documents by grouping them in
two or three ways, depending on the question
1 Point
6. Identifies and explains the need for one
type of appropriate additional document or
source
1 Point
Subtotal
EXPANDED CORE (excellence)
(Historical skills and knowledge required to show
excellence)
/7 Points
0-2 Points
Subtotal
/2 Points
TOTAL
/9 Points
9 = 100%
8 = 100%
7 = 95%
6 = 90%
5 = 85%
4 = 75%
3 = 70%
2 = 60%
1 = 50%
Essay Tips From Jedi Masters
• Do NOT use words with which you
are not familiar. Misuse of words
makes you appear desperate!
• Do NOT preach, moralize, editorialize
or use “cute” comments. This is a
risky play.
• Do NOT try to write about what you
believe; write about what you can
prove!
• Write neatly and legibly.
• Drop personal pronouns: “I” don’t
care what “you” think!
• Use correct grammar, spelling and
punctuation.
Not use this sage advice you will?
Use the sage advice… it’s almost
as awesome as this picture.
You can do it!