Introduction to the DBQ
Mr. Colden
AP World
Winter 2013
Our Goal Today
 To Understand the Scoring System
 Learn Strategies for Reading Documents
 Practice Point of View Analysis (POV)
 Practice Grouping Documents
DBQ Scoring
 Page 13 - AP World History: An Essential Coursebook
by Ethel Wood.
Reading DOCs Strategy
SOAPSTONE
Grouping
Source: This is the description of the DOC
This is the actual primary source document… your
reading it and you smile because you’re a Don or
Lady Don therefore your amazing and going to rock!
Additional Document
Context
Grouping of Documents
 After reading taking brief notes on the DOCs look for
commonalities in your notes THAT RELATE TO THE
PROMPT
 Grouping Ideas
 Internal evidence (the content, format, and tone of each
document in relation to the others)
 External evidence (identification of author, purpose, or
intended audience, and the date on which each document
was written).
Point of View (POV)
 Remember Acronym SOAPSTONE
 …ok… lets see the SOAPSTONE
S - Who is the Speaker/Source?
H – Home - country of origin, national or ethnic
identity
O – Occupation or profession
G – Gender
W – Worldview – values as reflecting religious,
philosophical, or other cultural ideals
A – Age
R – Real Knowledge – that is what are the limitations
of the speaker – what could they know or not know
T – Theoretical Ideals - political, economic, or other
social / intellectual values
S – Social Status, including class, caste, wealth and
education
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
O-A-P-S
O - What is the Occasion?
A - What is the Intended
Audience?
P - What is the Purpose?
S - What is the Subject? – NOT
for POV itself, but to support
POV claims or to help answer the
question.
TONE – What is the tone
of the document?
Consider the SHOCK AND AWE approach. Is the speaker or
message:
S – Sad or wistful?
H – Haughty or condescending or insensitive?
O – Obsessed or fanatical or just committed?
C – Cruel or antagonistic or ruthless?
K – Knowledgeable or arrogant or uncertain?
A – Amused or tolerant or unsympathetic?
N – Negative or defensive or judgmental?
D – Deferential or respectful?
A – Annoyed or outraged or disgusted?
W – Worried or panic stricken?
E – Excited or guilty or ashamed?
Ideal POV Statements
The author might write _____ /use ____tone/etc.
because ______.
SOAPSTONE

Text
Why – or rather what
connects them?
Writing a POV Sentence
 Authorial POV

"Baltasar Rusow, as a Lutheran pastor, was naturally upset by the
celebration of a Saint's Day since Lutherans don't venerate saints.”
 Reliability and Accuracy of Source

"R. Lassels's report of the Carnival celebrations in Italy is probably
accurate because as an outside observer, he is more objective."

"R. Lassels's report of the Carnival celebrations in Italy is probably
inaccurate because as an outside observer, he would not fully
understand local customs.”
 Tone or Intent

“Mr. Owen may have presented an aggressive tone when describing
recent budget cuts to education because he realized those budget
cuts will result in a decrease in his pay.”
OK… Let’s give grouping
a shot!
PEP RALLIES DBQ (w/
thanks to Helen Delahunty)
Question: Analyze the
differing attitudes held by
members of the Yorktown
High School Community
towards pep rallies.
Document 1
Source: Karen Schepps, European History teacher at
Yorktown H.S.
I don't like pep rallies. I don't like the pumping up of
emotion and enthusiasm in people so that they cheer
for only one special group.
It reminds me of what happens in dictatorships people cheer the leader and feel a part of the crowd
and so the leader can manipulate people to do what
he /she wants.
School nationalism can divide the world into "them"
and 'us" like regular nationalism which has been such
a destructive force in the world.
Document 2
Source: Betty Weyrich, Valedictorian
of Yorktown High School, 2002
They're (pep rallies) such a waste of
time. I could be reading something in
the library or listening to my music
or going home instead of watching
all the jocks parade and the
cheerleaders falling over themselves.
Document 3
Source: Jason Palumbo, Yorktown H.S.
Cross-country team captain
Pep rallies are great. Some teams, like ours,
never really get many fans cheering for us.
To have the kids at school recognizing our
accomplishments in such a public setting is
rewarding.
Document 4
Source: Donny Ortiz, Principal Yorktown High
School
First, pep rallies provide an opportunity to bring an
entire school together at one venue. This opportunity
gives teachers and students the chance to see other
students and teachers they might not see otherwise.
Second, it presents an ideal time to convey to others
the activities in which many students participate.
Third, it provides for everyone a form of
entertainment (when done correctly) related to
diversity in personalities, talents, and perspectives of
each other.
Document 5
Source: Sarah Casey, Trombone player in the
Yorktown H.S. pep band.
Pep rallies are a major drag. Our teachers get
annoyed that we have to be excused early to
set up. No one wants to hear us play. Then we
have to sit there until the end of the rally for
the last song.
Document 6
Source: John Gutter, Vice Principal, Yorktown High
School
Sometimes I view the school as a family; therefore, I
consider pep rallies as a family activity, like
Thanksgiving or Christmas.
When I help organize the events, I want as many
school groups to participate as possible; just like a
family wants every member to participate.
School activities help people feel a part of the group,
and that is very important to me.
Document 7
Source: Gary Millvanders, Security Guard at
Yorktown High School
Pep rallies are a pain. Invariably there will be
at least one fight in the stands that needs to be
broken up in a crowd of students; and several
kids will be wandering the halls unsupervised
that we’ll need to round up. It is a real
burden for us security guards.
Document 8
Source: Ben Kolpin, Football & Swimming
Coach at Yorktown H.S.
It’s only right that the team members get
some recognition from the entire school
community for all their hard work. The
majority of the school does not come out to
our games. We should get some applause at
school.
Document 9
Source: Colleen Boland, Yorktown High
School varsity cheerleader.
I love pep rallies! We get to lead the school in
demonstrations of our school spirit and
enthusiasm. I don’t mind losing my voice to
get the crowds fired up. Those who do not
like pep rallies are a few anti-social misfits
whose opinions really don’t matter. Go
Patriots!