DBQ - Grouping and Thesis
Statements
AP WORLD HISTORY
Aim: Gaining a better
understanding of the DBQ Free
Response.
Do Now:
- Actively read the article.
- What trepidations are you having in
conducting the DBQ Free
Response?
 Know the rubric
 Quickly tackle the documents to look for categories
to form your thesis
 Draft your thesis and note your groups
 Draft your topic sentences
 Find your evidence (from the documents)
 Tackle your documents again for POV (a 3rd time)
 Finish your outline, THEN write your essay
 You can score 9 points on
the DBQ.
 You can score 7 points on
the Core.
 In you earn all 7 points on
the core, you might be able
to earn 2 bonus points.
 If you follow this advice,
you won’t even need to
worry about the expanded
core – you will have it.
If you don’t have
a thesis or you
have a really bad
one it could cost
you THREE
points.
 EVERY DOCUMENT must be
mentioned at least ONE time in your
essay.
 You cannot “double-dip” for
document points (besides mentioning
them). You must use documents more
than once for it to count more than
once.
 Understanding means you interpret it
correctly (discuss/analyze it).
 You then use the document as
evidence.
 To get points for grouping, you only
need to put it in a group.
Think: Start with thesis…
1.If it includes dates, they are important – what is
important about the dates?
Should include the dates in the thesis statement.
2. Factors: Hmmm? What about SPRITE or PERSIA –
could these be factors?
SPRITE
S – Social (women,
labor, class
structure)
P – Political (or
military)
R – Religious
I – Intellectual
(ideas, books,
art, culture)
T – Technological
(inventions, new
resources, etc.)
E – Economic
PERSIA
P – Political (or
military)
E – Economic
R – Religious
S – Social
I – Intellectual
(ideas, books,
art, culture)
A – Around (think
geography)
Think of your thesis in three parts…
1. Answer the question that is asked in one
or two CONNECTING sentences (this is
your argument).
2. Indicate the groups (3) that you will use to
address the question. You will have more
groups than just 3 – more later.
3. Give a “hint” as to what you will address
in each group (especially if it is a very
broad category).
DO NOT try to be creative or
persuasive in your essay!!
These are historical
INFORMATIVE essays and the
only thing that matters is if you
use evidence to support your
argument [lots of love to the
English teachers of TRCS, but
this is not an English exam].
Point of View
Point of View
 This is perhaps the most difficult item for many
students. It can be brought
 down to some very simple questions.
 1) Why would this person say this?
 2) How reliable is this document?
 3) What makes this document different from other
kinds of
 documents?
 4) What is the tone or the intent of this document?
Attempt to do POVs for
EVERY document…Yes, every
document.
Do enough correctly and you
get into the expanded core!!!!
 Consider the following about each person
 Title, position, or job (economic motives, political
motives, etc.)
 Male/female
 Country or religion of the person (in favor of country
or historically doesn’t like people from a different
country; supports or dislikes a religious group)
 Date the statement was made (around a war)
 Consider the type of document and why it was created…
 Political speech, diary entry, newspaper article )what
type of paper)
 Maps, graphs, charts – who created it and why???
 Pictures, paintings – who paid for it?
The additional document…
This is simple, if you do it right…you
are really saying whose voice is NOT
heard and what their voice would add
to the discussion.






Women
Poor
Those who “lost”
Workers
Ethnic Groups
Look for obvious omissions
Officially, anywhere, but just like
POV, about ½ of the “additional
documents” are wrong, so I say
include one per group –
REMEMBER TO SAY WHY –
ANALYSIS
POINT OF VIEW – 3 Ws
1. WHO says it…
2. WHAT does he/she say
(this could be used as
evidence to support your
thesis)
3. WHY does he/she say it
(this is the POV and this
is where you get POV
points.
What about the EXPANDED
CORE?
Forget about it…
You are going to provide POV for
each document and at least 3
additional documents (one per
group) – your Expanded Core is
met!!!
Grouping
 At Least 3 groups in each DBQ
 Do NOT just use the generic “Pro”, “Anti”,
“Neutral” groupings.
 If the documents provided seem to indicate there
were positive, negative or mixed reactions, used
better vocabulary than “pro”,”anti”, “neutral”
 Be as specific as possible in descriptions of
groupings
 Are there any connections between reactions,
trends or events and the historical time period?
 Documents can be used in more than one
grouping!
Thesis Statements
Good DBQ Thesis Statements:
 Takes a stand
 Answers the question
 Previews the argument
 Details Time and Place
 Groupings
 Can be more than one sentence
2009 DBQ Question
Using 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.
Thesis #1
“Throughout history, colonization has been a
main concern of many nations. In the 1880s,
there was a great desire by European
powers to colonize and control Africa in order
to gain resources. This became known as
the Scramble for Africa. The hypocritical
actions of the European powers led to an
extreme contempt for the Europeans among
the African people, which triggered violent
rebellions that eventually helped lead Africa
to liberty later on.”
Thesis #2
“ For years after the Berlin Conference, various
European powers raced to occupy and colonize land
in Africa. It was a time of growth for Europe, but
what was it for Africa? Africa’s fate was being
decided for it by the European invader. Not all
Africans just stood by and watched, however. There
was a wide range of actions and reactions to the
Scramble for Africa from the Africans themselves,
from giving in peacefully to fighting back with all of
their might.”
Thesis #3
“Although the European powers felt as
though they were doing great good in
the African continent during the
Scramble for Africa, the actions of the
Africans was that of rebellion and
reactions showing much determination
to rid Africa of the unjust Europeans.”
Additional Document
 After the thesis is the most common spot
 Don’t forget to do it (#1 forgotten thing)
 Easy to request
 Be specific:If the documents have a quote
from a merchant, they can’t say, “We need to
hear from other merchants.” They have to be
more specific and say, “We need to hear from
merchants who did not have the same trouble
as X.”
Thesis Practice: