DBQ Citations: Direct and Indirect
There are many different ways to cite references (MLA, APA,
Chicago Style, etc.). Students use the above styles for
college-level formal writing but not on essays for the AP
exam.
With strict time limits during classroom or AP tests students
only have time for quick direct and/or indirect citations.
Direct citation means the essay writer leaves little doubt which
part of the document source is cited in the analysis or
evaluation. Using a quote from the document with text or a
specific type of image. It is very important for an essay
writer to not merely describe the document. The writer must
use the document to support an analysis and/or evaluation
and, ultimately, the thesis. Do not simply write a report!
Indirect citation means the essay writer’s analysis or evaluation
is inferred to readers within the context of the sentence(s)
using a simple parenthetical citation ex. (A) at the end of
your text. [More on that in slide 3]
Direct Citation
Below is an example of a direct citation where a writer wants to use Document A to
evaluate the depth of threat to the U.S. posed by communists in the United States.
In Document A the sentencing judge reprimanded convicted traitors Julius and
Ethel Rosenberg declaring their betrayal of the U.S., and its consequences, were so
severe based on “casualties exceeding 50,000” the Rosenbergs deserved execution
to deter future acts of disloyalty.
Where is the evaluation and where is the document citation? [Underline]
Document A
Judge Kaufman's Statement Upon Sentencing the Rosenbergs
Citizens of this country who betray their fellow-countrymen can be under none of the delusions about the
benignity of Soviet power that they might have been prior to World War II. The nature of Russian terrorism is
now self-evident. Idealism as a rational dissolves . . .
I consider your crime worse than murder. Plain deliberate contemplated murder is dwarfed in magnitude by
comparison with the crime you have committed. In committing the act of murder, the criminal kills only his
victim. The immediate family is brought to grief and when justice is meted out the chapter is closed. But in
your case, I believe your conduct in putting into the hands of the Russians the A-bomb years before our best
scientists predicted Russia would perfect the bomb has already caused, in my opinion, the Communist
aggression in Korea, with the resultant casualties exceeding 50,000 and who knows but that millions more
of innocent people may pay the price of your treason. Indeed, by your betrayal you undoubtedly have
altered the course of history to the disadvantage of our country.
Indirect Citation
An example of indirect citation where a writer
wants to use Document D to analyze, for
inference, the meaning and/or purpose of the
use of a movie to portray the threat to the
U.S. posed by the spread of communism
throughout the United States.
In order to magnify the seriousness of the
potential for communism spreading
throughout the United States several 1950s
films such as The Blob and Invasion of the
Body Snatchers played on the irrational fears
of Americans (D) or (Document D).
Where is the analysis and where is the
document citation? [Underline]
Document D
Summary
• When writing a response for a DBQ prompt
remember to use the document to help show your
analysis and/or evaluation to prove your thesis.
• The type of citation style, direct or indirect, is not as
important as how you use the document to support
your analysis and/or evaluation.
• DO NOT MERELY DESCRIBE THE DOCUMENT
WITHOUT EXPLAINING HOW IT HELPS PROVE YOUR
THESIS!
• Also be sure to outside sources of information from
what you learned about the topic your DBQ prompt
asks.