The Document-Based Question
What Is It?
• An essay that requires you to interpret
primary source documents to be able to
answer a questions.
• Documents might include the following:
Newspaper articles/editorials
Letters/diaries
Speeches
Legislation
Political cartoons
Charts and graphs
What Are the Documents for?
• To discuss events and ideas with which you
are familiar.
• To support or refute the essay questions
• Focus around the essay topic
I Have the Question, Now What Do I Do?
Getting Started
• Read Historical Background. Very useful for
introductory paragraph.
• Read the question THREE times
– Identify the historical period being discussed
– Do NOT move on until you fully understand it
Identify the Task
• Identify the task by circling the main words
– For example: assess the validity, compare and
contrast, evaluate relative importance, analyze the
significance, etc.
• Ask yourself “WHAT DO I HAVE TO PROVE”
Gather Outside Information
• Make a list (outline) of outside information
• List all relevant issues, historical terms,
names, and events
• Take 2 or 3 minutes
• Decide what you can and cannot use
Reading the Documents
• When you first look at a document, ask yourself the following
questions:
– WHO is the author of this document?
– WHAT audience is the document written for?
– WHEN was this document written – what time period in history does it
fit with?
– WHERE is the document from – a newspaper, textbook, diary, etc.? Is it a
primary or secondary source?
– WHY is this document important – what is the purpose of the document
– what does it tell us?
– HOW is the document important?
• You may not be able to answer all of these questions
for every document, but the more information you can
gather before answering the document based
questions, the easier they will be able to answer.
Reading the Documents Cont.
• Underline any key words or phrases that you may
use later.
• In the margin take notes about the documents
• Pay attention for Inconsistencies
– Not all documents agree
– Present different view points
– Recognize inconsistencies
• Answer the scaffolding questions for each
document in COMPLETE SENTENCES
Thesis Development
• Read question one more time
• Develop an argument you can prove- YOUR
THESIS!!!!!
• Make sure your thesis addresses all pertinent
aspects of the question
What is a THESIS?
• A thesis is a statement that reflects what
you have concluded about the topic of your
paper, based on a critical analysis and
interpretation of the source materials
(documents) you have examined.
• The thesis, is the HEART of your paper. It
presents what you have concluded about
the topic under discussion, and provides
the focal point for the rest of the essay.
If
Then
Your “thesis” statement does no more than
repeat the topic you are writing about
It is NOT a thesis
Your “thesis” statement poses a question
without proposing an answer
It is NOT a thesis
Your “thesis” statement merely states a fact
or series of facts
It is NOT a thesis
Your “thesis” statement simply reflects a
personal belief or perference
It is NOT a thesis
Your “thesis” statement: proposes an
answer to the question
AND
Declares a conclusion with which a reader
might disagree, and which can be supported
by evidence from the sources
It IS an effective thesis
Getting Started Cont.
• Reread the task
– Use this to organize your essay.
• Decide what documents you will use and where
you will you use them
– The documents you use need to support your thesis
– You need to use at MINIMUM 1 more than half the
total documents
• Choose your outside information and where you
will you use it
– It must support your thesis
• Organize plan of attack by creating an outline of
both the documents and your essay.
Getting Started Cont.
• Your essay will follow the standard writing
formula
– Introductory Paragraph with a thesis
•
•
•
•
Opening sentence
Rephrase question
Your thesis
Introduce your arguments
– Body
• At least 2 full length paragraphs
– Typically a paragraph for each part of the task
• You need to use the majority of the documents to
backup your argument
• The more you use, the better your essay if they are
used correctly
Write Your Essay
• Get to the point
• Back thesis up with facts, solid evidence not fluff
– opening statement with your opinion, restate the question and 3
arguments
• Make sure you are addressing the question
• Refer back to the question several times
• Don’t quote documentS – ANALYZE AND INTERPRET IT
Key Points to Remember
• Start with outside information first and write it down; then
read documents; then construct a thesis
• Use as many documents as you can as long as they fit your
thesis
• Don’t explain documents – that is not your task! Use
documents to reinforce your main points and outside
information
• Don’t rewrite large portions of documents. Try to limit
quotations to 1 sentence or less
• Reference author’s you are citing (i.e. “In the letter by
Abraham Lincoln…)
• Cite every document used (Doc. A), (Doc. F)
CAPTAIN ESSAY
This will help you write an essay.
It will LITERALLY give you a guide to write a DBQ
sentence for sentence.
That means you should probably USE IT!
Paragraph 1- Introduction
• Sentence 1- HOOK THE READER- interesting
opening sentence about the topic. Make it a
personal statement.
• Sentence 2- Topic background information
IYOW- take from historical background
• Sentence 3—5?- Introduce task 1,2,3,4 etc- no
details, no “I am” statements. SIMPLY restate
the task
• Sentence 6- Thesis- YOUR opinion about the
topic
Paragraph’s 2-4- Answer Task 1,2,3 etc..
• Sentence 1- Introduce Task 1- NO “I” statements. Basically same as
intro sent. 3
• Sentence 2- 1st answer to task 1- use general knowledge fact
• Sentence 3- Prove Answer- use one of the documents for PROOF!
Remember to cite the document (doc 3).
• Sentence 4- Outside information- use OI from class.
• Sentence 5- 2nd answer to task 1- use general knowledge fact.
• Sentence 6- Prove answer- use one of the documents for proof.
Remember to cite.
• Sentence 7- Outside information
• Sentence 8- Segue- Lead into the next paragraph. Tie each task
together.
Paragraph 5- Conclusion
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Sentence 1- Re-state Thesis- DEFINENLTY USE different words.
Sentence 2- Introduce Task 1, reword from intro sentence 3.
Sentence 3- Best answer from paragraph 2.
Sentence 4- Intro task 2, reword from intro sentence 4.
Sentence 5- Best answer from paragraph 3.
Sentence 6- Introduce task 3, reword from intro sentence 5.
Sentence 7- Best answer from paragraph 4.
Re-word thesis again. REMEMBER: “TIE UP” your conclusion
so the rest of the essay wont “spill over.”