The DBQ
About the DBQ
• Primary purpose of DBQ is not to test students’ prior
knowledge of subject matter but rather to evaluate their
ability to formulate and support an answer from
documentary evidence.
• There is no single “correct” answer; various
approaches and responses are possible, depending on
the students’ ability to understand the documents,
communicate their significance, and construct an argument.
• The DBQ requires that students: (1) read and analyze the
documents individually; (2) contextualize them based on
their analysis of all documentary evidence; and (3) plan and
construct an essay in response to the question.
How to Work Through the DBQ
How to Work Through the DBQ
1) Read the Prompt
A. Find and underline the key phrase
• You will use the key phrase
throughout your essay, but NOT in
your thesis.
B. Determine what is the prompt asking
DBQs: Find the Key Phrase
2002-2013
2002
Using the documents, compare and contrast
the attitudes of Christianity and Islam toward
merchants and trade from the religions’ origins
until about 1500. Are there indications of
change over time in either case, or both? What
kinds of additional documents would you need
to assess the consequences of these attitudes
on merchant activities?
There will never be a DBQ like this again! This was not only a DBQ,
but also a CC and CCOT essay. This DBQ has the lowest average
score ever on any DBQ.
2003
Using the documents, analyze the main
features, including causes and
consequences, of the system of indentured
servitude that developed as part of global
economic changes during the nineteenth
and into the twentieth centuries. What
additional kind of documents would help
assess the historical significance of
indentured servitude in this period?
2003
Using the documents, analyze the main
features, including causes and
consequences, of the system of
indentured servitude that developed as
part of global economic changes during the
nineteenth and into the twentieth centuries.
What additional kind of documents would
help assess the historical significance of
indentured servitude in this period?
2004
Based on the following
documents, analyze the responses
to the spread of Buddhism in
China. What additional kind of
document(s) would you need to
evaluate the extent of Buddhism
appeal in China?
2004
Based on the following
documents, analyze the responses
to the spread of Buddhism in
China. What additional kind of
document(s) would you need to
evaluate the extent of Buddhism
appeal in China?
2005
Analyze the issue that twentiethcentury Muslim leaders in South
Asia and North Africa confronted in
defining their nationalism. What
additional kind of documents
would be most helpful in furthering
your analysis?
2005
Analyze the issue that twentiethcentury Muslim leaders in South
Asia and North Africa confronted in
defining their nationalism. What
additional kind of documents
would be most helpful in furthering
your analysis?
2006
Using the documents, analyze the
social and economic effects of the
global flow of silver from the midsixteenth century to the early
eighteenth century. Explain how
another type of document would
help you analyze the effects of the
flow of silver bullion in this period.
2006
Using the documents, analyze the
social and economic effects of the
global flow of silver from the midsixteenth century to the early
eighteenth century. Explain how
another type of document would
help you analyze the effects of the
flow of silver bullion in this period.
2007
Using the documents, analyze
Han and Roman attitudes
toward technology. Identify an
additional type of document and
explain briefly how it would help
our analysis.
2007
Using the documents, analyze
Han and Roman attitudes
toward technology. Identify an
additional type of document and
explain briefly how it would help
our analysis.
2008
Based on the following
documents, analyze factors that
shaped the modern Olympic
movement from 1892 to 2002.
Identify and explain what
additional type of documents or
sources would help you assess
these factors.
2008
Based on the following
documents, analyze factors that
shaped the modern Olympic
movement from 1892 to 2002.
Identify and explain what
additional type of documents or
sources would help you assess
these factors.
2009
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
2009
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
2010
Using the following documents,
analyze similarities and differences
in the mechanization of the cotton
industry in Japan and India in the
period from the 1880s to the 1930s.
Identify an additional type of
document and explain how it would
help your analysis of the
mechanization of the cotton industry.
2010
Using the following documents,
analyze similarities and differences
in the mechanization of the cotton
industry in Japan and India in the
period from the 1880s to the 1930s.
Identify an additional type of
document and explain how it would
help your analysis of the
mechanization of the cotton industry.
2011
Using the following documents,
analyze the causes and
consequences of the Green
Revolution in the period from 1945 to
the present. Identify one additional
type of document and explain how it
would help your analysis of the
Green Revolution.
2011
Using the following documents,
analyze the causes and
consequences of the Green
Revolution in the period from 1945 to
the present. Identify one additional
type of document and explain how it
would help your analysis of the
Green Revolution.
2012
Using the following documents,
analyze the relationship between
cricket and politics in South Asia
from 1880 to 2005. Identify an
additional type of document and
explain how it would help your
analysis.
2012
Using the following documents,
analyze the relationship between
cricket and politics in South Asia
from 1880 to 2005. Identify an
additional type of document and
explain how it would help your
analysis.
2013
Analyze connections between
regional issues and European
struggles for global power in the mideighteenth century. Identify an
additional type of document and
explain how it would help your
analysis of these connections.
2013
Analyze connections between
regional issues and European
struggles for global power in the mideighteenth century. Identify an
additional type of document and
explain how it would help your
analysis of these connections.
How to Work Through the DBQ
2) Read and analyze the documents
• Read the document and note the author,
time, place given to you in the attribution
• SOAPSTone (Speaker Occasion Audience
Purpose Subject Tone)
• POV Statement
• Categorization (Kind? Fit in
understanding? SPICE?)
• Additional POV / Who’s Missing?
How to Work Through the DBQ
3) Group the Documents
• Must have AT LEAST 3 groups
• The documents are chosen because they
have similarities with one another; you
have to find those.
• A document can be used twice (or more),
but it MUST be used at least once.
• A group must include more than once
document.
How to Work Through the DBQ
4) Write your thesis
• Provide an answer to the prompt, but not using
the phrase (evidence should support thesis
which answers prompt)
• Provide groups
• Provide Place / Time (exactly as stated in DBQ
prompt if provided)
• Must be written in a single sentence
(straightforward, state it quickly and move on)
How to Work Through the DBQ
5) Write
1. Thesis Statement as Introduction
2. Body Paragraph (x3)
- Topic Sentence (provide group)
- Doc 1
- Concrete and Specific Details
- Commentary / Connection to topic or thesis
- POV Statement
- Analysis (Why is this with the others)
- Additional Document
- Concluding Statement
How to Work Through the DBQ
6) Check your work
• Go through the rubric to make sure you have
everything you need.
• Did you use every document?
• Is your thesis clear without being a simple
restatement of the prompt?
Understanding vs. Using for Evidence
Christopher Columbus states that he was “shocked and
appalled” by the nakedness of the indigenous people
(Doc 4).
This statement reveals that you understand Document 4. Though this statement
is important for letting the reader know you understood what you have read, you
are doing nothing but retelling what you have just read; this statement does not
count as evidence.
Understanding vs. Using for Evidence
Christopher Columbus states that he was “shocked and
appalled” by the nakedness of the indigenous people
(Doc 4). Thus, we see Christopher Columbus imposing
his European cultural ideas regarding clothing and
decorum upon a group of people who are foreign to
those ideas. Clearly, pre-conceived cultural notions were
at play during some of the first meetings of the Old and
New World.
These statement reveals that you both understand Document 4 and are using this
document for evidence. The first sentence is a mere regurgitation of what
Document 4 states; though this is not an eloquent way of indicating to the reader
you understand Document 4, it does the job. The next statement is YOUR
INTERPRETATION of the document. You are pulling out what is significant about
the document and sharing it with the reader.
2008 DBQ
Marking it up
Summary of Documents
Documents are chosen on the basis of both the
information they convey about the topic and the
perspective that they offer.
Documents should be used to substantiate and illustrate
points made in the essay.
Students may group documents chronologically, culturally,
or thematically, as appropriate, to demonstrate their ability
to analyze sources, but they are not expected to have
particular knowledge of every document’s author or
topic or to include knowledge outside of the documents in
order to receive the highest score.
Questions to Ask About the Documents
• Who is speaking? (Attribution)
• Why is this person significant?
• What is the speaker’s POV?
• Is this speaker/source reliable or accurate?
• What is the author’s tone?
Summary of Documents
Document #1:
• Founder of Modern Olympics
• Share athletes around the globe
• Process will promote peace
• “utopia,” free trade
Summary of Documents
Document #2:
• 2% women participation (attribution)
• Picture
• Long skirt: still must adhere to
cultural standards
Summary of Documents
Document #3:
• skis, cheating
• Idea that Nazism > democracy
• More than just a skiing competition;
political competition too
Summary of Documents
Document #4:
• Competed in the 1952 games
• Soviets’ enemies, Cold War
• Russians vs. Americans
• “Got to beat ‘em”
Summary of Documents
Document #5:
• “Defeated enemy syndrome”
• World trade power
• “Magic of the Olympics,” national crusades
• Saving economic power of Olympics
Summary of Documents
Document #6:
• USSR seen as “beacon of peace,
democracy”
• Propaganda, Soviet achievements
• POV?
Summary of Documents
Document #7:
• Corporations as top sponsors
• Korean companies not among top sponsors
• “failed to avail itself of an opportunity”
• “stand to make a lot of gold”
Summary of Documents
Document #8:
• 29% female participation (attribution)
• Women representation
• “Running in shorts”
• “psychologically, they don’t think so”
Summary of Documents
Document #9:
• Millions of US dollars fees paid to Olympic
Committee for broadcasting rights
• increase
• Not US Government spending
(misleading)
Summary of Documents
Document #10:
• 2000 field hockey team
• Pakistan’s team’s performance
“tarnished” national pride
• Discusses partition of India, archrivals
• 2nd place 1956, Gold in 1960
How to Cite Documents in the DBQ
• Winston Churchill, in a letter to Franklin D.
Roosevelt, argued that . . . (Doc 7).
• Tokugawa Ieyasu felt that . . . (Doc 1).
• The graph reveals an increase in cotton
production after the introduction of
machines (Doc 4).
• DO NOT begin with “In Document 8 . . . “
Writing the Thesis
Four – Step Process
1. Restate prompt
2. Flip
3. Define groups
4. Develop time/relationships
Thesis
2012: Analyze the relationship between cricket and politics in
South Asia from 1880-2005.
1) Restatement:
The relationship between cricket and politics in South
Asia from 1880-2005 revolved around political control,
cultural traditions, and nationalism.
This is considered a simple restatement of the prompt and
would not receive a point on the AP.
1) Restatement:
The relationship between cricket and politics in
South Asia from 1880-2005 revolved around political
control, treasured cultural traditions, and nationalism.
2) Flip:
Political control, treasured cultural traditions, and
nationalism emerged out of the relationship between
cricket and politics in South Asia from 1880-2005.
This is still a basic thesis as it uses the “phrase” in the
thesis and has undeveloped groups.
3) Work on groups:
1.
2.
3.
1.
Political control  British want this over South Asians
Cultural traditions  eliminate barriers
Nationalism  define new national identity of India
under Britain, and then India after independence
Who is using cricket? Why?
The British use it originally over the Indians
Ultimately, the Indians adopt it for themselves
4) Develop relationships and time periods in final
thesis:
The British by 1880 had used cricket as a way to
gain political control of South Asia, yet the sport was
adopted by South Asians in defining their nationalism
and in eliminating cultural barriers to unification by
2005.
Example
2007: Analyze Han and Roman attitudes toward
technology
1) Restatement
2) Flip
3) Work on Groups
4) Develop relationships
1) Restatement: Han and Roman attitudes toward technology
were favorable because technology strengthened the empires,
helped to bring the empire together, and made daily life easier.
2) Flip: Strengthening the empire, bringing the empire together, and
making daily life easier were reasons for the positive attitudes
the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire held toward technology.
3) Work on groups:
1) Strengthening the empire  this can stay the same
2) Bringing the empire together  unification
3) Making daily life easier  simplification
4) Develop relationships/time period in final thesis: Throughout
their existence, the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire utilized
technology to strengthen the empire/dynasty, unify the various
corners of the empire/dynasty, and simplify daily life, which
resulted in the belief among these civilizations that technology
was effective and worthwhile.
Point of View
1) Read the Document and Source Information
- Who is writing the document and when?
- SOAPSTone
2) Determine the POV of the author
- Who is saying what to whom and why?
- What is the author’s tone regarding the subject?
3) Write a POV statement
- Identify who is speaking and what their tone is
- Explain what they believe
- Why do they believe that? Is it tied it to their
group/classification? Remember position informs opinion.
Think about the dress code . . . What would you think about that
if you were the principal, or maybe a student? Does WHO you
are change HOW you think about that issue?
Different Kinds of Point of View
1) Authorial Point of View
- Show understanding of the gender, class, religion,
occupation, nationality, political position, race or ethnic
identity of the author and how this could influence
his/her opinion.
- Why did the author write what he/she had?
Example:
Aika Shunsuke, as a Japanese peasant overworked,
exhausted and often ill in the cotton factory, felt resentful
towards the wealthy factory managers since she saw
herself and her family as exploited by these men.
Different Kinds of Point of View
2) Accuracy/Reliability
- Show an understanding of the accuracy and reliability of
a source by drawing attention to the ability (or lack
thereof) of the author to be accurate and/or impartial.
- Why did the author write what he/she had?
Example:
As a French peasant, Marie Beaufort’s diary entry about
Marie-Antoinette is biased because she believed the royal
family was hoarding grain that should have been made
available to farmers. Thus, this document is not reliable
because Beaufort likely exaggerated the evils of MarieAntoinette.
Different Kinds of Point of View
3) Author’s Intent/Tone
- Show an understanding of the author’s tone
(commentary, irony, satire, etc).
- Helpful for visual documents (photographs, art work,
political cartoons)
- Why did the author/artist write/depict what he/she had?
Example:
The political cartoonist depicted the starving peasants
using the hammer and sickle (the symbol of Communism)
to illustrate that it was Communism’s agricultural and
economic policies that were to blame for the hardships the
peasants endured.
Different Kinds of Point of View
4) Multiple POV
- Show an understanding that certain authors, based on a
particular quality (gender, race, ethnicity, religion,
occupation, class, etc) will express a similar point of
view.
- Why did the author/artist write/depict what he/she had?
Example:
The Aztec and Inca Indians all believed that the Spanish
conquistadors were being violent and cruel towards them,
especially their women and children.
Additional Document
• Discuss a document that you would like to see
and WHY
- At least 1 per paragraph
- The additional document should be something
that illustrates a perspective, point of view, or
issue that is not represented in the document
• Doesn’t have to be a document that DOES exist .
. . has to be one that COULD exist.
• Students get credit for the WHY
Additional Document
• Call for an Additional Document
• An additional document that would
_____(use the phrase)_______ would
be _______.
• WHY? (This must help you learn more,
and satisfy the prompt.)
• This would reveal/show _________.
Practice Additional Sources:
Document 1
An Olympic athlete competing in
the 1892 games; did this person
view the Olympics in the way that
it was envisioned by de
Coubertin?
An additional document that would help me learn more
about factors that shaped the modern Olympic movement
would be an article detailing the perspective of an Olympic
athlete who competed in the 1892 games. This document
could show us if this athlete viewed the Olympics in the way
that they were envisioned by de Coubertin, thus revealing if
de Coubertain’s dreams of political utopia were shared by
others.
Practice Additional Sources:
Document 8
A male Olympic competitor and
peer of Boulmerka; what he feels
about Boulmerka; did the
Olympics achieve the gender
equality they strove towards?
An additional document that would help me learn more
about factors that shaped the modern Olympic movement
would be an article with the perspective of a male Olympic
athlete who competed in the games with Boulmerka. This
document could show us what this athlete felt about
Boulmerka (and other women) competing, and would
indicate whether or not the Olympics achieved the gender
equality they were working towards.
DBQ Rubric Handout
1) What does the AP require I do?
2) What must I do for this class?
Wednesday, August 21st – 2008 DBQ due
Write it at home and annotate the following parts:
1)Thesis – bold
2)Groups – underline
3)POV – italicize
4)Additional document - different font/size
5)DBQ documents – in text citation (doc 8)