DBQ
Document Based Question
By: Colette Spencer
North Myrtle Beach High School
What Is It????
• An essay that answers a given question by
using ALL of the documents (primary sources)
given
• Documents can be written, a chart, graph,
picture, map, political cartoon
I Can’t Do This 
• Yes, you can!
• This is the easiest of all three AP essays
• You don’t have to pull information from your
brain, just use the documents
The First 10 Minutes
• You MUST spend the first ten minutes reading
your documents, grouping your documents,
and organizing your essay.
• You are NOT allowed to start writing your
essay
• You MAY write all over your documents with
your ideas, groupings, thesis, etc.
How to
Write a DBQ
Group the Documents
• Address ALL of the documents by grouping
them in categories two or three ways
• Many times the question will give you your
groups
• Sometimes it won’t
• Documents CAN be used in more than one
group
• You may NOT have a group with just one
document
How Can We Group These Items?
Sample Question
• Out of all subjects taught in high school, what
is the most important subject to study?
• Your documents:
• #1, English: Just How Awesome is It?, John Doe,
college English professor, 2004
• #2, Why History is the Most Important Subject Ever,
Colette Spencer, high school history teacher, 2009
• #3, Why I Love Math, Tom Brown, high school math
teacher, 2007
• #4, Everyone Needs a Little History, Jane Doe, journalist
for American History Magazine, 1995
• #5, Marvelous Math, Jimmy Jones, math teacher at a
community college, 1994.
• #6, English….It’s the Greatest!, Tammy Thomas, editor
for English: It’s Also a Language Journal, 2001
Thesis Statement
• Write a thesis that addresses ALL parts of the
question or statement
• If the question mentions government, society
and religion, you MUST discuss government,
society and religion
Example
• If a person wants to succeed in life, they need a good
education inall core subjects. Out of those core
subjects, it is clear that history is the most important
due to the fact that the world is becoming a big
melting pot of cultures and if people know about each
others traditions and customs, it will create a more
harmonious society worldwide. Documents 2 and 4
discuss why history is the most important subject.
Documents 1 and 6 show why people think English is
the most important subject. Documents 3 and 5 reveal
that others believe math is the most important subject.
YOU MUST USE ALL
OF THE DOCUMENTS
AND SHOW
UNDERSTANDING OF
ALL OR ALL BUT ONE
Example
• Document #2, Why History is the Most Important
Subject Ever, by Colette Spencer, history teacher,
2009
• “…. never understood why we need anything
more than basic math. History is much more
important because it shows where we came from
and how, in this ever changing world, we need to
understand different cultures in order to live in
harmony together.”
• NOT understanding:
– In Why History is the Most Important Subject Ever,
Colette Spencer indicates that history is important
because since the world changes, cultures have to
change with it
• Understanding:
– In Why History is the Most Important Subject Ever,
Colette Spencer indicates that since cultures live
among each other now, it is important to
understand them in order to be able to live
together in peace.
Analyze the Documents
• Tell how the documents help you answer the
question
• It may help to use the word “because”
Example
• …this shows that history teachers most likely
believe that history is the most important
subject because it has a greater effect on
harmony in the world
Point of View
• You MUST show POV in at least two documents
• What is the POV, bias, or perspective of the
author in writing the document?
• Just to make sure, show POV in three
documents, that way if you don’t get one right,
you have two backups
Example
• …obviously Mrs. Spencer is bias in believing that
history is the most important subject because she
is a history teacher.
• …obviously Mrs. Spencer believes history is the
most important subject because she is writing
from the perspective of a history teacher.
• …obviously Mrs. Spencer believes that history is
the most important subject because she is
writing from the point of view of a history
teacher.
Extra Document
• You MUST identify one additional documents
that would help you answer the question
better.
• I would identify two just in case one is not
good enough.
• Hints:
– There isn’t usually a document from a
peasant/commoner/farmer
– There isn’t usually a document from a woman
Example
• …it would help to have a document by a
science teacher because science is one of the
core subjects that all students must take and it
would be nice to hear from their point of view.
Organization
First Paragraph
•
•
•
•
This is your thesis statement
Introduce the topic.
It should include ALL parts of the question.
It should contain your GROUPINGS.
Second Paragraph
• The topic sentence should introduce the FIRST
topic/grouping you are going to talk about
• You MUST discuss each document individually
• ANALYZE each document – how does it help
answer the question
• Include POINT OF VIEW of a document or two
Third Paragraph
• The topic sentence should introduce the
SECOND topic/grouping you are going to talk
about
• You MUST discuss each document individually
• ANALYZE each document – how does it help
answer the question
• Include POINT OF VIEW of a document or two
Fourth Paragraph
• If you have a third grouping
• The topic sentence should introduce the
THIRD topic/grouping you are going to talk
about
• You MUST discuss each document individually
• ANALYZE each document – how does it help
answer the question
• Include POINT OF VIEW of a document or two
Fifth Paragraph
• Conclusion - wrap it up
• Tell what extra documents would help you
answer the question
IF YOU CAN DO ALL
OF THIS, YOU WILL
GET 7 OUT OF 9
POINTS
Getting Extra Points
• You have to do everything a little bit better
– Comprehensive thesis
– Excellent analysis
– Analyze POV in most or all documents
– Show additional ways to group the documents
– Explain why more extra documents are needed
• Including some of this could get you two extra
points for a 9
Congratulations, now
you know how to
make a 9 on a DBQ
So just do it 