Strategies for Writing a DBQ(also applies to Informative

Writing)

What is a Document-Based question?

• A Document-Based Question (DBQ) requires students to write an essay in which the defense of the thesis comes from an analysis of original source documents as well as outside knowledge of a specific time period and topic

To Feel Comfortable Answering a DBQ

• S ubject• A udience• P urpose• O ccasion

Author• Who created the document?• Does the author have a viewpoint that affects the meaning of the

document?Place and Time• Where and when was the document created?• Does the place and time affect the meaning of the document?Prior Knowledge• What do you know beyond the information provided in the

document?Audience• For whom was the document created?• Does the intended audience affect the document’s reliability?Reason• Why was the document produced at the time it was produced?The Main Idea• What is the document about?• What point is the document trying to convey?Significance• So what? How does the document relate to the topic you are

studying?• Why is the document important?

APPARTS

Writing the DBQ: A Five-Step Process

Step 1: Read the question and make sure you understand all parts of the question

Sample DBQ: To what extent did the idea of “equality,” as stated in the Declaration ofIndependence, bring about the Civil War in 1861?

Step 2: Read and analyze each document using AP PARTS.

Remember to list outside information as you analyze the documents

Step 3: Make an assertion. Remember to answer the question.

• Sample Assertion: Although some may argue that economic differences led to the Civil War, the war was caused primarily by political disagreements over the nature of equality.

Step 4: Test your assertion and prepare your essay using the Yes/But

strategy.

Step 5: Write the Essay.• On the SAGE students will have 60 minutes to

answer the informational writing prompt. Students should spend 15-20 minutes on the first four steps. Writing the essay should take 40-45 minutes

Rubric for Expository Writing (SAGE)

4The response is fully sustained and consistently and

purposefully focused: • controlling idea or main idea of a topic is focused,

clearly stated, and strongly maintained • controlling idea or main idea of a topic is introduced

and communicated clearly within the purpose, audience, and task

4The response has a clear and effective organizational

structure creating unity and completeness: • effective, consistent use of a variety of transitional

strategies between and among ideas • logical progression of ideas from beginning to end • effective introduction and conclusion for audience and

purpose • strong connections among ideas, with some syntactic

variety

4The response provides thorough and convincing

support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the effective use of sources, facts, and details. The response achieves substantial depth that is specific and relevant:

• use of evidence from sources is cited, smoothly integrated, comprehensive, relevant, and concrete

• effective use of a variety of elaborative techniques • The response clearly and effectively expresses ideas, using

precise language• use of academic and domain-specific vocabulary is clearly

appropriate for the audience and purpose

3The response is adequately sustained and generally focused: •focus is clear and for the most part maintained, though some loosely related material may be present •some context for the controlling idea or main idea of the topic is adequate within the purpose, audience, and task

3The response has an evident organizational structure and a sense of completeness, though there may be minor flaws and some ideas may be loosely connected: •adequate use of transitional strategies with some variety between and among ideas •adequate progression of ideas from beginning to end •adequate introduction and conclusion •adequate, if slightly inconsistent, connection among ideas

3The response provides adequate support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the use of sources, facts, and details: •some evidence from sources is integrated, though citations may be general or imprecise •adequate use of some elaborative techniques •The response adequately expresses ideas, employing a mix of precise with more general language: •use of domain-specific vocabulary is generally appropriate for the audience and purpose

0 – 2The response is somewhat sustained and may have a minor drift

in focus: • may be clearly focused on the controlling or main idea, but is

insufficiently sustained • controlling idea or main idea may be unclear and somewhat

unfocused

0-2The response has an inconsistent organizational structure, and flaws are evident: •inconsistent use of transitional strategies with little variety •uneven progression of ideas from beginning to end •conclusion and introduction, if present, are weak •weak connection among ideas NSInsufficient, illegible, foreign language, incoherent, off-topic, or off-purpose writing

Information to Help You Write Better Informational Essays

1. DBQ, or Informative, essays with no outside information or no analysis of the documents will receive a score no higher than four on a nine-point assessment. A thorough analysis of the documents with an adequate thesis and no outside information will generally receive a four. Students who add some outside information will generally receive a five or higher

2. Students should make sure they stay in the time period required by the question

3. Students should avoid quoting long passages from the documents; this leaves little time for analysis of the documents.

4. Simply restating what a document is about is not enough. Students should make sure they analyze the documents and make inferences from the documents

5. Students should avoid writing a “laundry-list” analysis of each document.

6. Although student scores will not be hurt by referring to documents in parentheses with the letter of the document (e.g., Document A), we should hold students to a higher standard and ask that they refer to documents within the text

(e.g., “According to the Census Report of 1890 . . .” or “As evident in John Kennedy’s Address to Congress in 1961 . . .”).

7. Students should use specific names, terms, and events (i.e., proper nouns) as outside information.

8. Students should make sure they keep returning to the main topic of the essay to stay on topic

9. Students should use the introductory paragraph to define terms, provide historical background, define the time period, and state points of validation. In most cases, students should not write an introduction that is too long; introductory information should be kept to a minimum.

10. Errors in grammar and style are not a serious problem unless they detract from the comprehension of the essay