The WHAP DBQ!What you need to know to do well on the World History AP

Document Based Question.

Robin… What’s is a DBQ?

WHAP the DBQ!

“DB… what?” • 45-minute timed writing• Assesses your scholarly writing skills• Assesses your ability to think critically • Must analyze 8-12 primary source documents

Put on your "historian" hat to demonstrate your ability to analyze source materials and develop an essay based on those materials.

Your goal: a unified essay that integrates your analysis given documents with your treatment of the topic.

Document-Based Essay Question You don’t need to “know” anything

about history to nail the DBQ.The more you know, the better,

but you can score a 9 without knowledge of history.

All the information that you need to score high is contained or can be inferred from the documents you are given.

Writing the DBQ is a skill. Skills can be learned.

Comparative topics on the major themes, including comparative questions about different societies in situations of mutual contact.

10 minute reading period (mandatory). – You cannot write in your green booklet – Think about the documents

40 minutes to write the essay.

What should you be on the lookout for with the DBQ?

A set of 8-12 primary source documents– Text– Painting– Sculpture– Photo– Artifact

A short paragraph or two of background information

Can you crack the case?The source materials are chosen for

two reasons: the information they convey about the topic and the perspective they offer on other documents used in the section.

There is no one perfect DBQ answer; a variety of approaches and responses are possible depending on your ability to understand the documents and, ultimately, judge their significance.

Remember: You'll most fully understand some of the documents when you view them within the wider context of the entire series.

DBQ Prompt:Read the prompt. Underline the words that relate

to the prompt expectation (task).

– Analyze– Discuss– List – Contrast

Don’t let the prompt/question “riddle” you!

What is Joan of Arc made of?

Maid of Orleans!

Understand the task the prompt is asking you to perform– Analyze: examine each part of the

whole in a systematic way, then evaluate

– Define: briefly tell what something means

– Discuss: give details about; illustrate with examples

– Explain: Make something clear by giving reasons or examples; tell how and why

DBQ Prompt: Look at the VERB

What people are always in a hurry?

Russians!

Don’t let the DBQ FREAK you out, man!

Categorize/classify: sort into groups based on a given set of traits or features

Compare & contrast: point out similarities (compare) and differences (contrast)

Determine cause & effect: decide what leads to an event or circumstance (cause) and what results from an event or circumstance (effect)

Evaluate/judge: Determine the worth or wisdom of an opinion, belief or idea

Argue/defend/justify/support: give evidence to show why an idea is right or good

I can’t… stop… Looking at the VERB!

What is the question asking?Example:

Compare and contrast the various religious and philosophical perspectives that developed in the classical period.

Include in your discussion examples from at least two of the following: Mesopotamia, Greece, China

Write down on your notes what you would have underlined from this prompt.

What did you underline?You should have noticed

Compare and contrast (not describe, explain, etc.)

Religious and philosophical (not political, economic)

Classical period (not postclassical, not ancient, not modern)

Timing is important! You will not receive credit for information that does fit within the specified time.

What about the historical background?It sets the sceneIs intended to stimulate your memoryYou DO NOT receive points for citing

the background information

When writing the document-based essay, it's important to:

READ THE DOCUMENTS!Look at the source Who wrote it? What is their perspective?

The POINT OF VIEW of the document is essential to understanding

An upper-class Greek man will have a very different perspective on “democracy” than a slave or a women!

A Buddhist will have a different perspective on the meaning of life than a Jew

An enslaved African will have a different perspective than a white plantation owner

AP PARTSYou should learn to do this every time you come into contact with a new document.

* Author - Who created the source? What is their point of view?* Place and Time - Where and when was the source produced?* Prior Knowledge - What do you already know that would further your understanding of this sources?* Audience - For whom was the source created? Does this affect the reliability of the source?* Reason - Why was this source produced at the time is was produced?* The Main Idea - What is the source trying to convey?* Significance - Why is this source important?

DBQ Tips:Group or juxtapose

documents in a variety of ways (according to their ideas or points of view)

Suggest reasons for similarities or differences in perspective among the documents;

And identify possible biases or inconsistencies within documents.

Don’t have regrets after the AP test is over about the DBQ!

CategoriesTry to come up with 3

categories into which the documents fit– Remember, just like with

vocabulary, some of the documents will fit into MORE than 1 category

– Ask yourself: which is the best fit?

Make a chart!1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

G

P

E

R

S

I

A

Into what categories do the documents BEST fit?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

G X X XP X XE X XR XS X X XI X XA

Write that thesis!AP graders can assign a probable score to your essay by

glancing at the introduction.– Is there a thesis? – Does it respond to the prompt (and not restate it) – Does it include all of the necessary components? – No thesis, you will NOT score high; you might not even score at all!

Don’t FREEZE up and get SCARED.You can do it.

Write that thesis!Example:

Compare and contrast the various religious and philosophical perspectives that developed in the classical period.

Include in your discussion examples from at least two of the following:

Mesopotamia, Greece, China

Let’s do some exploring.

Write a thesis based on a guess of what you think would be a good thesis.

Evaluate the thesis:

Many different religious and philosophical ideas developed during the classical period.

Ouch. You are about to get crushed.

Ice cream is cold. The sun is hot. Freshman are losers.

That much is evident from the prompt. Furthermore, it just restates the prompt but does not respond to it!

Evaluate the thesis:Different religious and philosophical perspectives arose in classical China and Greece. They were different and similar in many ways.

Pizza-Taco anyone? If you can take two words (China/Greece) & replace them with Pizza/Taco and make the same amount of sense, you are in trouble.

You are wasting words!

Also, it is NOT the best idea to construct a 2-sentence thesis!

Evaluate the thesis:Whereas the classical Greeks developed a secular, rational, or scientific way to seeing worldly phenomenon, the ancient Jews of Mesopotamia explained their world in terms of an all powerful God who supernaturally intervened in human history.

There it is! It responds to the prompt, but does not restate it!

StructureYour thesis will anticipate the essay structure.Topic 1: Greek rationalism

• Proof 1 (document citation)• Proof 2 (document citation)• Proof 3 (document citation)

Topic 2: Supernatural Judaism• Proof 1 (document citation)• Proof 2 (document citation)• Proof 3 (document citation)

How do I cite documents? Cite them internally with a parentheses and the letter of the document.Examples:

ANALYZE THE DOCUMENTS, MAKE INFERENCES, AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS. DON’T SUMMARIZE THEM!

….therefore, the Hebrews clearly saw history as the product of an all knowing and caring Deity rather than an impersonal forces of nature (doc. C)

Plato’s argument therefore (doc. A), reflects his aversion toward democracy in favor of an authoritarian system in which philosopher-kings ruled.

NOQUOTING

I said, “No Quoting.”

Thinking of adding outside information?

Risky play!

It can help you, but only if you have already nailed each document, analyzed point of view three times, and made no other mistakes.

My advice: concentrate on doc analysis

This guy is handsome, but if he plans on citing Mulan on his WHAP DBQ, I’m dropping him like a led balloon.

DBQ? What DB.. She is so… pretty. I am the man.

BASIC CORE (competence) 0-7 Points

1. Has acceptable thesis 1 Point

2. Addresses all documents. Understands the basic meaning of documents. (May misinterpret one document.)

1 Point

3. Supports thesis with appropriate evidence from all documents. 2 Points

(Supports thesis with appropriate evidence from all but one document) (1 Point)

4. Analyzes point of view in at least two documents 1 Point

5. Analyzes documents by grouping them in two or three ways, depending on the question 1 Point

6. Identifies and explains the need for one type of appropriate additional document or source 1 Point

Subtotal /7 Points

EXPANDED CORE (excellence)(Historical skills and knowledge required to show excellence) 0-2 Points

Subtotal /2 Points

TOTAL /9 Points

9 = 100%8 = 100%7 = 95% 6 = 90% 5 = 85% 4 = 75% 3 = 70% 2 = 60% 1 = 50%

BASIC CORE (competence) 0-7 Points

1. Has acceptable thesis 1 Point

2. Addresses all documents. Understands the basic meaning of documents. (May misinterpret one document.)

1 Point

3. Supports thesis with appropriate evidence from all documents. 2 Points

(Supports thesis with appropriate evidence from all but one document) (1 Point)

4. Analyzes point of view in at least two documents 1 Point

5. Analyzes documents by grouping them in two or three ways, depending on the question 1 Point

6. Identifies and explains the need for one type of appropriate additional document or source

1 Point

Subtotal /7 Points

EXPANDED CORE (excellence)(Historical skills and knowledge required to show excellence) 0-2 Points

Subtotal /2 Points

TOTAL /9 Points

Essay Tips From Jedi Masters• Do NOT use words with which you

are not familiar. Misuse of words makes you appear desperate!

• Do NOT preach, moralize, editorialize or use “cute” comments. This is a risky play.

• Do NOT try to write about what you believe; write about what you can prove!

• Write neatly and legibly.• Drop personal pronouns: “I” don’t

care what “you” think! • Use correct grammar, spelling and

punctuation.

Not use this sage advice you will?

Use the sage advice… it’s almost as awesome as this picture.

You can do it!