1. AP World History Student: “How long should the essay be?”
Susan Firestone: (my 10th grade English Teacher), “Like a mini-skirt, long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting!”

2. APWH Essays Document Based Question (DBQ) Compare and Contrast
Change and Continuity over Time (CCOT)

4. DBQ: Step One: Analyzing The Prompt
All AP essays are written in response to an essay “prompt.” This is what you commonly call the “question.”
Understanding what this prompt asked you to do is the first important skill you need to acquire.

5. The first thing you need to do is to read the WHOLE prompt, every word of it. This is especially true if the prompt is in two sentences and/or you are given a choice about what to write about:
Analyze the cultural and political changes and continuities in TWO of the following civilizations during the last centuries of the classical era
Chinese (100 CE to 600 CE)
Roman (100 CE to 600 CE)
Indian (300 CE to 600 CE)
The first mistake students make is in reading and answering only one part of the prompt.

6. Step One…Analyzing the Info.
What is the question/prompt asking for?
Are there any terms or words that you do not understand?
DBQ’s often provide a historical background and that information SHOULD be used

7. Analyzing the Documents
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE write on the documents—circle, underline, etc. Do a SOAPS chart!
S: SPEAKER—voice which writes the piece
O: OCCASION—What? How? What was going on for someone to write this piece? In other words, the context
A: AUDIENCE—readers to whom this piece is directed. Can be a group of people
P: PURPOSE--what was so important that this article/piece/document had to be written?
S: SUBJECT—what is the document about? Always keep the prompt in mind!!!

8. DBQ Step Two: Organizing the Info
It may be helpful to develop a chart/table or some kind of jot list/organizing strategy. Some things are the same (“universals”) for all DBQ’s:
Document Number
Major point of the document
Point of view

9. Step Two…..Organizing/Grouping
Documents must be grouped into at least Three Groups….can be grouped by:
Region
“who’s talking”
Rich/poor
Technology
Agriculture
Cultural
Thematic
Chronological
Etc.

10. ……Grouping Documents must be in 3 groups or categories
Minimum of TWO docs per group, but THREE is recommended
One document may be used in more than one grouping, but NOT in three groups

11. Step Three….(POV) Point of View
For each group of documents, you must provide a POV for at least one of the documents.
POV is about the writer/source of the document, NOT what the document states itself. POV is influenced by two elements:
Historical Context: age or time period of the event; cultural setting
Frame of Reference: personal background of the author (could be age, education, beliefs, interests, values, etc.)

12. An Example of POV
“Jonathan Sampson, a native American, appears to dislike Anglo Americans because his family was murdered during the Black Kettle uprising, yet his information has been verified by eye witness accounts both native and soldiers, thus making him a credible source. (doc. 7)

13. An Example of POV
 ”Miguel Montez’s tone seems angry and resentful, because his ancestor’s land was taken by American soldiers during the Mexican American War.  He offers no evidence for his claims, thus his point of view is questionable.  (doc.5)”

14. Step Four…..Additional Document(s)
For each of your three groups, identify and explain one type of additional document that could be used AND why/how

15. Writing Tips… Avoid sentences that begin “Doc.#___ says…..”
The reader/teacher already knows the information in the document
Your job is to interpret the information AND to make and argument or draw a conclusion
Use ALL documents!

16. Organizing and Grouping
Document Numbers
Topic
POV
1,5,6
Gender Relations
“ “
2,3,4
Religious Requirements
“ “
3,5,7,8
Forced Labor
“ “

17. How to Write a Thesis…
For a thesis in the DBQ, include the date and time and talk about the components of the question. For example: Prompt: Using the documents, analyze African actions and reactions in response to the European Scramble for Africa. However, suspicious of them [Europeans], the Africans rejected the proposal, which led to their future resistances and fear against the Europeans and eventually their enslavement during the period of the Scramble for Africa.

18. Also…
After the thesis statement (somewhere in the opening paragraph), identify a document that should have been included, but was not.
Use CLEAR language
“An additional document that would help prove the _________, would be_________, because__________.

19. Thesis…..
Around the dawn of the first millennium, the Han and Roman attitudes towards technology were both self glorifying; however, the Han Empire in China placed more value on technology and enhancements than did the Romans, as evidenced by the constant concern on the part of the Han and the occasional indifference on the part of the Romans.

20. CCOT
Analyze changes and continuities in long-distance migrations in the period from 1700 to Be sure to include specific examples from at least TWO different world regions.

21. Compare and Contrast
Analyze similarities and differences in the rise of TWO of the following empires.
A West African Sudanic empire (Mali OR Ghana OR Songhay)
The Aztec Empire
The Mongol Empire