The DBQ & You Death By Question, Not So Much. Adapted from John Irish

The Do’s Read and understand the whole prompt. Not doing this is a HUGE mistake that many students make. Look for clues as to what the reader wants to see; Change Over Time, To What Extent… Find the POV of each document and WRITE IT DOWN. Bundle or Group the documents based on commonalities and LABEL the groups.

More Do’s Read the historical background and determine the significance Reread the documents looking for bias, or other points of interest. Develop your thesis and make sure to cover ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION. If you want a good score, use MOST of the documents.

Yet More Do’s ANALYZE the documents – this means you have to use a why/because structure at least once when addressing the docs you choose to use. – How? Contradictory POV, external info that answers why, compare or contrast the docs themselves.

The Don’ts Don’t make a list and check it twice. The docs aren’t your groceries. Don’t explain them in isolation, group them up. Don’t let the docs be rugged individualists, they are socialists! Don’t forget why. Why? Because. Don’t use and lose. Don’t try so hard to use all the docs that you lose your essay answer. Don’t just repeat the docs. Understand and explain them.

The Process of Writing Read and Break It Down – make sure you know all parts of the question. Brain Drain everything you can think of that is relevant. Write It Down! Craft three body paragraphs and organize your brain gibs into these categories.