1. Writing a DBQ
An Intro

2. What is a DBQ?
An essay question that asks you to take a position on an issue that has several possible answers
No “right” or “correct” response
You must craft a thesis based on your own knowledge and your interpretation of the evidence presented

3. DBQ Documents Charts, graphs, and maps Newspaper articles/editorials
Speeches
Letters
Diaries
Laws
Treaties
Executive orders
Editorial cartoons

4. Prompt analysis format
Here is a 9-step method for answering a DBQ…

5. The Question
Read the question carefully, then think about the following:
What is the essence of the question?
Is it a yes/no, “to what extent,” or “compare and contrast” question?
Does it have more than one part?
Are there bullets provided?
Is there a choice of responses?

6. Sample DBQ Prompt
Discuss the changing ideals of American womanhood between the American Revolution (1770s) and the outbreak of the Civil War. What factors fostered the emergence of “republican motherhood” and the “cult of domesticity”? Assess the extent to which these ideals influenced the lives of women during this period. In your answer be sure to consider issues of race and class.

7. Sample DBQ Prompt: Key Terms
Discuss the changing ideals of American womanhood between the American Revolution (1770s) and the outbreak of the Civil War. What factors fostered the emergence of “republican motherhood” and the “cult of domesticity”? Assess the extent to which these ideals influenced the lives of women during this period. In your answer be sure to consider issues of race and class.

8. Key Terms Defined “ideals of American womanhood”
Following the Revolutionary War, America has reputation for equality and social democracy… What about women? 
From the Revolution to the Civil War, the ideal of womanhood was redefined due to their new opportunities in the workforce, their work in abolition, and the fight for women’s rights.
“republican motherhood”
The ideology that emerged as a result of independence where women played an indispensible role by training future citizens.
“cult of domesticity”
a prevailing value system among the upper and middle classes during the nineteenth century in the United States and Great Britain. This value system emphasized new ideas of femininity, the woman's role within the home and the dynamics of work and family. "True women" were supposed to possess four cardinal virtues: piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness.

9. Data Parameters Does the question state specific dates? What are they?
If no specific date parameters are given, set ones of your own
List presidents of the period
Put the question in chronological context of the events and culture of the period

10. Data Parameters
Discuss the changing ideals of American womanhood between the American Revolution (1770s) and the outbreak of the Civil War. What factors fostered the emergence of “republican motherhood” and the “cult of domesticity”? Assess the extent to which these ideals influenced the lives of women during this period. In your answer be sure to consider issues of race and class.

11. Construct a Database
Use a database to organize outside information you know that may be relevant to the question
PERSIA
Write down headings on the back of your test booklet
Create the database BEFORE you read the documents
Next, read the documents and add any other info to your database that occurs to you

12. Analyze the Documents
A document is not a fact, but a piece of evidence to interpret
Point of view is crucial
Does the document support or refute your thesis?

13. SOAPS
S- subject: What is being discussed? O- occasion: What is the context of events? A- audience: To whom is the message directed? P- purpose: What is the recommended action to the reader? S- speaker: What/who is the source?

14. APPARTS A=Author: P=Place and time: P=Prior knowledge:
Who created the source? What do you know about the author? What is the author’s point of view?
P=Place and time:
Where and when was the source produced? How might this have affected the content of the source?
P=Prior knowledge:
Beyond information about the author and the context of its creation, what do you know that would help you further understand the source?

15. APPARTS A=Audience: R=Reason why: T=The main idea: S=Significance:
For whom was the source created? How might this affect the reliability of the source?
R=Reason why:
Why was this source produced? How might this affect the reliability of the source?
T=The main idea:
What point is the source trying to convey?
S=Significance:
Why is this source important? Ask yourself, “So what?” in relation to the question asked.

16. POV Statements When completing Doc POV statements include:
Doc identification by author AND LETTER
Title or description
Significance statement

17. POV Statements- Page
“The American Scholar” (1837)- Ralph Waldo Emerson
In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “The American Scholar” (DOC LETTER) he defines the freedom of the “single-individual” as the freedom to think for oneself and speak one’s own mind.

18. POV Statements “Factory Life as It Is, by an Operative” (1845)
In “Factory Life as It Is, by an Operative” (DOC LETTER) a female factory worker compares her working conditions to those of slaves because she is forced to work long hours with very strictly regulated breaks, required to follow the arbitrary rulings of factory owners without questioning them, and deprived of education and culture—moral, religious, and intellectual. Her decision to compare her working conditions to slavery in the South is an effort to trigger the consciousness of the factory owners and other northerners, who show great concerns for slaves in the South but ignore the working conditions in their own states.

19. Writing the Essay
APUSH DBQ

20. Intro Paragraph Insight: analysis, perspective, point of view
Make a strong first impression
Provide analysis of the question
The reader should know your position on the question unequivocally after the first paragraph

21. Intro Paragraph Continued
Your opening paragraph should contain the following:
1. A restatement of the question. This should reflect the question as you understand it. Do not simply recopy the question; AP readers generally view this as “taking up space.”
2. A brief definition of the terms and parameters as you understand them
3. Insightful commentary on the question and its complexity
4. Your thesis

22. Thesis Statement AP/TP/3 Cats- USE IT!
A positive assertion regarding an issue about which reasonable people may hold different opinions
Answers the question in one sentence
Use your notes and database to organize your arguments
Don’t discuss the documents in the order in which the DBQ presents them

23. Body of Essay Provide factual support for your thesis
Stay focused on the question
Don’t just write down everything you know about the topic
Chronological sequence is more important than precise dates

24. Body of Essay cont. Stick to the facts; don’t editorialize
Make sure that each point you make supports your thesis
Include outside information
Cite a majority of the documents

25. Citing Documents Document A Citations in the essay:
Margaret Bayard Smith's Eyewitness Account of Jackson's Inauguration (1829)
Citations in the essay:
In her eyewitness account of Jackson’s inauguration (Doc A), Margaret Bayard Smith describes…
Margaret Bayard Smith's Eyewitness Account of Jackson's Inauguration (Doc A) showcases…

26. Conclusion
Provide a conclusion that restates the essence of your thesis and wraps up your argument.
Do not simply copy your thesis
DO NOT USE
“In Conclusion…”
“This essay as shown…”
Or any variations of the above

27. Summary 1. What is the ESSENCE of the question?
2. What key terms need to be DEFINED?
3. Are the date PARAMETERS stated?
4. Construct a DATABASE
5. Analyze the documents (SOAPS or APPARTS). Always
take POINT OF VIEW into account.
6. Provide INSIGHT into the complexity of the question
7. Write a clear THESIS that answers the question in one
sentence
8. Provide abundant and appropriate factual SUPPORT for
your thesis
9. If time permits, write a CONCLUSION

28. DBQ Facts and TIps For the exam, the DBQ counts for 25%
Long Essay = 15%.
Multiple Choice = 40%
Short Answer Questions = 20%
You have 55 minutes to write the DBQ.
That’s roughly 45 minutes for the DBQ with 10 minutes prep, planning, and doc analysis.
• Handwriting matters!