How To Cite Documents In A Dbq

The DBQ, or document-based-question, is a somewhat unusually-formatted timed essay on the AP History Exams: AP U.s. History, AP European History, and AP Earth History. Because of its unfamiliarity, many students are at a loss as to how to fifty-fifty ready, let alone how to write a successful DBQ essay on test day.

Never fear! I, the DBQ magician and master, have a wealth of preparation strategies for y'all, as well as advice on how to cram everything you need to cover into your limited DBQ writing fourth dimension on test day. When you're done reading this guide, you'll know exactly how to write a DBQ.

For a general overview of the DBQ—what information technology is, its purpose, its format, etc.—encounter my commodity "What is a DBQ?"

Table of Contents

What Should My Study Timeline Be?

Preparing for the DBQ

Plant a Baseline

Foundational Skills

Rubric Breakup

Take Another Exercise DBQ

How Can I Succeed on Test Day?

Reading the Question and Documents

Planning Your Essay

Writing Your Essay

Key Takeaways

What Should My DBQ Study Timeline Exist?

Your AP examination study timeline depends on a few things. Starting time, how much time you lot take to report per week, and how many hours you want to study in total? If you don't have much time per week, start a picayune earlier; if you will be able to devote a substantial amount of time per week (10-15 hours) to prep, you tin look until later in the year.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the earlier y'all beginning studying for your AP test, the less cloth yous volition accept covered in class. Brand sure you continually review older material as the schoolhouse year goes on to keep things fresh in your mind, just in terms of DBQ prep it probably doesn't make sense to outset before February or January at the accented primeval.

Another factor is how much you need to work on. I recommend you complete a baseline DBQ around early February to see where you lot need to focus your efforts.

If, for instance, you lot got a half-dozen out of vii and missed 1 signal for doing further document analysis, you lot won't need to spend too much time studying how to write a DBQ. Maybe but do a document analysis do every few weeks and check in a couple months after with some other timed do DBQ to make sure you've got it.

However, if yous got a two or iii out of seven, you'll know you have more than work to do, and you'll probably want to devote at least an hour or two every week to honing your skills.

The general menstruation of your preparation should be: take a practice DBQ, practise focused skills do, have some other practice DBQ, do focused skills practice, have another practise DBQ, and so on. How often yous accept the practice DBQs and how many times you repeat the bicycle actually depends on how much preparation you need, and how often you lot want to cheque your progress. Take exercise DBQs often enough that the format stays familiar, but not so much that you've washed barely any skills practice in betwixt.

He'due south set up to beginning studying!

Preparing for the DBQ

The full general preparation procedure is to diagnose, exercise, test, and repeat. First, you'll effigy out what you need to work on by establishing a baseline level for your DBQ skills. Then, y'all'll practise edifice skills. Finally, you'll take another DBQ to see how you've improved and what you however demand to work on.

In this next section, I'll go over the whole process. Showtime, I'll give guidance on how to found a baseline. Then I'll go over some basic, foundational essay-writing skills and how to build them. Afterwards that I'll interruption down the DBQ rubric. You'll be acing exercise DBQs before you know it!

#1: Constitute a Baseline

The kickoff thing yous need to do is to establish a baseline—figure out where you lot are at with respect to your DBQ skills. This will let you lot know where you lot need to focus your preparation efforts.

To do this, you will take a timed, practice DBQ and take a trusted teacher or advisor class it co-ordinate to the appropriate rubric.

AP US History

For the AP The states History DBQ, you'll be given a 15-minute reading period and 45 minutes of writing fourth dimension.

A selection of practice questions from the exam can exist found online at the College Board, including a DBQ. (Go to page 136 in the linked document for the practice prompt.)

If you've already seen this practice question, mayhap in grade, y'all might utilize the 2015 DBQ question.

Other bachelor College Board DBQs are going to be in the erstwhile format (discover them in the "Complimentary-Response Questions" documents). This is fine if you lot need to use them, but be certain to use the new rubric (which is out of 7 points, rather than nine) to form.

I advise you to save all these links, or even download all the Complimentary Response Questions and the Scoring Guides, for reference because yous will be using them over again and once again for practice.

AP European History

For this exam, you'll be given a xv-minute reading period and 45 minutes of writing time.

The College Board has provided practice questions for the exam, including a DBQ (see page 200 in the linked document).

If you lot've already seen this question, the merely other questions available through the College Board are in the old format, because the 2016 DBQ is in a new, seven-point format identical to the AP US History exam. Just be sure to utilise the new DBQ rubric if yous desire to use whatsoever of the onetime prompts provided by the College Lath. (DBQs are in the documents titled "Gratis-Response Questions.")

I suggest y'all to save all these links (or even download all the Free Response Questions and the Scoring Guides) for reference, considering you volition exist using them again and once more for exercise.

Who knows—maybe this volition exist one of your documents!

AP World History

For this test, y'all'll be given a 15-infinitesimal reading flow and 45 minutes of writing fourth dimension. As for the other 2 history exams, the College Board has provided practice questions. See page 166 for the DBQ.

If you've already seen this question, the only other questions bachelor through the College Board are in the old format, because the 2017 World History DBQ is in a new, 7-point format identical to the AP United states of america History and AP European History exams. Then be sure to use the new DBQ rubric if you desire to utilize any of the erstwhile prompts provided by the College Board. (DBQs are in the documents titled "Costless-Response Questions.")

I propose you to salvage all these links (or even download all the Free Response Questions and the Scoring Guides) for reference, because y'all will be using them once again and again for practice.

Finding a Trusted Advisor to Look at Your Papers

A history instructor would be a bang-up resource, simply if they are not available to you in this chapters, here are some other ideas:

• An English teacher.

• Ask a librarian at your school or public library! If they can't help you, they may be able to direct you lot to resources who can.

• You could also inquire a schoolhouse guidance counselor to direct you to in-schoolhouse resources you could use.

• A tutor. This is peculiarly helpful if they are familiar with the examination, although even if they aren't, they can still propose—the DBQ is generally testing academic writing skills nether pressure.

• Your parent(s)! Once again, ideally your trusted advisor will exist familiar with the AP, merely if you have used your parents for writing assist in the past they tin as well aid hither.

• You might try an older friend who has already taken the exam and did well...although behave in listen that some people are better at doing than scoring and/or explaining!

Can I Fix For My Baseline?

If you know nothing almost the DBQ and yous'd like to exercise a little basic familiarization before you lot establish your baseline, that's completely fine. There'due south no point in taking a practice exam if yous are going to panic and muddle your way through it; information technology won't requite a useful motion-picture show of your skills.

For a basic orientation, check out my commodity for a basic introduction to the DBQ including DBQ format.

If y'all want to look at i or 2 sample essays, come across my article for a list of DBQ case essay resource. Keep in mind that you should use a fresh prompt you haven't seen to establish your baseline, though, and then if yous practice await at samples don't use those prompts to fix your baseline.

I would also check out this page about the various "task" words associated with AP essay questions. This folio was created primarily for the AP European History Long Essay question, but the definitions are even so useful for the DBQ on all the history exams, particularly since these are the definitions provided past the College Board.

Once yous feel oriented, accept your practise examination!

Don't worry if y'all don't do well on your start practise! That'south what studying is for. The point of establishing a baseline is non to brand you feel bad, but to empower you to focus your efforts on the areas y'all need to piece of work on. Fifty-fifty if yous need to piece of work on all the areas, that is completely fine and doable! Every skill you lot need for the DBQ tin can exist built .

In the following section, we'll go over these skills and how to build them for each exam.

Yous need a stronger foundation than this sand castle.

#2: Develop Foundational Skills

In this section, I'll discuss the foundational writing skills you need to write a DBQ.

I'll start with some general information on crafting an effective thesis , since this is a skill you lot will need for any DBQ test (and for your entire bookish life). And then, I'll go over outlining essays, with some sample outline ideas for the DBQ. Afterwards I'll touch on time management. Finally, I'll briefly discuss how to non-awkwardly integrate data from your documents into your writing.

It sounds like a lot, but non simply are these skills vital to your academic career in general, yous probably already have the basic building blocks to primary them in your armory!

Writing An Constructive Thesis

Writing a good thesis is a skill you lot volition need to develop for all your DBQs, and for whatsoever essay you write, on the AP or otherwise.

Here are some general rules equally to what makes a adept thesis:

• A practiced thesis does more simply recapitulate the prompt.

  • Let's say our form prompt is: "Analyze the primary factors that led to the French Revolution."

  • Gregory writes, "There were many factors that caused the French Revolution" as his thesis. This is not an constructive thesis. All it does is vaguely restate the prompt.

• A practiced thesis makes a plausible claim that you lot tin defend in an essay-length piece of writing.

  • Peradventure Karen writes, "Marie Antoinette caused the French Revolution when she said 'Let them eat cake' because it made people mad."

  • This is not an effective thesis, either. For one thing, Marie Antoinette never said that. More importantly, how are you lot going to write an entire essay on how 1 offhand comment by Marie Antoinette caused the entire Revolution? This is both implausible and overly simplistic.

• A good thesis answers the question.

  • If LaToya writes, "The Reign of Terror led to the ultimate demise of the French Revolution and ultimately paved the fashion for Napoleon Bonaparte to seize command of France," she may be making a reasonable, defensible claim, but it doesn't reply the question, which is not about what happened after the Revolution, simply what acquired it!

• A good thesis makes it articulate where yous are going in your essay.

  • Let's say Juan writes, "The French Revolution, while caused by a variety of political, social, and economical factors, was primarily incited by the emergence of the highly educated Bourgeois class." This thesis provides a mini-roadmap for the entire essay, laying out that Juan is going to talk over the political, social, and economic factors that led to the Revolution, in that order, and that he will argue that the members of the Bourgeois grade were the ultimate inciters of the Revolution.

  • This is a great thesis! It answers the question, makes an overarching point, and provides a clear thought of what the author is going to discuss in the essay.

To review: a good thesis makes a merits, responds to the prompt, and lays out what you will hash out in your essay.

If you experience like you have trouble telling the departure between a good thesis and a not-then-expert one, here are a few resource you lot can consult:

• This site from SUNY Empire has an exercise in choosing the best thesis from several options. Information technology's meant for research papers, but the general rules every bit to what makes a skillful thesis utilize.

• About.com has another exercise in choosing thesis statements specifically for short essays. Note, yet, that most of the right answers here would be "good" thesis statements equally opposed to "super" thesis statements.

• This guide from the University of Iowa provides some actually helpful tips on writing a thesis for a history paper.

Then how practice you practice your thesis argument skills for the DBQ?

While yous should definitely practice looking at DBQ questions and documents and writing a thesis in response to those, you may also find it useful to write some practice thesis statements in response to the Free-Response Questions. While yous won't be taking any documents into account in your argument for the Costless-Response Questions, it's good practice on how to construct an effective thesis in general.

Yous could even try writing multiple thesis statements in response to the same prompt! It is a great exercise to see how y'all could arroyo the prompt from unlike angles. Time yourself for 5-10 minutes to mimic the time force per unit area of the AP examination.

If possible, take a trusted advisor or friend await over your practice statements and give you feedback. Barring that, looking over the scoring guidelines for old prompts (accessible from the aforementioned page on the College Board where past free-response questions can be found) will provide you with useful tips on what might brand a good thesis in response to a given prompt.

Once you can write a thesis, y'all need to exist able to support information technology—that'due south where outlining comes in!

This is non a skilful outline.

Outlining and Formatting Your Essay

Yous may be the greatest document analyst and thesis-author in the world, merely if you don't know how to put it all together in a DBQ essay outline, you won't be able to write a cohesive, loftier-scoring essay on test solar day.

A good outline will conspicuously lay out your thesis and how you are going to support that thesis in your body paragraphs. It volition keep your writing organized and prevent you from forgetting anything you want to mention!

For some general tips on writing outlines, this folio from Roane State has some useful information. While the general principles of outlining an essay hold, the DBQ format is going to take its own unique outlining considerations.To that end, I've provided some brief sample outlines that volition help you striking all the of import points.

Sample DBQ Outline

1. Introduction
1. Thesis. The well-nigh important part of your intro!
2. Trunk i - contextual information
1. Any outside historical/contextual information
3. Body 2 - First indicate
1. Documents & analysis that support the first point
2. If three body paragraphs: use almost three documents, exercise deeper analysis on ii
4. Body 3 - Second point
1. Documents & assay that back up the second signal
2. Use most three documents, exercise deeper analysis on 2
3. Be sure to mention your outside case if yous take not washed so notwithstanding!
5. Body 4 (optional) - Third point
1. Documents and analysis that support tertiary point
6. Conclusion
1. Re-land thesis
2. Draw a comparing to another time period or state of affairs (synthesis)

Depending on your number of torso paragraphs and your main points, you may include different numbers of documents in each paragraph, or switch around where you place your contextual information, your outside example, or your synthesis.

There'south no one right mode to outline, just so long as each of your body paragraphs has a clear point that you back up with documents, and you retrieve to do a deeper analysis on four documents, bring in outside historical data, and make a comparison to another historical situation or time (you will see these last points further explained in the rubric breakdown).

Of form, all the organizational skills in the world won't help you if you can't write your unabridged essay in the fourth dimension allotted. The adjacent department volition comprehend fourth dimension management skills.

You can be as organized as this library!

Time Management Skills for Essay Writing

Do you know all of your essay-writing skills, but but can't become a DBQ essay together in a 15-minute planning menstruation and 40 minutes of writing?

In that location could be a few things at play here:

• Exercise you find yourself spending a lot of fourth dimension staring at a blank paper?

  • If you experience like you lot don't know where to first, spend ane-two minutes brainstorming as soon equally yous read the question and the documents. Write annihilation hither—don't censor yourself. No one volition look at those notes but yous!

  • After you lot've brainstormed for a scrap, try to organize those thoughts into a thesis, and so into body paragraphs. Information technology's better to start working and change things around than to waste material fourth dimension agonizing that y'all don't know the perfect affair to say.

• Are you besides anxious to start writing, or does anxiety distract you lot in the middle of your writing time? Do you just experience overwhelmed?

  • Sounds like test anxiety. Lots of people accept this. (Including me! I failed my driver'due south license test the first time I took it considering I was so nervous.)

  • You might talk to a guidance counselor near your anxiety. They will be able to provide advice and direct you to resource you can use.

  • There are likewise some valuable test anxiety resources online: try our guide to mindfulness (information technology's focused on the SAT, but the same concepts apply on any high-pressure level test) and bank check out tips from Minnesota Land University, these strategies from TeensHealth, or this plan for reducing anxiety from Due west Virginia University.

• Are you only two thirds of the way through your essay when 40 minutes have passed?

  • You are probably spending too long on your outline, biting off more than you lot can chew, or both.

  • If you find yourself spending xx+ minutes outlining, yous demand to practice bringing down your outline time. Think, an outline is just a guide for your essay—it is fine to switch things effectually as you are writing. It doesn't need to exist perfect. To cut down on your outline fourth dimension, practice just outlining for shorter and shorter time intervals. When you lot can write one in twenty minutes, bring it downwards to 18, then downwardly to xvi.

  • You may also be trying to cover likewise much in your newspaper. If yous have v body paragraphs, you need to scale things back to three. If yous are spending twenty minutes writing two paragraphs of contextual information, you need to trim it down to a few relevant sentences. Be mindful of where you are spending a lot of time, and target those areas.

• You don't know the problem—you simply tin can't get it done!

  • If y'all can't exactly pinpoint what'southward taking you and then long, I advise you to simply practice writing DBQs in less and less time. Get-go with 20 minutes for your outline and 50 for your essay, (or longer, if you demand). And then when y'all can do it in 20 and l, movement back to 18 minutes and 45 for writing, and so to fifteen and forty.

You absolutely can acquire to manage your time effectively so that you tin write a great DBQ in the time allotted. On to the next skill!

Integrating Citations

The last skill that isn't explicitly covered in the rubric, but will make a big deviation in your essay quality, is integrating certificate citations into your essay. In other words, how practise you reference the information in the documents in a clear, non-bad-mannered way?

Information technology is ordinarily better to use the writer or title of the document to identify a document instead of writing "Document A." Then instead of writing "Document A describes the riot every bit...," you might say, "In Sven Svenson's clarification of the riot…"

When you quote a document directly without otherwise identifying it, you may desire to include a parenthetical citation. For example, y'all might write, "The strikers were described as 'valiant and true' by the working class citizens of the city (Document E)."

Looking for help studying for your AP exam?

Our 1-on-one online AP tutoring services tin help you lot prepare for your AP exams. Go matched with a top tutor who got a high score on the test you lot're studying for!

Now that nosotros've reviewed the essential, foundational skills of the DBQ, I'll move into the rubric breakdowns. We'll discuss each skill the AP graders will exist looking for when they score your exam. All of the history exams share a DBQ rubric, so the guidelines are identical.

Don't worry, you lot won't need a magnifying glass to examine the rubric.

#3: Learn the DBQ Rubric

The DBQ rubric has four sections for a total of seven points.

Part A: Thesis - 2 Points

One point is for having a thesis that works and is historically defensible. This only ways that your thesis tin can exist reasonably supported by the documents and historical fact. Then please don't make the principal indicate of your essay that JFK was a member of the Illuminati or that Pope Urban II was an alien.

Per the Higher Lath, your thesis needs to exist located in your introduction or your determination. Yous've probably been taught to place your thesis in your intro, so stick with what you're used to. Plus, it's simply skillful writing—it helps signal where you are going in the essay and what your betoken is.

You tin can receive another betoken for having a super thesis.

The Higher Lath describes this as having a thesis that takes into account "historical complexity." Historical complexity is really but the idea that historical bear witness does not e'er hold about everything, and that there are reasons for agreement, disagreement, etc.

How will you know whether the historical show agrees or disagrees? The documents! Suppose you are responding to a prompt about women's suffrage (suffrage is the correct to vote, for those of you lot who haven't gotten to that unit in course however):

"Analyze the responses to the women's suffrage movement in the United States."

Included among your documents, you have a letter from a suffragette passionately explaining why she feels women should have the vote, a copy of a suffragette's speech at a women's meeting, a letter from one congressman to another debating the pros and cons of suffrage, and a political drawing displaying the death of order and the finish of the 'natural' order at the hands of female voters.

A simple but effective thesis might exist something like,

"Though ultimately successful, the women's suffrage movement sharply divided the country between those who believed women's suffrage was unnatural and those who believed it was an inherent correct of women."

This is good: information technology answers the question and conspicuously states the two responses to suffrage that are going to be analyzed in the essay.

A super thesis , still, would take the relationships betwixt the documents (and the people behind the documents!) into business relationship.

It might exist something like,

"The dramatic contrast between those who responded in favor of women'southward suffrage and those who fought against it revealed a fundamental rift in American gild centered on the role of women—whether women were 'naturally' meant to be socially and civilly subordinate to men, or whether they were in fact equals."

This is a "super" thesis because it gets into the specifics of the relationship betwixt historical factors and shows the broader picture—that is, what responses to women's suffrage revealed about the role of women in the U.s. overall.

It goes beyond just analyzing the specific issues to a "so what"? It doesn't just accept a position well-nigh history, it tells the reader why they should care . In this case, our super thesis tells us that the reader should care about women's suffrage because the consequence reveals a fundamental disharmonize in America over the position of women in society.

Part B: Certificate Analysis - ii Points

One point for using six or seven of the documents in your essay to support your argument. Easy-peasy! Still, make certain yous aren't just summarizing documents in a list, but are tying them dorsum to the main points of your paragraphs.

It's best to avoid writing things like, "Document A says X, and Document B says Y, and Document C says Z." Instead, y'all might write something like, "The bearding author of Certificate C expresses his back up and adoration for the suffragettes but also expresses fear that giving women the right to vote will lead to disharmonize in the home, highlighting the common fright that women's suffrage would atomic number 82 to upheaval in women'southward traditional function in guild."

Any summarizing should be continued a point. Substantially, whatever explanation of what a document says needs to exist tied to a "so what?" If it'south not clear to yous why what yous are writing about a certificate is related to your chief point, information technology'south not going to exist clear to the AP grader.

You tin get an additional betoken hither for doing farther analysis on iv of the documents. This further analysis could be in any of these 4 areas:

1. Author'due south indicate of view - Why does the author think the way that they do? What is their position in lodge and how does this influence what they are proverb?

2. Author's purpose - Why is the author writing what they are writing? What are they trying to convince their audition of?

3. Historical context - What broader historical facts are relevant to this document?

4. Audition - Who is the intended audience for this certificate? Who is the writer addressing or trying to convince?

Be sure to necktie any further assay back to your main argument! And remember, you only take to practise this for four documents for total credit, but it'due south fine to exercise it for more if you can.

Practicing Document Analysis

And then how exercise you exercise certificate assay? Past analyzing documents!

Luckily for AP test takers everywhere, New York State has an test called the Regents Exam that has its own DBQ section. Before they write the essay, however, New York students have to reply short answer questions about the documents.

Answering Regents exam DBQ short-respond questions is expert do for basic document analysis. While most of the questions are pretty basic, it's a practiced warm-upward in terms of thinking more deeply about the documents and how to employ them. This set up of Regent-style DBQs from the Teacher's Projection are mostly about United states of america History, but the do could exist practiced for other tests besides.

This prompt from the Morningside center also has some good document comprehensions questions about a US-History based prompt.

Note: While the document brusque-answer questions are useful for thinking about bones certificate analysis, I wouldn't propose completing entire Regents exam DBQ essay prompts for practice, because the format and rubric are both somewhat different from the AP.

Your AP history textbook may also have documents with questions that yous tin can use to practice. Flip effectually in in that location!

This otter is ready to swim in the waters of the DBQ.

When you desire to do a deeper dive on the documents, you lot tin can besides pull out those former Higher Lath DBQ prompts.

• Read the documents advisedly. Write down everything that comes to your attention. Do further analysis—author's point of view, purpose, audience, and historical context—on all the documents for practice, fifty-fifty though you volition only demand to practise additional analysis on iv on test 24-hour interval. Of course, y'all might non exist able to do all kinds of further analysis on things similar maps and graphs, which is fine.

• You might likewise try thinking about how you would adapt those observations in an statement, or even try writing a do outline! This exercise would combine your thesis and document-analysis skills exercise.

• When yous've analyzed everything yous can possibly think of for all the documents, pull up the Scoring Guide for that prompt. Information technology helpfully has an entire list of assay points for each document.

  • Consider what they identified that you lot missed.

  • Exercise you seem mode off-base of operations in your interpretation? If so, how did it happen?

Function C: Using Testify Beyond the Documents - 2 Points

Don't exist freaked out by the fact that this is two points!

One point is just for context—if you can locate the issue within its broader historical state of affairs. You do need to write several sentences to a paragraph about it, but don't stress; all y'all actually need to know to be able to get this point is data about major historical trends over time, and you will need to know this anyways for the multiple pick section. If the question is about the Dust Bowl during the Smashing Depression, for example, be sure to include some of the general information you know about the Great Depression! Smash. Contextualized.

The other point is for naming a specific, relevant example in your essay that does not appear in the documents.

To practice your exterior data skills, pull up your Higher Board prompts!

• Read through the prompt and documents and then write downward all of the contextualizing facts and as many specific examples as you can think of.

• I advise timing yourself—perhaps 5-ten minutes to read the documents and prompt and list your exterior cognition—to imitate the time pressure of the DBQ.

• When yous've exhausted your knowledge, brand sure to fact-cheque your examples and your contextual information! You lot don't want to employ incorrect information on test twenty-four hours.

• If y'all can't recall whatever examples or contextual information about that topic, look some upwards! This will assist fill in holes in your knowledge.

Office D: Synthesis - i Bespeak

All you need to do for synthesis is relate your argument about this specific fourth dimension flow to a dissimilar time period, geographical area, historical motion, etc. It is probably easiest to do this in the decision of the essay. If your essay is about the Great Low, you might relate it to the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

You practise demand to practice more than just mention your synthesis connection. You need to make it meaningful. How are the ii things you lot are comparing similar? What does one reveal about the other? Is there a key deviation that highlights something important?

To practice your synthesis skills—you lot guessed information technology—pull upward your College Lath prompts!

• Read through the prompt and documents and then identify what historical connections you could make for your synthesis betoken. Be sure to write a few words on why the connection is pregnant!
• A cracking mode to brand certain that your synthesis connection makes sense is to explain it to someone else. If you explain what you think the connection is and they get it, you lot're probably on the correct rail.
• Y'all tin can also look at sample responses and the scoring guide for the old prompts to see what other connections students and AP graders made.

That'southward a wrap on the rubric! Allow's move on to skill-building strategy.

Don't let the DBQ turn y'all into a dissolving ghost-person, though.

#four: Focus on Your Skill-Building Strategy

You've probably noticed that my advice on how to practise individual rubric skills is pretty similar: pull out a prompt and do a timed practice focusing on just that skill.

However, there are only and then many onetime College Board prompts in the universe (sadly). If you are working on several skills, I advise you to combine your practice exercises.

What do I mean? Let'southward say, for example, yous are studying for U.s.a. History and desire to piece of work on writing a thesis, bringing in outside data, and document analysis. Set your timer for 15-20 minutes, pull upwards a prompt, and:

• Write 2-three potential thesis statements in response to the prompt
• Write all the contextual historical information you can think of, and a few specific examples
• Write downwards analysis notes on all the documents.

Then, when you pull upward the Scoring Guide, you can check how y'all are doing on all those skills at once! This will besides help prime you for test mean solar day, when you will be having to combine all of the rubric skills in a timed environment.

That said, if you lot find it overwhelming to combine besides many exercises at once when you are beginning starting out in your report process, that's completely fine. You'll need to put all the skills together eventually, just if yous want to spend time working on them individually at kickoff, that's fine too.

And so in one case you've established your baseline and prepped for days, what should you lot do? Information technology's time to take some other practice DBQ to encounter how you lot've improved!

I know you're tired, but you can practise it!

#5: Take Another Do DBQ

So, you established a baseline, identified the skills y'all need to work on, and practiced writing a thesis statement and analyzing documents for hours. What now?

Take another timed, exercise DBQ from a prompt you haven't seen before to check how you've improved. Recruit your same trusted counselor to form your exam and requite feedback. Afterward, work on any skills that still need to be honed.

Repeat this process as necessary, until yous are consistently scoring your goal score. Then yous only need to brand certain you maintain your skills until test 24-hour interval by doing an occasional practise DBQ.

Eventually, test twenty-four hour period will come up—read on for my DBQ-exam-taking tips.

How Tin can I Succeed On DBQ Test Day?

One time yous've prepped your brains out, you still have to take the test! I know, I know. But I've got some advice on how to make certain all of your hard piece of work pays off on test day—both some general tips and some specific advice on how to write a DBQ.

#1: General Exam-Taking Tips

Most of these are probably tips you've heard earlier, but they deport repeating:

• Get a adept nighttime's sleep for the ii nights preceding the test. This volition go on your retention sharp!

• Consume a skilful breakfast (and lunch, if the test is in the afternoon) earlier the exam with protein and whole grains. This will proceed your claret sugar from crashing and making you tired during the test.

• Don't study the nighttime before the test if yous tin can aid it. Instead, practise something relaxing. You lot've been preparing, and you volition have an easier time on exam day if y'all aren't stressed from trying to cram the night earlier.

This dude knows he needs to get a skilful dark's rest!

#2: DBQ Program and Strategies

Below I've laid out how to use your time during the DBQ examination. I'll provide tips on reading the question and docs, planning your essay, and writing!

Exist sure to go along an eye on the clock throughout then yous tin track your full general progress.

Reading the Question and the Documents: five-half dozen min

Commencement thing'southward first: r ead the question carefully, two or even iii times. Yous may want to circle the task words ("analyze," "describe," "evaluate," "compare") to make sure they stand out.

Y'all could besides apace jot down some contextual information you already know before moving on to the documents, but if yous can't remember whatsoever right so, move on to the docs and let them jog your memory.

It's fine to have a general idea of a thesis subsequently you read the question, but if you don't, move on to the docs and let them guide you in the correct direction.

Next, move on to the documents. Marking them as you read—circle things that seem important, jot thoughts and notes in the margins.

After you've passed over the documents once, y'all should choose the four documents you are going to clarify more deeply and read them once more. You probably won't be analyzing the author's purpose for sources like maps and charts. Adept choices are documents in which the writer's social or political position and stake in the consequence at hand are clear.

Get set to become down the document rabbit hole.

Planning Your Essay: nine-11 min

Once you lot've read the question and y'all accept preliminary notes on the documents, information technology'due south time to start working on a thesis. If you still aren't sure what to talk virtually, spend a minute or so brainstorming. Write downwards themes and concepts that seem of import and create a thesis from those. Call back, your thesis needs to answer the question and make a merits!

When yous've got a thesis, it'southward time to work on an outline. In one case you've got some appropriate topics for your body paragraphs, use your notes on the documents to populate your outline. Which documents support which ideas? You don't need to use every little thought you had about the certificate when you read it, but you should be sure to use every certificate.

Here's 3 things to make certain of:

• Make sure your outline notes where you are going to include your contextual data (frequently placed in the offset body paragraph, but this is upwards to you lot), your specific example (likely in one of the trunk paragraphs), and your synthesis (the decision is a good identify for this).

• Make sure yous've also integrated the four documents you are going to farther analyze and how to clarify them.

• Make certain y'all use all the documents! I can't stress this plenty. Take a quick pass over your outline and the docs and brand sure all of the docs appear in your outline.

If you go over the planning time a couple of minutes, it'southward non the finish of the world. This probably but means yous accept a really thorough outline! Only exist ready to write pretty fast.

Writing the Essay - 45 min

If y'all accept a good outline, the hard part is out of the fashion! Y'all merely need to make sure you become all of your great ideas downwards in the exam booklet.

Don't get also bogged down in writing a super-exciting introduction. You won't go points for it, so trying to be fancy will just waste time. Spend maybe one or two sentences introducing the issue, so get right to your thesis.

For your torso paragraphs, make certain your topic sentences conspicuously land the point of the paragraph . Then you can get right into your testify and your document analysis.

As you write, make sure to go along an eye on the time. You want to be a little more halfway through at the twenty-infinitesimal mark of the writing period, then you accept a couple minutes to go back and edit your essay at the terminate.

Keep in listen that it's more than important to clearly lay out your argument than to utilise flowery linguistic communication. Sentences that are shorter and to the indicate are completely fine.

If you lot are short on fourth dimension, the conclusion is the least important part of your essay . Even simply one sentence to wrap things up is fine merely then long as you've striking all the points yous need to (i.e. don't skip your determination if y'all nonetheless demand to put in your synthesis example).

When y'all are washed, make one last past through your essay. Make sure you included everything that was in your outline and hitting all the rubric skills! Then accept a deep breath and pat yourself on the dorsum.

You did it!! Have a cupcake to gloat.

Key Tips for How to Write a DBQ

I realize I've bombarded you with data, so hither are the key points to accept away:

• Remember the drill for prep: institute a baseline, build skills, take another practice DBQ, repeat skill-edifice as necessary.

• Make certain that you know the rubric within and out so yous will remember to hit all the necessary points on test day! Information technology'south easy to lose points just for forgetting something like your synthesis point.

• On test twenty-four hour period, proceed yourself on rails time-wise!

This may seem like a lot, but you can larn how to ace your DBQ! With a combination of preparation and good exam-taking strategy, yous volition get the score you're aiming for. The more you practise, the more natural it volition seem, until every DBQ is a breeze.

What's Next?

If yous want more information about the DBQ, encounter my introductory guide to the DBQ.

Haven't registered for your AP test yet? See our article for help registering for AP exams.

For more on studying for the AP US History examination, check out the best AP US History notes to report with.

Studying for World History? Come across these AP World History written report tips from i of our experts.

Want to build the best possible college application?

We tin can aid. PrepScholar Admissions is the earth's best admissions consulting service. Nosotros combine world-form admissions counselors with our information-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their pinnacle pick schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.

We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.

Acquire more almost PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your risk of getting in.

Accept friends who likewise need help with test prep? Share this commodity!

Virtually the Author

Ellen has all-encompassing didactics mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Sociology and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

Source: https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-write-a-dbq

Share this post