AP US History DBQ Help

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

<p>Unfortunately for me, I have a terrible APUSH teacher. She's fun and everything, but really doesn't teach us very well at all, if any. I'm just lucky that I absorb history like a sponge...and have the REA APUSH book to help me out along with American Pageant.</p>

<p>However, I'm clueless as to how to work with the DBQs. We've only done one DBQ essay, and the teacher hasn't even shown us how we did on them (we did them back in early November). All I understand is that we're given documents and we must use those documents as our evidence for our response to the question asked by the DBQ.</p>

2

<p>Oh, the American Pageant sucks :D . That is the most boring history textbook I've ever read.</p>

<p>A good DBQ:
-has excellent unity throughout
-uses at least 6 documents to support your thesis
-has a well developed and persuasive thesis
-is overall VERY persuasive
-groups related documents together
-explains and then analyzes documents</p>

3

<p>I agree with the above poster for the most part. However, don't forget to include as much relevant outside information you can remember. The documents should be complemented by this info, not stand alone. That's my suggestion.</p>

4

<p>Also, citing the documents the right way is important. For example, if Document G was a political cartoon showing citizens criticizing the League of Nations, you would say something like:</p>

<p>Popular opinion in the United States for the League of Nations was consistently very low (Doc G).</p>

<p>DO NOT say "As seen in Document G," simply put the Document in parentheses at the end.</p>

<p>Watch out for trick documents. Don't try to use them all, the AP people usually put one irrelevant one there to trip you up.</p>

5

<p>Actually, on collegeboard they say they put no irrelevant or misleading documents, although in fact some may not support your argument. </p>

<p>The way I tackle DBQ's is to go through and read a few documents, get an idea of grouping of the documents, then divide the documents into groups on some extra room (writing a short phrase to summarize their ideas, for ex.: pro women's rights, anti-women's rights) along with the document numbers. Then you make your thesis statement, try to use a lot of outside info in the introduction to help with that part. </p>

<p>US History is the hardest DBQ in my opinion because you have to do outside information. But, if you learn how to do it and find a few examples of 9-level essays it'll help. </p>

<p>Also, while it's not required, analyzing point of view in a few documents can never hurt, as long as your idea is supported.</p>

6

<p>Jman's advice is sound, although here are some other tips.</p>

<p>For the APUSH DBQs you are given 15 minutes of pure "reading" time. This is the time you need to review all the documents, make notes, and start organizing your essay. The quickest way to may any sense of the documents is to categorize them like the above poster said. You can do it with ideas (like what they said, women's rights, etc) or you can do it the way my APUSH teacher taught by organizing each document into economic (dealing with money, trade, foreign policy sometimes), political (government, riots, etc), social (religion, the people, ethnic groups, so on). These two-three groups end up as each one of your body paragraphs, so you'll have like document a, c, and f in "economic," b, d in "political" and so on. You'll have to brainstorm to add outside information, but the rest is putting it into essay format.</p>

<p>Other tips:
- if there are 9 documents available, include at least 6-7
- if there are less 7 or less, include at least 6</p>

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<p>Oh wow, I can't believe I forgot about that. Outside info is extremely important. I always forget to include it in my essays, so my teacher usually bumps me down by 2 numbers. Like if I included outside info, I would have gotten an 8. But, because I didn't I'd get a 6 or 5.</p>

<p>It's definately different from English essay writing. In DBQ's you shouldn't try to overwhelm you essay with tons of adjectives and irrelevant information. That's called fluff. You shouldn't have alot of fluff in your DBQ. It doesn't need to sound fancy; it should be clear, concise, and to the point. Besides, you really won't have time to make it purty. You'll have to write extremely fast.</p>

<p>A U.S. History DBQ is a very formulatic type of writing. If you can remember all of the crap that makes a good DBQ, then you should score high :D .</p>

8

<ol>
<li>rule of thumb: use 2/3 of documents</li>
<li>group them. that's one of the best things you can do on an AP history exam (world/US)</li>
<li>if applicable, explain point of view but don't go overboard</li>
<li>be concise- the people reading them have to read hundreds so if you fill it with crap, they won't like it</li>
<li>don't use words like "probably" or "maybe"-makes you sound like you don't know what you're talking about</li>
<li>include SMALL quotes (at most 10-15 words)</li>
<li>have a VERY clear thesis (form it as if it were a short, one-sentence response question to the question) *** MOST IMPORTANT!!***</li>
<li>try not to use regional slants on history (ie N. vs. South in Civil War)</li>
</ol>

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<p>I'd say the most important thing you could do is plan your essay. Use those fifteen minutes wisely - you'll be thankful you did. </p>

<p>The top three things my teacher stresses (and I've got a very good teacher, in my opinion) are:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Use outside information. It's a part of the instructions, for crying out loud. And if you can't think of anything brilliant to say, state the obvious. Who was the president at the time? (i.e. - "Monroe, who incidentally was president at the time of the...") It might seem painfully obvious to you, but if you've got nothing better up your sleeve, it's a heck of a lot better than saying nothing and getting knocked down a number grade.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't over quote. Examiners really don't like having their own exam thrown back in their faces. Besides, you don't have a lot of time. Extraneous quotations are not time-efficient.</p></li>
<li><p>Plan, plan, plan. I'll admit, this one is my biggest issue. I'm a chronic "wing it" girl. Don't. You get back tracked, muddled, and find yourself repeating what you said in paragraph one five times over.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>My last bit of advice is to use conviction. Even if you don't particularly have an opinion one way or the other about reform movements and the validity of whatever that question was, pretend you do. This is really something to keep in mind when writing any history essay. It makes for a much more engaging read if you're absolutely sure about your stance - or at least sound like you are. </p>

<p>Best of luck,
Zeb</p>

<p>P.S. - The American Pageant sucks? Why didn't anyone tell me? I now feel extremely geeky, because I actually kind of enjoy it.</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
The American Pageant sucks? Why didn't anyone tell me? I now feel extremely geeky, because I actually kind of enjoy it.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's easy to read and understand, but it seemed a little dry. It's probably me though. Early America is well.....not very exciting. I can't wait till we get to the 1920s and up.</p>

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<p>Redsoxfan, I don't know where you're getting that- I'm pretty sure you can cite however you want, as long as it's clear. </p>

<p>It's very important not to just take the documents at face value. There are always some from untrustworthy sources. You can still use them, but make sure to notice who the source is and explain possible reasons for the innaccuracy. Graders are told specifically to look for students who understand that just because something is in a source, it is not necessarily a fact.</p>

12

<p>This is the way our teacher taught us, and she also grades AP US history DBQs. I forgot who came up with this method (it was named after him), but i will try to remember the most I can. </p>

<p>After you read the question, the first thing you have to do is come up with at least 3 categories. Then try to fill in as much specific factual information you can think of and put them in your categories. It is important you do this before you read the documents, so you don't forget them when you are trying to analyze the documents. once you put down everything you remembered into the chart you made for your categories then start reading your documents. When looking at documents make sure to look for the author/painter/political cartoonist/historian (a lot of times the author will be famous, but the document they are citing won't). Sometimes the documents are meant to trigger the reader memory; like a first hand account of labor protest turned violent means they want you to recognize that they are probably talking about the Haymarket Square Riot. So after you figure out what the document is trying to say then write it down in the appropriate category (if it fits with your position put a plus next to it, if it doesn't put a negative). Make sure to note the letter of the document when you write down the point, because this makes it a lot easier when you are basically transposing all the information into essay form. Oh yeah, don't be afraid to use a point that is contradictory to your position, because you are supposed to acknowledge the complexities of history. Just try to make it fit into your position; for example if your position is that the American government did not do a lot to help African Americans after the Civil War and one of your documents is about the Freedmen's bureau then you could say something like: "even though the Freedmen's Bureau was created to deliver aid to freed slaves in the south, the majority of local Bureau agents were hindered in carrying out their duties by the opposition of former Confederates, the lack of a military presence to enforce their authority, and an excessive amount of paperwork."</p>

<p>When you finish with all the documents, it is time to write the thesis. I was told to never make the thesis more than two sentences. The AP graders are looking for structured papers that are easy to read/follow. What I do is the first sentence of the thesis states my position. My second sentence will usually define a key word (like Jacksonian democracy) and include my categories I used in the chart. Make sure you write the categories in your thesis in the same order you are going to talk about them in your essay. </p>

<p>For instance, if the question was: How successful was organized labor in improving the position of workers in the period from 1875 to 1900? Analyze the factors that contributed to the level of success achieved. Use the documents and your knowledge of the period from 1875 to 1900 to construct your response. (Did this one as a practice last year). Your first sentence could be; "Organized labor was insufficient in their attempts to improve the conditions of the lowly worker [stated position: were insufficient] during the Guilded Age [a lot of times they will give you a time period, it is your job to know what period it is by the dates they give you and the context of the question]." My second sentence included the time I was limiting my essay (make sure you keep this in mind when writing the essay, because you can not use events after 1900...this is important because the position of the worker wasn't elevated until after 1900), my categories, and what i am supposed to define. So the next sentence could be; "During 1875 to 1900 [time period], the poor position of workers [defined position as poor] were due to internal struggles with in labor unions, failed protests, and bad press (couldn't think of a better category...its been a while lol)."</p>

<p>Once you have your thesis the rest of the essay is easy. Every paragraph should have a introduction sentence that states the category you are talking about and your position on it. Then include the points in your chart you made, and try to make it flow together. The last sentence is the clincher sentence that finished off your thoughts on the category and provides a transition into the next one. When you are done just rephrase your thesis sentence for your conclusion.</p>

<p>BTW, if you feel your teacher is incompetent then try to see if another AP US history teacher is willing to read your DBQs/give you help.</p>

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<p>I tell my students to write down everything they know about the topic before they begin analyzing any documents. That will give them a pool of potential outside knowledge. It also helps to serve as a reminder to include outside knowledge.</p>

<p>Like somebody else said, look for connections between documents and pay close attention to the source tags for each document. There is often a great deal of valuable information included in them. </p>

<p>You need to use at a minimum one more than half of the documents. Two more than half (or more) is preferable. If you aren't confident in your ability to use a document correctly then leave it alone entirely. You are better off not using a document than using it incorrectly. Also be careful about using a document that contradicts your thesis. It's ok to use it but be sure to let the reader know that you're only using it to acknowledge the other side of the arguement.</p>

<p>Pay careful attention to time periods and stick to them. If you go outside the time period you have to make sure you let the reader know that you know you're doing so for the sake of making a connection of some sort.</p>

<p>(Example on a free response about slavery between 1620 and 1775 you might say something to the effect that "Slavery was not as significant in its impact in the South as it would be after the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 however..."</p>

<p>If you can't remember specific details be a bit vague. It will bring your score down a bit, but not nearly as much as a major error would.</p>

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<p>I have a question, when you take the APUSH exam, do they give you scratch paper to plan out? I've only taken in-class DBQ's, and the teacher doesn't give us any scratch paper, and I end up planning my essay at the top inch.</p>

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<p>No, you aren't given scratch paper but you can write in the test booklet all you want.</p>

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<p>Hi,
i have a DBQ tomorrow in my APUSH High School class, and i suck at DBQs
The Question is:
In the early century, Americans sought to resolve their political disputes through compromises, yet by 1860 this no longer seemed possible. Analyze the reasons for this change.
i am really bad at history and would greatly appreciate any help i could get.
Thank You.</p>

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<p>Ryanzt, if you’re having this DBQ tomorrow, then I would suggest memorizing the major compromises before 1860 for starters. Outside information is an important part of DBQs and being able to do some name-dropping (Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska act, etc.) is always a plus. I’m in APUSH myself, so I’m not entirely sure about this, but your DBQ has to be a logical argument, relying on facts to explain your reasoning. The question isn’t asking to explain the validity of Americans attempting to resolve their disputes through compromises but being unable to after 1860, so you have to accept that to be a solid, true statement. The question specifically mentions political disputes, so it would be best to focus on those, such as disputes over the territories and which states would be free and which would be slave states. For your thesis, you could say something along the lines of “The end of American resolution through compromise by 1860 was due to _<strong><em>, </em></strong><strong>, and __</strong>.” Your three categories would have to remain inside the political realm and must answer the question of <em>why</em> it was no longer possible for Americans to try to resolve their political disputes through compromise. After your introductory paragraph, you could hit your points home with 3 body paragraphs, and include a concluding paragraph if you’ve got something left to say.
Hope this helps!</p>

18

<p>It really does suck </p>

<p>I find myself reading a chapter then, trying to remember what I read. Also, the dates are all over the place. I know it is like that in History but jeez.</p>

19

<p>Hey guys, I’m writing a practice DBQ at home and i just have a quick question. Obaig your information was very helpful, thank you very much. Okay I’m unsure how to specifically cite, or incorporate, the different documents into my essay.
My teacher is very strict on how the documents are incorporated and he has never gone over exactly how to do this. I normally cite the document like this, “…But if the strike on the Baltimore and Ohio Road is a foolish one…” (Document B)</p>

<p>Could someone please specify to me how they incorporate the documents into their essays?</p>

<p>Thank you everyone.</p>

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<p>A few things that are a must in a DBQ and a reason why 15/20 kids in my APUSH class got a 5. </p>

<ul>
<li>Use MORE THAN half of the given documents.</li>
<li>Use a balanced amount of documents in each paragraph </li>
<li>Use A LOT of outside information that is not given in the documents (I mean a lot)</li>
<li>Keep each of the body paragraphs balanced. Do not have one super paragraph and two lesser ones. You’re shooting for consistency. </li>
<li>Make sure you analyze each document. Don’t throw 5 Documents in a row if you’re not going to even talk about them.</li>
</ul>