<p>Are AP US History essays graded on length such as how the SAT's Writing Section essay is graded?</p>
<p>Any good tips for writing a DBQ in AP US History?</p>
<p>No. Readers know you have a lot to say if your DBQ is long; HOWEVER, if you are just repeating yourself, spitting out facts but not analyzing them, or becoming too focused on one little thing and writing page after page about it without placing it in a broader historical context, then lenght is useless. Even though I know this is true, it's funny that I'm giving this advice b/c i used up the entre pink booklet plus an extra page i had to staple on. I got a 5. (not just for the DBQ :p for all you pedantic readers out there)</p>
<p>i did not use up the entire booklet..in fact was far from it</p>
<p>my DBQ was 4-5 pages and each easy ran only like 2 pages...i still got a 5</p>
<p>tryin2bcool... don't think "pedantic" was the most appropriate word for what you were going for.</p>
<p>To the OP, no, they're not at all graded on length. Generally, the dbq is the longest (than the two frq) because they give you more time and a broader topic to discuss. However, like tryin said, length is pretty useless if you don't have the analysis to back it up. </p>
<p>To score well on the dbq, you really need to practice with sample questions by writing out timed responses on a variety of time periods. Familiarize yourself with major US topics -- some are notorious for showing up as dbqs (for instance civil rights and post 1960s). Another good idea is to reread the question they ask ten times, taking apart the individual components and assessing the question as a whole. Make sure you answer it in your response, not some obscure little fact that is only slightly relevent to the prompt. There are a ton of other ways to tackle the essays, but you'll figure them out when you start writing them.</p>
<p>saint paul: haha. im tryin to use new words that ive come across in reading. helps to internalize them. so i guess i messed up on that one. although i was sure it meant focusing too much on details.</p>
<p>I thought I did horribly on the DBQ (and the FR) and I somehow ended up with a 5. I thought my DBQ was ridiculously short. My advice would be to definitely LOOK at the documents they're giving you. It sounds mundane but they're there for a reason and can absolutely help you in determining what to write. I pretty much didn't know anything about the topic on the AP and the documents really helped me out. I usually try to balance it with outside information but I didn't do so on the actual AP and it ended up working out okay. I keep wondering if a got a particularly lax grader..:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Do you have to use all of the documents to score a 9 on the DBQ?</p>
<p>yea, u do need all the docs to get a 9, but u need other stuff other than using all documents. also, u cant misinterpret any of them if ur using them all</p>