Guide to receiving a 9 on every DBQ

Test Preparation AP History & Social Sciences
1

Hello everyone.</p>

Since I am posting this guide under a pseudonym and have no credential-based statistics, my “credentials”-or ethos- are as followed:

  • Dartmouth Undergraduate
  • 2280 SAT
  • 5 on AP Euro/AP World Exam (taken in same year)</p>

I am here to offer a guide for struggling European History or World History students who aim for a 5 on their AP exam. It is certainly possible to still earn a 5 without achieving a 9 on any of the essay portions, but we can all agree that earning a 9 can dramatically increase one’s chances for that desirable 5.</p>

The DBQ essay can be very intimidating at first. However, the sooner you understand what the object of the DBQ is and what the authors/graders are looking for, it all comes down to how well you can comprehend the primary source documents.</p>

This is how I define the DBQ (this type of mentality can also dramatically increase your score): An essay where you simply organize 10-12 documents into 3 categories (4 if you want, but it doesn’t substantially increase your score), analyze the author’s opinion/perspective, and ask yourself: “What does his or her title/position/job tell me about his perspective?”.</p>

For some, the only concern is analyzing POV (point-of-view) for the documents. For others, it may be doing the whole essay itself, so I will write my own personal strategy for the entire process of writing a successful DBQ as well as analyze some of the 2011 AP Euro DBQ. </p>

Step 1:
Read the Historical Background. It can really help give you a perspective into the time period and possible tips for POV’s. Here is an example from the 2011 Ap European History DBQ. *Note: I have not read through the DBQ, I am almost literally going through process as if I were doing the DBQ as I am writing this guide.</p>

“Elizabeth I of England (reigned 1558-1603) was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Following the reigns of her half siblings, Edward VI and Mary I , Elizabeth I ascended to the throne at age twenty-five.”</p>

We can get a lot of information from this 2-sentence excerpt.

  • General summary of the documents → Something about Elizabeth I of England who ascended to the throne at age 25. We can assume there will probably be conflicting documents about how people felt about her rise to power or what she was like as a ruler.
  • Time period (1558-1603) → Some historical background could help, but the documents will most likely clarify what was happening during this period.
  • Family → This is where outside information can help you. Including outside information about her family and possible influences on Elizabeth will always help you. Any outside information even somewhat related can help you.
  • Age she began ruling → 25 seems like a somewhat young age. So this is good information to keep in mind while reading through the perspectives of documents.</p>

As you can tell, there are 4 big points you can gain simply from the background.</p>

Step 2:
Read all the documents and categorize them into 3 -four if you deem necessary- categories. This part solely relies on your ability to comprehend what the author of the document is saying and his perspective. I can’t really help much in this step, but here is a simple list of things to watch out for:

  • Negative terms: “against, may not, utterly impossible” etc.
  • Sarcasm (My favorite to date I remember in a DBQ about imperialism: “philanthropy is great, but philanthropy at five-percent is even better.” Not quite sarcasm, but the author is saying that philanthropy is great, but also earning a 5% interest is even better. It’s an economic/humanitarian perspective.
  • Prolonged sentences and excessive adjectives. Try and cut down the sentence in your mind if you can. Sometimes documents are in such a hatred tone that they will take 15 words to describe how awful something/someone is and arrive at the point much later.</p>

As for defining categories, generally you should just try and fill these ubiquitous templates since they work 99% of the time.

  • Political
  • Economical
  • Humanitarian (White Man’s Burden)
  • Imperialism
  • Nationalism
  • Religion
  • Society
  • Intellectual Development
    These 8 categories will generally fit every DBQ the collegeboard can conjure up.</p>

Step 3: (Least favorite amongst all)
Now let’s get into analyzing author perspectives. I remember my history teacher had a hard time trying to explain this, and when I tutored students in AP History, I did as well. This skill I call the “weeder”. It really distinguishes between students who can make connections, and those can cannot. POV, in my opinion, is simply the ability to make the connections. I find that using the template: " It makes sense that ______ (person) holds this position because he is ______" helps get the thoughts flowing.</p>

Let’s analyze a document from the 2011 DBQ that we talked about earlier.</p>

In document 2, Nicholas Heath, archbishop of York, is against the leadership of Elizabeth. Since Heath is an archbishop, he has most likely read the bible and interpreted the role of women as inferior compared to men. * Being the religions man Heath is, it makes sense for him to be against the leadership of a woman.</p>

<li>When talking about the bible, it is easy to blame the position of a person based on his/her interpretation of the bible since there is infinite number of the ways to interpret the bible.</li>
</ul>

I think the main problem for most students is that they over-think the POV. Some may question the validity of my example of POV, but it clearly works since I consistently received 8 - 9’s on my DBQ’s in class and on the AP Exam. POV is more straightforward and making the connections.</p>

I do have one possible “trick” for how to do a lot better on the POV. Go to art museums and buy/listen to the art descriptions. There are constant POV analyses of art in these recordings and it could very well help you better understand how to analyze an author’s -or in this case painter’s- POV.</p>

That is all I have to offer for the DBQ. Other than what I have said above, the only other way to get better is: practice, practice, practice. It may be hard/intimidating at first, but if you stick with it and work hard, it will pay off.</p>

Good night, and good luck. (High-five to anyone who gets the reference.) :)</p>

2

<em>high fives</em></p>

Thanks for this. =)</p>

3

<p>Awesome, thanks for all this information. I’m taking the AP Euro test right now as a sophomore. I’ve taken two DBQs, and got 7 on both of them. This is really helpful!</p>

4

<p>Thanks! I haven’t been doing well on my DBQs and I have on tomorrow. Hope this helps!</p>

5

<p>Manifest Destiny is the idea that Americans are God’s chosen people and that their country should stretch from sea to shining sea. Americans developed this idea amidst an Era of Reform and Nationalism, after settling west of the Mississippi they felt they could conquer all. Little did they know this would lead to two wars, the Mexican War and the Civil War. This idea divided the United States from 1830 to 1860 in three ways, economically, socially and politically.
Socially, America was divided by Manifest Destiny mainly because of the slavery issue. The idea to acquire land was basically national but the means of getting that land and how it would be settled were social disruptions of the Era. Northerners, although not supporting equal rights, normally supported emancipation because it was immoral. This is shown in Document C. It states, “The strongest argument against annexing Texas is that… it will extend and perpetuate slavery.” A reverend wrote this quote to the famous Henry Clay. It shows the Northern opposition to annexation of Texas. Southerners obviously supported the expansion of slavery even if the land couldn’t use slaves effectively. As shown in Document D, Senator George McDuffie is a devout southerner who stated, “The slave population must not be diminished but increased”. This shows the South’s support to the expansion of slavery when the United States was to acquire more land. The slavery issue was brought back quickly on the annexation of Texas and continued on until it erupted in the Kansas and Nebraska Act and eventually the Civil War. These are all reasons why American society was divided by territorial expansion.
Economically, territorial expansion divided America as well. The North was impacted by territorial expansion when it expanded its manufacturing westward and created railroads to the new areas. The Southern economy was different than the North but by 1860 it had transformed. Almost all manufacturing was halted and nearly all capital was spent in slavery and products made in the North. The South supported low tariffs for its export oriented economy while the North now supported high tariffs to protect industry. These economic differences divided the two in a way that helped to cause the Civil War. The divisive issue of the annexation of Texas had economic roots. America wanted it because it would make Texas ports and its products more available to America. As shown in Document G, James K. Polk says, “Is there one who would not prefer free intercourse with her[Texas]?” This is a reason Polk gave to persuade Congress for its annexation. All these reasons show the issues created economically from territorial expansion.
Lastly, manifest destiny divided America politically as well. The annexation of Texas divided the Congress for many years. To annex it could mean war with Mexico, so it was debated for years. Northerners opposed its annexation because it would increase slavery. Many New Englanders especially opposed the Mexican War. As stated in Document H, It states, “To take military possession of territory… against a weak neighbor is without just cause”. This expresses the Northern view that the Mexican war was immoral and unjust. The question of slavery was the main political divisive issue of the Era. This was debated and 2 main solutions were created, one to extend the Missouri Compromise and another called popular sovereignty. The latter was the most supported and it meant to let the people decide this divisive issue. Another example is the Ostend Manifesto. This was an attempt for America to acquire Cuba, and for the South to expand slavery. All of these issues in Congress were caused by the idea of manifest destiny and the territorial expansion that resulted from it. In these ways America was divided politically.
Manifest destiny was a profound idea with profound effects, although these effects were mainly negative besides the national pride created. Manifest destiny and territorial expansion divided the United States politically, socially and economically. In essence manifest destiny served to divide God’s chosen people into the bloodiest war in American History.</p>

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<p>this is so helpful!! thank you :)</p>

7

<p>Sweeet!</p>

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<p>I think i get it now, thanks! </p>

9

I know this thread is almost 3-4 years old but I just want to say this is the greatest explanation/breakdown of the DBQ I’ve ever read. I have repeatedly referred to this for guidance.