how to write a foolproof DBQ essay
the document-based question essay, or dbq as everyone in the ap history realm likes to call it, is arguably the most dreaded part of any ap history essay. the time constraints are short, there’s way too much stimulus to get through on time, and meanwhile, you have no clue if you’re getting all 7 points. maybe you can just skip it? maybe if you write a really sloppy essay you’ll at least get a 3 on the exam? or, maybe, you can follow this guide in preparation for another post coming later this summer & ace your dbq every. single. time.
first things first, you should get comfortably familiar with the official college board dbq rubric.
i’ve simplified the descriptions a bit so you can better understand them.
- thesis statement (1 point) construct a sentence located in either the introduction or conclusion which adequately responds to the prompt rather than just restating it.
- contextualization (1 point) describe a broader historical context related to the prompt in about three sentences.
- evidence (1-2 points) accurately describe content from at least six documents without quoting to get the first point, then use the content to support the argument described in the thesis to get the second point.
- analysis & reasoning (2 points) explain how at least three of the documents’ point of view, historical situation, intended audience or authorial purpose is relevant to the argument described in the thesis.
- synthesis/outside evidence (1 point) demonstrate a better understanding of the prompt by relating the argument to another piece of specific historical evidence found outside of the documents (use a specific example rather than a simple phrase or reference; this can be done in up to 5 sentences, but if written properly, just 1 can suffice).
next, here’s a few things that you should know before preparing to write a dbq:
while i did take ap world history during my sophomore year & wrote some practice dbq’s, i never took the ap world exam, so here’s some tips from my ap world teacher who has taught ap world for almost 17 years:
- don’t stress over complexity. while it seems as though every single essay you provide to the college board has to demonstrate your complex vocabulary, they really don’t care if you use “a lot” instead of “plentiful” or “numerous.” all they’re looking for is those 7 points on the essay.
- don’t stick to formatting so much. like i said, the college board doesn’t care about a perfect essay when it comes to history exams. while ideally, you’ll have 4-5 paragraphs in your essay, all you are required to do is hit all 5 criteria of the rubric & include an introduction & conclusion. your essay could be 6 paragraphs long; your essay could be 14 paragraphs long; your essay could be just 3 paragraphs long. as long as you did something to satisfy all criteria, you can safely secure your 7 points & be on your merry way.
- do NOT make an outline. you only get 55 minutes to write your essay. creating an outline, which seems like a helpful way to ensure you get all 7 points in theory, will actually just cut down the time you have to actually expand that outline into a full essay by 15-20 minutes. even if it only takes you 5 minutes to write the outline, DON’T DO IT. i promise you, every minute of this essay will matter, especially since its handwritten & you’ll take longer to write it versus if the test was taken digitally.
- structure as you go. to elaborate on my previous point, as you read each document & transition from reading to writing, you’ll want to start getting an idea in your head of how exactly you’re going to answer the prompt & turn your thesis into an essay. i’ll go more into detail about structuring later in this post.
let’s quickly go over historical bias:
historical bias plays a part in every document you’ll receive on the dbq, even if it doesn’t seem as though the document you’re reading has any bias in it whatsoever. there are four parts you can choose to write about for your analysis points, commonly abbreviated to HIPP by many ap history teachers so you can better remember them. however, my teacher used “SOAP,” an abbreviation which i personally like a lot better as it tends to be slightly simpler:
- S - speaker: the author who wrote the document. for example, if reading documents relating to a prompt about early twentieth century work conditions in the US, a journal entry written by a worker will show bias toward the opinion that work conditions were subpar, as it is a firsthand account of how work conditions truly were.
- O - occasion: the historical timeframe which the document was written in. for example, if reading documents relating to a prompt about the Great Depression, a chart showing government spending rates overtime will show bias toward the theory that the GD affected not only citizens but national governments.
- A - audience: the intended audience for the document. for example, if reading documents relating to a prompt about Luther’s Reformation, a letter to a Catholic pope from a reformist will show bias toward the theory that reformists wanted to persuade Catholics into conversion.
- P - purpose: the purpose for writing the document. for example, if reading documents relating to a prompt about the Opium Wars, a newspaper article published in Britain urging others to support the war will show bias toward the theory that the British wanted to push their goal of opening a trade market with China.
now, here’s everything you need to write a perfect thesis statement:
the thesis statement tends to be one of the hardest parts of writing the dbq essay. while it is only 1 point, there’s so much criteria you need to fill to actually get the point. there are absolutely no half points given, so if you miss one thing, you miss the entire point. it’s not your fault, but it’s 100% your problem.
the simplest format i can suggest for a successful thesis is the following:
- give reasons as to why your answer to the prompt is arguable. this part is crucial, as it will help tons in creating body paragraphs.
what i recommend doing is searching up dbq prompts from old ap exams & trying to write proper thesis statements out of them. every tuesday, my ap world teacher would put a sample prompt on the board, have us spend all class reading our prep books for information on the prompt, then writing thesis statements. before class ended, he would check them & let us know whether or not we’d get the point if we were taking the exam. try this out yourself, & if you don’t have an ap history teacher to check them for you, see if your thesis answers the following questions my teacher always used to determine point-worthy theses:
- “so what?” a thesis which does not answer this question needs clarification, a relationship between the reasons & your answer, or a connection to a larger issue.
- improper thesis: the north & south fought the civil war for many reasons, some of which were the same & some different.
- better thesis: while both sides fought the civil war over the issue of slavery, the north fought for moral reasons while the south fought to preserve its own institutions.
- “how & why?” a thesis which does not answer this question is too open-ended & lacks guidance for the reader. for example, if you look at the better thesis i wrote above, it answers “so what?” but still lacks clarity. we can help specify exactly what we’re referring to with a little tweaking:
- while both northerners & southerners fought the civil war against what they each considered oppression, northerners focused on oppression of slaves while southerners focused on oppression of their right to self-govern.
in addition to proper structuring, it’s good to know what exactly the college board is looking for in an answer so that you can be sure to pass the question-answering tests. the college board loves to throw in specific key words in their prompts which can also make everything seem like it’s all sounding the same. here’s a few of the most popular dbq prompt key words you may see when you take the exam for yourself & what to do if you see them.
- evaluate
- to determine the value of
- evaluate the extent to which differing ideas of national identity shaped views of United States overseas expansion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- use any word which indicates value in your thesis. for example, “differing ideas greatly shaped views” or “differing ideas did little to shape views.”
- identify
- to indicate what something is
- identify the reasons early Islamic societies used to justify slavery
- perhaps the most straightforward of all key words, simply list your reasons. “early Islamic societies used …”
- analyze
- to examine and/or explain closely in detail
- analyze the responses of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration to the problems of the great depression.
- use words which demonstrate detail in your thesis. for example, “administration’s responses to the problems included …” or “administration’s responses to the problems described …”
- compare/contrast
- to find similarities & differences
- compare the motives of the North and South for participating in the American Civil War.
- separate your comparisons from your contrasts. for example, “while both northerners & southerners _____, northerners _____ while southerners _____.”
- determine
- to figure out, to establish a fact
- determine the success of twentieth century African decolonization efforts.
- use either a direct positive or negative word to defend your argument in your thesis. for example, “decolonization efforts were greatly successful” or “decolonization efforts were not successful.”
now that you know what you need to prepare for beforehand, let’s go over what to do during the exam.
to ensure you can complete the essay in time, try your best to stick to a mini-schedule recommended by the college board: spend 15 minutes reading your documents & 40 minutes writing the essay. the quicker you can finish reading (not just skimming through the documents, but instead reading thoroughly & gaining a clear understanding of each document without having to completely reread them), the more time you’ll have to write, so try to work quickly, but don’t rush yourself so that you have time to process each document & their meanings.
to help simplify the writing portion, there’s a few things you should try to accomplish while reading:
- read all documents
- off to the side, summarize each document without quoting or paraphrasing. mention all parts of document. to save time, when you need to reference it again, use your summary instead of rereading. these summaries can be used to help get your evidence point.
- identify 1-3 parts of historical bias (remember SOAP) if possible for each document. this will help you get your analysis point.
- categorize documents by reasons for supporting a certain argument, opinions, political biases, etc.; this will help you write the reasons in your thesis.
- write your thesis & incorporate all parts; proper structuring, keyword answer, & clarity for your reasons.
& finally, time to write the essay!
since there’s no real tips or strategies that’ll help you specifically write the essay (as i can’t tell you how to answer every possible prompt you’ll be given), here’s an outline that if written correctly WILL get you all 7 points no matter what.
- contextualize (broadly explain historical context and/or timeframe related to prompt) in 3 sentences
- thesis statement
- topic sentence for each reason
- write document summary & it’s significance (use as many documents as needed for each reason) for 6 documents throughout all body paragraphs, aim to do this for 7 documents
- explain historical bias & significance for at least 3 documents throughout all body paragraphs, try to do this for 5 documents
- closing sentence
- synthesize (incorporate outside evidence) in 3 sentences
- restate thesis
my last piece of advice: relax.
while the dbq essay tends to be incredibly intimidating to a lot of the students who cross its path, it truly can be done successfully with proper preparation & a solid strategy. after reading this incredibly lengthy post, save it, screenshot it, take note of it somehow & you can look over this + other resources later on to help you study. at the end of the day, it’s still possible to get at least a good score on the ap exam without a flawless dbq essay; so instead of focusing all of your energy into one thing, just take a breath & give yourself breaks when you need to. good luck, & happy studying! :)
