DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION

(DBQ)
Kirsten Ford
Former AP Student

WHAT IS A DBQ?
DBQs are a type of question seen on the AP exam.
Unlike CCOTs and Compare/Contrast essays, DBQs
do not require you to have extensive prior
knowledge of the subject.
All the information you need to write a good DBQ is
provided by the attached documents.
DBQs are generally the easier type of essay
question, as long as you know how to format them.

HOW TO WRITE A DBQ

In general, a strong DBQ has around 5 paragraphs, but this number
will vary.
To get full credit on your DBQ, you should do all of the following:
1) Open your DBQ with a well-written thesis
2) Group ALL documents based on RELEVANT categories- and tell
why
3) Analyze the POV for at least two documents
4) Explain each and every document
5) Demonstrate your understanding of what the document is trying
to convey
6) Assess and explain the need for at least one additional historical
document.

THESIS

Your thesis should NOT simply restate the question.

In reality, your thesis should answer the question. The
rest of your essay should support your thesis, much like
a science experiment supports a hypothesis.
Your thesis must be explicitly stated- let there be no
mistake that this is your thesis.
Refer to the thesis writing hand out for a general
overview of how to write a thesis.
Remember to restate your thesis in your closing- this
ties the essay together

GROUPING
You cannot group random documents together and expect to get
credit. Your groups must make sense in the context of the essay
topic.
For example:
My first group is documents that deal with the Mongols and their
Silk Road trading. The documents I placed in this group are
Document 2, which details one merchants account of his
journey on the Silk Road, Document 4, which explains why the
Mongols wanted to control trade along this route, and Document
7, which describes the Mongol policy toward outside merchants.

ANALYZING POV
It is NOT ENOUGH to simply tell who wrote the article. That is not
analyzing the point of view.
To actually get credit for this step, you must tell why the author of
the document has the views that they have- this means discussing
any bias in the article.
For example, in an article written about the Roman empire by a
Roman leader, you must consider the obvious bias- the leader
will likely demonstrate nationalistic favoritism to the Roman
empire (sides with Roman ideas because he is a Roman)
You need to analyze the POV for two of the nine documents.

EXPLAINING AND
UNDERSTANDING
These steps are essentially the same. Though you are only required
to do this for seven out of the nine, you should do them for all. That
way, if you mess one up, you can be redeemed.
To understand and explain, you must:
Describe the document (its focus and relevant information)
Use the document to support your thesis
For example: Document 3 is an account of the life of Chinese
peasants in the age of Chinese dynasties. In this document, one
young man describes his difficult and strenuous life working in
the rice fields. This document provides evidence to support that
the Chinese peasants were mistreated by their government
BECAUSE it gives a firsthand account of the poor treatment
experienced by this peasant.

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT
The final piece of your DBQ is to request an additional
historical document that would help support your thesis.
DO NOT choose any random document to request. You
MUST request an additional document that will further
enhance the point of your essay. You should be very
careful when choosing an additional document.
Example: An additional document that would be helpful
to have is a map of the expansion of civilization and
migration in the Middle East. This would further prove
that the earliest residents of Europe shared a common
ancestry.

ADDITIONAL TIPS
Time management will hurt you. You have roughly 10-15 minutes to
read the prompt, the documents, and plan your essay. The rest of
your time should be spent during the actual writing portion.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR PLANNING TIME! Use this time wisely. Go
ahead and group your documents and draft you thesis, jotting down
further evidence that you find.
To get as many points as possible, do the simple tasks first.
The graders dont care what order your DBQ is in. So to manage
my time, I always opened my essay with a thesis. Next, I
requested an additional document. Then I analyze the POV.
Because these steps are faster, you can jot them down quickly,
and then move on to more difficult sections of the essay. If you
run out of time , then at least you will have gotten the credit for
the things I already mentioned.