Transcript Steps in writing a DBQ

Steps in writing a DBQ
Step 1: The pre-read & organization
• You will be given a 10-minute reading period
before starting your essays. Use this to
organize your DBQ.
– Read the prompt and figure out what the
question is asking.
• Comparative, Cause & Effect, CCOT
– Read the historical background
– Read the documents & think about what
groups they may fall into.
– You can take notes during this time
Step 1: The pre-read & organization
• Please keep in mind, your essay is to answer
the prompt, not summarize the documents.
– If I asked you to write a comparative essay
about Goldilocks and the Three Bears with
Little Red Riding Hood, what would be the
difference in doing it from memory & doing
it with copies of the story?
• The essay is about the prompt, not the
documents
Step 2: Organize the Documents
• Remembering what the prompt is asking,
organize the documents into three or more
groups
– Chronologically, thematically, culturally, or
whatever
– One document may fit into more than one
group
• These groups represent your body paragraphs,
so think of a topic sentence for each group
– Pre-write a rough draft topic sentence
Step 3: Write your thesis statement
• Remembering what the prompt is asking,
write your thesis statement.
– Watch out for thesis killer words
– Make sure it parallels your groups
– Be as SPECIFIC as possible
• Make it clear and concise
Step 4: Write your body paragraphs
• Write one paragraph for each grouping
• For each document in a group, you should first
summarize what the document means,
without quoting.
– This will earn the point for basic
understanding
• Then tie your document back to the thesis
– For evidence points, choose a snippet of the
document that you can connect back to the
thesis
Step 5: Point of View
• You must analyze Point of View in at least 2
documents (I recommend 3)
• Analyze ≠ Summarize
– Identify Who is speaking and what is their tone?
– Classify Who they are
– Explain What they believe
– Define Why they believe it and tie it to their
group/classification
Step 6: The Additional Document
• Identify AND explain the need for an
appropriate additional document.
– Must be completely different from what
you have been given
– Should be in the paragraph where it makes
sense
– Try to come up with 3, not just one
Step 7: Conclusion Paragraph
• Restate your thesis statement in a different
way than you did in the beginning, but it
should be kind of similar.
• Remember, the thesis statement for WHAP
doesn’t need to be long – a sentence or two
will do. But it must be specific!
Prompt:
Compare and contrast the political conquests
and government systems of the Mongols with
that of the Roman Empire or the Song Dynasty.
Thesis:
The Mongols were similar to the Romans
politically in that they were both very skilled
conquerors and had powerful military forces;
however they differed in that the Mongols were
not very good administrators.
Prompt:
Compare and contrast the political conquests
and government systems of the Mongols with
that of the Roman Empire or the Song Dynasty.
Thesis:
The political conquests and government systems
of the Mongols and Rome empire differed in
that Rome’s government was heavily integrated
in religion, and the Mongols failed to properly
govern many of their conquered lands, but were
similar in terms of military organization.
Prompt:
Compare and contrast the political conquests
and government systems of the Mongols with
that of the Roman Empire or the Song Dynasty.
Thesis:
The political conquests and government of the
Mongols and of the Roman Empire were similar
in the fact they were imperialistic but contrasted
by who they used as officials, and that one’s
bureaucracy was based on merit.