AP U.S. History
Doing the DBQ: In-class practice
Read the directions at the top of the page and the question. Think about the question, then read it again. Pay attention to the language of the question and consider what it requires you to do.
BEFORE READING THE DOCUMENTS, MAKE A LIST OF FACTS YOU KNOW THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THE QUESTION AND TIME PERIOD. This is your outside information.
You have fifteen minutes to read the documents. As you read, underline significant passages and make marginal notes, particularly including facts NOT in the documents but relevant to them and the question.
After reading the documents, re-read the question and be sure you understand what it asks you to do. Go back to the question as often as necessary to keep the central issue or issues in mind.
Group the documents into as many as three groups or according to the criteria posed by the question. BE AWARE OF CHANGE OVER TIME. This may be an alternative to the organization suggested by the question. If you cannot categorize a document, omit it for the time being.
Based on your understanding of the question and the documents, draft a thesis statement – just a statement with a framework – don’t worry about background now.
Create an outline for the thesis, noting which documents you will use in each paragraph.
Add outside information from your notes to the outline in appropriate places. Each paragraph must have outside information. If you do not have enough outside information, think harder about the subject of the question, the time period and/or the documents.
Reconsider the documents you could not classify earlier; can you now fit them into the organizational system you have created for the question? If not, omit them.
Draft a complete thesis paragraph for a potential essay. Include content- relevant background information.
Draft a topic sentence for each paragraph and list the documents and outside information you would use in each. Be ready to explain your choices to the class tomorrow.