The Document-Based Question

What Is It?• An essay that requires you to interpret

primary source documents to be able to answer a questions.

• Documents might include the following:Newspaper articles/editorialsLetters/diariesSpeechesLegislation Political cartoonsCharts and graphs

What Are the Documents for?

• To discuss events and ideas with which you are familiar.

• To support or refute the essay questions• Focus around the essay topic

I Have the Question, Now What Do I Do? Getting Started

• Read Historical Background. Very useful for introductory paragraph.

• Read the question THREE times– Identify the historical period being discussed– Do NOT move on until you fully understand it

Identify the Task

• Identify the task by circling the main words– For example: assess the validity, compare and

contrast, evaluate relative importance, analyze the significance, etc.

• Ask yourself “WHAT DO I HAVE TO PROVE”

Gather Outside Information

• Make a list (outline) of outside information• List all relevant issues, historical terms,

names, and events• Take 2 or 3 minutes • Decide what you can and cannot use

Reading the Documents• When you first look at a document, ask yourself the following

questions:– WHO is the author of this document?– WHAT audience is the document written for?– WHEN was this document written – what time period in history does it

fit with?– WHERE is the document from – a newspaper, textbook, diary, etc.? Is it

a primary or secondary source?– WHY is this document important – what is the purpose of the document

– what does it tell us?– HOW is the document important?

• You may not be able to answer all of these questions for every document, but the more information you can gather before answering the document based questions, the easier they will be able to answer.

Reading the Documents Cont.• Underline any key words or phrases that you

may use later.• In the margin take notes about the documents• Pay attention for Inconsistencies– Not all documents agree– Present different view points– Recognize inconsistencies

• Answer the scaffolding questions for each document in COMPLETE SENTENCES

Thesis Development

• Read question one more time• Develop an argument you can prove- YOUR

THESIS!!!!!• Make sure your thesis addresses all

pertinent aspects of the question

What is a THESIS?• A thesis is a statement that reflects what

you have concluded about the topic of your paper, based on a critical analysis and interpretation of the source materials (documents) you have examined.

• The thesis, is the HEART of your paper. It presents what you have concluded about the topic under discussion, and provides the focal point for the rest of the essay.

If ThenYour “thesis” statement does no more than repeat the topic you are writing about

It is NOT a thesis

Your “thesis” statement poses a question without proposing an answer

It is NOT a thesis

Your “thesis” statement merely states a fact or series of facts

It is NOT a thesis

Your “thesis” statement simply reflects a personal belief or perference

It is NOT a thesis

Your “thesis” statement: proposes an answer to the questionANDDeclares a conclusion with which a reader might disagree, and which can be supported by evidence from the sources

It IS an effective thesis

Getting Started Cont.• Reread the task– Use this to organize your essay.

• Decide what documents you will use and where you will you use them– The documents you use need to support your thesis– You need to use at MINIMUM 1 more than half the

total documents• Choose your outside information and where you

will you use it– It must support your thesis

• Organize plan of attack by creating an outline of both the documents and your essay.

Getting Started Cont.• Your essay will follow the standard writing

formula– Introductory Paragraph with a thesis

• Opening sentence• Rephrase question• Your thesis• Introduce your arguments

– Body• At least 2 full length paragraphs

– Typically a paragraph for each part of the task

• You need to use the majority of the documents to backup your argument

• The more you use, the better your essay if they are used correctly

– Conclusion

Write Your Essay• Get to the point• Back thesis up with facts, solid evidence not fluffnot fluff– opening statement with your opinion, restate the question and 3

arguments• Make sure you are addressing the question• Refer back to the question several times• Don’t quote documentS – ANALYZE AND INTERPRET IT

Key Points to Remember• Start with outside information first and write it down; then

read documents; then construct a thesis• Use as many documents as you can as long as they fit your

thesis• Don’t explain documents – that is not your task! Use

documents to reinforce your main points and outside information

• Don’t rewrite large portions of documents. Try to limit quotations to 1 sentence or less

• Reference author’s you are citing (i.e. “In the letter by Abraham Lincoln…)

• Cite every document used (Doc. A), (Doc. F)

CAPTAIN ESSAY

This will help you write an essay.It will LITERALLY give you a guide to write a DBQ

sentence for sentence.That means you should probably USE IT!

Paragraph 1- Introduction• Sentence 1- HOOK THE READER- interesting

opening sentence about the topic. Make it a personal statement.

• Sentence 2- Topic background information IYOW- take from historical background

• Sentence 3—5?- Introduce task 1,2,3,4 etc- no details, no “I am” statements. SIMPLY restate the task

• Sentence 6- Thesis- YOUR opinion about the topic

Paragraph’s 2-4- Answer Task 1,2,3 etc..

• Sentence 1- Introduce Task 1- NO “I” statements. Basically same as intro sent. 3

• Sentence 2- 1st answer to task 1- use general knowledge fact• Sentence 3- Prove Answer- use one of the documents for PROOF!

Remember to cite the document (doc 3).• Sentence 4- Outside information- use OI from class.• Sentence 5- 2nd answer to task 1- use general knowledge fact.• Sentence 6- Prove answer- use one of the documents for proof.

Remember to cite.• Sentence 7- Outside information• Sentence 8- Segue- Lead into the next paragraph. Tie each task

together.

Paragraph 5- Conclusion

• Sentence 1- Re-state Thesis- DEFINENLTY USE different words.• Sentence 2- Introduce Task 1, reword from intro sentence 3.• Sentence 3- Best answer from paragraph 2.• Sentence 4- Intro task 2, reword from intro sentence 4.• Sentence 5- Best answer from paragraph 3.• Sentence 6- Introduce task 3, reword from intro sentence 5.• Sentence 7- Best answer from paragraph 4.• Re-word thesis again. REMEMBER: “TIE UP” your conclusion

so the rest of the essay wont “spill over.”