The “Top Bun” of your essay!

1. Establish the TIME and PLACE.

2. Create a clear, THESIS STATEMENT that mentions the groups, categories, ideas and/or the SUB-TOPICS you will discuss to support your thesis statement.

3. Focus on the question at hand…answer the question!

No “laundry list!”

The “tasty” part of your essay!

Use actual sentences and group the information within the

paragraph.

1. Identify your group in the first sentence. Describe the group rather than listing numbers.

2. Include the documents that are relevant (they should be grouped together by content, author, etc.)to support the paragraph.

3. Use as many documents as possible. OVER half must be used.

4. Be sure to indicate Point-of-View (POV) and or bias.

1. Identify your group in the first sentence. Describe the group rather than listing numbers.

2. Include the documents that are relevant (they should be grouped together by content, author, etc.)to support the paragraph.

3. Use as many documents as possible. OVER half must be used.

4. Be sure to indicate Point-of-View (POV) and or bias.

1. Who is this person?

2. What is the point of view (POV) of the author?

3. How reliable and accurate is the source?

4. What is the tone or intent of the document author?

1. Who is this person?

2. What is the point of view (POV) of the author?

3. How reliable and accurate is the source?

4. What is the tone or intent of the document author?

Remember, documents can be used in a variety of ways and in more than one

group

Remember, documents can be used in a variety of ways and in more than one

group

Authorial Point of View: you show awareness that the gender, occupation,

class, religion, nationality, political

position or ethnic identity of the author could influence his/her

views.

EXAMPLE:EXAMPLE:

Balthasar Rusow, a Lutheran pastor, was naturally upset by the celebration of a Saint’s Day, since Lutherans did not venerate saints.

Balthasar Rusow, a Lutheran pastor, was naturally upset by the celebration of a Saint’s Day, since Lutherans did not venerate saints.

3. Reliability and accuracy of each source referenced: you examine a source for its reliability and accuracy by questioning if the author of the document would be in a position to be accurate.

How might this help you answer the question?How might this help you answer the question?

EXAMPLE:EXAMPLE:

Niccolo Machiavelli’s book on the political tactics of a Renaissance prince was probably accurate as he observed the behavior of the prince, Cesare Borgia, for many years.

Niccolo Machiavelli’s book on the political tactics of a Renaissance prince was probably accurate as he observed the behavior of the prince, Cesare Borgia, for many years.

4. Tone or Intent of the Author: you examine the text of a document to determine its tone (satire, irony, indirect commentary, etc.) or the intent of the author. Especially useful for visual documents, like art work or political cartoons.

EXAMPLE:EXAMPLE:

In his great sculpture of “David,” Michelangelo wanted to convey the confidence, and even arrogance, of Renaissance Florence at the peak of its cultural influence in 16th century Europe.

In his great sculpture of “David,” Michelangelo wanted to convey the confidence, and even arrogance, of Renaissance Florence at the peak of its cultural influence in 16th century Europe.

5. Grouping of Docs. by Author: you show an awareness that certain types of authors, simply by their authorship, will express similar views when you group documents by type of author.

EXAMPLE:EXAMPLE:

As Northern Renaissance humanists, Erasmus, Sir Thomas More, and Cervantes all poked fun at the mistakes, problems and scandals of late medieval society as well as of their own.

As Northern Renaissance humanists, Erasmus, Sir Thomas More, and Cervantes all poked fun at the mistakes, problems and scandals of late medieval society as well as of their own.

1. Baldassare Castiglione, in The Handbook of the Courtier, said: “………………….”

2. Erasmus of Rotterdam, a northern Christian humanist, agreed with…

3. The 19th historian Burkhardt felt that …………………. (Doc. 9)Do NOT begin with: In Document 3,

…..Do NOT begin with: In Document 3,

…..

The “Bottom Bun” of your essay!

It holds it all together!

1.Start with a “concluding phrase.”

2.Restate your thesis statement.a

3. If possible, put your essay answer in a larger historical perspective.

…You are on your way to a NINE out of NINE on the

Document based Question.

We will be working with an actual DBQ.

You will have 25 minutes to read and construct your sketch. Please do NOT write on the DBQ sheets.s

1. Read the question (read it twice, make sure you know what is being asked), the background information and all of the documents.

2. On your paper (not the DBQ sheet) “sketch out” how you would group the documents and in which documents you see point of view and/or bias.

3. Once our work is completed we will be reading actual answers to this DBQ question and scoring them.

4. Use the scoring guides provided to “grade” each of the essays in your packet using the College Board scoring system. Mark your scores for each essay on your thesis statement sheets. Make note as to WHY you gave them the score you did (what was included and what was left out).