Essay Feedback - 4/26/13

Reagan DBQ - 4/24/13

Writing a good DBQ (Document-Based Question) Essay

From the College Board

Remember to follow these steps:

1. Read the question -- that is, the prompt -- three times. Remember that in this instance "AP" stands for "address prompt."
2. Identify the task. State in your own words what you are being asked to write.
3. Circle or underline the main words, especially words of direction, such as "analyze," "explain," "compare and contrast," "evaluate," "assess," and "to what extent."
4. Briefly outline the main events of the historical time period addressed. Unlike AP Euro, you will be expected to bring in outside knowledge into your DBQ.
5. Read each document, noting the source or the title. Briefly write the main point of each document. If the prompt requires you to take one position or another, group the documents on the basis of those positions.
6. Use the source or the title when referring to the information in the document. Do NOT use the word "document" in the narrative of your essay. (Writing "Document A says," "Document B says," and so on results in a laundry list of documents instead of an essay.)
   
   For example:
   DON'T WRITE: "Document A says that Ronald Reagan was ineffective . . ."
   DO WRITE: "According to an article from a December 1981 issue of Time magazine, President Reagan was ineffective . . ."
   
   DON'T WRITE: "The chart in Document H says that . . ."
   DO WRITE: "The U.S. Census Bureau reported that from 1981 to 1989, actual civilian employment . . ."
7. You may use the words (Doc A) or (Doc D) in parentheses as a reference to a specific document at the end of the information you have included from that document. These notes help you organize your use of the documents throughout your essay. Essential note to remember: Students write the essay; documents don't write the essay.

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