Since i am posting this guide under a pseudonym and have no credential based statistics, my credentials or ethos are as followed: dartmouth undergraduate 2280 sat 5 on ap euro/ap world exam taken in same year i am here to offer a guide for struggling european history or world history students who aim for a 5 on their ap exam. It is certainly possible to still earn a 5 without achieving a 9 on any of the essay portions, but we can all agree that earning a 9 can dramatically increase one's chances for that desirable 5. However, the sooner you understand what the object of the dbq is and what the authors/graders are looking for, it all comes down to how well you can comprehend the primary source documents. This is how i define the dbq this type of mentality can also dramatically increase your score: an essay where you simply organize 10 12 documents into 3 categories 4 if you want, but it doesn't substantially increase your score , analyze the author's opinion/perspective, and ask yourself: what does his or her title/position/job tell me about his perspective?.

For others, it may be doing the whole essay itself, so i will write my own personal strategy for the entire process of writing a successful dbq as well as analyze some of the 2011 ap euro dbq. It can really help give you a perspective into the time period and possible tips for pov's. Note: i have not read through the dbq, i am almost literally going through process as if i were doing the dbq as i am writing this guide. Elizabeth i of england reigned 1558 1603 was the daughter of henry vi and his second wife, anne boleyn. General summary of the documents gt something about elizabeth i of england who ascended to the throne at age 25. We can assume there will probably be conflicting documents about how people felt about her rise to power or what she was like as a ruler.

Time period 1558 1603 gt some historical background could help, but the documents will most likely clarify what was happening during this period. Including outside information about her family and possible influences on elizabeth will always help you. So this is good information to keep in mind while reading through the perspectives of documents. Read all the documents and categorize them into 3 four if you deem necessary categories. This part solely relies on your ability to comprehend what the author of the document is saying and his perspective.

I can't really help much in this step, but here is a simple list of things to watch out for: negative terms: against, may not, utterly impossible etc. Sarcasm my favorite to date i remember in a dbq about imperialism: philanthropy is great, but philanthropy at five percent is even better. Not quite sarcasm, but the author is saying that philanthropy is great, but also earning a 5% interest is even better. Sometimes documents are in such a hatred tone that they will take 15 words to describe how awful something/someone is and arrive at the point much later.

As for defining categories, generally you should just try and fill these ubiquitous templates since they work 99% of the time. Political economical humanitarian white man's burden imperialism nationalism religion intellectual development these 8 categories will generally fit every dbq the collegeboard can conjure up. Step 3: least favorite amongst all now let's get into analyzing author perspectives. I remember my history teacher had a hard time trying to explain this, and when i tutored students in ap history, i did as well.

Essay on Stress In Modern Day Life

It really distinguishes between students who can make connections, and those can cannot. I find that using the template: it makes sense that _ person holds this position because he is _ helps get the thoughts flowing. In document 2, nicholas heath, archbishop of york, is against the leadership of elizabeth.

Since heath is an archbishop, he has most likely read the bible and interpreted the role of women as inferior compared to men. Being the religions man heath is, it makes sense for him to be against the leadership of a woman. When talking about the bible, it is easy to blame the position of a person based on his/her interpretation of the bible since there is infinite number of the ways to interpret the bible. Some may question the validity of my example of pov, but it clearly works since i consistently received 8 9's on my dbq's in class and on the ap exam. There are constant pov analyses of art in these recordings and it could very well help you better understand how to analyze an author's or in this case painter's pov. Other than what i have said above, the only other way to get better is: practice, practice, practice. It may be hard/intimidating at first, but if you stick with it and work hard, it will pay off.

: post edited by maxconf on november 2013 dbqs require a set of documents and outside knowledge. Marcella ruland also suggests looking for conjunctions and, or to ensure that you are answering the question completely. It is important to consider the point of view of the documents, including who wrote it and under what circumstances.

This paragraph should include a general introduction to the period or event, a statement of two or three key issues or aspects of the topic, and a thesis sentence. Each issue or aspect that you listed in the introductory paragraph should get its own body paragraph. Provide support explaining why each issue is important, using both the documents given and your list of relevant information. time: 2016 02 22 1:50 utc 1456138550 reporting this problem: the problem you have encountered is with a project web site hosted by sourceforge.net. This issue should be reported to the sourceforge.net hosted project not to sourceforge.net.

if this is a severe or recurring/persistent problem, please do one of the following, and provide the error text numbered 1 through 7, above:

user name

if you are a maintainer of this web content, please refer to the site documentation regarding web services for further assistance. This option may be re enabled by the project by placing a file with the name .htaccess with this line: please note: that these tips are here to help you and additions will be added from time to time, if you have a specific question or issue please send it to ms. do make sure that your thesis addresses all parts of the question being asked ndash often the prompt for an essay specifies areas of analysis such as political sphere, economic structure, or the influence of religion. Other components to include can be one or all of these: time period s , region s , and/or specified populations do try to show thought or analysis for the reasons for why things have happened or the motivations for actions/ beliefs/ innovations hellip.

The challenge of the ap essay is not only demonstrating knowledge but also indicating depth of thought. Higher scores are achieved when students have essays which reflect historical thinking skills. Frank warren, a history professor at queens college and a former chief faculty consultant for ap u.s. History, offers the following suggestions for writing a good response to a document based question dbq or free response essay question.

This practice is an excellent way to develop the skill of casting a thesis statement and marshalling evidence in support of a valid generalization. Be prepared to define other central terms, such as major change, that may appear to be obvious but can be ambiguous. Some good essay writers begin with a thesis statement, back it up with supporting evidence from documents and outside knowledge, and, if time permits, restate the thesis at the end. Other writers analyze the material and build up logically to their thesis statement. In any case, exam day is probably not a good time to experiment with a new, unfamiliar method of writing. In addition to having a strong thesis, it is a good idea to have a guiding organizational principle a stated agenda for making your point. Your exam shouldn't read as if you threw in a few tidbits of outside information at the end.

Many good essay writers demonstrate a sense of complexity in the documents, showing that most of the evidence may point in one direction but that part of the evidence points in a different direction. It is better, however, to support a clear, simple thesis than to create artificially a complexity that you can't support using the documents or outside knowledge. Almost every essay including the dbq is designed to allow the student to agree or disagree with the statement. Your ultimate goal should be to present a well argued and well supported thesis, not merely to give the people scoring the essay what you think they want. The best essays in terms of arguing their case are those that marshal the positive arguments in favor of their position but that also refute or answer possible rival theses. Even if you think a statement is completely true, it is better to confront and negate the evidence that seems to refute it than to ignore the counterevidence completely. Rather, use the documents as part of an integrated essay in support of your thesis.