Outline Template DBQ Introduction Your Grabber (1-2 sentences designed to get the attention of the reader) Background Who, what, where, when establish reference points for your reader. Thesis: Answer the prompt. Take a position. A good thesis must be arguable and more than a mere statement of fact. It should also avoid the simple answer to a complex question. Bad thesis example: The Civil War was caused by disagreements between the south. Kinda, Sorta, Okay thesis example: The U.S. Civil War was caused by social, economic, and political differences between the sections of the United States. The above thesis does more clearly lays out the reasons for the civil war but b/c it is so vague it does not accomplish the task of being arguable in any way. Good thesis example: The United States Civil War was caused by political disagreements like the failed compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Social arguments such as the nature of slavery and the rights of freed African Americans in general and intellectually in opposing views on the role of government between North and South.
Write your thesis here: Answer the prompt: Road Map: State the major reasons for your position. Reason 1: Evidence Sneak Peak: Reason 2: Evidence Sneak Peak: Reason 3: Evidence Sneak Peak: Body Paragraphs Topic Sentence (Claim) State the main idea or central argument to be developed throughout the rest of the paragraph (this topic sentence will make a claim about one of the three CATs from your thesis statement) Evidence (Support) Provides a specific event, detail, or document that directly supports the paragraph s topic sentence. Justification (Explain) Explicitly explains how or why the chosen evidence supports the topic sentence s claim. [Repeat your use of Evidence and Justification as many times as necessary to fully support your Topic Sentence s claim.] Remember that a good rule of thumb is TWO pieces of document evidence w/ POV and ONE piece of evidence beyond the documents at minimum per body paragraph.
Incorporating POV Statements as Evidence and Justification [Doc ID by Title and Author, Analysis, Significance] Example POV: Calhoun, a Democrat from South Carolina, wrote in his A Discourse on the Constitution and the Government of the US (Doc E) that secession is a constitutional act, and discontented states have the right to leave the union. This became a later justification for southern states seceding when Lincoln took office. POV in your body paragraph as evidence and justification: Topic Sentence- Claim With deepening political divisions came differing constitutional interpretations between the North and South. Evidence- Support Calhoun, a Democrat from South Carolina, wrote in his A Discourse on the Constitution and the Government of the US (Doc E) that secession is a constitutional act, and discontented states have the right to leave the union. Justification- Explain This became a later justification for southern states seceding when Lincoln took office.
Body Paragraph One Topic Sentence Evidence Justification POV Body Paragraph Two Topic Sentence Evidence Justification POV
Body Paragraph Three Topic Sentence Evidence Justification POV Conclusion Restate Thesis Using different wording, restate your thesis statement in order to summarize your essay s central claim. Do not repeat yourself. Synthesis Extends the argument by explaining the connections between the argument and: A development in a different historical period, situation, era, or geographical area OR A course theme and/or approach to history that is not the focus of the essay (political, social, etc.)
Conclusion Restate Your Thesis Here: Synthesis: DBQ STEPS AND GENERAL TIPS Step #1 Analyze the prompt what is the question it is asking you to answer? Step #2 Complete your brain dump. Step #3 Categorize/bucket your information into PERSIA Analyze and bucket your docs. Use the same buckets as your brain dump Remember when Thesis Drafting Be sure to use your document analysis to draft your thesis statement.
DO NOT use specific documents in your thesis DO use PERSIA categories that you have docs to support Using the Documents Don t simply summarize the docs! DO NOT write Doc A shows, Doc B shows DO NOT directly quote from document DO analyze the document by paraphrasing the document. When writing your body paragraphs, use the docs to SUPPORT your claim. Topic Sentence (Claim) Evidence (Support) Justification (explains how or why the chosen evidence supports the topic sentence s claim.) Use Backwards Planning (from evidence to topic sentence). Present your information working forwards (topic sentence, evidence, justification). Be sure to use a minimum of eight documents with POV Do not write in first person: No I s We s You s etc Do not refer to historical figures by their first names. If you do not know them personally you are not to use their first name.