TIPS ON FREE RESPONSE QUESTIONS

1. TIPS ON FREE RESPONSE QUESTIONS DBQ CCOTC&C “EVERY SENTENCE SHOULD SUPPORT THE RUBRIC”

2. QUICK TIPS ON QUESTION • CIRLE THE VERB of what you are supposed to do (i.e. “Analyze”) • UNDERLINE THE TOPIC (i.e. responses to Buddhism) • DOUBLE-UNDERLINE WHERE and WHEN • GO BACK TO THESE IMPORTANT PARTS WHEN ANALYZING – how does it show this?

3. DBQ TIPS

4. DBQ THESIS • Make sure you have created 3-4 “like-minded” groupings of the documents THAT ANSWER THE QUESTION! • The thesis should have these groupings • It can be 1-5 sentences – the best thesis has ANALYSIS (why this is important)

5. DBQ continued… • GROUP documents 2 or 3 ways – how to do it can lie in the prompt… - cause and impact - similarities and differences - chronologically - by countries/areas - religion - by era…. AND ONWARDS…

6. DBQ – BODY PARAGRAPHS • Address ALL documents (even if you have to put one in a paragraph by itself!) • Support thesis by connecting documents to it – don’t just quote or summarize… analyze and make the historical connection in your own words

7. DBQ – BODY PARAGRAPHS TOPIC SENTENCE • Topic sentence should state one of the groupings of the thesis and SHOULD NOT REFER TO ANY DOCUMENT!!!!

8. DBQ BODY PARAGRAPHS • You are ANSWERING THE QUESTION – not simply summarizing the documents…. make sure that you go back and explain how the document ANSWERS THE QUESTION and FITS INTO YOUR GROUPING! Don’t expect the reader to do that analysis for you! • The documents are SECONDARY to answering the question!

9. DBQ – POINT OF VIEW • POV should be in every paragraph– consider class, gender, nationality, job, audience, place, motivation and TONE (anger, respect) and why - SOAPSTONE ALWAYS read the source line for information! POV at least 3-4 documents

10. DBQ – POINT OF VIEW • Discuss the reliability or validity of the document – maybe there is something in SOAPSTONE that might make the document suspect or might make it an excellent source – point it out!!!

11. DBQ ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT • Identify 2 new types of additional document!* • Consider: “whose voices am I missing?” – make sure you connect it to the question!!! • Go back to the prompt for help – explain what you’d like and WHY you need it! Tie back to the prompt…if you don’t explain how it helps you answer the question, cannot get the points *You can get extra points by putting in 2+ additional doc’s

12. DBQ – ADD DOC • Consider what kind of document you would like (diary entry, map, chart, picture, speech…) and who you would like to hear from (woman, peasant, someone from another country, etc…) THAT WOULD HELP YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION BETTER – how would this document help you? Perhaps putting it in with a “suspect” POV document would work

13. ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT • “Analyzing the responses to Buddhism in China would be more effective if there were a document (a photo/statistics/letter/ diary entry/map/speech/article) from the perspective of a Muslim living in Chang’an because most of these negative response documents are from Confucist scholars who would lose power. It would be interesting to know if the Muslims felt threatened as well”.

14. CONTINUITY & CHANGETHESIS: • Address the entire time period in the thesis. THIS MAY REQUIRE MORE THAN ONE SENTENCE!!!! Consider beginning, middle and end of time period • Include continuity & change in the thesis* • Include the key idea from the prompt * If stuck, think ESP

15. CCOT PARAGRAPHING • New paragraphs = new ideas • Discuss a continuity or change in each one • Give accurate, DETAILED information • Relate back to the KEY IDEA in prompt

16. CCOT & HISTORICAL CONTEXT • USE RELEVANT WORLD CONTEXT – Change happens in more than one area – place this change/continuity in the larger context and identify global events that bring about change “Despite the changes in labor brought by the Industrial Revolution, slavery of Africans continued in certain parts of the Americas up through the end of the nineteenth century”

17. CCOT & HISTORICAL CONTEXT • Create historical context by discussing WHAT ELSE is going on in the world that could be related to your region/ideas • Create historical context by discussing BIG IDEAS at the time: ie. imperialism, colonization, decolonization, Islam, global trade,disease, population, world war, Cold War, Mongols, monarchies…

18. CCOT & WHY THINGS CCOT • ANALYZE WHY THINGS CHANGED and how it impacted those in a particular region or country – give details AND… • WHY THINGS CONTINUED THIS WAY!! This shows your ability to analyze and do higher-level critical thinking!

19. COMPARE AND CONTRAST • COMPARE 2 regions in a particular time period • THESIS should address the two regions, time period and explain how each is similar and different and WHY that was the case (WHY MEANS IT IS ANALYTICAL) • Address all parts of the question! Use lots of evidence and details

20. COMPARE AND CONTRAST • Use appropriate – ACCURATE – historical evidence and make sure it is a legitimate comparison • A DIRECT COMPARISON means you are comparing societies in the same paragraph…do not discuss in separate paragraphs! • Explain WHY something is different and why something is the same!!!

21. FINAL THOUGHTS • THESIS at the beginning! Underline itUse contrast words such as “although”, “despite”, “However” to show difference in C&C and CCOT • Topic sentence should have compare/ contrast OR change/ continutity • Topic sentence should REFLECT THESIS

22. Final thoughts - continued • DETAILS – don’t be too general!!! If you discuss Hinduism, give details about the religion (caste system, polytheistic, etc..) • Make sure you connect information back to thesis and key idea!!! • NO SUMMARIES!!!!!!