Where to Find the Best DBQ Examples

Where to Find the Best DBQ Examples SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips One of the best ways to prepare for the DBQ (the "document-based question" on the AP European History, AP US History, and AP World History exams) is to look over sample questions and example essays.Doing this will help you to get a sense of what makes a good (and what makes a bad) DBQ response. That said, not all DBQ essay examples are created equal. I’ll briefly cover what makes a good DBQ example and then provide a list of example essays by course. Lastly, I’ll give you some helpful tips on how to best use sample essays in your own preparation process. What's a Good DBQ Example? Without a doubt, the best sample resources come from the College Board.This is because they are the ones who design and administer the AP exams. This means the following: Any DBQ essay example that the College Board provides will include a real DBQ prompt All samples are real student responses from previous years, so you know they were written under the same conditions you'll have when you write your DBQ- in other words, they're authentic! They not only have scores but also explanations of each essay's score,in accordance with the rubric Each prompt includes several sample essays with a variety of scores Some DBQ examples outside those available from the College Board might be worth looking at, particularly if they highlight how a particular essay could be improved. In general, though, a superior example will do the following: Include the prompt and documents:It will be much easier for you to see how the information from the documents is integrated into the essay if you can actually look at the documents themselves! Have a score:Seems simple, but you'd be surprised how many DBQ examples out there in the uncharted internet don't have one. Without a real, official score, it's hard to gauge how trustworthy a sample actually is. With that in mind, I have compiled lists, organized by exam, of high-quality example DBQs below. Don't spend all your study time sharpening your pencil. Every DBQ Example Essay You Could Ever Need, by Exam Here are your example essays! We'll start with AP US History, then move to AP European History, and finally wrap up with AP World History. AP US History: Official College Board Examples Because of the test redesign in 2015, there are right now only four official College Board sets of sample essays that use the current rubric: 2018 Free-Response Questions| Sample DBQ Responses 2018 2017 Free-Response Questions| Sample DBQ Responses 2017 2016 Free-Response Questions| Sample DBQ Responses 2016 2015 Free-Response Questions| Sample DBQ Responses 2015 If you want additional sample question sets, you canlook at older College Board US History DBQ example response sets.To look at these, click "Free-Response Questions" for a given year. For the corresponding DBQ examples and scoring guidelines, click "Sample Responses Q1." Note that these examples use the old rubric (which is integrated into the Scoring Guidelines for a given free-response section). General comments on the quality of the essay, outside information, and document analysis still apply, but the score is on a 9-point scale instead of the current 7-point scale, and some of the particulars will be different. Older DBQs had up to 12 documents, while the current format has six to seven documents. If you do look at older DBQ examples, I recommend using the current rubric (as of 2017)to re-grade the essays in the sample according to the 7-point scale. I'll also give more advice on how to use all these samples in your prep later on. Mr. Bald Eagle is an AP US History DBQ grader in his spare time. AP European History: Official College Board Examples Unfortunately, there aren't as many sample resources for the AP Euro DBQ compared to the other AP history tests because 2016 was the first year the AP Euro test was administered in the new format. This means there are only three sets of official samples graded with the current 7-point rubric: 2018 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2018 2017 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2017 2016 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2016 The rest of the existing available samples were graded in the old 9-point format instead of the 7-point format implemented in 2016. In the old format there were6 "core" points and 3 additional points possible. The old rubric is integrated with the sample responses for each question, but I'll highlight some key differences between the old and current formats: With the old format, you were given a brief "historical background" section before the documents There were more documents- up to 12- but the current format has six to seven There was an emphasis on "grouping" the documents that is not present in the current rubric There was also explicit emphasis on correctly interpreting the documents that is not found in the current rubric While the essential components of the DBQ are still the same between the two test formats,you should definitely refer to the current rubricif you decide to look at any old AP European History samples. You might find ituseful to look at old essays and score them in accordance with the current rubric. Here are the old sample DBQ questions and essays, organized by year: 2015 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2015 2014 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2014 2013 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2013 2012 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2012 2011 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2011 You can get samples in the old format all the way back to 2000 from the College Board. (Click "Free -Response Questions" for the questions and "Sample Response Q1" for the samples.) Consider how you might integrate this castle into the DBQ that is your life. AP World History: Official College Board Examples The World History AP exam transitioned to a new format to more resemble AP US History and AP European History for the 2017 test. This means that there are only two past exams available that use the current DBQ format: 2018 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2018 2017 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2017 In the old format there were7 "core" points and 2 additional points possible. The old rubric is integrated with the sample responses for each question, but I’ll highlight some key differences between the old and current formats: There were more documents- up to 10- but the current format has six to seven There was an emphasis on "grouping" the documents on the old rubric that is not present in the current rubric There was also explicit emphasis on correctly interpreting the documents that is not found in the current rubric In the old rubric, you needed to identify one additional document that would aid in your analysis; the new rubric does not have this requirement The essential components of the DBQ are still the same between the two formats, although you should definitely look at the current rubricif you study with any old AP World History questions and samples.You might find ituseful to look at the old essays and score them according to the current rubric. Here are old AP World History questions and DBQ sample responses, organized by year: 2016 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2016 2015 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2015 2014 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2014 2013 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2013 2012 Free-Response Questions|Sample DBQ Responses 2012 Don't worry, the old format isn't as old as this guy right here. How Should I Use DBQ Examples to Prepare? Now that you have all these examples, what should you do with them?In this section, I'll give you some tips on how to use example DBQs in your own prep, including when to start using them and how many you should plan to review. What Should I Do With These DBQs? Officialsample essay sets are a great way to testhow well you understand the rubric. This is why I recommendthat you grade a sample setearly on in your study process- maybe even before you've written a practice DBQ. Then, when you compare the scores you gave to the official scores and scoring notes given to the samples, you'll have a better idea of what parts of the rubric you don't really understand.If there are points you are consistently awarding differently than the graders, you’ll know those are skills you'll need to work on. Keep giving points for the thesis and then finding out the sample didn't get those points? This tells you to work more on your thesis skills. Not giving points for historical context and then finding out the AP grader gave full credit? You need to work on recognizing what constitutes historical context according to the AP. Check out mytips on building specific rubric-based skills in my guide on how to write a DBQ. Once you've worked on some of those rubric skills you're weaker in, such as evaluating a good thesis or identifying document groups, grade another sample set.This way, you can see how your ability to grade the essays like an AP grader improves over time! Obviously, grading sample exams is a much more difficult processif you're looking at examples in an old format (e.g., AP European History or AP World History samples). The old scores as awarded by the College Board will be helpful in establishing a ballpark- obviously a 9is still going to be a good essay using the current 7-point scale- but there may be some modest differences in grades between the two scales. (Maybe that perfect 9is now a 6out of 7due to rubric changes.) For practice grading with old samples, you might want to pull out two copies of the current rubric, recruit a trusted study buddy or academic advisor (or even two study buddies!), and have each of you re-grade the samples. You can then discuss any major differences in the grades each of you awarded. Having multiple sets of eyes will help you see if the scores you're giving are reasonable, since you won’t have an official 7-point College Board score for comparison. How Many Example DBQs Should I Be Using? The answer to this question depends on your study plans. If it's six months before the exam and you plan on transforming yourself into a hard diamond of DBQ excellence, you might do practice grading on a sample set every few weeks to a month to check your progress to being able to think like an AP grader. In this case, you would probably use six to nine official sample sets. If, on the other hand, the exam is in a month and you are just trying to get in some skill-polishing, you might do a sample set every week to 10 days. It makes sense to check your skills more often when you have less time to study because you want to be sure that you are focusing your time on the skills that need the most work. For a short time frame, expect to use somewhere in the range of three to four range official sample sets. Either way, you should be integrating your sample essay grading with skills practice and doing some practice DBQ writing of your own. Toward the end of your study time, you could even integrate DBQ writing practice with sample grading. Read and complete a timed prompt and then grade the sample set for that prompt, including yours! The other essays will help give you a sense of what score your essay might have received that year and any areas you might have overlooked. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to using sample sets, but in general they are a useful tool formaking sure you have a good idea what the DBQ graders will be looking for when you write your own DBQ. Hey, where can we find a good DBQ around here? Closing Thoughts: Example DBQs for AP History Tests Example DBQ essays are a valuable resource in your arsenal of study strategies for the AP history exams. Grading samples carefullywill help you get a sense of your own blind spots so you'll know what skills to focus on in your prep. That said, sample essays will be most useful when integrated with your own targeted skills prep. Grading 100 sample essays won't help you if you aren't practicing your skills; rather, you'll just keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Make sure you aren't using sample essays toavoid writing practice DBQs either- you'll want to do at least a couple, even if you only have a month to practice. And there you have it, folks. With this list of DBQ examples and tips on how to use them, you are all prepared to integrate samples into your study strategy! What's Next? Still not sure what a DBQ is? Check out my explanation of the DBQto learn the basics. Want tips on how to really dig in and study for AP history tests?We've got a complete how-to guide on preparing and writing the DBQ. If you're still studying for AP World History, check out ourtop AP World History study guide,or get more practice tests from our complete list. Want more study material for AP US History? Look into this article on the best notes to use for studying from one of our experts. Also, read our review of the best AP US History textbooks! Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: