dbq essay early presidential policies answer key

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AP U.S. History Document Based Question Example

The DBQ requires you to analyze the documents in addition to bringing outside information to bear on the question. This is a difficult task, and you have only 15 minutes to plan before you begin writing. Don’t panic! Use the same strategies given for the LEQ for document analysis . The more you practice using these strategies, the better you will become at quickly finding significance in the documents.

Use the prompt and documents below to practice writing a DBQ . Either create an outline of key points or time yourself for 55 minutes (15 to prep and 40 to write) to get test day practice. Check your answers against the sample response at the end to see how yours compares!

DBQ Sample Question

Evaluate the extent of change in United States political parties in the period 1791 to 1833.

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

Spend the 15-minute reading period analyzing the documents themselves, thinking for each document about its authorship/historical situation, main idea, and why it was written.

Begin grouping the documents into categories that you can use to help organize your essay. The following is a sample high-scoring writer’s notes on the documents:

1.  Hamilton – Fed.: federal implied powers equal with explicit powers in Constitution, bank constitutional 2.  Jefferson – Demo-Rep.: federal government only has powers delegated by Constitution, bank unconstitutional 3.  Jefferson inaugural address: all parties follow same principles 4.  Map of territories, feat. Louisiana Purchase – large territory bought by Jefferson 5.  Hartford Convention – Fed.: want Congress to have high consensus to take action 6.  Jackson – Demo.: veto bank b/c unconstitutional 7.  Nat.-Rep. (Whig) cartoon: Jackson like king trampling Constitution w/ vetoes

• Fed. & Demo.-Rep. initial views: 1 & 2
• Feds. changing view: 5
• Demo.-Rep. changing view: 3, 4
• new parties & new issues: 6, 7

Step 2: Plan Your Response

• Thesis : parties changed ideals & new parties formed w/ new focuses; all devoted to Constitution ( complex understanding : change and continuity)
• Hamilton (Doc. 1): Fed. pro-bank, loose construction, strong central government
• Jefferson (Doc. 2): Demo.-Rep. anti-bank, strict construction, powerful states
• Jefferson (Doc. 3): reconcile w/ Feds. ( sourcing 1 )
• LA Purchase (Doc. 4): shift from strict construction
• Add’l Evidence : Jefferson Embargo Act: shift to strong fed.
• Context : war with Britain, impact on Feds.
• Hartford Convention (Doc. 5): shift from strong fed.
• Add’l Evidence : Era of Good Feelings
• Democrats & Whigs issues: bank, power of president, internal improvements
• Jackson cartoon (Doc. 7) ( sourcing 2 )
• (Doc. 3) “same principle”
• (Docs. 1 & 2) interpretations of Const.
• (Doc. 6) Jackson claim bank unconst. ( sourcing 3 )
• ¶conclusion: parties shifted in ideologies, new parties based on events, still devoted to Const.

Step 3: Action! Write Your Response

Step 4: proofread, sample high-scoring document-based question response.

The first two parties emerged from disagreements about forming a Bank of the United States. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton developed a loose construction view of the Constitution, using the implied powers of the federal government in the Constitution to justify his support for a bank (Document 1). Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson argued for a strict construction view, opposing the Bank since it was not explicitly permitted by the Constitution and, he claimed, therefore unconstitutional (Document 2). These philosophies became the foundation of the first two political parties. Hamilton led the Federalists, who championed a strong federal government. Jefferson and James Madison led the Democratic-Republicans, who believed power rested with the states.

However, over time it became clear that the unwavering views of the two political parties needed to moderate if the country were to grow. Jefferson made the first step toward moderation of his political philosophy and reconciliation with the Federalists in his First Inaugural Address (Document 3), stating “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.” As the newly elected president, perhaps Jefferson felt required to placate his political opponents and didn’t fully believe this sentiment, but his time in office would prove that more moderate views were politically expedient. Jefferson and his party had to further adjust their ideals when the opportunity to purchase the Louisiana Territory from France arose in 1803 (Document 4). There was no provision in the Constitution for a president to buy more territory. However, Jefferson moderated his own strict construction views and made the purchase. Later, when American shipping was disrupted during the Napoleonic Wars, Jefferson again showed a shift from his original pro-state view and took the strong federal action of supporting the Embargo Act.

The Federalists also modified their views after war broke out with Great Britain. The Federalists, many of whom were merchants negatively impacted by the war’s impact on trade, protested America’s involvement. Federalists formulated a set of demands in Hartford, Connecticut (Document 5). By proposing that some government actions require a full two-thirds approval of the states, they were essentially challenging the authority of the federal government and seeking a way for their minority party to gain a greater say in decisions. Thus, the party that had favored a strong central government had now adopted an opposite view based on their circumstances. Both the initial parties changed their ideals when faced with events while governing.

As time went on, new parties emerged that were centered around the new concerns of their times. During the one-party Era of Good Feelings, the Federalist Party essentially ceased to exist, showing that political parties can disappear if their particular focuses are no longer relevant. The Democratic-Republican Party eventually split into two new parties: the Democrats and the Whigs. Although the National Bank was still a divisive issue, these new parties now focused on the issues of the power of the presidency and the role of the national government in modernization. The political cartoon in Document 7, created by a member of the Whigs, demonstrates the Whig view of opposing a strong executive by depicting the Democrat Jackson as a king who literally is trampling the Constitution under his feet. The intent of the cartoon is to mock Jackson as acting more like a king than a president by his excessive use of the veto. That a major facet of the Whig party was its opposing a particular president demonstrates the tendency of early political parties to form and dissolve as issues changed over time.

Despite the changes, all the early parties remained devoted to the principles of the Constitution. As Jefferson indicates in his address (Document 3), the parties have “different names” but are “brethren of the same principle”—the republican form of their government. Likewise, the debates between Federalists and Democratic- Republicans often hinged on how to interpret the Constitution, as shown in both Hamilton’s and Jefferson’s explanations of the Constitution in Documents 1 and 2. Later, Jackson also based his decision in Document 6 with “solemn regard to the principles of the Constitution.” While it is possible that Jackson was merely appealing to the Constitution as an excuse to veto the bank, which he was known to dislike, his words at least show the importance of appearing to honor constitutional principles across party lines.

American political parties developed soon after the Constitution took effect and went through shifts in ideologies and concerns over time. Sometimes changing their views based on what was politically expedient, early parties came in and out of existence based on their particular focuses and current events. Still, their devotion to constitutional principles showed their faith in the new form of government and ensured that the new government would endure and adapt, even when facing political disagreement.

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AP United States History Exam Questions

Free-response questions and scoring information.

Download free-response questions from this year's exam and past exams along with scoring guidelines, sample responses from exam takers, and scoring distributions.

If you are using assistive technology and need help accessing these PDFs in another format, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 212-713-8333 or by email at [email protected] .

2024: Free-Response Questions

2023: Free-Response Questions

2022: Free-Response Questions

2021: Free-Response Questions

2020: Free-Response Questions

The 2020 free-response questions are available in the  AP Classroom question bank .

2019: Free-Response Questions

2018 :Free-Response Questions

2017: Free-Response Questions

2016: Free-Response Questions

2015: Free-Response Questions

The 2015 sample response PDFs (.pdf/32.8MB) were updated to reflect changes to the rubrics that took effect with the 2016 AP U.S. History Exam.

How to Write a DBQ Essay for APUSH

The Document Based Question (DBQ) essay is a key feature of the APUSH exam. And at 25% of your total score, it’s an important feature! Keep reading and you will get some great tips on how to write a DBQ for the APUSH exam.

What is a DBQ essay?

As I stated in a previous post on what the APUSH exam is all about , the goal of the exam is to test your historical thinking skills. Historians write arguments based on documents, and for this exam, you will, too.

For a DBQ essay, you will receive several documents of varying length. You will be asked to respond to some historical prompt that will require you to use the documents as evidence in your response. The great thing about a DBQ is that a lot of information you need to answer the question is in the documents themselves – score! However, you do need to have some background knowledge to make sense of the documents (we will practice this later in the post). The documents could be tables, charts, personal letters, or any other source that the exam creators believe would help you answer the question. Generally speaking, the documents will represent multiple perspectives on one topic.

It will be your job to synthesize those various perspectives into a coherent response.

Let’s walk through a sample DBQ topic for the APUSH exam.

Before we get too far into this, it’s important that you note that College Board, the organization that writes the APUSH exam, has made some major changes starting in 2015. I will be taking you through the 2015 sample the College Board provided for students to practice, but, as you will see in a second, it’s important that you practice as much as possible in order to read the documents quickly. Just make a note that the format may be slightly different if you review an exam prior to 2015.

Let’s say that you come across this prompt for a DBQ question:

Compare and contrast views of United States overseas expansion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Evaluate how understandings of national identity, at the time, shaped these views.

Before you Read

You have 7 documents to read in the suggested time of 15 minutes. How is that even possible?!

Well, no one ever said it was going to be easy. But it is possible. When you get that prompt, or any other DBQ prompt like it, what you do before you read the documents will be just as important as what you end up writing. Before you even read the content of the documents, you should:

• Recall what you know about the time period.
• Read the source information for each document.
• Recognize the possible opinions that could be compared and contrasted.

Let’s dig into each of those steps.

1. Recall what you know

This DBQ is interested in U.S. overseas expansion in the late 19th and early 20th century. What do you know about U.S. overseas expansion during that time period? Perhaps you remember something about the Spanish-American War of 1898, which falls into our time period. Perhaps you remember that the U.S. got some territory as a result of that war. Even if you can’t remember exactly what territory, this puts you in a much better position to get started.

2. Read the source information

Take these two documents below as an example.

Before I read the document, I see that Jane Addams titled her speech “Democracy or Militarism.” Based on the title alone, I can begin to make some inferences that this document is not likely to be positive about any overseas expansion that would most certainly require military force.

Before I even read this document, I can see that William Jennings Bryan is campaigning for the presidency. However, I cannot recall there ever being a President Bryan, meaning that he was unsuccessful in his campaign. Perhaps what he was saying was not popular enough to get enough votes.

These inferences help me make sense of the document later on.

3. Recognize possible opinions

Again, before I read the documents closely, I recognize that this is a compare/contrast question. Before I even read this document, I’m going to make the following table so that I can group documents later on.

This table will help me more easily write my essay.

I know that your instinct will be to see the clock and think, OH MY GOSH, I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO BE DOING ALL THIS PREP WORK, MS. BERRY!!!!

Fight that instinct, because these steps will help you write a more coherent essay.

While you read

This part is tough. You have quite a few documents to make sense of in a short amount of time. But, as you are reading as fast as you can, you should be actively annotating the document for the following:

• Words, phrases, and/or visual cues that help you place the document into a group that helps you answer the question .
• Words, phrases, and/or visual cues that help you activate background knowledge .
• Words, phrases, and/or visual cues that help you understand the document’s bias .

You will have to practice this multiple times to get good at it; there’s really no way around that. But you have a plan of attack. So work your plan to make your plan work!

As you write

When you are writing your DBQ, use the five paragraph essay to your advantage. I am sure you know lots of other things that could turn this answer into a novel, but the most important thing for this task is to make sure that you get enough of your ideas on the page so that your APUSH exam scorer knows that you know.

• First paragraph: introduction with a thesis statement
• Second paragraph: documents FOR expansion (As you write, make sure to mention who is for expansion and compare/contrast that with who is against it.)
• Third paragraph: documents AGAINST expansion (As you write, make sure to mention who is against expansion and compare/contrast that with who is for it.)
• Fourth paragraph: documents with ambiguity or complicated arguments (You should compare these documents to BOTH groups.)
• Fifth paragraph: Conclusion that reiterates your argument

You may be thinking, why do I need that fourth paragraph? That seems needlessly complicated, to look for documents that are complicated.

Well, you are trying to score well on this DBQ, right? (Remember: it’s 25% of your overall score!)

You get a point for being able to do the following:

“Develop and support a cohesive argument that recognizes and accounts for historical complexity by explicitly illustrating relationships among historical evidence such as contradiction, corroboration, and/or qualification.” AP Scoring Guide

You will want that point!

I’ve given you a lot of information; but this information will become more like second nature the more you practice! For a summary, look at the table below.

And happy studying!

In summary: Strategies for writing the DBQ Essay

Allena Berry loves history; that should be known upfront. She loves it so much that she not only taught high school history and psychology after receiving her Master’s degree at Stanford University, she is now studying how students learn history at Northwestern. That being said, she does not have a favorite historical time period (so don’t bother asking). In addition to history, she enjoys writing, practicing yoga, and scouring Craigslist for her next DIY project or midcentury modern piece of furniture.

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How to Write the Document Based Question (DBQ)

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What’s Covered:

What is the document based question, steps to writing an effective dbq, how do ap scores affect my college chances.

If you’re taking a history AP exam, you’ll likely encounter the Document Based Question (DBQ). This essay question constitutes a significant portion of your exam, so it’s important that you have a good grasp on how best to approach the DBQ. In this post, we’ll cover what exactly a document based question is, and how to answer it successfully.

A Document Based Question (DBQ) is a measure of the skills you learned in your AP classes in regard to recalling history and analyzing related documents. These documents can be primary or secondary sources, and your responses are expected to be in the form of an essay. Your ability to relate the context of documents to concepts beyond the given text and creating meaningful connections between all your sources will help demonstrate your skills as a knowledgeable writer.

The number of documents for a DBQ varies from exam to exam, but typically will fall between five to seven documents. The following AP exams will require you to write a DBQ:

AP U.S. History

AP European History

AP World History

We’ve listed the formats for each exam below, and keep in mind that the number of documents is prone to changing from year to year:

• Up to seven Documents
• One hour recommended time (includes 15-minute reading period)
• Up to seven Documents 
• 25% of total exam score

With that in mind, let’s jump right into how to craft a strong DBQ response!

We’ve summarized how to write an effective DBQ into the following five steps:

1. Read the prompt first

Though you may be tempted to jump into the documents right away, it’s very important that you first look at what exactly the prompt is asking for. This way, when you eventually look at the documents, your focus will be narrower. A DBQ tests your reading comprehension and analysis skills more than the content itself, making it very important to understand your prompt thoroughly.

2. Skim the document titles

Each document will contain vital information regarding the context, and it’s important to scout key words regarding dates, authors, and anything pertaining to the general sense of what the documents are about. Skimming through your documents like this could save time and allow you to form a more structurally sound thesis.

Let’s take a look at the following graph and figure out how to skim the figure:

This document was in a real exam from the AP World History free response questions in 2019. It’s important to pay attention to data provided and what context can be drawn from it. In this case, we’re provided with a graph that displays the life expectancy of a country in relation to the GDP per capita of said country. Being able to skim this graph and notice the common trends in the data points could provide convenient information into the context of the document, without any further intensive reading. 

For example, seeing how countries with a GDP below 4,000 to 5,000 have lower life expectancies already gives us a potential correlation between the two factors. We can use this information to start formulating a thesis, depending on what the prompt is specifically asking for.

Remember, just skim! Don’t worry about reading the entire document yet; this strategy can keep you calm and level-headed before tackling the rest of the document. Methods like this can make acing the AP World History DBQ less intimidating! 

3. Formulate a tentative thesis

A thesis is a statement that should be proved and discussed upon. It’s important to have a strong thesis as the foundation of your DBQ, as it guides the rest of your response in relation to the context. Understanding the difference between weak and strong theses will be imperative to your success, so here is an example of a weak thesis:

“The Cold War originated from some scenarios of conflict between Soviets and some groups of oppressors.” 

Such a thesis can be considered weak for its lack of specificity, focal point, and usability as a constructive tool to write further detail on the subject. This thesis does not take a clear stance or communicate to the reader what the essay will specifically focus on. Here’s how the same thesis can be restructured to be stronger and more useful:

“The Cold War originated from tense diplomatic conflicts relating to propaganda and conspiratorial warfare between the United States and the Soviet Union.”

The information that’s been included into the second thesis about the two groups involved with the Cold War gives you more room to build a structured essay response. In relation to the rubric/grading schema for this DBQ, forming a structurally sound thesis or claim is one of the seven attainable points. Being able to contextualize, analyze, and reason off of this thesis alone could provide for two to four points – this means that five out of seven of your points revolve around your thesis, so make sure that it’s strong! Doing all of this in your fifteen minute reading period is crucial as once this is set, writing your actual response will be much easier!

4. Actively read the documents

Simply reading a document doesn’t normally suffice for creating a well-written and comprehensive response. You should focus on implementing your active reading skills, as this will make a huge difference as to how efficient you are during your work process. 

Active reading refers to reading with an intention to grab key words and fragments of important information, usually gone about by highlighting and separating important phrases. Annotations, underlining, and circling are all great ways to filter out important information from irrelevant text in the documents. 

An example of where you might find important information via active reading is the description. Circle important names or dates to contextualize the document. If you still can’t find contextual value from the title, that’s totally fine! Just scope out the rest of the document in relevance to your thesis – that is, pinpoint the specific information or text that best supports your argument. Finding one or two solid points of interest from one document is usually enough to write about and expand upon within your essay. 

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5. Make an Outline 

If you like outlines, making one before writing your essay might prove helpful, just be aware of the time limit and act accordingly. 

Start with your introduction, then work on the rest of your essay. This way, you can make sure your thesis is clear and strong, and it will help the graders form a clear view on what the general consensus of your paper is. Make sure to include evidence with your thesis within each paragraph and cite only relevant information, otherwise your citations could come across as filler as opposed to useful content. Every commentary or point you make should be tied in some way to the documents.

Format each body paragraph and organize your essay in a way that makes sense to you! The graders aren’t really looking at the structure of your essay; rather, they want to see that you analyzed the documents in a way that is supportive of your essay. As long as you have content from the documents which prove your thesis, the order or manner in which you present them doesn’t matter too much. What’s more important is that your essay is clear and comprehensive. As you write practice DBQs, try having someone else read your essays to make sure that the format is easy to follow.

Keep all these key details in mind as you construct your own DBQ response, and you’re well on your way to writing an effective essay!

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Instead, focusing on the AP classes on your transcript and the relevance of those classes to your future major is more impactful. For a further detailed understanding of the role AP classes play in regards to your college admissions, use CollegeVine’s free Admissions Calculator , which takes into account your GPA, standardized test scores, and more. 

Additional Information

To dive deeper into DBQs, AP classes, and learning how to tackle each exam check out other resources at CollegeVine:

• Acing the Document Based Question on the AP US History Exam
• Acing the AP World History Document Based Question
• Ultimate Guide to the AP U.S. History Exam
• Ultimate Guide to the AP European History Exam
• Ultimate Guide to the AP World History Exam

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Sharing teaching and learning resources from the National Archives

Education Updates

AP US History Resources from DocsTeach

For high school teachers and their students getting ready for next month’s AP US History exam , the National Archives has primary sources and educational resources to help prepare you for the modified DBQ format.

This year’s test on May 15th will be significantly different from previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to it being taken at home, the exam is also considerably shorter, with multiple choice questions, short answers, and a long essay removed. Instead, the test will be comprised of a single Document Based Question (DBQ) including 5 primary sources (instead of the typical 7), one of which will be a non-text based primary source.

One helpful resource for students to practice their DBQ skills is our series of Document Analysis Worksheets . These tools are designed for both written and several non-text based sources (photos, maps, posters, political cartoons, etc.) and could be used to support analysis of primary sources from any institution.

These resources have questions that are especially helpful to prepare students for the DBQ essay as their response is evaluated based on “how or why the document’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience is relevant to an argument.”

Regardless of the document type, the analysis sheets walk students through the same basic routine:

• Meet the document.
• Observe its parts.
• Try to make sense of it.
• Use it as historical evidence.

In addition to the worksheets, DocsTeach has several activity types that are particularly helpful for preparing for the DBQ essay. Any teacher can access and share learning activities created by National Archives educators; and with a FREE account , educators can modify activities or create their own activities from scratch.

The Analyzing Documents tool is an online interactive version of the worksheets where educators can use any primary source, and even add customized text-dependent questions to focus their students on specific details.

Weighing the Evidence activities ask students to analyze documents and place them on a scale according to how they support a historical interpretation. Weighing the Evidence can help students focus on finding evidence with primary sources to support specific arguments and evaluate the strength of that evidence on a spectrum.

The Making Connections tool is also helpful for DBQ essay prep. It presents a string of primary sources to convey historical progression or some related theme and prompts students to make connections among the events. Making Connections is easily adaptable to the AP DBQ format. Give students a DBQ prompt and place 5 primary sources from the National Archives (or from other institutions) in conversation with each other.

With this year’s reduced historical time periods for the DBQ (only focusing on Unit 3 – Unit 7, or 1754-1945), there are over 7,000 documents in DocsTeach to help build that content knowledge or incorporate them into model DBQ activities. Search for key terms, and filter by era and type to manage your results.

With a free DocsTeach account , teachers can even curate their own folders of highlight documents for each Unit. Just star the document on the document detail page, then add it to a folder in the My Documents section of your account.

Or you can share one of the folders we have curated for each Unit. Students do not need a login to see any activities or folders that you create or share with them.

• Unit 3, 1754–1800: https://www.docsteach.org/shared-documents/favorite/MTgwNjk=  
• Unit 4, 1800–1848: https://www.docsteach.org/shared-documents/favorite/MTgwNzA=
• Unit 5, 1844–1877: https://www.docsteach.org/shared-documents/favorite/MTgwNzE=
• Unit 6, 1865–1898: https://www.docsteach.org/shared-documents/favorite/MTgwNzI=
• Unit 7, 1890–1945: https://www.docsteach.org/shared-documents/favorite/MTgwNzM=

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Where to Find the Best DBQ Examples

Advanced Placement (AP)

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. We'll briefly cover what makes a good DBQ example and then provide a list of example essays by course. Lastly, we'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 on false starts with your practice DBQs. 

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

The APUSH test was redesigned in 2015 and again in 2018, so right now there are eight  official College Board sets of sample essays you can use in your studies . Make sure to give yourself a 15-minute reading period and 45 minutes to write your answer. In addition, don't forget to use the current scoring guidelines when grading your own practice responses.

• 2023 Free-Response Questions | Scoring Guidelines 2023
• 2022 Free-Response Questions | Sample DBQ Responses 2022
• 2021 Free-Response Questions | Sample DBQ Responses 2021
• 2019 Free-Response Questions | Sample DBQ Responses 2019
• 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 can look 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 seven documents.

If you do look at older DBQ examples, I recommend using the current rubric 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 . Since then, more minor changes have been made in terms of time (you now have an hour on the DBQ) and individual parts of the rubric (you can view the current scoring guidelines here ).

This means there are seven sets of official samples graded with the current 7-point rubric:

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 were 6 "core" points and 3 additional points possible. The old rubric is integrated with the sample responses for each question, but we'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 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 rubric if you decide to look at any old AP European History samples . You might find it useful 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:

• 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 1999 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 closely resemble AP US History and AP European History for the 2017 test. This means that there are six past exams available that use the current DBQ format:

Note that starting with the 2020 exam, AP World History will only cover the years 1200 to the present instead of thousands of years of history. As a result, both the course and exam have been renamed AP World History: Modern (a World History: Ancient course is in the works). What this means for you is that previous DBQs might have to do with time periods you're no longer required to study, so just keep this in mind.

In the old format, there were 7 "core" points and 2 additional points possible. The old rubric is integrated with the sample responses for each question, but we'll highlight some key differences between the old and current formats :

There were more documents—up to 10—but the current format has seven

There was an emphasis on "grouping" the documents on the old rubric that is not present 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, though you should definitely look at the current rubric if you study with any old AP World History questions and samples. You might find it useful 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:

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, we'll give you some tips on how to use example DBQs in your own AP history prep , including when to start using them and how many you should plan to review.

What Should I Do With These DBQs?

Official sample essay sets are a great way to test how well you understand the rubric. This is why we recommend that you grade a sample set early 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 my tips on building specific rubric-based skills in our 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 keeping track of how many documents were used, 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 process if you're looking at examples in an old format. The old scores as awarded by the College Board will be helpful in establishing a ballpark —a 9 is 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. (For example, maybe that perfect 9 is now more like a 6 out of 7 due 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 determine whether 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're just trying to get in some extra 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 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 for making sure you have a good idea what the DBQ graders will be looking for when you write your own DBQ on test day.

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 carefully will 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 to avoid 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 DBQ to 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 for and writing the DBQ .

If you're still studying for AP World History, check out our top 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 !

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Early US Presidents (DBQ)

Description

The early presidents of the United States (1789-1837) are recognized for

their foreign and domestic polices that helped our country become a strong nation. Through their leadership, these founding fathers led the country through its beginning by establishing the first republican form of government that has become the strongest in the world today.

Using the information from the documents and their knowledge

of United States history, students will answer the questions that follow each document. The answers to these questions will help students answer the essay question, To what extent did the early presidents build a strong nation through their leadership on

domestic and foreign policies?

* Question 1.) The answer should be about Washington establishing a cabinet.

Questions & Answers

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Rate the lesson plan, lesson plan, dbq essay: effects of spanish rule.

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument , Fort Matanzas National Monument

Essential Question

What were the effects of Spanish rule in Florida?

Students will interpret the meaning of documents and write an essay that demonstrates their understanding of the effects of Spanish colonial rule in Florida and their reading and writing skills.

• For historical background on St. Augustine, explore Castillo's History and Culture .
• For more on teaching the DBQ writing process, access the steps below. 

Preparation

Prepare your students with background information on early Native American life and later European exploration of the Americas.

Use this teaching tool to break down the DBQ writing process into four steps.

Download Steps for DBQ

Interpret the meaning of documents and write an essay to demonstrate student understanding of the effects of Spanish colonial rule in Florida and reading and writing skills.

Download DBQ Essay

Answers to the document questions and an example essay.

Download Answer Key

Lesson Hook/Preview

Play a music video created by a teacher to inspire students to learn more about St. Augustine, Castillo de San Marcos: Where History Comes to Life . 

• Use Castillo de San Marcos's adapted virtual reality tour for 4th grade students to experience St. Augustine's rich history.  
• Work independently or as a class on the Document-Based Question (DBQ) Essay. If this is the first DBQ of the year, we strongly recommend working together. 
• Review student answers and essays to assess understanding of the social students content and application of reading and writing skills.

Assessment Materials

Students will demonstrate comprehension and skills by answering the document-based questions and writing a DBQ essay.

Supports for Struggling Learners

Work with your exceptional student education or special education teachers to modify the DBQ materials to fit the specific needs of your students with different abilities. 

Enrichment Activities

Explore the full virtual reality tour for Castillo de San Marcos National Monument that includes more functions to explore the whole park, watch ranger videos, and use 3D models. Explore full virtual reality tour for Fort Matanzas National Monument. 

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Last updated: November 1, 2021