Document Based Questions (DBQs) (College Board AP® US History): Study Guide

How do I answer an APUSH document-based question (DBQ)?

Understanding what the question requires you to do

The Document Based Question (DBQ) is not a summary of documents. It is an argumentative essay in which you use the documents as evidence and connect them to what you already know.

For this question, students are expected to make a defensible claim, use evidence from the documents, incorporate outside evidence, explain sourcing, and demonstrate historical reasoning.

What should I keep in mind?

• The documents are there to help you, but they do not write the essay for you

• Your job is to answer the prompt, not to go through the documents one by one in a mechanical way

• A strong DBQ sounds like a student making a case and using the documents to support it

A straightforward approach for students

• Start by reading the prompt carefully and identifying the historical thinking skill it asks for

• Is it asking about:

  • Change over time

  • Causation

  • Comparison

• Then read the documents and group them by idea, not by number

• After that, build a thesis that clearly answers the question

• Use the documents in the body paragraphs, which are organized by argument

Essential requirements

• Answer the prompt directly in your thesis

  • Make sure the reader can tell what your argument is in one or two sentences

• Use the documents to prove your point, not just to describe them

  • Explain how each document supports your argument

• Bring in outside evidence

  • Add one strong fact, event, law, person, or development that is not in the documents

• Use sourcing for some documents

  • Explain why the author’s point of view, purpose, audience, or historical situation matters

• Add context

  • Show what was happening before or around the topic so the essay feels rooted in history

Avoiding common mistakes

• Do not retell the documents one by one

  • That turns the essay into a list rather than an argument

• Do not copy lines from the documents and move on

  • Quoting without explanation does little to build your argument

• Do not forget outside evidence

  • Many students leave this point on the table

• Do not use vague phrases like “this shows change"

  • Say what changed and why it mattered

• Do not write a thesis that simply repeats the prompt

  • Make a real claim

Helpful sentence starters

• “The extent of change was significant because …”

• “Although … , the stronger pattern was …”

• “Document ___ supports this idea because …”

• “This matters because the author was writing during …”

• “Another piece of evidence not found in the documents is …”

Quick DBQ checklist

Before you move on, ask:

• Did I clearly answer the prompt?

• Did I use the documents as evidence?

• Did I explain at least some sourcing?

• Did I include outside evidence?

• Did I connect my ideas to a bigger historical context?