2020 ap world history dbq essay example
One Pager Directions. Please try to follow all exam procedures so you will be confident on Thursday. I am also positng the link for the demo from CB. Please do this at least 3 times today and tomorrow. DBQ May
AP World History – DBQ Past Prompts by Topic
Advanced Placement AP. 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.
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:. 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. 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.
Here are your example essays! The APUSH test was redesigned in and again in , so there are right now only five official College Board sets of sample essays you can use in your studies. Make sure to give yourself a 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. To look at these, click "Free-Response Questions" for a given year. 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. 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 only four 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 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 I'll highlight some key differences between the old and current formats :.
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. You can get samples in the old format all the way back to from the College Board.
Consider how you might integrate this castle into the DBQ that is your life. This means that there are only three past exams available that use the current DBQ format:. Note that starting with the exam, AP World History will only cover the years to the present instead of thousands of years of history. 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. There was an emphasis on "grouping" the documents on the old rubric that is not present in the current rubric.
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. Don't worry, the old format isn't as old as this guy right here. One of the single most important parts of your college application is what classes you choose to take in high school in conjunction with how well you do in those classes. Our team of PrepScholar admissions experts have compiled their knowledge into this single guide to planning out your high school course schedule.
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 AP history prep , including when to start using them and how many you should plan to review.
Official sample essay sets are a great way to test how well you understand the rubric. This is why I 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. 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 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 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!
You can then discuss any major differences in the grades each of you awarded. 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 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 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.
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 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! 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.
Look into this article on the best notes to use for studying from one of our experts. 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:. Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. How to Get a Perfect , by a Perfect Scorer. Score on SAT Math. Score on SAT Reading. Score on SAT Writing.
What ACT target score should you be aiming for? How to Get a Perfect 4. How to Write an Amazing College Essay. A Comprehensive Guide. Choose Your Test. 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!
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.
AP World History Past Exam Questions from past exams along with scoring guidelines, sample responses from exam takers, Sample Responses Q1 DBQ. Normally, the AP World History essays (or all written portions) are 60% of the exam Notes for the New AP World History Exam Format.
Look no further This is the first sample of free response practice set on the market. Aren't you sick of logging onto the college board classroom for practice questions, and the kids forget their passwords, or the wifi isn't working? Why deal with that hassle.
Use this list to practice! All exams from use question formats and rubrics that are very outdated.
Advanced Placement AP. 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.
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Read on for an example DBQ. Evaluate the extent to which the processes of empire-building affected political structures in the period — Document 1. Document 2. Document 3.
You shouldn't have to struggle in your AP World History class.
Our last writing skill is the big one—the highest bar. This is reasonably achievable, but there is no clever little formula for achieving it. Essentially, you have to write a solidly well-argued and detailed essay. In just the last few years, the College Board has gone through several attempts at creating a high bar analytical point in their essays rubrics so ignore any outdated study materials you find that talk about a Synthesis Point or an Expanded Core. Here is what you should prepare for:. Technically there are a number of ways to earn this point. The highest chance you have to earn this point comes from the fact that all of these essays are overwhelmingly focused on argumentation. Take a moment to revisit the Building an Argument page.
