Tips for your first DBQ essay!

Thesis:  When writing the thesis, keep these important things in mind…..

-       You are not stating your opinion or taking a side.  Do not start off your paper with, “I think Buddhism……”

-       You will not be using GSPRITE categories within this essay.  You are answering a question that asks you to analyze reactions to Buddhism.  Within your thesis, you will want to communicate to the reader (in a nut shell) what you observed while reading the documents.

-       You do not address the additional document in the thesis statement.  The additional document is a terrific thing to address at the conclusion of your paper after you have recapped your thesis.

POV’s:

-       When addressing point of view, make sure you are identifying the correct person producing the document.  Document citations always lists the author by name first and then follow with any additional information about the source such as whom they are employed by,  their occupation or other facts surrounding the publication of the document.

-       If you are not addressing the author, you are not addressing POV.  Identify the author of the document and tell why the reader may need to be aware of potential bias.

-       An easy way to address POV is to use a follow-up sentence while you are addressing the document.  The following is an example of POV that is being addressed for a fictional document concerning a defeated Roman soldier during the collapse of his home city of Rome.  The underlined portion identifies POV.

“The Roman soldier in this document obviously has little respect for the barbarian warriors he meets as he refers to them as “smelly” and “dirty” in his account.  The lack of respect is probably due to the fact that they are destroying his beloved city and he is witnessing the destruction of his society at the hands of this enemy.”   

Missing document:

-       Your missing document should be a source that would shed a new light on the topic at hand.

-       Make sure your missing voice is within the scope of the region/time period for which you are writing.  For example: When commenting on ancient China, you would not want to state that a source you would like to hear from would be a native American from the Aztec tribe.  Stay within the region and use local voices appropriate to the time frame.

-       You will need to identify WHY you need to hear from this person or group of persons.

-       Do not identify a document already in the collection as a potential missing voice (ex:”I would like to hear from another Buddhist scholar”)

-       If you have identified several missing voices, include all of them in your essay.  Remember, additional effort=potential for expanded core points.