My name's Sara and I'm going into my first year of AP History (I'm scared out of my mind). We were given a summer DBQ, and I have no clue how to write one or how to start off. Any help would be appreciated.
Here's the question:
"To what extent was America's massive Industrial Period (1865-1900) caused by the economics of capitalism, with particular emphasis on entrepreneurial leadership and innovation; or more the result of a very strong connection between business and the federal government, which served to strengthen the hands of the industrialists at the expense of workers and unions."
Thanks!
Welcome to the site Sara. Don't worry, we're here to help you understand. Now, how I like to do DBQs (you might find a way that suits you better as you go along) is I like to form my thesis first - so I look at the question and the documents a bit and see what my two - three points should be for the essay. Having 2 points in your topic and 4 paragraphs total is perfectly acceptable for the AP exam, although your teacher might require 5 - I've heard there are those that do.
Now, for this essay, I would probably end up doing a 5 paragraph essay because it's comparing the two regions and use one paragraph for each cause and then explaining which had the greater effect using the last topic paragraph. However, if you want you could say:
Quote:"______ had more of an effect because (reason1), (reason2), and (reason3)"
Or even:
Quote:"____ had more of an effect because (reason1), but ____ had more of an effect because of (reason2) and (reason3)
And keep in mind, you don't have to have all of your evidence in support of one side. In fact it often shows that you know more about the subject if you can say "well, this had these advantages, and that had those advantages, and in the end this/that one won/was more effective". Not saying that there haven't been essays that have gotten perfect scores while entirely supporting one side, you just have to look at it and you'll get better at it as the year progresses.
Now, you have a thesis (or should). At this point I like to go through my documents and find which ones I want to use for which point where I use a very simple out line, or even just 2-3 lists (one for each topic) and separate them out so I know roughly when I'm going to use what and what facts would help me get to that point. Also, I find it helps me to use the right amount of documents. For the exam you can leave off one or two, but your teacher may require you to use a certain number, and the first few times it may be a good idea to use them all. Remember to cite the documents at the end of the sentence or to reference it in the sentence, but not both, and not citing in the middle of the sentence or at the end of the paragraph
Example:
Quote:Document A says ................ which means ...............
OR
Quote:this is this because of this...da da da da da (document A).
Now you get to write the essay. Remember to provide evidence (reasons) and then explain them in your paragraphs. Good luck and let me know if you get stuck again!
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"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
"But," say Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It
Thank you so much. You're a godsend, really :) . I've managed to get points together and make the outline of what I'm going to write. I'm just worried about my intro, I'm not too great at them. Could you read it over for me? You've been such a great help, thank you again!
America’s Industrial Period of the late 1800s was caused mainly by two elements, the connection between the government and businesses as well as the success of capitalism, entrepreneurial leadership, and modernization. The relationship between the federal government and companies contributed to the industrialization of the U.S. because, under the protection of the government, new industries were able to become established and strong in the economy (Doc E). The connection between the government and industries remained strong after the spread of corporations and continued to be an important part of the success of the period. However, industrial leadership and progressive innovation in the country also contributed to the increase of business and capitalism. There was a general feeling borne of the growth of industry and general modernization; capitalism and views based off of entrepreneurial success reasoned that any individual was able to establish a place in society and business. This outlook that any man’s struggle could build his own achievement fed the want of both leaders and workers to expand industry (Degler 284).
Okay, You're going to have to slooow down. You've got good stuff here, but this is just the intro paragraph. Okay, your introduction is like....the first few lines of plays and some movies. It sets the stage for your essay. This is where you tell about what's happening, where you're talking about, time period, stuff like that. Don't get me wrong, you've got great stuff here, it's just a little too early to dive into all that stuff. Traditionally your thesis ends your introduction paragraph.
Stuff that needs to be in your introduction: time period, where you stand on the issue, things unique to the year.
I genereally go from broad to narrow in my intros - start with an ambiguous quote or a general observation - then talk about what's happening, mention the time period, then end up with my thesis. Let me know if you need more help
[=RoyalBlue][=Comic Sans MS]
"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
"But," say Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It