Does anyone have an example of a good AP World History DBQ?

Hey everyone, I'm really struggling with the DBQ portion of the AP World History exam. Some inspiration would be great right now 😅. Anyone have any examples of a '5' response they're willing to share?

While I cannot provide specific examples of student work in response to your request, I can absolutely provide some guidance on what a high-scoring (5) AP World History DBQ response would look like.

The first thing to mention is your thesis statement. A strong thesis should clearly convey your argument or interpretation and include at least one specific piece of historical evidence. Good thesis statements can be framed in response to the prompt, and should set up how your argument will be organized. For instance, instead of a simple statement like "Imperialism affected nations differently," you could frame it as "Imperialism in the 19th and 20th centuries had a diverse impact on colonized societies, with economic exploitation in Africa, cultural assimilation in the Americas, and resistance in Asia."

Next, you should aim for full use of your documents, while avoiding writing summaries. Each document should be used to support your argument, not simply retell information. You can do this by tying the document content to larger trends or ideas. An effective strategy can be to group documents by theme, region, or time period, depending on the question.

Then there is the issue of "contextualizing" your documents, which means you consider each document within its broader historical significance. One way to do this is through the use of outside examples or by linking the document to key developments that were occurring within the same time period.

Another crucial component is analysing the point of view (POV), purpose, or the historical context of your documents. This becomes especially important when you are synthesizing multiple documents. For instance, understanding that a letter is from a British colonizer about the African colonization could influence the tone and content, affecting how you interpret the document.

Lastly, don't forget concluding statements. A good DBQ essay doesn't just end abruptly after discussing the last document or piece of outside evidence, but instead reinforces the main argument and ties everything back together.

In order to practice these skills, College Board has several practice DBQs available on their website with different prompts and document sets. Analyzing these prompts and practicing your essay writing can be a key step in getting that '5' on your AP World History DBQ.