What is the DBQ?

The DBQ or “Document-Based Question” is a fun and engaging but also rigorous and complex interdisciplinary project that engages reading, critical thinking, and writing. The DBQ is a great way to build this triage of interdisciplinary skills.

In simple form, the DBQ requires students to build a main claim (thesis statement or topic sentence) and give evidence and reasoning that links information from a collection of provided sources. We will choose age-appropriate and high-interest history or social studies topics for each of our different grade levels.

What do the documents look like?

To build a claim and reasoning, students will be given a mixture of 3-6 documents. The documents can range from primary sources, short readings, articles, maps, graphs, charts, photos, political cartoons, and art.

The DBQ will include documents offering different viewpoints. Each document poses potential biases, an author's perspective, and a targeted audience. The point is to show students opposing views or the nuanced complexities in a range of topics.

The assigned set of documents will be used to provide crucial evidence in the final writing piece. But students may also choose to use outside information or “common knowledge” of history and context to add to their understanding of the topic.

What will our DBQ Project look like?

During the DBQ project, our students will be introduced to a relevant set of documents focused on one topic at a time, and students will spend time carefully reading, evaluating, comparing, and interpreting each document in light of the question. Synthesizing information from these various sources, students filter through the information to come up with a main claim that answers the DBQ. We will stick to either a 2-answer or 3-answer claim, which in turn means either 2-body paragraph or 3-body paragraph essays.