MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT

Shenendehowa Central Schools

MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT

DBQ Help...Strive for 5!

Guidelines for Writing a Document-Based Question Essay

-Only use quotations when repeating dialogue of a direct statement from a document. Do not use quotations when stressing a point or belief.

-Make sure to capitalize all proper nouns. Proper nouns include the name of a person, formal name for a group of people, countries, states, counties, and towns.

-Spell out all numbers from 1-100 and any of the whole numbers followed by hundred, thousand, hundred thousand, million, and so on, except when writing out a date or when quoting a document. (Examples: Instead of writing 1, write one. Instead of writing 4,000, write four thousand.)

-Proofread your essay when finished. Make sure you have avoided the following in your essay:

· Contractions (can't, didn't, etc.). These are meant for conversation, not essays.

· Abbreviations (mtns., gov't., etc.). Write these words out in full. Numbers between 1 and 100 should also be written out (only dates can be written using numbers.)

· Slang expressions ("stuff", for example; replace it with "things", "objects", etc.)

· Symbols (plus sign instead of the word "and" or slash instead of the word "or".) Use the words instead of the symbols.

· "I", "me", "my", "you", "your": these are the five words which should never appear in a formal essay. It is not a conversation; assume you are instructing your readers on a topic they have no knowledge of. Do not address them, ask them questions, or offer them your opinions, just inform them. A more mature style of writing suitable for middle school students preparing for high school does not include phrases such as: "In this essay I will talk about..........." or "I hope you enjoyed reading my essay on....".

Essay Questions

An essay is a piece of writing which uses accurate (true, from the documents) information, which is logically planned (well organized) and has coherent (sensible) ideas. These main ideas are supported by reasons, details, examples and/or explanations that are relevant and appropriate to the topic.

Essays should have:

- An introductory paragraph that includes information from the historical context and from the task.

- A body which contains specific supporting details and examples.

Text Box: TIPS FOR THE BODY PARAGRAPHS
Be sure each body paragraph:
· Begins with a topic sentence that relates to your thesis
· Quotes/describes information from each document
· Explains the meaning/significance of the information from each document
· Explains outside information that relates to the documents and topic sentence

- A closing paragraph which summarizes the entire essay and is likely to re-state the introduction.

- See the “Strive for 5” hand out as your guide to writing an essay that will meet the state Rubric elements.

- Remember that this is an essay, not a report.

SCORING GUIDE FOR 7^TH and 8^TH GRADE DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION (DBQ)

CATEGORY	Score of 5 (Outstanding)	Score of 4 (Above Avg.)	Score of 3 (Average)	Score of 2 (Below Avg.)	Score of 1 (Unsatisfactory)
Answering all Parts of Essay Question	Completely explains all parts of the essay question evenly and in full detail.	Explains all parts of the essay question, but may do so unevenly.	Explains all or some parts of the essay question with limited detail.	Minimal explanation of all or some parts of the essay question.	Little or no explanation of the essay question.
Drawing Conclusions	Draws accurate and meaningful conclusions.	Draws basic conclusions.	Describes documents more often than draws conclusions.	Conclusions are weak and/or inaccurate.	Lacks conclusions.
Use of Documents	Correctly uses relevant information from more than half of the documents.	Uses relevant information from more than half of the documents.	Uses limited information from half or fewer than half of the documents.	Uses minimal information from the documents or mainly copies information from the documents.	Uses unclear and/or inaccurate information or copies unnecessary information from the documents.
Use of Outside Information	Essay includes an extensive amount of relevant outside information.	Essay includes relevant outside information.	Essay includes a limited amount of relevant outside information.	Essay includes minimal outside information.	Essay includes no outside information.
Supporting Information	Completely develops topic with many important facts, examples, and details.	Develops the topic with important facts, examples, and details.	Develops the topic with limited important facts, examples, and details, but may include some minor historical errors.	Develops the topic with minimal important facts, examples, and details and may include some historical errors.	Develops the topic with minimal important facts, examples, and details and includes historical errors.
Essay Organization	Essay is very well organized, including an introduction and conclusion that are not just copied from the historical context and task.	Essay is well organized, including an introduction and conclusion that are not just copied from the historical context and task.	Essay is organized, including an introduction and conclusion that may be copied from the historical context and task.	Essay is weakly organized, may not be focused, may not be clear to the reader, or may not contain an introduction and/or a conclusion.	Essay is not organized, is not focused, is not clear to the reader, and does not contain an introduction and/or a conclusion.

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