Writing a Document-Based Question (DBQ) Essay

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Writing a Document-Based Question (DBQ) Essay
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Examples of Historical Documents(Copy into
notes.)

1. Political statement (Declaration of Independence)
2. Maps
3. Newspaper magazine articles
4. Graphs Charts
5. Biography or autobiography
6. Paintings, engravings, and photographs
7. Political cartoons
8. Non-fiction book of a historical event
9. Artifacts
10. Letters and Diaries
11. Sculptures
12. Constitutions
13. Architecture
14. Scriptures
15. Medical texts

Excerpts quotations from written documents
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Reading Documents
Name ________________________ Global Studies
_____, Period ______

1. Read all directions carefully.
2. Read the question that is associated with each
   document. Underline/highlight key words like
3. How
4. Why
5. When
6. Who
7. What
8. Where

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• Study the document carefully.
• Legends and keys on maps and charts should be
  read through at least twice to be sure that you
  are clear what the chart map/chart is teaching
  you.
• Read labels on political cartoons carefully
  many times they help give clues to solve the
  cartoon.

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• 3. Answer the question asked in sentence form.
  Some responses will need more than one sentence.
• 4. Be sure to shadow the question in your
  response.
• For example
• - What is the capital of Louisiana?
• - The capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge.
• - How does geography affect culture?
• - One way geography affects culture is by the
  language a people develop.
• 5. Be sure to refer to the document clearly .

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(No Transcript)
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Document 1 Answer

• The diagram clearly shows goods buried with the
  deceased, so people from Neolithic times probably
  practiced a belief in the after-life.

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(No Transcript)
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• Document 2 Answer
• The mural shows a man with the head of a bird.
  He, along with Isis, are probably gods which
  would most likely classify Egypts religion as
  polytheistic.

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Copy into Notes DO NOT DIRECTLY QUOTE FROM THE
DOCUMENT. STATE THE IDEAS IN YOUR OWN
WORDS. This shows comprehension.
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• Document 3 Answer
• God commands the Israelites to stop being
  polytheistic and to honor only one God according
  to the quotation.

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lion
horse
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Document 4 Answer

• This relief shows King Ashurbanipal high up on
  his horse killing the lion with his bare hands
  practically. This makes him a great warrior and
  proves that he was picked by the gods to rule.

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Essay Topic
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Beginning to Write the Essay

1. Take the main idea of the question and write a
   thesis statement in your own words. A thesis
   states the purpose of your essay.
2. For example
3. As societies began to understand their
   relationships among themselves and their
   environments, their spiritual beliefs began to
   become more complex and even differed from other
   societies.
4. The underlined text states what each body
   paragraph will be about.
5. From here, you will write each body paragraph
   that uses at least one document that supports
   your underlined point. When using written
   documents, paraphrase, which state what the
   documents states IN YOUR OWN WORDS.

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Outside Informationthat goes with Doc. 1

• Egyptians buried pharaohs with prized
  possessions in pyramids
• Shang China oracle bones used to communicate
  with dead ancestors to predict the future
• Greece if not buried properly, a person could
  not get to the afterlife 2 coins over the eyes
  to pay for the passage over the River Styx to get
  to afterlife
• Zoroaster (Persia) good life good afterlife

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Outside Informationthat goes with Doc. 2

• Greeks polytheistic as well
• Human forms emotions
• Were not afraid different from other cultures
• Gods responsible for different things in nature
• plagues
• Egypt pharaoh god

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Outside Informationthat goes with Doc. 3

• Judaism covenant with Abraham
• Monotheism
• Christianity
• Islam
• Code of morality Ten Commandments
• Scriptures - Torah

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Outside Informationthat goes with Doc. 4

• Polytheistic
• Mesopotamian kings high priest of the religion
• Gods chose him to be king
• Also, Mandate of Heaven Shang China

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Outline the Essay

• Thesis
• Many ancient civilizations shared common
  spiritual and religious beliefs.
• Many civilizations from earlier times had some
  similar religious beliefs and customs.
• Many ancient civilizations had similar religious
  beliefs.

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BP 1

• Topic Sentence
• These civilizations were alike in that they
  shared a belief in the afterlife.
• Document
• For example, Document 1 - gravesite
• Outside Information
• Furthermore, the ancient Egyptians buried their
  pharaohs with all of their treasures and
  belongings to use and prosper in the afterlife.

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BP 2

• Topic Sentence
• Another way that ancient civilizations were
  similar spiritually was that many were
  polytheistic.
• Document
• For example, Document 2 gods Isis and Ra
• Outside Information
• In addition, the ancient Greeks competed in the
  Olympics in order impress and honor Zeus, their
  chief deity. In the Greeks case, they saw their
  gods as having human qualities.

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Writing the Essay(Dont panic.)

• Thesis statement
• Ancient civilizations shared some similar beliefs
  in their religion and spiritual beliefs.
• Throughout history many civilizations have had
  common spiritual beliefs.
• The religious beliefs were similar because all
  these civilization like the Egyptians and
  Persians had or shared the same beliefs in one or
  more Gods. --- 1. no because body 2. too
  specific not just about gods 3. summarize whole
  essay in one sentence

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BODY PARAGRAPH 1

• Topic Sentence 1
• (This topic sentence will be the 1st way you
  will show your thesis.)
• Throughout history, a number of civilizations
  developed their own beliefs in the afterlife.

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• Document that backs up this topic sentence,
  stated in your own words
• For example, the diagram of the burial site
  clearly shows goods buried with the deceased, so
  people from Neolithic times probably practiced a
  belief in the afterlife.

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• Outside knowledge that elaborates on document
  and commentary
• Furthermore, the Ancient Egyptians built
  elaborate pyramids and temples for their pharaohs
  to help them get to the afterlife.

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BODY PARAGRAPH 2

• Topic Sentence
• (This topic sentence will be the 2nd way you
  will show your thesis.)
• Transitional Expression
• In addition, certain civilizations practiced
  polytheism in order to explain why certain things
  in their environments happened.

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• Document that backs up this topic sentence,
  stated in your own words
• For example, the ancient Egyptians believed that
  Ra, the sun god, gave them sunlight, which helped
  grow crops. He and other gods like Isis, as shown
  in the mural, controlled Egyptian life.

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• Outside knowledge that elaborates on document
  and commentary
• Even though people like the Egyptians valued
  their many gods, the Israelites worshipped
  differently. For example, the Israelites
  believed in one, all-powerful God, who first
  revealed himself to the prophet Abraham. From
  the covenant God made with Abraham, Judaism was
  founded.

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Conclusion

• Transition
• To conclude, religious beliefs were important
  in the lives of ancient peoples. In modern times,
  religious beliefs are still as important as they
  were in ancient times. These beliefs help to
  individualize societies and to create faiths that
  help understand everyday life and how to behave
  in it.