Posted: April 28th, 2015

history

How to write a document based essay

The goal of these writing assignments is to give you experience writing history essays and using primary source documents. Essay writing is a required part of this course.

You are required to write TWO document based essays (DBQ) this semester. Due dates for the DBQs are on the syllabus . NO LATE ESSAYS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. DO NOT ASK.

Formal Elements Your essays MUST be word processed, double spaced, use normal one inch margins, have an introduction (with thesis) and conclusion, and follow the guidelines you learned in English 1010 for writing essays. If you are unclear about these expectations, please ask. Oh and please WRITE YOUR NAME ON YOUR WORK. NEVER, EVER TURN IN ANY PAPER WITHOUT YOUR NAME ON IT.

Read this carefully

You CANNOT USE ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS OTHER THAN THOSE PROVIDED FOR YOU(primary source documents and textbook for context only. You should begin by reading up on the subject covered by the DBQ in the textbook. HOWEVER, the textbook is not a replacement for reading and using the documents). PLAGIARISM IS TAKEN SERIOUSLY IN THIS CLASS AND WILL RESULT IN AN F FOR THE COURSE. I DO AN AGGRESSIVE SEARCH FOR PAPERS I THINK ARE PLAGIARIZED. DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO TAKE SHORTCUTS.

Read this even more carefully!

KEEP IN MIND THESE ARE DOCUMENT BASED ESSAYS. USE OF THE DOCUMENTS IS AN ESSENTIAL AND REQUIRED PART OF THIS ASSIGNMENT. FAILURE TO USE THE DOCUMENTS WILL RESULT IN A GRADE OF AN F FOR THE ESSAY. THE EXPECTATION IS THAT YOU WILL USE ALL OF THE SOURCES.

How to write the essay: step by step:

Step 1. Read the essay choice carefully. Note what is being asked of you.

Step 2. Read up on your subject in the text.. You need to provide context for the subject on which you are going to write.

Step 3. Read the documents that accompany your essay choice. Read these sources carefully (usually more than once). If you are unclear about the meaning of a word or words in the text, look them up. Be sure to underline, highlight, annotate points the authors make that will help you answer the question.

Step. 4 Create an outline. An outline or chart of the points you wish to make in your essay will make the writing go more smoothly and insure that you lay out the major points you wish to discuss,

Step 5. Begin to write your essay. Always begin with an introductory paragraph and end that introductory paragraph with a thesis statement. Your thesis must be able to be proven through the use of your sources. You should write a list thesis statement (see example below) which clearly shows the direction your paper will take. This is a required part of the essay.

Below is an example of an introductory paragraph on the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire, which existed from the 5^th century BCE until its fall in the West in the 5^th century CE.,. is generally regarded as one of the most powerful and successful empires in world history. And yet, despite its many successes Rome was unable to survive the forces of disintegration that threatened it beginning in the 3^rd century CE Rome’s fall in the West was caused by a conjunction of factors including invasions by Germanic tribes, poor imperial leadership and serious economic decline.

Step 6. Write the body of the essay. Using your thesis statement, construct your essay using your documents. Each body paragraph should follow one of the points or arguments you raised in your thesis. Thus, if you were writing the essay above the first body paragraph would be about the invasion of Germanic tribes and would utilize documents that discussed these invasions. When documenting a source you do not have to cite it (we are all using the same sources) but should always let the reader know who you are referring to. For example: Tacitus writes that the Germanic tribes, “breached the defenses of the Empire with ease” incorporates both the name of the writer of a source and a quote from the source. It is not necessary to include a list of references at the end of the paper as we will all be using the same documents.

Step. 7. After you have completed your body paragraphs you are ready for your conclusion. Sometimes, the essay question might ask you to give your opinion about the topic. If so, then do that. If not, then sum up your argument. And then, you are done!

Step 8: Ask, ask, ask. Unclear about any of this? Email me. I am happy to help.