period. For example, you may be asked to identify and explain the reasons for two types of migration
during the twentieth century, or you may be required to identify two religions that arose during the
period between 600 BCE and 600 CE and explain why these religions became popular among certain
ethnic groups or social classes. Yet another question may require you to read a short summary of an
argument and provide examples from world historians to support and refute the argument. You are
not required to include a thesis statement in your answers to any of the questions in this portion of the
exam. Since you have only 50 minutes to complete this section, you need to read the question and the
stimulus, if provided, and then compose an answer that is accurate, brief, and right to the point of the
question.
Here are some strategies that will help you succeed on the short-answer questions:
• Read the question stem, paying close attention to the task(s) you are required to address for that
question.
• Remember that you must answer all four questions in this section, and also that you must answer all
parts (A, B, and also C, if there is a part C) of each question.
• Remember that the short-answer questions do not require a thesis statement and that taking the time
to compose a thesis statement will not add to your score.
• Keep your answers concise and to the point. In other words, just answer the specific questions you
are asked.
Document-Based Question
After completing the multiple-choice and short-answer sections, you will have 90 minutes to
complete the essays. You will receive a booklet that contains the prompts for both essay questions and
a second booklet with lined paper for your responses. You may answer the essay questions in any
order. During this portion of the test, you will have to budget your own time; you will not be told at
which point you are to move on to the next question.
The suggested time for answering the document-based question is 55 minutes. You should spend
approximately 10 minutes reading the documents, 5 minutes in prewriting, and 35 minutes writing
your essay. The document-based question usually contains 4 and 10 documents. Although some of the
documents will be text, others may be photographs, drawings, political cartoons, maps, graphs, or
charts. In order to successfully answer the document-based question (DBQ), you need to meet the
following requirements:
Write a solid thesis statement. Do not simply restate the question. Be sure that you take a stand on
one side of the topic addressed by the essay prompt.
- Show by your analysis of the documents that you understand their meaning. You may
misinterpret one document and still receive the point for this task. - Use evidence from all or all but one of the documents to support your thesis. Give specific
supporting details from the documents. - Analyze the documents by grouping them in two or three ways, depending on the question.