What is a DBQ?
Document Based Question
Lesson 3.9: How to Complete a Document-Based Question (DBQ)
What is a Document Based Question (DBQ)?
A document-based question (DBQ) is a type of assignment where you answer questions using information from historical sources. The sources may be primary or secondary sources.
Primary Source
Secondary Source
Steps to answering a dbQ:
Preview the Question
Examine the Documents
Take Notes
Respond to the Question
As you examine the documents, you should determine if the documents are reliable. Think about who the audience is, what the purpose is, and who the author is. Check for any bias as well. Think about when the document was created and find the main idea.
After you preview a DBQ's overall question, you will begin examining the documents. The documents will give you evidence you can use in your answer to the overall question.
In your response, you will make a claim that fully answers the question. You will explain your answer and cite evidence from the documents to support your answer.
You will be given an overall question to respond to at the end of the DBQ. The overall question will require you to use evidence from multiple documents.
Questions
For a DBQ, the teacher will ask you questions that could have varying answers. For example, here are some questions that would make good DBQs:
How was the culture of Athens different than the culture of Sparta?
How did expansion of Rome's empire lead to its decline?
How did the Nile River play an important role in the lives of ancient Egyptians?
Notice all three of these questions could have many different answers depending on the sources you use. All three of these questions would need evidence from those sources in order to answer them.
Examine
After you take a good look at your question, you gather your sources that you could potentially use to help you answer the question. When you have those sources, the first thing you should do is analyze a source's reliability and bias.
Purpose
Audience
Author
Why was this source created?
Who was the source created for?
Who is the author of this source?
Whether it is a primary or secondary source, you should still examine each source you plan to use.
When you find out who they are, what ties to they have to this topic? Did they live through the experience, are they an expert on the topic?
Was it created to entertain, inform, persuade?
Was this source created for one other person, many other people, and/or no one at all? Was this source meant to be private or created for the public?
Examining your sources to identify bias, author, purpose, and audience will ultimately help you accurately answer the question!
Notes
Taking good notes about the documents will help you analyze the documents and write a strong response to the overall question.
The document or source can provide you with some information, but you will need to use your common sense and background information about the topic to make conclusions to answer the question.
Respond
You've examined all three sources. Now, the final step is to write your overall response. Remember that the response must answer the overall question and cite evidence from the documents to support the answer. The notes on the graphic organizer can be used as evidence in the response.
How to synthsize Our information to answer the question...
How were kings treated in Sumerian society?
use R.A.C.E.S.
Click the different letters in Races to learn more.
Now let's look at an example response!
Example Answer:
One side shows scenes from the war, while the other side displays images of peace. Archaeologists found the Standard of Ur in a grave site containing nearly 2,000 graves.
Although scholars are not certain about its purpose, most believe it served as a standard or emblem raised on a pole during battles to represent the army and its leader, as well as during victory parades.
Example Answer:
Example Answer:
Example Answer:
Example Answer:
Example Answer:
Example Answer:
- Shulgi is being praised for being a great warrior and ruler.
- Shulgi is being blessed or prayed to have power, food be plenty, etc.
Context: It was written to celebrate Shulgi supposedly running 200 miles in one day to lead religious festivals in two different cities. (This is more than seven times the distance of a marathon run. The longest recorded run in 24 hours is 198.6 miles.) Shulgi sent messengers to read the poem throughout his kingdom. It was designed to increase the people's loyalty to him and preserve his legacy as king.
Example Answer:
- The author is either Shulgi or someone Shulgi hired to write this poem.
- The audience is everyone in Shulgi's kingdom.
- The purpose was to increase people's loyalty to him and to make him sound good!
Example:
Weaknesses
The first sentence begins by restating the question, “How were kings treated in Sumerian society?” It says, “Sumerian society treated kings as . . .”
R: Restate the Question
Example:
Weaknesses
The first sentence gives an answer to the question. It answers, “Sumerian society treated kings as people to be honored, but not as gods.”
A: Answer the question.
Example:
Weaknesses
The response gives details from all three documents as evidence for the answer. For example, it says, “The Standard of Ur shows the king large and in elaborate clothing” and “Many people at the banquet are looking at him.” These are citations from the DBQ's first document, the Standard of Ur.
C: Cite evidence from the documents.
Example:
Weaknesses
The response explains how the evidence supports the answer. After citing evidence from the Standard of Ur, it explains that the king's size and clothing make him look important, and the king seems to be the focus of the banquet.
Then, the response cites evidence from the Epic of Gilgamesh and A Praise Poem of Shulgi and explains how each piece of evidence supports the answer. The response uses information about the purpose and the audience to further analyze the evidence from A Praise Poem of Shulgi and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
E: Explain in your own words.
Example:
Weaknesses
S: Summarize your main points.
The response ends with a summarizing sentence: “The Sumerians' art and literature honored their kings but did not treat kings as deities.”
Example DBQ response
Sumerian society treated kings as people to be honored, but not as gods. The Standard of Ur shows the king large and in elaborate clothing. This makes him look important. Many people at the banquet are looking at him, so the king seems to be the focus of the banquet. Also, kings treated themselves with honor. A Praise Poem of Shulgi describes King Shulgi as wise, just, and powerful. Shulgi seems to have thought very highly of himself since he described himself with these traits. He required the poem to be read to all his subjects. He wanted them to praise and honor him for his accomplishments.
Though people honored kings, they knew the kings were humans with limits. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the king is told he is a mortal who will die. The Epic taught the Sumerians that kings were not immortal deities. The Sumerians' art and literature honored their kings but did not treat them as deities.
Purple: R (Restate) and A (Answer) Pink: C (Cite Evidence) Blue: E (Explain in your own Words) Green: S (Summarize)
What is a DBQ?
Christina Martinez
Created on October 15, 2025
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Randomizer
View
Timer
View
Find the pair
View
Hangman Game
View
Dice
View
Scratch and Win Game
View
Create a Word Search
Explore all templates
Transcript
What is a DBQ?
Document Based Question
Lesson 3.9: How to Complete a Document-Based Question (DBQ)
What is a Document Based Question (DBQ)?
A document-based question (DBQ) is a type of assignment where you answer questions using information from historical sources. The sources may be primary or secondary sources.
Primary Source
Secondary Source
Steps to answering a dbQ:
Preview the Question
Examine the Documents
Take Notes
Respond to the Question
As you examine the documents, you should determine if the documents are reliable. Think about who the audience is, what the purpose is, and who the author is. Check for any bias as well. Think about when the document was created and find the main idea.
After you preview a DBQ's overall question, you will begin examining the documents. The documents will give you evidence you can use in your answer to the overall question.
In your response, you will make a claim that fully answers the question. You will explain your answer and cite evidence from the documents to support your answer.
You will be given an overall question to respond to at the end of the DBQ. The overall question will require you to use evidence from multiple documents.
Questions
For a DBQ, the teacher will ask you questions that could have varying answers. For example, here are some questions that would make good DBQs:
How was the culture of Athens different than the culture of Sparta?
How did expansion of Rome's empire lead to its decline?
How did the Nile River play an important role in the lives of ancient Egyptians?
Notice all three of these questions could have many different answers depending on the sources you use. All three of these questions would need evidence from those sources in order to answer them.
Examine
After you take a good look at your question, you gather your sources that you could potentially use to help you answer the question. When you have those sources, the first thing you should do is analyze a source's reliability and bias.
Purpose
Audience
Author
Why was this source created?
Who was the source created for?
Who is the author of this source?
Whether it is a primary or secondary source, you should still examine each source you plan to use.
When you find out who they are, what ties to they have to this topic? Did they live through the experience, are they an expert on the topic?
Was it created to entertain, inform, persuade?
Was this source created for one other person, many other people, and/or no one at all? Was this source meant to be private or created for the public?
Examining your sources to identify bias, author, purpose, and audience will ultimately help you accurately answer the question!
Notes
Taking good notes about the documents will help you analyze the documents and write a strong response to the overall question.
The document or source can provide you with some information, but you will need to use your common sense and background information about the topic to make conclusions to answer the question.
Respond
You've examined all three sources. Now, the final step is to write your overall response. Remember that the response must answer the overall question and cite evidence from the documents to support the answer. The notes on the graphic organizer can be used as evidence in the response.
How to synthsize Our information to answer the question...
How were kings treated in Sumerian society?
use R.A.C.E.S.
Click the different letters in Races to learn more.
Now let's look at an example response!
Example Answer:
One side shows scenes from the war, while the other side displays images of peace. Archaeologists found the Standard of Ur in a grave site containing nearly 2,000 graves. Although scholars are not certain about its purpose, most believe it served as a standard or emblem raised on a pole during battles to represent the army and its leader, as well as during victory parades.
Example Answer:
Example Answer:
Example Answer:
Example Answer:
Example Answer:
Example Answer:
Context: It was written to celebrate Shulgi supposedly running 200 miles in one day to lead religious festivals in two different cities. (This is more than seven times the distance of a marathon run. The longest recorded run in 24 hours is 198.6 miles.) Shulgi sent messengers to read the poem throughout his kingdom. It was designed to increase the people's loyalty to him and preserve his legacy as king.
Example Answer:
Example:
Weaknesses
The first sentence begins by restating the question, “How were kings treated in Sumerian society?” It says, “Sumerian society treated kings as . . .”
R: Restate the Question
Example:
Weaknesses
The first sentence gives an answer to the question. It answers, “Sumerian society treated kings as people to be honored, but not as gods.”
A: Answer the question.
Example:
Weaknesses
The response gives details from all three documents as evidence for the answer. For example, it says, “The Standard of Ur shows the king large and in elaborate clothing” and “Many people at the banquet are looking at him.” These are citations from the DBQ's first document, the Standard of Ur.
C: Cite evidence from the documents.
Example:
Weaknesses
The response explains how the evidence supports the answer. After citing evidence from the Standard of Ur, it explains that the king's size and clothing make him look important, and the king seems to be the focus of the banquet. Then, the response cites evidence from the Epic of Gilgamesh and A Praise Poem of Shulgi and explains how each piece of evidence supports the answer. The response uses information about the purpose and the audience to further analyze the evidence from A Praise Poem of Shulgi and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
E: Explain in your own words.
Example:
Weaknesses
S: Summarize your main points.
The response ends with a summarizing sentence: “The Sumerians' art and literature honored their kings but did not treat kings as deities.”
Example DBQ response
Sumerian society treated kings as people to be honored, but not as gods. The Standard of Ur shows the king large and in elaborate clothing. This makes him look important. Many people at the banquet are looking at him, so the king seems to be the focus of the banquet. Also, kings treated themselves with honor. A Praise Poem of Shulgi describes King Shulgi as wise, just, and powerful. Shulgi seems to have thought very highly of himself since he described himself with these traits. He required the poem to be read to all his subjects. He wanted them to praise and honor him for his accomplishments. Though people honored kings, they knew the kings were humans with limits. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the king is told he is a mortal who will die. The Epic taught the Sumerians that kings were not immortal deities. The Sumerians' art and literature honored their kings but did not treat them as deities.
Purple: R (Restate) and A (Answer) Pink: C (Cite Evidence) Blue: E (Explain in your own Words) Green: S (Summarize)