Now that you have read and analyzed the documents, it is time to plan and outline your essay. But what does a good essay look like? Your DBQ essay should have 2 or more body paragraphs. In each of these paragraphs, discuss the documents that you put into a particular group or category. While there is no right or wrong way to do this, it is important that your groupings make sense so that your essay will be well-written and align with your thesis.
Your body paragraphs do not have to be equal in length. You might choose to discuss 4 documents in your first body paragraph and 3 documents in your second body paragraph, but it would also be acceptable to discuss 6 documents in your first body paragraph and 1 document in your second paragraph. It would also be acceptable to have 3 or 4 shorter body paragraphs if you have 3 or 4 groupings. Do what makes sense so that your essay flows well.
For these seven documents, let’s use our sample groupings to outline a good essay.
Group 1: Documents 5, 6, and 7 all discuss the political or economic outcomes of the railway system.
Group 2: Documents 1, 2, 3, and 4 all discuss cultural or social outcomes of the railway system.
Look through each tab below to walk through the outlining of a good essay addressing this prompt.
Prompt:Evaluate the extent to which railroads affected the process of empire-building in Afro-Eurasia between 1860 and 1918.
Introduction
Body Paragraphs
Conclusion
Using your thesis, you can plan what you are going to say in the introduction of your essay. In this case, the introduction would preview what is to come as well as build context around your argument.
A good outline might be:
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Thesis: Railroads extensively affected the process of empire-building in Afro-Eurasia as a means of transportation of goods, people, and ideas during 1860 and 1918. Railroads had an impact on every aspect of society; they served as ways to transport soldiers and military technology for expansion, and they spread racial ideologies and a sense of nationalism.
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Railroads’ impact on and relevance of:
Transporting soldiers
Transporting military technology
Spreading racial ideologies (nationalism)
Since there are two categories in the sample thesis statement, a good essay would have two body paragraphs that deal with those two groupings. Make sure that you have a good topic sentence for each paragraph and a plan to analyze your documents to prove your thesis. To get a full score of 7 points, you need to address all the documents in your essay.
Use your analysis of the documents to prove your thesis in these paragraphs. It is best to use at least one or two of your SOAPSTone categories for those documents to help prove your thesis argument. Include additional historical evidence in at least one of your paragraphs. This historical information cannot be found anywhere in the provided documents.
Paragraph 1
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Topic: railroads transported soldiers and military technology
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Document support:
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Documents 1, 2, 3, and 6
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Additional evidence:
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Discuss how British culture spread during the British Raj through the use of railroads.
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Paragraph 2
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Topic: railroads spread racial ideologies
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Document support:
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Analyze documents 4, 5, and 7
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Additional evidence:
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Define “nationalism” and explain how it grew in popularity as a result of large railroad systems.
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Remember to restate your thesis in the conclusion—but do not repeat it word for word. Also, the conclusion is a good place to get that final complexity point. Here is a sample outline for how the concluding paragraph might look like:
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Restate Thesis
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Complexity idea: Railroad construction and colonial authority increased tensions in indigenous communities and led to nationalist movements. (Make sure to tell how.)
