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Learn how the North and South influenced the goals of Reconstruction after the Civil War. Explore themes, structure, and evidence organization for a comprehensive DBQ essay.
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DBQ Essay Guidelines
Frequently Asked Questions • Can I go to the bathroom? NO. • How long should my essay be? 2-3 pages. • Should I use giant font and have huge spaces between paragraphs? NO! Don’t…you’re not fooling anyone. Size 12, Times New Roman, indent paragraphs but no spaces between paragraphs. • Is quality more important than quantity? YES! • Does this have to be 5 paragraphs? Yes, at least. • Should I type my essay? YES, unless it’s just completely impossible. • When is this essay due? Fri 10/24 (B), Mon. 10/27 (A)
Bucketing Remember… • “North killed Reconstruction” bucket • “South killed Reconstruction” bucket • “Both” bucket (this is a very small bucket!)
Paragraph Themes Keep the goals of Reconstruction in mind when organizing evidence: • Bringing the South back into the United States • Re-building the South economically, politically, and physically after 4 years of war • Integrating African Americans (especially “freedmen”) into the nation with the rights and freedoms of citizens
Thesis & Introduction • Your thesis guides the whole essay. • Develop the thesis first. • Use the “chickenfoot” diagram to help organize your thesis and basic body paragraph topics (called “baby thesis” statements) • Thesis is usually the last sentence in the Intro. • Grabber: Obviously “grabs” reader’s attention, leads to… • Background Info: Relevant details that put reader in a place to start thinking about Reconstruction • Background could include basic definition of Reconstruction • Try writing the Intro. last, after you’ve written the rest. Last?? Yes, last—it’s easier to introduce something you actually know.
Body • At least 3 paragraphs, maybe more • If I think the North did it, should I have evidence that the South was also at fault? YES! You must! • Countervailing evidence (stuff that goes against your main thesis) is a key part of a strong argument. It can go in… • Each body paragraph • All in one body paragraph (either first or last body paragraph)
Conclusion • Conclusions are hard to write, but DON’T take the easy way out! Conclusions… • Should remind me how you proved your points and argued your case • Should include some new thinking about the overall topic of how Reconstruction ended, how things could have been better, etc. • Should even include some connection to the present (evidence that you can hear history “rhyming!”) • Should NOT include new facts/evidence…that stuff only belongs in the Body!