AP US History DBQ Scoring Guidelines

The 8-9 Essay:

• Contains a well-developed thesis that address the question. 2
• Presents an effective analysis of the question. 1
• Effectively uses a substantial number of documents. 2
• Supports thesis with substantial and relevant outside information. 2
• Is well organized and has clear expression of ideas. 1
• May contain minor errors. 1

The 5-7 Essay:

• Contains a thesis that addresses the question. 1.5
• Has limited analysis and is mostly descriptive. .5
• Uses some documents effectively. 1.5
• Supports the thesis with some outside information. 1.5 - 2
• Shows evidence of acceptable organization and writing; language errors do not interfere with comprehension of the essay. .5 - 1
• May contain errors that do not seriously detract from overall essay. .5

The 2-4 essay:

• Contains a limited, confused and or poorly developed thesis. 1
• Has little or no analysis of the question, explanation is general or simplistic. .5
• Quotes or briefly cites some documents. .5 - 1
• Contains little outside information that is generally inaccurate or irrelevant. 0 - 1
• Lack of organization and language errors interfere with comprehension of the essay. 0
• May contain major errors. 0 - .5

The 0-1 Essay:

• Contains no thesis or a thesis which does not address the question. 0
• Exhibits inadequate or inaccurate understanding of the question. 0
• Contains little or no understanding of the documents or ignores them completely. 0 - .5
• Is so poorly organized or written that it inhibits understanding. 0 - .5
• Contains numerous errors, both major and minor. 0

The __ essay.

• Is completely off topic or blank.

*Documents may be used implicitly or explicitly.

9 = A+ 97-100%

8 = A 90-96

7 = B+ 87-89

6 = B 80-86

5 = C+ 77-79

4 = C 70-76

3 = D+ 67-69

2 = D 60-66

1 = F 0-59