The point of the document-based question is not to torment you but actually to put you in the historian’s shoes as an interpreter of historical material.
Explanation:
The DBQ is testing your ability to:
create a strong thesis and support that thesis with the aid of the documents provided
analyze sources for characteristics such as author’s point of view, the author's purpose, the audience, and context
make connections between the documents
bring in outside knowledge to strengthen the argument
This may sound like a tall order, but you probably already use all these skills all the time.
