DBQ Essay Generic Scoring Rubric
Students who learn and understand the DBQ Generic Scoring Rubric will score higher on the DBQ Essay portion of the New York State Regents Exam since they will know what mistakes to avoid and what is expected in order to achieve the highest score of five (5).
First, you should download your copy of the DBQ Generic Scoring Rubric So what does the rubric say?
Score of Zero (0)
| Score | Guidelines/Requirements/Reasons |
|---|---|
| Score of 0 | Fails to address the theme, is illegible, or is a blank paper |
Fails to develop the task or may only refer to the theme in a general way; OR includes no relevant facts, examples, or details; OR includes only the historical context and/or task as copied from the test booklet; OR includes only entire documents copied from the test booklet; OR is illegible; OR is a blank paper.
Score of One (1)
| Score of 1 | Minimally develops some aspects of the task | Is descriptive; may lack understanding, application, or analysis | Makes vague, unclear references to the documents or consists primarily of relevant and irrelevant information copied from the documents | Presents no relevant outside information | Includes few relevant facts, examples, or details; may include inaccuracies | May demonstrate a weakness in organization; may lack focus; may contain digressions; may not clearly identify which aspect of the task is being addressed; may lack an introduction and/or a conclusion |
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In order to receive a score of one (1), a student did not understand the Documents or did not write an introduction or introduce the Historical Context or the essay is not about the theme. The student also did not include any pieces of Outside Information. The student did not attempt to analyze the documents and was only descriptive (copying info from documents)
Score of Two (2)
| Score of 2 | Minimally develops all aspects of the task or develops some aspects of the task in some depth | Is primarily descriptive; may include faulty, weak, or isolated application or analysis | Incorporates limited relevant information from the documents or consists primarily of relevant information copied from the documents | Presents little or no relevant outside information | Includes few relevant facts, examples, and details; may include some inaccuracies | Demonstrates a general plan of organization; may lack focus; may contain digressions; may not clearly identify which aspect of the task is being addressed; may lack an introduction and/or a conclusion. |
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In order to receive a score of two (2), a student did understand the historical cpntext but has difficulties in addressing the task. That is, the parts of the task that needed to be explained. The student may have inaccuracies in their essay such as listing Adolf Hitler as a communist. One of the main reasons a student receives a score of two (2) is because they fail to add a conclusion. In order to receive a score of three (3) the student must have a general plan of organization which includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Another reason for receiving a two (2) is the absence of Outside Information which must be included in order to receive higher than a two (2).
Score of Three (3)
| Score of 3 | Develops all aspects of the task with little depth or develops most aspects of the task in some depth | Is more descriptive than analytical (applies, may analyze, and/or evaluate information) | Incorporates some relevant information from some of the documents | Incorporates limited relevant outside information | Includes some relevant facts, examples, and details; may include some minor inaccuracies | Demonstrates a satisfactory plan of organization; includes an introduction and a conclusion that may be a restatement of the theme |
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In order to receive a score of three (3), a student had an introduction (that may have been a copied historical context), and had a conclusion. The student must rewrite the theme in order to achieve a score of four (4). The student must attempted to complete most aspects of the task which means that the student must have addressed or written something about most of the bullets in the task. If the task asks you to complete two of a topic, such as; write about two (2) empires and for each, you must complete one. You must have a conclusion, without it you will only receive a score of two (2). You must include multiple pieces of Outside Information, preferably one piece for each body paragraph.
Score of Four (4)
| Score of 4 | Develops all aspects of the task but may do so somewhat unevenly | Is both descriptive and analytical (applies, analyzes, evaluates, and/or creates information) | Incorporates relevant information from at least the required # of documents (usually 1 more than 1/2, or listed) | Incorporates relevant outside information | Supports the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details | Demonstrates a logical and clear plan of organization; includes an introduction and a conclusion that are beyond a restatement of the theme |
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In order to receive a score of four (4), a student did not copy the theme as their introduction, and rewrote it or summarized it. In order to receive a four (4), the student must go beyond a simple restatement of the theme. The student must address ALL aspects of the task. Without rewriting the theme and addressing all of the task, the student would only receive a score of three (3). The student may address one aspect of the task very well, but may address the second part of the task not thoroughly. The student must include multiple pieces of Outside Information, at least four (4). Essay must include analyzing the documents in some way.
Score of Five (5)
| Score of 5 | Thoroughly develops all aspects of the task evenly and in depth | Is more analytical than descriptive (analyzes, evaluates, and/or creates information) (Bloom’s Taxonomy) | Incorporates relevant information from at least the required number of documents | Incorporates substantial relevant outside information | Richly supports the theme with many relevant facts, examples, and details | Demonstrates a logical and clear plan of organization; includes an introduction and a conclusion that are beyond a restatement of the theme |
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In order to receive a score of five (5), a student would have all of the requirements for a score of four (4) and have a multitude (many) examples of Outside Information to support the theme and the task. The difference between a scoring a four (4) and scoring a five (5) is that the student must deeply explore the theme and have multiple pieces of Outside Information and analyze more than being descriptive.