How to Understand DBQ & LEQ Prompts [AP World, APUSH, & AP Euro]

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Ever since the College Board changed its wording for their DBQ and LEQ prompts to "Evaluate the extent to which..." students have been confused about how to understand them.

At the end of the day, the "Evaluate the extent to which" language is there to force you into an argument. It's asking you to weigh different pieces of evidence and then write a nuanced, complex, and historically defensible DBQ or LEQ.

[VinceGuido]

Living in a van down by the river is sounding great right now

[companyincorporatedproduct]

I've never heard a student say "I like the way college board..." with any ending to that sentence.

[somekid]

I'm not christian but my score is in God's hands at this point

[eloofant]

Collegeboard: Here’s your prompt=

Me: 👁👄👁

[estebandelacruz]

I remember writing half a dbq essay b4 realizing I misread the entire prompt

[alyssascheiderich]

ONG I FINALLY GET IT!!! I HAVE HAD SO MUCH TROUBLE REALLY UNDERSTANDING HOW TO WRITE A DBQ BUT NOW I UNDERSTAND? I HAVE TO ARGUE WITH MYSELF. I CAN ARGUE WITH MYSELF I DO IT ALLLL THE TIME THIS IS AMAZING THANK YOU I GET IT NOW!

[generalgrievous]

I like "Evaluate the extent to which..." questions. Last year, I got one for my AP Euro DBQ: "Evaluate the extent to which Enlightenment ideas produced gradual or radical change" if I remember correctly. I ended up getting a 5 :)

[pranavr]

I do not take AP World anymore, but last year when I did, we had no teacher, and we had to do everything online, so when we went online because of covid, nothing changed. The reason I got a 5 is because of this legendary man

[isabelllee]

Note to self: it’s trying to get you to choose which is the most significant. Force you into a stand, a lot of something or a little of something. If neither then it’s a continuity.

Evaluate to the extent to which- how much did (blank) affect/change (blank)
-choose a lot or a little or continuity
-weigh your options and argue contradicting documents so that they fit your essay

[khalidrm]

Hello Mr. Heimler, how are you on this fine day?

[kay.n]

I am sadly watching this video after I have taken the AP World History test and I found out I wrote my entire DBQ wrong because I misunderstood the prompt. I will cry later....

[nena]

thank you so much man your content is amazing, last year i got a 5 on my APWH exam because of your videos ☝️😫 now i can truly decipher these AP questions 😌

[williamcorkill]

As a first year world history teacher, heimler is a hero without a cape! 🎉

[vauschenvid]

watching this an hour before my AP Euro test, wish me luck

[AdiL-pnff]

Thanks Mr. Heimler. Could you do a video on **how to group documents in FRQ?**

[cubed.public]

Ok so what should we do to make prompts clearer?
How about we replace "Analyze" with "Evaluate"
That's genius everyone would understand it now

[alvaromolina]

I think I might just live in a van down by the river 😔

[samuelroberts]

I took APUSH last year. But I still watch these videos cuz I like the sound of your voice

[cartersharpnack]

By writing all of your unit review videos, I got the highest score on my final, which is a previous exam. I got a 52/55

[BeetrixGaming]

BIG QUESTION: will there be unit reviews/overviews for all the other units in APUSH? Those help me so much, and if the rest of them show up I'll be watching those right before the AP. Otherwise I'll spend more time watching all the individual vids, which is okay, but I find the unit reviews super helpful to cement the main details in my mind.

Got a 5 on a practice test, thanks so much and keep it up! <3 :D