Will someone please tell me how to write the DBQ-style paper?

[delaneyking]

I usually do alright in History, but the DBQ-style exam paper (paper 2?) kicked my butt.

Any suggestions for how much/how little to write for each question?

[Bernardo Silva]

Do you mean Paper 1? Paper 2 is two essays in response to two essay questions about the origins and effects of wars, origins and development of single-party states etc. Paper 1 is the exam with sources and sometimes statistical data, which you'll have to interpret.

To prepare for this paper you'll need to study your prescribed topic (in my region it's the Arab-Israeli Conflict) well enough to be able to answer the mini-essay question at the end using your outside knowledge as well as all of the sources. Sometimes you'll get data like a table or a graph with certain values, which you'll have to understand, put into context and explain. You shouldn't be spending more than 10 minutes on questions 1-3 because question 4 is the one you should spend around 20 minutes on. This means that you should only be writing short to medium sized paragraphs in response to each question. Remember: synthesize your arguments well so you don't ramble on too much. It's quality over quantity.