Sourcing is one of the most misunderstood of all the points on the Document Based Question. And for good reason! This is a complex task. Today, we're going to tackle common misconceptions about how to earn this point.
I'm a licensed teacher and professional tutor with over ten years of experience in education. I've helped dozens of students improve their grades in their AP class. Read on for tips you can use to improve your grades today!
Table of Contents
Myth 1: You must use all four types of sourcing for each document you source.
Myth 2: You must use all four types of souring in your essay.
Myth 3: You have to source all of the documents you use.
Myth 4: You can't repeat the type of sourcing you use in one essay. If you do, it looks bad.
Myth 5: Some of the sourcing options are better or easier than others.
Myths and Misconceptions
Myth 1: You must use all four types of sourcing for each document you source.
For each of the documents you chose, you should select ONE of the four options (historical situation, intended audience, purpose, or point of view). Trying to do all four is overkill. You earn a point when you source two documents, not when you use two different kinds of sourcing. If you see more than one option, I generally recommend picking the one that you are more confident about explaining. Usually one of them pops out, but you can also choose one arbitrary option.
Myth 2: You must use all four types of sourcing in your essay.
The College Board gives you four options for sourcing: historical situation, intended audience, purpose, and point of view. The rubric does NOT say that you must use all four. It only says that you must use some combination of these four.
This is also true for the complexity point. One way you can earn this point is by successfully sourcing four of the seven historical documents. That does NOT mean you need to use all four of types once. Just like with the standard sourcing point, you can use all of them, one of them, or anything between those extremes.
Let's say I have an essay where I will use four documents. My plan for sourcing could look like this:
Document 1: Purpose
Document 2: None
Document 3: None
Document 4: Intended Audience
This is an acceptable plan even though I won't use historical situation or point of view.
Myth 3: You have to source all of the documents you use.
Document 1: Purpose
Document 2: None
Document 3: None
Document 4: Intended Audience
Myth 4: You can't repeat the type of sourcing you use in one essay. If you do, it looks bad.
Good news. This is also false. It is 100 percent okay to use the same type of sourcing for every document that you source in your essay.
In this situation, my sourcing plan might look like this:
Document 1: Historical Situation
Document 2: Historical Situation
Document 3: None
Document 4: None
A variant on this myth is: "Okay, but it's bad to repeat. More variety is more complex."
That's true in the bigger picture. But analyzing a source in an inherently complex form of thinking, and that doesn't change depending on how it's packaged. In the context of the exam, the College Board has outline specific ways to earn the complexity point. You can earn this point by successfully sourcing four documents. The guidelines don't say anything about variety, which means how you do that is up to you.
Myth 5: Some of the sourcing options are better or easier than others.
I've changed my thinking on this. I used to advise students to think about purpose and intended audience. Then I worked with a lot more students. At this point, I think two things are true.
- Some students find it easier to analyze specific aspects of a source.
- Some sources are easier to analyze from a specific source.
Join the mailing list! All the tips that are fit to mail!
You may also like these articles for AP World History students:
All blog posts are licensed using a CC-BY-SA 4.0 license. You are free to copy or share this information in any form. You may also adapt and build upon this material for commercial and noncommercial. If you chose to share, adapt, or use this information, you must give credit to Spring Learning Services, LLC and indicate if changes were made. All material must be shared using the same terms
This material is based on my interpretation of the AP World History Course and Exam Description and my experience working in education for the past decade. The views expressed on this page are my own. AP® and Advanced Placement® are trademarks registered and owned by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this site.