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← APUSH DBQ Rubric

What Counts as Outside Evidence on the APUSH DBQ

1 point

This point rewards bringing in a genuinely new piece of historical knowledge - something not mentioned in any of the provided documents - and using it to support your argument.

Earns the point

The essay introduces a distinct, specific historical fact, event, or concept not mentioned in any of the provided documents.

AND that fact is actually used to support an argument, not just dropped in.

Doesn't earn the point

The "outside" evidence is vague historical background rather than a specific fact.

It's really just a restatement of something that could plausibly be one of the documents themselves.

Real example

Point earned

"...the domestic slave trade that grew after the 1808 ban on international slave importation reshaped family life for enslaved Americans..."

This earns the point - the 1808 import ban and the domestic slave trade it triggered is a specific historical development outside the documents, and it's used to support the essay's argument about slavery's expansion.

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Other rubric points

Thesis / Claim Contextualization Evidence from Documents Sourcing / HIPP Complexity