AP European History - Document-Based Question - Thirty Years’ War Scoring Rubric and Student Samples

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

AP European History DBQ materials for the prompt “Evaluate whether the Thirty Years’ War was fought primarily for religious or primarily for political reasons.” Includes the scoring guideline with point-by-point rubric categories: thesis/claim, contextualization, evidence from documents and beyond documents, sourcing for multiple documents, and complexity/analysis. Provides example student responses and notes on how to earn each score level, plus document summaries and guidance on possible sourcing and relevance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Question 1—Document-Based Question

Rubric categories and maximum points

Evidence, sourcing, and complexity requirements

Document summaries and possible sourcing

How relevance is explained across documents

2018 AP European History Sample Student Responsesand Scoring Commentary Inside: Document-Based Question R Scoring Guideline R Student Samples R Scoring Commentary © 2018 The College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. Visit [the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org](the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org). [AP Central is the official online home for the AP Program: apcentral.collegeboard.org](AP Central is the official online home for the AP Program: apcentral.collegeboard.org) Question 1—Document-Based Question Maximum Possible Points: 7 “Evaluate whether the Thirty Years’ War was fought primarily for religious or primarily for political reasons.” | Points | Rubric | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | A: Thesis/Claim (0-1) | Thesis/claim:
Responds to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis/claim that establishes aline of reasoning. (1 point)
To earn this point the thesis must make a claim that responds to the prompt rather than restating or rephrasing the prompt. The thesis must consist of one or more sentences located in one place, either in the introduction or the conclusion. | The thesis must take a position on whether the Thirty Years’ War was fought primarily for religious or primarily for political reasons with some indication of the reason for taking that position.
• “The Thirty Years’ War was fought overwhelmingly for religious purposes, with countries being drawn into war to defend the sanctity of one religion or another, and always divided Catholicsand Protestants.”
• “The Thirty Years War was primarily fought over religion and all stemmed from a little squabble in Bohemia.” | | B: Contextualization (0-1) | Contextualization:
Describes a broader historical context relevant to the prompt. (1 point)
To earn this point the response must relate the topic of the prompt to broader historical events, developments, or processes that occur before, during, or continue after the timeframe of the question. This point is not awarded for merely a phrase or reference. | To earn the point the essay must accurately describe a broader context relevant to the motivations for the Thirty Years’ War.
Examples might include the following, with appropriate elaboration:
• Earlier Protestant-Catholic conflicts
• Protestant and Catholic Reformations
• Habsburg vs. French dynastic rivalries | Question 1—Document-Based Question (continued) | +C: Evidence (0-3) | Evidence from the Documents:
Uses the content of at least three documents to address the topic of the prompt. (1 point)
OR
Supports an argument in response to the prompt using at least six documents. (2 points) | To earn 1 point the response must accurately describe—rather than simply quote—the content from at least three of the documents to address the topic of motivations for the Thirty Years’ War.
To earn 2 points the response must accurately describe—rather than simply quote—the content from at least six documents. In addition, the response must use the content from the documents to support an argument in response to the prompt.
See document summaries for examples of evidence. | | --- | --- | --- | | | Evidence beyond the Documents:
Uses at least one additional piece of specific historical evidence (beyond that found in the documents) relevant to an argument about the prompt. (1 point)
To earn this point the evidence must be described, and it must be more than a phrase or reference. This additional piece of evidence must be different from the evidence used to earn the point for contextualization. | Statements credited as evidence from outside the documents will typically be more specific details relevant to an argument, analogous to the function of evidence drawn from the documents.
Typically, statements credited as contextualization will be more general statements that place an

FAQs

What prompt does this DBQ scoring guide address?

It addresses the prompt: “Evaluate whether the Thirty Years’ War was fought primarily for religious or primarily for political reasons.”

How is the thesis/claim evaluated in this scoring rubric?

The thesis/claim must respond to the prompt with a historically defensible position and provide some indication of the reasoning for taking that position, usually in the introduction or conclusion.

What evidence requirements apply for scoring the evidence category?

Students must use either evidence from at least three documents or, for higher scoring, accurately describe evidence from at least six documents and use it to support the argument; they may also include at least one specific piece of evidence beyond the documents.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

AP European History - Document-Based Question - Thirty Years’ War Scoring Rubric and Student Samples_Page 1

Open in WPS to view all 24 pages