DBQ: The debate over the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1789 revealed bitter controversies on a number of issues. Discuss the issues involved and explain why these controversies developed. [Source: 1977 AP Exam]

Above, the 1977 DBQ question for the AP exam sits.  It's not that impressive, is it?  It's not even that intimidating.  If you want to know more about the Acts themselves and the context of their passage, you can view their Wikipedia article or their explanation from the Early America website.

What I am going to ask you to do is examine the question and the documents provided and then grade two of four student essays (from years past) on this DBQ.  Here are the conditions: 1) You must use the rubric that I provided for you.  You must base your grade on the rubric's qualifcations and also go through the checklist on the rubric and select which preconditions for a good essay can be 'checked off'.  2) You must write comments specifically to the 'student' on how they can improve their essay.  You can post your comments here.  Of course, if you're feeling like a particularly brutal AP US History teacher, you can have this opportunity to do so, but don't lose site of the task.  You, as a grading teacher, are really here to help students become better researchers, thinkers and writers.

Choose two of these four: Essay #1, Essay #2, Essay #3, and Essay #4