Geographic factors significantly influenced the outcome of World War II according to the document. Location, climate, and resource availability each played important roles for different nations. The document outlines how the favorable location of the United States and resource availability in Britain helped those countries succeed, while unfavorable factors hampered Germany and Japan and contributed to their defeat. Analyzing these geographic influences could provide insights into why the Allies were ultimately victorious in the war.

1. Question: Discuss the positive and
negative effects of geographic factors
such as location, climate and availability of
resources of the nations involved in World
War II and the influence that they had on
the war.
DBQ Essay
World War II

2. DBQ ESSAY
Most students received a 2 or 3 on Essay
“Essays were too short!” – Lack of details
Lack of “Outside Information”
Lacks an acceptable Thesis
Simply listing documents – lack of analysis “How
does document prove your thesis?”
Introduction is simply re-writing “Historical Context”

3. Brainstorm Planning Chart
Britain Russia Japan Germany U.S.
Positive
•Island Nation
•Many Rivers
•Resources –
coal, iron,
•Isolated from
Europe
•English Channel
•Avoid Blitzkrieg
•Battle of Britain
•Doc. 1, 5
•Harsh winters
•Resources
•Battle of
Stalingrad
•Doc. 3
•Island Nation
•Good
coastline,
harbors, fish –
allowed
strong navy
•Controlled
colonies with
resources
•Doc.6, 7
•Resources
for industry
and military
•Isolated from
Europe
•Resources –
coal, iron, oil
•Farmland
•Doc. 2, 4
Negative
•No natural
barriers –
Threats from
Fascism
•Doc. 4
•Lack of iron
and oil
•Lack of
farmland
•Hard to
rebuild lost
naval ships
•Doc. 2
Central
location –
many borders
with enemy
nations – two
front war
Battle of
Stalingrad
Doc. 4, 3
Ignorant of
problems in
Europe due to
distance
Doc. 4

4. Developing a Thesis
After you analyze your planning chart, what conclusion can you
make about geography and World War II?
1. Think about which nations enjoyed the most positive geographic factors
and which had the most negative.
2. Think about the impact that geography played on the nations involved in
WWII.
3. Look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising
contrasts or similarities), and think about the beneath-the-surface
significance of these relationships.
4. Look for common trends or information. Is there overwhelming
evidence that supports one aspect over another?
5. Make sure your thesis answers the question and attempts to prove
something.
Question: Discuss the positive and negative effects of geographic factors
such as location, climate and availability of resources of the nations
involved in World War II and the influence that they had on the war.

5. A country may not have the largest army or the best technology, but a
country with many diverse natural resources will have the greatest chance
to win the war. As we see in the past, present, and future, geography and
climate play a very important role in a nation’s success.
Introduction and Thesis
The geographic factors of location, climate, and availability of
resources have affected the history of many nations. These factors came
to play a large part in the events of World War II.
Is this a good Intro and Thesis?
NO GOOD! This is just a copy of the Historical Context!
Sample #1
Sample #2
Great Intro sentence!
Provides the broad topic of
impact of geography on war.
Peaks interest and attempts
to prove something!
This thesis is too broad! Needs to be more
specific about the nations involved in WWII
and how geography impacted the outcome!
NO GOOD! Close, but needs work!

6. In a war, certain geographic features can play an important role in the
outcome. For example, location, climate, and resource availability played
an important role for most countries involved in World War II. These
geographic features were positive or negative depending on the country,
but overall influenced the outcome of the war.
Throughout history, geography and resource availability has always
affected the development of nations. It also had great impacts on the
outcome of war. It’s possible that these factors helped the allies beat
World War II.
Good structure – starts
with general statement –
then gets more specific –
and then very specific
Sample #3
Sample #4
Great Intro
sentences! General
statement – then
gets more specific.
Not specific enough. Positive or negative for which
nations? How did it influence the war? Did it help the
Allies win? Did it cause the Axis to lose?
Thesis can improve. Don’t use the word
“possible.” Specify which “factors” helped
the allies. Include how negative factors
influenced the war.
Satisfactory Thesis but not a 5!
Not a Good Thesis!

7. Throughout history, geographic factors of location, climate, and
availability of resources have had a major impact on the development of
many nations, especially in times of war. The geographic advantages of
Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union combined with the
geographic disadvantages of Germany and Japan was the major reason
for the Allied victory in World War II.
Sample #5
Great Thesis! Answers the question and attempts to prove
something! Mentions both positive and negative effects and
refers to the influence of geography on WWII.
Thesis Self Test:
"Did I answer the question?"
"Have I taken a position that others might
challenge or oppose?"
"Does my thesis pass the 'So What?' test?"
“Can I use evidence to support my thesis?”

8. Body Paragraph Construction
Analysis – How do your facts prove your thesis?
Discuss causes and impact. Explain similarities
and differences. Point out connections!
Topic sentence – Introduce general subtopic. Don’t
start paragraph with “In document 1…”
Outside Information - Add details about the subtopic. Don’t
go right to the documents! Identify major people, places,
terms. Provide background information.
Documents - Summarize and Analyze! What is main idea
of the document and how does it help prove your thesis?
Summarize major points that prove thesis!
T
O
A
D
S

9. Body Paragraph #1
Analysis of first subtopic. Be sure to utilize outside information and
the documents to support your thesis.
The location of a country can decide whether it prospers
and becomes wealthy or becomes poor and, overall,
becomes an undesirable country for most people. In war,
location can decide whether a country prospers and wins or
does not do well and loses. For example, the United States
had a positive location for winning the war. The United
States was in the western hemisphere while the war was
being fought in the eastern hemisphere. They were
particularly safe from attack due to the Atlantic Ocean.
Since they were not at risk of being attacked, they did not
need to join the war. (Doc. 4) This gave the U.S. time to
become stronger while Germany grew weaker from battles
with Russia, France and Great Britain. When they entered
the war, they had an advantage to the already weakened
Axis forces.
Topic
sentence
Analysis of
the facts.
Summary
Proves
Thesis
Use of
Document

10. Body Paragraph #2
Analysis of second subtopic. Be sure to utilize outside information and
the documents to support your thesis.
The ability to get resources can alter a war as well.
England has good resource availability because of the
harbors and the coal and iron. (Doc.5) All of the land in
England is within 60 miles from a harbor so trade is easy.
The resources that they have can help build battleships and
other weaponry for the war…Their resource availability
helped them gain an upper hand as opposed to Japan. Japan
did not have many resources so they had to resort to
attacking Korea and Manchuria, which contained many
natural resources like gold, coal, and iron ore. (Doc. 7)
Although this helped Japan gain the resources they needed, it
was a negative in the aspect that they were being watched by
the U.S., who placed an embargo on Japan. This led to Japan
attacking Pearl Harbor and drawing the U.S. into the war, and
eventually the loss of the war for Japan. Resource availability
was positive for England which helped them win the war and
negative for Japan which contributed to the loss of the war
and the downfall of the country.
Topic sentence
Analysis of
the facts.
Summary –
Proves Thesis
Use of Document
Summary
and
Analysis of
the
Document.

11. Body Paragraph #3
Analysis of third subtopic. Be sure to utilize outside information and
the documents to support your thesis.
Climate is another geographic feature that affected the
outcome of the war. When Hitler broke his peace agreement
with Russia, he made the same mistake as Napoleon and
went into Russia. A German soldier wrote how his hands
were “done for” and how he is missing a finger and has three
frozen ones. He says all he can do is shoot and his hands are
finished. (Doc. 3) This climate was negative for Germany
because the cold in Russia was hurting the German soldiers.
They were freezing and their morale was rapidly decreasing.
The climate was positive for Russia however. They were
used to the cold and were properly equipped for it. When the
Germans already conquered 90% of Stalingrad and it looked
as if Germany was going to take over Russia, the Russians
fought back. If it was not for the cold climate then Russia
would have been captured and the outcome of the war could
have been different.
Topic
sentence
Analysis of
the facts.
Summary
Use of
Document

12. Conclusion Paragraph #4 –
SummaryWrap it up. Restate thesis. Conclude: overall impact positive/ negative,
helpful /harmful, cause and effect. What did you prove?
The geographic features climate, resource
availability, and location all played a part in the
outcome of World War II. Location helped the
United States, resource availability helped
England and did not help Japan, and the climate
helped Germany lose and Russia win. If these
geographic features were not present then the
outcome could have been different, but these
three things altered history and played a huge
role in all the countries involved.
Restate Thesis
Summary of major
points proven
throughout essay
Analysis of impact on
the world

13. DBQ Essay Structure
I. Introduction and Thesis statement
II. Body Paragraph #1
Topic sentence – First subtopic grouping
Include relevant outside information
Group Documents to prove your
thesis Analyze documents
(Don’t just summarize) Why did author say what they said? How
does each document prove a point?
III. Body paragraph #2
Transition sentence – second subtopic grouping
Include relevant outside information
Group Documents to prove your thesis
Analyze documents (Don’t just summarize) How do they prove
thesis?
IV. Body Paragraph #3
V. Conclusion – restate thesis and conclusion. Try to broaden to
larger
themes. What did you prove?