Quiz and Test Formats

Quizzes
Frequently there will be reading quizzes based on the reading assigned for that day. They will not expect
you to understand all the material but to have read it actively and thoughtfully and to have picked out key
persons, events or concepts. These may be in the form of multiple choice, identification/definition or
short answer.
Use the following rules of thumb when determining what is truly important:
Specifically-named individuals, actions, policies, laws, etc. that are given extended coverage of a
paragraph or more or are repeatedly noted throughout a chapter;
Specifically-named individuals, actions, policies, laws, etc. cited in the textbook or lecture from
which you are assigned a related primary source document;
Specifically-named individuals, actions, policies, laws, etc. who are only mentioned or not even
mentioned in the text but get extended coverage in class.
Tests
Tests will occur at the end of each topic--the pages and handouts pulled together in a topic in the study
guides. Each test will have two to four sections of different types of questions. Following is a list and
description of the different types of questions you may expect. One type of question will appear on every
test given in this course; that is the essay.

Multiple choice questions. These will be of two types. One is the usual type whose purpose is
to test your knowledge of specifics. The other will be based on a stimulus a primary or
secondary document, chart, map, visual; etc. This is the only type that you will encounter on the
AP exam and is designed to test both your knowledge of content and your historical thinking
skills.
Short Answer Questions. These are designed to elicit specific factual information related to a
event or construct or to a stimulus such as is used for the multiple choice. They may ask you to
take and support a position, compare two persons/events/ideas, show continuity or change over
time, put the person/event/idea into a broader historical context, discuss cause and/or
consequence, or deal with periodization.
Document. In this type of question, you will be given one or more excerpts from primary sources
from the era being studied and will be asked to analyze them in a particular way. Sometimes
youll be asked to name the author, other times to tell what event or idea is being discussed. The
key part here is explaining WHY you believe so-and-so wrote this piece or WHY you think it
describes such-and-such an event from the internal evidence of the documentwhich does NOT
mean merely quoting a word or phrase. Sometimes you will be asked to discuss point-of-view or
bias, tone, target audience and/or factual accuracy in the document.
Essay. These will be of an analytical nature. They will not just ask you to spit back facts that
youve learned, but they will ask you to think about what youve learned and apply it in some
wayto compare, evaluate, assess, explain. Writing and organization are important. Providing
sufficient specific and accurate facts to support generalizations and interpretations is critical.
Relevance is especially important; dont just write down everything that pops into your head.
Irrelevancies, even if accurate on their own, will detract from the quality of the essay (and
subtract points from the grade.) A strong thesis, an introduction giving context, and a
conclusion that pulls together your argument are all essential; however, the 5-paragraph
format is not. Make the number of paragraphs fit the response and its organization.

Because this is an AP class and the expectation is that you are preparing for the AP exam as you learn the
history, there are no projects in place of tests.