For my students, I'm sure it is like any horror movie. Things are moving along fine, there's love, laughter, friendship, "normal life," and then IT appears, and IT will mow you down in a second if you haven't been paying attention, or in the case of class, doing the work. The IT I'm referring to is the QUIZ...reading quizzes...based on reading, not class discussion and lecture. What? Reading? Yes, reading. You mean I can't just come to class and listen and make an A? Unlikely. To be fair, these reading quizzes are quite challenging...no, they are HARD. I don't make up the questions. I draw them from a test bank that comes with the book.
Students, please avail yourselves of the resources that come with the textbook. The StudySpace has practice quizzes, a place to create flashcards, and an outline for each chapter. Remember, you can access the StudySpace by going to the weblink at the beginning of every chapter.
Also, it is important to learn what types of questions are being asked. Some questions are simple recall. This is I think what most of you are expecting, or at least wish for. For example:
Who was our first president?
a. Abraham Lincoln
b. George Washington
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. James Monroe
e. John Adams (our book adds a fifth choice!! Instead of my random chances being 1 in 4, they just went to 1 in 5...aww shucks).
Obviously, the answer is B, George Washington. There is an easy "yes," "no" feel to this question...you either got it right or not...it is pretty black and white. Unfortunately, most college multiple choice tests are not this easy.
Other question categories include the WOULD NOT question, or the EXCEPT question.
Which of the following would NOT characterize the Mississippian Indian culture?
a. towns built around plazas and temples
b. cliff dwellings and widespread use of irrigation
c. cultivation of corn, beans, and squashes
d. ceremonial human torture and sacrifice
e. extensive trading activities
The easiest way to answer this question is to treat the answers as True/False statements. You are looking for the ONE answer that is NOT true of Mississippian Indian culture. So, just go through each statement...is it true or false? If you do this, B is the appropriate response.
In most cases, Spanish explorers and soldiers who came to the New World were motivated by all of the following EXCEPT:
a. religious zeal
b. desire to serve their fellow men
c. pursuit of riches
d. desire for power
e. patriotism
Again, treat the EXCEPT questions the same way, but instead of using a True/False dichotomy, you may use a Yes/No method. Ask a simple yes/no question using the potential answer. A. Were Spanish explorers and soldiers motivated by religious zeal? (answer yes or no). B. Where Spanish explorers and soldiers movtivated by a desire to serve their fellow men? (answer yes or no). Again, you are looking for the EXCEPTION, the NO answer. In this case, it comes up pretty quick...the answer is B. The Spanish were not coming to the New World for altruistic reasons.
Finally, the other qualification for questions is that sometimes there may be an answer possibility that seems "good." There may be another that seems "better." However, there will always be one that will work "BEST" with the question asked. The trick here is that the WHOLE ANSWER must be true. Sometime students think an answer works because one half of the answer is correct, but the other half, which are they not sure about seems likely but they are not sure. If in doubt, move on. Sometimes half of an answer may be correct, but the other half intentionally wrong. Look for the BEST answer. For example:
George Washington:
a. Became our second president, after being chosen in 1789
b. Became our first president, after being chosen in 1789
c. Became our first president, after being chosen in 1776
d. Became our first president, after being chosen in 1800.
Take what you know: George Washington was our first elected president. (so therefore the first answer is eliminated. But to answer this question successfully, you must know more, when was he elected? The only statement that is fully true all the way through is answer B.
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