Multiple Choice
Now, some of you will have never taken an AP History course prior to this one, and quite a few of you may have never been exposed to a "Stimulus-Based Multiple Choice" style question before. In this course, as well as on the exam, your traditional multiple choice questions have been "defenestrated" (or "thrown out the window", a joke you'll get later) and the new style is everywhere. Question sets will be organized around two to five questions that focus on a primary or secondary source, known as a "stimulus". The first few questions will be directly answerable from the stimulus, and the others will rely more heavily upon your historical content knowledge, but will be related to the subject in the stimulus.
The instructions straight from the Exam Overview of the College Board itself read:
"The multiple-choice section will consist of 55 questions, organized into sets of three to five questions that ask students to respond to stimulus material (i.e., a primary or secondary source, including texts, images, charts, graphs, maps, etc). Each multiple-choice question will address one or more of the learning objectives for the course as well as directly connect to the concept outline and to one or more course themes. Each question will also test one or more of the nine historical thinking skills discussed in the curriculum framework, reflecting the course’s emphasis on the acquisition and application of historical reasoning. While a question set may focus on one particular period of history, the individual questions within that set may ask students to make connections to thematically linked developments in other periods.
Multiple-choice questions will assess students’ ability to reason about the stimulus material in tandem with their knowledge of the historical issue at hand. The possible answers for a multiple-choice question will reflect the level of detail present in the required historical developments found in the concept outline for the course. Events and topics contained in the illustrative example lists will not appear in multiple-choice questions unless accompanied by text that fully explains that topic to students."
Here's an example SBMC set from an APUSH exam (we wouldn't want to waste one of our valuable test questions, would we?):
Questions 1–3 refer to the excerpt below.
“In 1739 arrived among us from Ireland the Reverend Mr. [George] Whitefield, who had made himself remarkable there as an itinerant preacher. He was at first permitted to preach in some of our churches; but the clergy, taking a dislike to him, soon refused him their pulpits,and he was obliged to preach in the fields. The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended his sermons were enormous. . . . It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro’ the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.”
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Relax, you aren't going to know everything on exam day. I would not even be able to get 100% of the points on the exam and I've been doing this for a while. There's a lot to know and it's impossible to know it all on exam day. Please read the document below for some tips & tricks on how to handle the MC section of the exam.
The instructions straight from the Exam Overview of the College Board itself read:
"The multiple-choice section will consist of 55 questions, organized into sets of three to five questions that ask students to respond to stimulus material (i.e., a primary or secondary source, including texts, images, charts, graphs, maps, etc). Each multiple-choice question will address one or more of the learning objectives for the course as well as directly connect to the concept outline and to one or more course themes. Each question will also test one or more of the nine historical thinking skills discussed in the curriculum framework, reflecting the course’s emphasis on the acquisition and application of historical reasoning. While a question set may focus on one particular period of history, the individual questions within that set may ask students to make connections to thematically linked developments in other periods.
Multiple-choice questions will assess students’ ability to reason about the stimulus material in tandem with their knowledge of the historical issue at hand. The possible answers for a multiple-choice question will reflect the level of detail present in the required historical developments found in the concept outline for the course. Events and topics contained in the illustrative example lists will not appear in multiple-choice questions unless accompanied by text that fully explains that topic to students."
Here's an example SBMC set from an APUSH exam (we wouldn't want to waste one of our valuable test questions, would we?):
Questions 1–3 refer to the excerpt below.
“In 1739 arrived among us from Ireland the Reverend Mr. [George] Whitefield, who had made himself remarkable there as an itinerant preacher. He was at first permitted to preach in some of our churches; but the clergy, taking a dislike to him, soon refused him their pulpits,and he was obliged to preach in the fields. The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended his sermons were enormous. . . . It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro’ the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.”
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
- Whitefield’s impact suggests that religious culture among British North American colonists in the 1700s was most directly shaped by
(A) Roman Catholic influences
(B) interest in commerce and business
(C) trans-Atlantic exchanges
(D) reliance on agriculture - Whitefield’s open-air preaching contributed most directly to which of the following trends?
(A) The growth of the ideology of republican motherhood
(B) Greater independence and diversity of thought
(C) Movement of settlers to the backcountry
(D) The pursuit of social reform - The preaching described in the excerpt is an example of which of the following
developments in the 1700s?
(A) The emergence of an idea of republican self-government
(B) The beginning of calls for the abolition of slavery
(C) The increased influence of the Enlightenment
(D) The expansion of Protestant evangelism
Relax, you aren't going to know everything on exam day. I would not even be able to get 100% of the points on the exam and I've been doing this for a while. There's a lot to know and it's impossible to know it all on exam day. Please read the document below for some tips & tricks on how to handle the MC section of the exam.
overview video
Richey Guide
| euro_mc_strategies.pdf |
Final Tips & Tricks
Next, here are some "Tips & Tricks" that I have culled from a number of sources to help you prepare for exam day:
1. Identify key patterns: You know that saying, history repeats itself? There’s a reason why people say that, and that is because there are fundamental patterns in history that can be understood and identified. If you can learn the frequent patterns of history in relation to the time periods tested, you’ll be able to guess in a smart manner when you have absolutely no idea about something.
2. Use common sense: The beauty of AP History is when you understand the core concept being tested and the patterns in history; you can deduce the answer of the question. Identify what exactly is being asked and then go through the process of elimination to figure out the correct answer. Now, this does not mean do not study at all. This means, rather than study 500 random facts about history, really focus in on understanding the way history interacts with different parts of the world. Think about how minorities have changed over the course of history, their roles in society, etc. You want to look at things at the big picture so that you can have a strong grasp of each time period tested.
3. Familiarize with AP-style questions: If this is the first AP test you’ve ever taken, or even if it isn’t, you need to get used to the way the College Board introduces and asks you questions. Find a review source to practice AP History-style questions. Albert.io (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. has hundreds of AP History practice questions and detailed explanations to work through.
4. Make note of pain points: As you practice, you’ll quickly realize what you know really well, and what you know not so well. Figure out what you do not know so well and re-read that chapter of your textbook. Then, create flashcards of the key concepts of that chapter along with key events from that time period.
5. Supplement practice with video lectures: A fast way to learn is to do practice problems, identify where you are struggling, learn that concept more intently, and then to practice again. Crash Course has created an incredibly insightful series of History videos you can watch on YouTube here (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Afterwards, go back and practice again. Practice makes perfect, especially when it comes to AP History.
6. Strike out wrong answer choices: The second you can eliminate an answer choice, strike out the letter of that answer choice and circle the word or phrase behind why that answer choice is incorrect. This way, when you review your answers at the very end, you can quickly check through all of your answers. One of the hardest things is managing time when you’re doing your second run-through to check your answers—this method alleviates that problem by reducing the amount of time it takes for you to remember why you thought a certain answer choice was wrong.
7. Answer every question: If you’re crunched on time and still have several multiple-choice questions to answer, the best thing to do is to make sure that you answer each and every one of them. There is no guessing penalty for doing so, so take full advantage of this!
I know that a lot of you all are big fans of Mr. Richey (or WILL be by the end of the year!), so I've included his guide to taking the Multiple Choice portion of the exam. You can download the (.pdf) file here: Euro MC Strategies-1.pdf
1. Identify key patterns: You know that saying, history repeats itself? There’s a reason why people say that, and that is because there are fundamental patterns in history that can be understood and identified. If you can learn the frequent patterns of history in relation to the time periods tested, you’ll be able to guess in a smart manner when you have absolutely no idea about something.
2. Use common sense: The beauty of AP History is when you understand the core concept being tested and the patterns in history; you can deduce the answer of the question. Identify what exactly is being asked and then go through the process of elimination to figure out the correct answer. Now, this does not mean do not study at all. This means, rather than study 500 random facts about history, really focus in on understanding the way history interacts with different parts of the world. Think about how minorities have changed over the course of history, their roles in society, etc. You want to look at things at the big picture so that you can have a strong grasp of each time period tested.
3. Familiarize with AP-style questions: If this is the first AP test you’ve ever taken, or even if it isn’t, you need to get used to the way the College Board introduces and asks you questions. Find a review source to practice AP History-style questions. Albert.io (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. has hundreds of AP History practice questions and detailed explanations to work through.
4. Make note of pain points: As you practice, you’ll quickly realize what you know really well, and what you know not so well. Figure out what you do not know so well and re-read that chapter of your textbook. Then, create flashcards of the key concepts of that chapter along with key events from that time period.
5. Supplement practice with video lectures: A fast way to learn is to do practice problems, identify where you are struggling, learn that concept more intently, and then to practice again. Crash Course has created an incredibly insightful series of History videos you can watch on YouTube here (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Afterwards, go back and practice again. Practice makes perfect, especially when it comes to AP History.
6. Strike out wrong answer choices: The second you can eliminate an answer choice, strike out the letter of that answer choice and circle the word or phrase behind why that answer choice is incorrect. This way, when you review your answers at the very end, you can quickly check through all of your answers. One of the hardest things is managing time when you’re doing your second run-through to check your answers—this method alleviates that problem by reducing the amount of time it takes for you to remember why you thought a certain answer choice was wrong.
7. Answer every question: If you’re crunched on time and still have several multiple-choice questions to answer, the best thing to do is to make sure that you answer each and every one of them. There is no guessing penalty for doing so, so take full advantage of this!
I know that a lot of you all are big fans of Mr. Richey (or WILL be by the end of the year!), so I've included his guide to taking the Multiple Choice portion of the exam. You can download the (.pdf) file here: Euro MC Strategies-1.pdf