NPE - Short Answer & Multiple Choice Questions Lesson
Short Answer & Multiple Choice Questions
Short Answer Questions
On the AP Exam you will be required to answer 3 short answer questions in 40 minutes. During the course you will practice writing these short answer questions in some of the modules and every other test will include 1 short answer question.
These short answer questions are not formal 5 paragraph essays. This is demonstrated by the fact that when tested you only have about 10 minutes to write your answer to each question. You do not have to have a formal thesis statement for these essays. However, this does not mean that you do not apply standard grammatical rules to writing the short answers. Use a paragraph structure and you will likely have 1 or 2 full paragraphs (Go for a half page and no more than a page of double spaced 12 point font.) in writing these out. Always write in complete sentences and use proper punctuation, including capitalization. Do not write in first person (Example, "I think that...").
When writing your short answers address what you are being asked directly. These are to be short and to the point so don't get on an unrelated tangent or try to write too much about one topic. What you should have is a concise, factually accurate answer that shows higher-level historical thought and analysis. You could also be given a quote or document that your answer will analyze. Think about how you will answer the question, but don't spend too much time planning as you have limited time on the tests.
The Questions
You will see 4 options listed on the AP exam. You are to only answer 3 questions. You MUST answer questions 1 and 2, you will then get a CHOICE between questions 3 and 4.
Question 1
- Will be over the time periods 3-8
- Will be based on secondary sources
- Will typically ask you to respond to a Historian's argument
Question 2
- Will be over the time periods 3-8
- Will assess the skill of comparison or causation
- Will be based on a primary source (either text or a visual source such as art, maps, charts or graphs)
Question 3
- Will be over the time periods 1-5
- Will assess the skill of comparison or causation, BUT will be whichever skill is NOT assessed in question 2
- Will not have a stimulus
Question 4
- Will be over the time periods 6-9
- Will assess the skill of comparison or causation, BUT will be whichever skill is NOT assessed in question 2
- Will not have a stimulus
AP Multiple Choice Questions
The AP Exam will contain 55 multiple choice questions with a 55 minute time limit. These questions will test not only your knowledge of specific historical facts, but also how they are applied to the events that shaped history. The multiple choice questions require you to apply higher-level thinking skills as opposed to only memorization. The questions on the AP Exam will also contain quotes and other documents that apply to questions following the document. However, these questions will not give you all the information that you need to answer the questions in the documents provided. You will need to use the information that you have learned to answer the multiple choice questions. Each multiple choice question has 4 choices, of which you will choose the best answer.
In this course, each unit test will contain a section of 25 multiple choice questions that must be answered in 20 minutes. The test questions will be based not only on the AP frameworks, but on the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) as well to help prepare you for the state administered Georgia Milestones Test. You may also have some "review" questions on tests meaning that some test questions may draw from material learned in previous modules. The specific items required by the AP frameworks and the GPS are defined in the key terms provided in the course at the beginning of each module.
RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.