Stimulus-Based Multiple Choice Questions

Stimulus-Based Multiple Choice “Stimulus” Primary or secondary source – either one, or a pair of related excerpts/maps/cartoons. Two to six questions will follow a stimulus. “Stem” The question itself. Answering it should require prior knowledge of U.S. history and close examination of the stimulus. Each question will be tied to a single historical thinking skill. “Key” – the correct answer to the question. “Plausible Distractors” – true statements (most of the time) that are wrong answers to the question.

Nine Historical Skills Historical Causation Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time Periodization Comparison Contextualization Historical Argumentation Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence Interpretation Synthesis

Stimulus-Based Multiple Choice Scoring Each question has four possible answers. You receive 1 point for a correct answer. You receive 0 points for a wrong answer. (On older tests, College Board gave you -1/4 points.) So you should answer every question – even if you only guess. Expected value of a guess if you’ve eliminated 0 wrong answers 0.25 points 1 wrong answer 0.33 points 2 wrong answers 0.5 points 3 wrong answers 1 point

How to take a S.B.M.C. test Step 1: Orient Yourself Start by reading the citation for the stimulus. Try to place the author, the context, the time period to get a sense of what the questions are going to be about.

How to take a S.B.M.C. test Step 1: Orient Yourself Step 2: Examine and Annotate the Stimulus Take the time to examine it fully. Circle elements you think might be important. Jot down themes. Hash out the meaning of difficult phrases. A common mistake on these exams is to rush ahead to the answers and miss the cues, clues and subtleties in the stimulus. Often specific words in the stimulus key to the correct answers in the multiple-choice questions.

How to take a S.B.M.C. test Step 1: Orient Yourself Step 2: Examine and Annotate the Stimulus Step 3: Identify Related Historical Thinking Skill Each question on the AP U.S. History test is tied to one of the nine historical thinking skills. Knowing which one will help get your mind thinking the right way to answer the question.

How to take a S.B.M.C. test Step 1: Orient Yourself Step 2: Examine and Annotate the Stimulus Step 3: Identify Related Historical Thinking Skill Step 4: What is the Question Asking? Rushing through the question itself is the most common mistake of all. Many students waste time trying to answer the wrong question because they’ve misread the stem … or neglected to notice a ‘not’.

How to take a S.B.M.C. test Step 1: Orient Yourself Step 2: Examine and Annotate the Stimulus Step 3: Identify Related Historical Thinking Skill Step 4: What is the Question Asking? Step 5: Eliminate Wrong Answers Don’t look for the right answer. Instead, eliminate as many answers as you can that you know to be wrong, then choose the best answer from the remainder. Even if you have a tough choice between possible right answers … even if you just guess … the expected value of your score goes up if you’ve eliminated wrong answers first.

How to take a S.B.M.C. test Step 1: Orient Yourself Step 2: Examine and Annotate the Stimulus Step 3: Identify Related Historical Thinking Skill Step 4: What is the Question Asking? Step 5: Eliminate Wrong Answers Step 6: Don’t Change Answers unless you’ve made an obvious mistake (like missing a key word in the stem). The answers are usually straightforward. You can overthink them if you try too hard. Trust your first instincts.

How to take a S.B.M.C. test Step 1: Orient Yourself Step 2: Examine and Annotate the Stimulus Step 3: Identify Related Historical Thinking Skill Step 4: What is the Question Asking? Step 5: Eliminate Wrong Answers Step 6: Don’t Change Answers

How to take a S.B.M.C. test A nnotate C ontext, what is the… T heme and historical thinking skill E liminate wrong answers D on’t change answers

Some common S.B.M.C. stems What resulted from what was described in (the stimulus)? The sentiments/arguments/controversy/process in (the stimulus) contributed to/led to … What issue (in a different time period) best parallels the argument/issue/controversy (in the stimulus)? What event is a continuation of / departure from what was described in (the stimulus)? The ideas expressed in the stimulus above most clearly show the influence of … What/who would best support the argument / perspective (in the stimulus)?