The Short Answer Question

 The SAQ section is the second section of the APUSH exam.  There are four questions. You must answer ALL four.  You may answer the four questions in any order you want but be careful of time.

 Each question will ask you to complete three tasks. (A), (B), and (C)  You can earn one point for each task.  At least two questions will give you a choice, so that you can demonstrate what you know.  Some questions will ask you to address a primary or secondary source of any kind—public record, personal document, visual, contemporary historian’s interpretation, etc.

 One question may be a historiography question, that is, a question in which you critique how a historian had used his or her sources and the interpretation he or she reaches.  Each SAQ is linked to a Thematic Learning Objective and a Historical Thinking Skill (ex. America in the World and Periodization).  The question will not state which objective and skill are being addressed. The purpose of the exam is to see if you have internalized the objectives and skills during the school year and see if you can apply them.

 Label each section of your answer A,B,C to show the reader that you are addressing each task given.  Answer each question in one paragraph of six to eight sentences.  Use the verb(s) from the prompt to connect your answer back to the prompt.  Use specific examples.  Keep yourself out of the answer. (Teddy Roosevelt was the greatest president of the 20 th Century. Instead of I believe that Teddy Roosevelt was the greatest president of the 20 th Century.)