1. Breaking through Stimulus-Based Questions
The MCQ DECODED
Breaking through Stimulus-Based Questions

2. First, the thought process:
Read /examine the stimulus
Make sure you understand what it says and or means as well as who said or created it and when – all of these things make a difference!
Stop for a moment and think to yourself, “What do I know about this?”

3. Next, the Question:
Read the question carefully, and consider what it’s asking you:
What does it want you to extrapolate from the stimulus?
What information CAN you get from the stimuls?
What connections does it want you to make?
What historical knowledge will you need to answer the question?
Ask yourself: “What do I know about this?”

4. Finally, the Answer Choices:
For each of the answer choices, consider the following:
Is the answer choice historically accurate?
Does the answer connect with the stimulus? Can I get this answer from the information in the stimulus?
How does each answer connect with the stimulus AND with what I already know about this?

5. Let’s try it!
Take a look at Stimulus #1 and follow the steps for reading and thinking about it…

6. Use Stimulus #1 To answer this question:
A. became involved in local political affairs
B. married and converted their wives to their religion
Since merchants often were delayed in foreign ports for lengthy periods of time, they frequently…
C. lost their connection to the culture of their homeland
D. settled in the foreign port and converted to the local faith

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8. Let’s try it again!
Take a look at Stimulus #2 and follow the steps for viewing and thinking about it…

9. Use Stimulus #2 To answer this question:
A. used irrigation less widely
B. had less religious diversity
One clear difference between the Ottoman and the Angkor Kingdom was that the Ottoman -
C. had a less powerful leader
D. used a more accurate calendar

10. Use Stimulus #2 To answer this question:
A. Both were empires consisting of a variety of ethnic groups united under a centralized government.
Use Stimulus #2 To answer this question:
B. Both practiced monotheistic religions but were surrounded by people who did not.
Which statement most accurately compares the Angkor and the Ottomans?
C. Both rejected human sacrifice, even though their culture descended from ones that had used it.
D. Both traded extensively with outside groups, but the Aztec trade was primarily by sea rather than over land.

11. One more time!
Take a look at Stimulus #3 and follow the steps for viewing and thinking about it…

12. Use Stimulus #3 To answer this question:
A. Medieval physicians based their attempts at cure on scientific knowledge and reason
B. The Black Death affected Northern Italy more than Southern Italy.
A historian would most likely use the image in Source 1 as support for which of the following assertions?
C. Spiritual healing sometimes referred to as the “shamanistic complex” was used in an unsuccessful attempt to cure Black Plague victims.
D. European society thought of the bubonic plague as a natural phenomenon that was out of God’s hands and couldn’t be stopped.

13. Use Stimulus #3 To answer this question:
A. a shortage of workers led to a need for the creation of labor savings devices
B. Europe immediately went into a medical revolution after 1350 where causes of plague were studied and treatments were effectively developed.
Based on your knowledge of world history, one long- term effect of the bubonic plague was -
C. the power of the Catholic church would increase at the expense of absolute rulers.
D. a weakened Europe would blend isolationist ideologies with a strong religious zeal which would last until the 18th century.

14. How do you feel about MCQs now?
Fist to five
How do you feel about MCQs now?