How to not be awful at the
Short Answer Section
Don’t be Shaq.
• Be Ray Allen!
• This is not the Basketball Game. This is not the big
Show.
• This is a Free throw. (Pass/Fail)
• So don’t be Shaq.
Don’t be Faulkner
• Be Hemingway!
• You are not writing long, eloquent prose.
• Do NOT write an intense well-developed thesis.
• Points will not be deducted if you do. But you lose a lot of time developing
this.
• Do NOT write quotes or excerpts from the passage.
• Exception: (if you bring up an interesting portion of an image that may show
some form of symbolism of PoV, this is a good idea)
• HOWEVER – DO write in full sentences. CB Writers take off for bullets
or fragments.
BIGGEST
mistakes…
• Juxtaposed to your jovial philosophy of the
world, few souls on this revolving planet called
earth are mesmerized into bonus points due to
hyperbolic proliferation of frivolous verbiage,
• “Extra words don’t get extra points”
Frivolousositosirosity
• (adj) not having any serious purpose or value…
times 100.
• Fill your writing with examples, with causes and
effects, and as many interpretations of the
question as you can.
• DO NOT fill it with 4 sentences about your
philosophy of change
• DO fill it with useful examples
Let’s look at an example
•Explain ONE development between
1492-1607 that affects the lives of
Native Americans…
•ATQ
Which gets points?
• 1.) The native americans didn’t know this, but coming to them soon was a big change.
This change came in the form of Europeans. These Europeans brought goods from all
over the world which wowed the natives on so many levels. The Natives were very
impressed by the Europeans and even thought of them as Gods sometimes. The
Europeans loved this and thought of themselves as superior to the Native Americans.
• 2.) The horse is an example of change during 1491-1607. Because of the addition of the
Horse the natives could travel farther, hunt more effectively, and trade with other
nations more easily.
• 3.) Change is a big deal. If we were to ever get invaded by aliens, which is going to
happen eventually, (which I’m super psyched about – I love aliens) we will need to be
ready for change. Horses were an example of change for the Native Americans. Aliens
brought the horse to the world, but eventually Europeans got it. The Europeans brought
the horse over to the Amerindians, who’s societies shifted as they were able to travel
farther, trade easier, and hunt much more effectively. I love aliens.
Assume reader knows broad.
• Don’t hit broad over-arching concepts
• Native American and Europeans meet… yea. We know.
• Hit the details – fill in why the broad idea is there
• During interactions they exchanged ideas, crops, and livestock, such as
Christianity, tobacco, and oxen… The effects of this is …
3-levels EXPAND then EXTEND
• It’s asking for a development, or an event, or an idea.
• 1.) list the idea (A)
• 2.) the immediate effect of that thing
• 3.) the extensive broad effect (1.2.3.)
• APPLY ALL OF THESE BACK TO THE QUESTION. ATQ.
NOW – Try it in your group
- Ex: Explain one development in this period that changed Native
American culture and society…
- Level 1: the horse (great, an example, now expand)
- Level 2: the horse made it easier to travel farther and faster (great, this might
get you the point, depends on how strict they’re grading)
- Level 3: since they could travel farther and faster the Natives were able to
(1.)trade more effectively, (2.)hunt easier, and (3.)fight with each other more
effectively. These led to competition between warring tribes on the plains
and the Southwest between who had horses and who did not.
NOW – Try it in your group
• Describe ONE development between 1607 and 1754 that led to the
changes in maps that we viewed last class.
• Level one –
• Level two –
• Level three -