How to Answer Test Questions for Professor Popkin

I prepared these handouts for my History 540 course (France, 1600-1815), but these guidelines apply to all undergraduate courses.

How to answer my ID questions

These are examples of responses to the ID questions, showing the kinds of answers that got scores ranging from 6 1/2 pts (maximum possible) to 4 pts (equivalent to a D-). These are all examples of answers where the information given is correct; the difference in grade depends on how complete it is and how well students explained the significance of the item.

A 6 1/2 point ID: AMercantilism: An economic policy used by many European countries during the 17th-18th centuries, including France. Mercantilism involved creating monopolies as well as an emphasis on exporting while limiting importing, forcing people to buy most of your country=s goods. Mercantilism also involved the creation of colonies in order to exploit them and force them to buy your goods. Mercantilism had a bad effect on the French economy because monopolies limited competition and slowed economic growth, and mercantilism created a zero-sum economy which meant that England and the Netherlands get richer while France=s economy suffered.@ This is a little longer and more detailed than necessary, but demonstrates a thorough understanding of the subject and explains its significance.

A 6 point ID: AThe Memoirs of Duc de St-Simon were written by a noble in the court of Louis XIV. Whereas most nobility were fawning over Louis to gain his favor, St. Simon gave a sometimes unflattering portrait of Louis as being vain, power-mad, and rather dull in intelligence.@ Short and to the point. Lost 1/2 pt for not mentioning the important fact that the Memoires are a very important source of information for historians studying Louis XIV.

A 5 1/2 point ID: AFouquet was the financial surintendant during the regency of Louis XIV. After Louis XIV found out about his wealth, his palace, and his motto to aspire he threw him in prison.@ Fouquet is correctly identified and we are told more than the basic facts about him. But we don=t learn the really significant fact about this episode: it demonstrated that Louis XIV was serious about not tolerating a single dominant minister with ambitions of his own, the way Louis XIII had.

A 5 point ID: AFouquet was the finance minister early in Louis XIV=s reign. He was imprisoned for profiting financially from his position in the government.@ Like the previous answer, this one is not wrong, but it shows a less detailed knowledge of the subject than the 5 1/2 pt. answer. It is also missing the key point about Fouquet=s significance.

A 4 point ID: AJansenists were a French religious group within the Catholic Church of France.@ Thank you very much! You didn=t tell me anything about what distinguished them from other Catholics, (their belief in predestination and their very strict morality) and why they are historically important (the fact that the king tried to suppress them and instead drove them to become a highly motivated opposition group).

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How to Answer an Essay Question (With thanks to Prof. David Hamilton for letting me borrow from his handout)

Studying for and answering an essay question is difficult, but do-able. It requires good preparation, but not just memorization of course material. A good essay answer shows that you can organize material into a coherent argument or presentation, and that you can explain the significance of what you have learned. A good essay answer is not just a list of facts.

My essay questions are designed to push you to bring together material from different parts of the course, not just give it back to me in the same chunks in which it was presented. As you prepare for the test, you should be trying to think of connections between different topics we have looked at. For example, would peasants and enlightened nobles like Montesquieu have had the same complaints about Louis XIV=s monarchy? If not, what would they have differed about, and why?

Success on a test starts with good preparation. Start reviewing notes and key points in readings well in advance, not just the night before. Organize a study groupBdivide up the material and make each member responsible for explaining part of itBbut be sure you have reviewed all the material on your own as well. Take advantage of my study sheet and the upcoming review session (4 pm., Tues., Nov. 3, CB 102).

When you are handed the test, read the essay questions carefully. Be sure you understand what each question is asking for before choosing the one you feel most comfortable answering. Many students do poorly because they haven=t taken the time to do this.

Make an outline or >web= before you start to write. Take a couple of minutes to organize your thoughts before starting to write. Try to work out a logical plan for answering the question. Should you describe events in chronological order? Divide your answer into a pro-and-con discussion of some issue? What plan best fits the question and what you want to say about it?An essay answer should have an introduction and conclusion, just like an essay paper. These are usually brief, but they are important because they Aframe@ your answer and show whether you understand why the more detailed facts you cite are important. On the last test, many students writing on the rise of absolutism launched right into the details of the reign of Henri IV without explaining why those details mattered. A good introduction might have been: AIn the course of the 17^th century, French kings and their ministers gradually worked out policies to strengthen the royal government and reduce the power of other groups to resist it. Henri IV laid the basis for this, Richelieu and Louis XIII worked out a systematic plan, and Louis XIV succeeded in putting their ideas into effect.@ An effective conclusion might have said: ABy the end of Louis XIV=s reign, the Protestants had been crushed, the nobles brought under control, and the intendants made sure taxes were collected regularly. Absolute rule had been a dream at the beginning of the century; it was now a reality.@ FAQ: AHow can I write an introduction before I know what I=m going to say in body of my essay?@ Answer: Some clever students leave blank space at the beginning of their essay and write the introduction after they=ve seen how the essay is going to go. If you do this, however, it is doubly important to outline or sketch out your thoughts firstBotherwise, you won=t have a clue about how to start the main body of your answer. Also, be sure you leave time to fill in the introduction after you=ve finished the rest of your writing.

Back up your claims with significant facts. In the previous example, you could have expanded on the statement in the introduction, AHenri IV laid the basis for this,@ in a paragraph like this: AHenri IV=s main challenge was to end the disorder of the religious wars. The Edict of Nantes was a compromise that persuaded both Protestants and Catholics to accept his authority. His principal minister, Sully, put the disorganized tax-collection system back together and insured the government a regular flow of income, which was essential if the king was going to achieve anything else. The new paulette tax made royal office-holders more loyal to the government, in addition to increasing revenue.@ Together with similar paragraphs on Louis XIII-Richelieu and Louis XIV, this would have been the basis for a good essay answer.

If you answered the question about Cardinal Richelieu=s afterlife, you needed to show the reasons why each character would have taken the position s/he did. For example, it was not enough just to say that the peasant character would have condemned the Cardinal. A good answer would have explained that the Cardinal=s warlike policy resulted in the introduction of many new taxes on peasants, and that it meant more frequent encounters with marauding soldiers.

Some things to avoid: (1) errors and incorrect information. Essay questions call for more than Ajust the facts,@ but you do need to have the facts straight.

(2) Answers that don=t explain how what you have put down is related to the central question. Suppose, in the example above, a student, instead of writing, AThe new paulette tax made royal office-holders more loyal to the government, in addition to increasing revenue,@ had written, AIn 1604, Sully introduced a new tax, the paulette, which royal office-holders had to pay so they could pass their posts along to their heirs.@ This statement is just as accurate factually as the first one, and even mentions some details that the first writer left out. But it does not explain how the paulette tax made the royal government stronger.

(3) Not answering all parts of the question. Usually an essay question involves several subpoints. Be sure you address all of them. On the other hand, be sure you do so in some logical order. On the first midterm, many students looked at the list of terms I had provided that you were supposed to mention and simply defined them in the order I had listed them. This resulted in answers in which information was completely out of chronological order and presented without any overall plan.

(4) Vague generalizations. Compare ARichelieu made things a lot worse for the ordinary person@ and ARichelieu raised taxes on the peasants to unheard-of levels.@ Think how much more impressed your professor will be with the specificity of the second example.