AP History: MCQ Success (Pt. 1B) — "Source Material" Edition
Before you read on, please make sure you’ve taken a look at the first post in this series before you read today’s installment. These are meant to be cumulative and read in order, so they will definitely serve you best that way! Once you’ve done that, jump right in—and don’t forget to subscribe, if you haven’t already.
Thanks to apcentral.collegeboard.org for the examples used in the above graphic!
MCQ Strategy 1B: Pay attention to detail (but don’t go overboard) when analyzing the source itself.
On all of the AP History exams (AP Euro, APUSH, AP World), you will see a range of sources used as “stimuli” for the MCQs. In the above graphic, you can see two of the most common types: on the left, we have a written primary source document; on the right, we have a data-based secondary source document in table form.
What other types of sources show up on the exam?
You will find anything from maps to artwork to cartoons to newspaper articles to journal entries and more. A good 70-80% of these sources will be “primary” sources, while the other 20-30% will be secondary sources.
Wait—did I miss something? What on earth is a “primary” or a “secondary” source? Is this something students need to know?
First of all, don’t worry—a lot of teachers don’t know the difference themselves, or they have a hard time explaining it, so they don’t bother teaching it. Second of all, the reality is that students won’t be in any danger of missing any points directly as a result of not knowing the difference between a primary and a secondary source.
However, the distinction is still fairly crucial from a historical-analytical standpoint, and it’s worth taking the time to understand it.
Primary Sources
In the simplest of terms (and using a silly, somewhat confounding metaphor), a primary source is one that comes “straight from the horse’s mouth.” It is an account of an event or process by a more-or-less contemporaneous observer or commentator. As UC Irvine defines it, “[primary] sources serve as the raw materials historians use to interpret / analyze the past.“ By way of example, the source in the image below is a perfect representation of a primary source:
Secondary Sources
Perhaps the best explanation for both types of sources is the comparison between the two. A secondary source, in contrast to a primary source, is a document of some sort that has utilized primary sources in order to come to some later, independent conclusion about a historical event or process. The classic example is a history textbook. For the purposes of an AP History MCQ section, it’ll likely show up in the form of excerpts from a historian’s monograph or dissertation, or in the form of maps or tabular data (as in the graphic at the top of this article).
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Now that we have definitions out of the way, how can students use this information in terms of paying attention to detail?
After taking my excellent advice and reading the byline first, the student will be able to determine whether the source they are about to analyze is a primary source or a secondary source document—but so what? How does that help?
There are a few ways this information prepares students for how to approach the document. First, primary source documents are more likely to be the subject of questions that require evidential analysis and serious attention to detail in the source itself.
Secondary source documents are more likely to focus on students’ ability to work with compare & contrast and change & continuity over time tasks. They are also more likely to call on a student’s outside historical content knowledge, though students can still rely fairly heavily on the sources and still do well without the highest level of content knowledge.
You will recall that 70-80% of the MCQ source materials will be primary sources, which means that reading for detail will be highly important—but which details?
You may be surprised to hear it, but the answer goes back to yesterday’s topic—use the byline to guide you! You will often be able to guess at the main gist of what the exam writers are getting at by including this source just by looking at the byline.
After looking at the byline, a quick (and I mean quick) scan of the question stems (the stems are the questions themselves, not including the answer choices) should give you the guidance you need in terms of what you need to look out for while reading or looking at the source.
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A few comments on specific types of sources…
This is a timed exam. For all sources, you will want to make the best possible use of your time. Efficiency is the name of the game. As you can tell from the tips above, a full, thorough reading of every source is not only impractical, but inadvisable.
For written sources, the above description is a solid recommendation for 99% of the documents you’ll come across. Go with it.
For visual sources (like maps, artwork, and even tabular data), always focus on what jumps out at you first. Lead with your gut when going into the questions.
Next Up: MCQ Strategy 1C: Pay Attention to Detail—Question Stem Edition.
In our next installment, we’ll be getting into the nitty-gritty of the questions themselves—starting with the “stem"—that is, the question alone without the answer choices. The AP History exam writers, as you’ll find, are quite a tricky bunch, and that never becomes more clear than in the question stems. You’ll definitely want to check this one out—it’s a game changer.
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Thanks for reading Mindful Mentoring: Tutoring Insights with Desiree D! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.