First of all, I think this is an interesting course, and I hope that all of you will not only learn a great deal but learn to like history. Of course, what you take from any course depends on your attitude and the effort you put into the course.

The Syllabus: You will want to read the syllabus carefully, so that you fully understand what you will be studying this semester and what the course requires. The course description, objectives, requirements, and grading scale are all determined by the department, and they are the same for all students.

Classroom Expectations: Any time you take a class with an instructor for the first time it's natural to wonder just what the instructor expects and what kind of tests you will see. I’ll try and give you a pretty clear idea of what to expect. As the syllabus states under Classroom Expectations, I count on you being ready to discuss the material you have read in the text. That means of course that you need to read the material before coming to class. If you don't, quite a few of the names and terms you will hear will be unfamiliar, and it will be easy to get lost. If you have read the text, then at least you will have seen the names we will be discussing, and you can highlight them in your notes or in the text. In addition, class will be much more interesting for everyone if all of you participate. I have plenty of material for lectures,
but discussions are more interesting. OK, this sounds like I'm repeating myself, but it's true. If you ask a question because the book isn't clear enough, I’ll be happy to stop and try to explain if I can. Remember, you don't want to have a bunch of questions unanswered before you take a test. I know some of you don't want to raise your hands because you don't want anyone thinking you are asking a silly question — no one wants to be embarrassed. But I’ll bet that most of the time if you need to have a point clarified or explained there are probably at least three or four others sitting in class just as confused as you are. Don't worry about what others in class think; some textbooks do a poor job of explaining.

Tests: Now what about tests. You've all seen multiple choice tests, so you shouldn't be surprised by them. Expect thirty or thirty two multiple choice questions, three or four short identification questions, and an essay.   How to Study for History Exams

Sample questions are available on the Net along with the study guides .  These guides can really be helpful, and you can use them whenever you have some free time.

A word of caution: don't try to cram at the last minute. Research shows that cramming isn't an effective way to study. I know some of you believe that you work well under pressure, but most likely you have simply gotten into the habit of cramming and haven't really tried other methods of studying. If you really want to improve your study habits, check out the info on my website.
Try Note-taking at University  and  Preparing for Tests and Exams .

Identification questions seem to present a bit of a challenge to some students. Unfortunately, some answers are rather skimpy. Try to be detailed; explain who the person was, what he or she did, and what the effect was. We'll go into more detail in class later. Take a few minutes to look at  Answering ID Questions .

Essays will need to be at least a page and a half; I really don't think you will be able to sufficiently cover the topic in less than that. Again, check my website for info on taking essay exams.
 Writing in-class Essays     Sample Essay Questions

This would be a good point to go into my website since I've mentioned it twice.
http://cfcc.edu/dutch/

Spend some time looking around because you will need to visit the site fairly regularly. Instead of using a second textbook, I've hooked my website up to lots of information at other sites to help you broaden your knowledge of the material we'll be covering. I hope you will find some of it interesting and informative because some of the material on the tests will be related to these websites. As the semester progresses, I will be adding assignments to my website related to the identification and essay questions.

  History Page