Let’s talk about tests a bit more. As I said in the first newsletter, some students have approached identification and essay questions like they did in high school. Students often provide a basic identification for a person or an event and fail to go into sufficient depth. Most college and university instructors expect thorough answers. Don't simply say who the person was; think about what he or she did and what effect or influence the king, writer, archeologist, or historian had. On the second test in His 121, you will be asked about either The Iliad or The Odyssey possibly both. Some students might write that The Iliad was a story written by Homer about the Trojan War. That's not a bad start, but a better answer would also note that the poem provides historians with information about Mycenean culture and religious beliefs. After all the poem told the story of how Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera asked Paris to judge who was the most beautiful. As his reward for picking Aphrodite, Paris was given Helen. Unfortunately, she was already married, and when Paris took her to Troy, the Greeks were infuriated and attacked the Trojans. This shows us something about the Greek gods and about the Greeks’ sense of honor. In addition, Heinrich Schlieman claimed that he used the poem to locate the ruins of the city of Troy.

Just as answers to identification questions are sometimes a bit too brief, answers to essay questions are occasionally skimpy. On your third test, one of the topics you'll need to be familiar with is slavery in the Roman Empire. An average discussion of the social, economic, and political aspects of slavery in Rome would mention that there were many slaves in Rome and they were employed as servants, farm laborers cooks, maids, and tutors. They were also used as gladiators in the Coliseum. That address part of the economic aspect, but it doesn't provide as much information as an essay which mentions that slaves were a sign of status for wealthy Romans and that the buying, selling, and training of slaves was a substantial business. Some estimates indicate that in some parts of the empire slaves were in the majority, and that should indicate a considerable economic impact. Of course, cheap slave labor benefited the owners of large farms, for example, but what was the effect on the job market in Roman cities? What was the effect on the Romans who watched thousands of gladiators being killed in the arena? How did slavery change Roman society and politics?

Most college and university instructors expect responses that demonstrate the depth of your knowledge. One of the advantages you have here at CFCC is that you can use your time to develop your study and test taking skills so that you will be adequately prepared for a four year program or for any tests you encounter on the job. Don't worry about the grade on any single test. If you don't do as well as you expected, try to figure out where you need to improve and how you can prepare for the next test.

That brings me to my website. When you have an opportunity, take a look at some of the links on the History Page. While you're in college, you will attend quite a few lectures. One of the links should help you get the most out of lectures. Others provide information on preparing for multiple choice and essay exams. One link will take you to a page on note taking. If you really want to learn how to improve your note taking skill, I highly recommend that you spend some time considering the Cornell Note Taking Method. Students who have used it have been happy with the results. I also included a link to advice on test stress. Taking tests is never going to be fun, but it can be less stressful. These links and study aids are designed to help you become better and more successful students in all your classes. The links to pages on Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome are intended to provide you with information to supplement the text. Some pages link to museums or art galleries; others are connected to pages that will tell you about life in Crete or in Italy during the Renaissance. There's no reason learning about history or science or archeology has to be limited to textbooks. We may not be able to travel to Egypt or Rome, but we have access to tons of information on the Internet.

The Cornell Note Taking System   at Cornell
Notetaking  --  Cornell Method    Muskingum College
Cornell Note-Taking System  at BYU

  History Page