Practice a College Board-style short-answer question on Period 1: Contact & Colonization. Write your response, then reveal the model answer to see exactly what earns each point.
"They are very well built people, of handsome bodies and very good faces… They do not bear arms, and do not know them… They should be good servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want."
— Christopher Columbus, journal, 1492
A
Briefly describe ONE European perception of Native Americans reflected in the passage.
✓ Model answer (earns the point)
Columbus perceived Native Americans as subservient and easily conquerable — he explicitly states "they should be good servants" and that "with fifty men we could subjugate them all," viewing their lack of weapons as a vulnerability to exploit.
Why it scores: Identifies a specific perception drawn directly from the passage (natives as servile/conquerable) rather than a vague observation. "He thought they were different" would be too vague to earn the point.
B
Explain ONE cultural or social effect of European perceptions of Native Americans on Native peoples during 1491–1607.
✓ Model answer (earns the point)
European views of Native inferiority justified forced conversion to Christianity, which destroyed Indigenous religious practices and belief systems. Because Europeans saw Native spirituality as "having no religion," missionaries and colonial authorities suppressed traditional ceremonies and imposed Catholicism, erasing cultural and religious traditions across the Spanish colonies.
Why it scores: Gives a specific effect (forced conversion / destruction of Indigenous religion) AND explains the causal link — how the perception of inferiority directly led to the cultural effect.
C
Explain ONE economic effect of early Spanish colonization on Native societies in the period 1491–1607.
✓ Model answer (earns the point)
The encomienda system forced Native labor in mines and plantations, destroying Indigenous subsistence economies. By compelling Native peoples to extract silver and grow cash crops for Spanish profit rather than farming for their own communities, the system collapsed traditional agricultural systems and redirected the entire economy toward enriching Spanish colonizers.
Why it scores: Names a specific economic effect (encomienda forced labor destroying subsistence economies) with clear causal reasoning explaining how colonization reshaped Native economic life.
How to score points on SAQs
Be specific. "Europeans were harsh" doesn't score. "The encomienda system forced Native labor in silver mines" does.
Name names and places. Graders look for concrete proper nouns — empires, rulers, religions, regions.
Stay in the time period. Unit 1 is 1491–1607. Don't use Genghis Khan's grandchildren conquering Baghdad in 1258 if the prompt asks about Unit 2.
Answer the actual question. If it asks "identify," give an example. If it asks "explain," give an example PLUS a sentence connecting it to the prompt.
Keep it tight. 1–3 sentences per part is plenty. Long answers don't score higher; they just waste exam time.