The most popular term this time around was “monsoon” — almost everyone picked it. “Pepper’ and “Aztec” tied for second place, followed closely by “humanism”, “joint-stock company” and “imperialism.” The least popular term was “Siberia” — almost 90% of you avoided it — with “Mughal”, “Vasco da Gama” and “Mali” also in the single-digits.

Just a reminder: memorizing the glossary definition won’t get you much beyond C-range, if that. Memorizing the paragraph in which the term first appears only works sometimes, but usually there’s a lot of context if you read futher back and forward from there. Also, you really don’t want to ignore what I say in class: Part of my job is to provide further context and significance….. Conversely, what I say in class is intended to supplement the textbook, not replace it.

The high score in the class was 29.5 out of a possible 32. So here’s how the grades come out:

grade	minimum score	distribution
A+	29.5
A	27.5	A-level: 18%
A-	26.6
B+	24.2
B	21.6	B-level: 52%
B-	19.2	median score: B
C+	16.8
C	14.2	C-level: 20%
C-	11.8
D+	9.4
D	6.8	D-level: 10%
D-	4.4
F	0

Here are some sample answers which scored 4 out of 4. I’m not endorsing copying their form or style, nor are they necessarily perfect, but they get the job done: cover the ground and get to the point.

• Monsoon — def: Gusts of intense winds and intense storms that are seasonal in some areas of the world
  context – The main regions that monsoons take place is in Southern Asia. Mostly Indonesia, India and Southern China. Many of the region’s crop cycles were based on when monsoons would come, called the “rainy season.”
  important: Many of the world’s trade routes at this time were based on the monsoon season. If you were lucky you could get in one round-trip a year.
• Imperialism — Is where a large country, i.e. England, France, could either conquer or hav a hegemonic trade with another country. And this was important because the ruling country was in charge of the terms of the arrangement and they could dictate whom the country could trade with and for what rate, making it very profitable for the Nation In charge, and this really has been prevalent in history forever but more prominent in the 14-16th centuries.
• The Aztecs created a large empire in central America. The high point in their expansion came in the late 15th c. During this time the empire covered about 100,000 square miles. The empire was somewhat short-lived, though. Part of the failure was due to the Sapnish explorers or conquistadores’ arrival, another part my be blamed on too quick of an expansion.
• Humanism — Key to the Renaissance. Humanism was the new ideas that education and literacy were very important. Also they started to sway from the old idea that life after death was more important than life now. Humanism’s basic idea is that how we live our lives now and how we effect the world now is more important than the afterlife. This was in late 15th century Europe, specifically Italy area. These new ideas brought about a lot of change in the world because people started thinking more deeply and thinking about why questions. This had a huge impact on the world because the new interest in globe and the world brought about a lot of cultural trading throughout different nations.
• Joint-stock companies are where many people buy shares into a company or business. The two earliest Joint Stock Companies were the Dutch East Indies Company and the British East Indies Company. Joint stock companies allowed many people to pool their funds and resources to undergo big business ventures. These companies allowed for big risk takings and if a loss happened the individuals didn’t lose massive amounts. Joint stock companies are also very effective ways of organizing an economy.
• Pepper is a spice that is grown in southeast Asia and India. During the late 1400s and into the 1500s pepper was a valuable commodity. Europeans used pepper to flavor and preserve their food. People who were able to reach India and Southeast Asia and obtain pepper were able to makea large profit. These profits led to exploration of viable trade routes around Africa and the discovery of land in the Western Hemisphere.