A student asks, 'How did a new bus route affect shopping trips in one town?' Which connection explains a bigger subject idea without deciding the answer?

• It explores how transport changes can affect people's daily lives.
• It shows why the route made shopping easier.
• It explores how shoppers' changing habits determined where the new bus route would go.

You have one week for a short project explaining a change. Which question most needs a narrower scope?

• How did online homework change one class's routine last term?
• How has the internet changed life across the world?
• What year did one school's first website become available?

For a project asking you to explain or compare, one lookup fact is always enough to answer the main question.

Priya must explain employment changes during the Depression. Why is 'What was the U.S. unemployment rate in 1932?' too narrow as her main question?

• It gives a national rate without explaining its calculation.
• It names a year rather than identifying which records would be easiest to obtain.
• It asks for one year's figure rather than an explanation of change.

Marcus can access daily plastic-litter counts for June at one beach. Which focused question can he answer using those counts alone?

• How did plastic litter affect nesting birds on this beach during June?
• Why did beach visitors leave plastic litter behind during June?
• How did daily plastic-litter counts vary on this beach during June?

Jamal studies changes in enslaved people's daily work in one Southern region over a chosen period. Which plan pairs a smaller supporting question with evidence matching his scope?

• How did work hours change? Compare work records and enslaved people's accounts from his region and period.
• How did daily work change? Compare work records and enslaved people's accounts from his region and period.
• How did work hours change? Compare cotton totals from his region and period.

A student narrows a question to farming in one Kenyan region from 1920 to 1940, but cannot access relevant evidence. What should they do before keeping that question?

• Check other relevant sources, then revise the scope if the evidence remains inaccessible.
• Check other relevant sources, then retain the scope if the evidence remains inaccessible.
• Use records about a neighboring region while keeping the original region named in the question.

Elena studies how music changed between 1975 and 2025. Her only evidence is her favorite song from 2025. Which change addresses the missing comparison across periods?

• Add several other favorite songs from 2025 to describe her current preferences in greater detail.
• Gather music evidence from 1975 to compare with her evidence from 2025.
• Replace her favorite with the most popular song of 2025 to use evidence about a wider audience.