1. Before creating your quiz it's sensible to familiarize yourself with the History category and, in particular, to play several quizzes in the sub-category relevant to the area of your intended quiz. Why? So you can copy from other quizzes So you can make your quiz as hard as possible So you know what's popular So you can be original and avoid asking questions that have already been asked

2. You want to ask 'Who was the organizer of the Reformation?' and the answer you want is Calvin. What do you need to do before including this question? Check out Calvin's organizational skills Just put the question in the quiz without further ado Undertake a comparison of Calvin's organizational skills with those of Luther and Zwingli Make sure that this particular description of Calvin is widely known

3. According to the CIA's "World Factbook" (2003 ed.) France gained independence in AD 486. You are puzzled by this, as you've been under the impression that France (like England) emerged gradually as a nation-state in the later Middle Ages and you wonder whether any date of independence can be given. How do you set about checking out the accuracy of the statement in the "CIA Handbook"? Try to discover whether anything that might be described as France existed in AD 486 Find out what commemorative coins and stamps were issued by France in 1986 Any or all of these Find out what events of note occurred in Western Europe in AD 486

4. You want to ask 'Who was the first King of England?' and the answer you want is Egbert. You are vaguely aware that there's some disagreement about whether or not this honor should be accorded to him. Which of these formulations of the question should attract least controversy and fewest correction notices? Who was the first King of England with a centralized administrative apparatus extending over the whole country? Who was the first king of England? Who, by long established tradition, is generally regarded as the first King of England? Who was the last King of Wessex?

5. You want to ask 'When was feudalism abolished in England?' Which of the following describes the problem with this question most accurately? There's no single date that covers the phenomenon There is much controversy about the date England remained a feudal society until the early 21st century The question is too hard

6. You read that in 1554 Olympia Fulvia Morata was appointed to the Chair in Greek at the University of Heidelberg, thus becoming the first woman ever appointed to a professorship. Why should you treat this claim with great caution? Any or all of these reasons Women were not even admitted to universities as students until the last third of the 19th century At the time (1554) universities were strictly all-male institutions No academic award of any kind was made to a woman till much later

7. You claim that the shortest war between 1815 and 1914 lasted for 17 minutes and 20 seconds, that no-one was killed or seriously wounded and that the only injuries were a few cuts and bruises. Why do you need a note giving details? For all of these reasons People may well wonder whether in this context the word "war" is meant figuratively It's a requirement for all new quizzes in Funtrivia The claim is astonishing and without details people will be no wiser about the statement after taking the quiz than they were before

8. For technical quiz-making reasons, which of these questions is the least suitable for 'fill-in-the-blank'? Which European country ruled most of India from about 1760 until the country gained independence in 1947? In what year did Japan invade Manchuria? Who was the US President during WWI? (Usual given name and last name only) When was the doctrine of Papal infallibility formalized as Roman Catholic doctrine rather than a popular belief? (Year only)

9. You give the dates (years) of WWII as 1941-45. Does this accord with well established international conventions outside the former Soviet Union? Yes No

10. So what do you need to do before you create your History quiz? Play plenty of History quizzes All of these Make sure your questions are clear and allow for an unambiguous answer in each case Do enough research to make sure you have some background knowledge of all the questions