I am currently taking AP European History, and my teacher gives us tests using the AP multiple choice format (excerpts followed by a few questions regarding the reading). I used to think history was my strongest subject, but I’ve been struggling to succeed on these tests, as the answer choices tend to trip me up on little technicalities. I’m not extremely worried about the AP exam, because my raw scores on these in-class tests would equate to a 4 or 5 with the College Board’s curve. However, my teacher does not put a curve on his tests, which is unfortunate for me. I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on how to extract the most from an excerpt (most of the time these are primary or secondary sources, maps, etc.) and be able to choose the option that best answers the question.
Some of what you need to learn is how your teacher's mind works. This has nothing to do with history or how historians think. It has to do with how your teacher thinks. I used to coach students who were taking two teachers in particular because I 'cracked the code' and understood exactly what they would ask in a test - or at least the sort of questions they would ask and what they were seeking.
Your teacher is trying to trick you into selecting the wrong answer because he wants you to consider subtle possibilities hidden in the choices. That's a good method on at least one level: your exams are apparently not merely about memorizing facts (which is not what historians do!). Your teacher wants you to evaluate each choice and consider it from different angles. Since there is rarely only one answer to a typical historical question, your teacher is asking you to consider which one fits best. Since he can't be leaving this to a subjective interpretation (which is what the historical process often resorts to), I suspect your teacher has packed each wrong answer with an element that disqualifies it on some objective level.
Perhaps what you should be doing is evaluating which answers must be wrong so they can be eliminated. That might be better than deciding which ones could be right - because it sounds like that approach can lead to the wrong choice: more than one answer could be right ... except for that one thing that pegs each answer but one as certainly wrong for a specific reason.
That's just a guess. An example from a previous test might help evaluate the approach your teacher is taking.