History questions on the Bing quiz follow a few predictable shapes, and recognising them makes the dates far less scary. Here's a breakdown of the common history question patterns and how to nail each one.

Common shapes

Identify-the-event, name-the-ruler-or-figure, place-the-ancient-site, and pin-the-date. Anniversary prompts are frequent, tied to the day's image or a notable date in history.

Dates are the whole game

When the options are close years, your memory will betray you. This is the one place where slowing down to search the event and confirm the exact year is almost always worth it.

Mind the qualifier and verify

Words like "first," "oldest" and "originally" decide the answer, so read the full question. Then confirm against a museum page, a UNESCO listing or an encyclopedia entry for anything you're unsure of.