Example Questions

These questions are from SCOP 3 and SCOP 6, and can be downloaded with the rest of SCOP’s previous sets both here and at quizbowlpackets.com.

For full style information for SCOP questions, please visit our Formatting Guide

Example Tossup
Hover over blue text or look below the tossup text to inspect elements of the example tossup.

One book of this type uses zuihitsu [[zoo-ee-hee-tsoo]]1 style to describe “Annoying Things” in the imperial court during the Heian [[hay-on]] period, and is known as [i]The Pillow Book[/i]2 of Sei Shonagon [[“say” shoh-nah-gohn]]. A work in this literary genre uses a unique code to discuss the |3 1666 Fire of London. Another book in this genre describes the author’s life in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. FTP4, name this nonfiction literary style used by Samuel Pepys [[peeps]] and Anne Frank.
Answer:5 |diary6| (7accept journal; accept Pillow Book8 before it is read; accept Makura no Shoshi or nikki9 before “Pillow Book” is read10; prompt11 on “nonfiction” before it is read)

Notes on this question:
1 Pronunciation guides go in doubled square brackets [[ ]]
2 Set off long titles in the question text with italics
3 Use a pipe | to place your powermark; this is not essential, and can be done by the editor instead
4 This (“FTP”) will be translated by the program into “For ten points” when the packets are generated; for lowercase, use “ftp”
5 This is here only for clarity on this page; do NOT write “Answer” in the Answer field when submitting questions
6 Use pipes | | to set off the required portions of an answerline
7 Use round parentheses ( ) to set off accept and prompt information in answerlines
8 Do not italicize titles in answerlines
9 Include any applicable original non-English titles in your complete answerlines
10 Use the phrase “is read” instead of “before mention” or “before mentioned”
11 Write your “accept” information first in the answerline, followed by the “prompt” information. If this answerline continued, the “do not accept” information would come next

Example Bonus
Hover over blue text or look below the bonus text to inspect elements of the example bonus.

This satirical novel begins with its title character being thrown out of Castle Thunder-ten-Tronck and ends with him declaring “let us cultivate our garden.” FTPE1,2

3Name this novel by Voltaire, in which the pure-hearted title character ends up living on a farm with Cun\’e4gonde [[koo-nay-GOND]]5, Martin, Cacambo, and his mentor.
Answer:6 |Candide7| [[kan-DEED]]; or, Optimism8 (9accept |Candide| ou l’optimisme10)

This mentor to Candide is a parody of Gottfried Leibniz’s [[LYEB-nits’s]] optimistic philosophy. This character repeatedly declares that “all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.”
Answer:6 Dr |Pangloss|

Voltaire wrote [i]Candide[/i]11 in this language. This is also the native language of Guy de Maupassant [[gee duh moh-pah-SAWN]], who legendarily ate his lunch under the Eiffel Tower to avoid having to look at it.
Answer:6 |French| (accept le |fran\c{c}12ais|)

1 This (“FTPE”) will be translated by the program into “For ten points each” when the packets are generated; for lowercase, use “ftpe”
2 Use a comma or ending punctuation at the end of a bonus leadin, rather than a colon or a dash
3 Do NOT include any notes like “Part 1” or “[10]” before your bonus part when submitting bonuses
4 This will produce a lowercase “e” with an acute accent (ascending from left to right) when the packets are generated; please see the “Accents” section of the Formatting Guide for more information on accents
5 Pronunciation guides go in doubled square brackets [[ ]]
6 This is here only for clarity on this page; do NOT write “Answer” in the Answer field when submitting questions
7 Use pipes | | to set off the required portions of an answerline
8 Do not italicize titles in answerlines
9 Use round parentheses ( ) to set off accept and prompt information in answerlines
10 Include any applicable original non-English titles in your complete answerlines
11 Set off long titles in the question text with italics
12 This will produce a lowercase “c” with a cedilla (curl underneath) when the packets are generated; please see the “Accents” section of the Formatting Guide for more information on accents