Difference between revisions of "Mixed impure academic"

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'''Mixed impure academic''' is a type of quizbowl question that uses both [[academic]] and [[trash|pop culture]] clues within the same question. They are part of the [[NAQT]] question [[distribution]] under the ''Miscellaneous'' category, which also includes mixed pure academic questions. Mixed impure academic tossups may sometimes be [[common link]] questions.
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"'''Mixed impure academic'''" is a name for a type of quizbowl question that contains both [[academic]] and [[trash|pop culture]] clues.
  
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For example, a mixed impure academic question about Pittsburgh might include Literature clues from August Wilson plays, historical clues about the French and Indian War, and sports clues about both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  
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For example, a "mixed impure academic" question about Pittsburgh might include [[literature]] clues from [[wikipedia:Pittsburgh Cycle|August Wilson's plays]], [[history|historical]] clues about the French and Indian War, and [[sports]] clues about the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Pittsburgh Steelers.  
  
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[[mACF]] tournaments generally do not include mixed impure academic questions as a separate category and their use is uncommon outside of NAQT events. Proponents of mixed impure academic questions see such questions as helping improve the conversion rates for questions for teams that might not know more difficult academic or pop culture clues alone while opponents tend to find such questions confusing and prefer questions that have either entirely academic or entirely pop culture-derived clues.  
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Some "mixed impure academic" tossups may be [[common link]] tossups.
  
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[https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=252568#p252568 A HSQB thread with a brief discussion of mixed impure academic questions]
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==Etymology==
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The name comes from [[NAQT]]'s official question [[distribution]]s, which includes categories for both "mixed impure academic" and "[[mixed pure academic]]" questions under a "Miscellaneous" category (which accounts for roughly 6% of all NAQT questions).<ref>https://www.naqt.com/college/distribution.jsp</ref><ref>https://www.naqt.com/hs/distribution.jsp</ref>
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The name can be understood as being formed by the terms "mixed" (meaning a question whose clues come from several [[categories]])
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and "impure academic" (meaning "not purely academic" in NAQT's specific usage<ref>
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This concept is unlikely to be referred to by most everyone else using any term that adds a modifier to "academic,"
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since the premise of [[good quizbowl]] presupposes that questions are purely [[academic]] (except for those few that are explicitly on [[pop culture]]).</ref>).
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==Incidence==
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"Mixed impure academic" questions are rare outside of NAQT events.
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Almost no [[mACF]] tournaments include "mixed impure academic" questions, either as a separate category or not.
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==Assessment==
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Proponents of "mixed impure academic" questions may see them as helping improve [[conversion]] rates,
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especially for some questions for which teams might not know the answer from more difficult academic or pop culture clues alone.
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Opponents tend to find such questions confusing and prefer questions whose clues are entirely academic or entirely pop culture.<ref>https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=252568#p252568</ref><ref>https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=214101#p214101</ref>
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==Notes==
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<references />
  
 
[[Category:Subjects]]
 
[[Category:Subjects]]

Revision as of 02:37, 12 May 2021

"Mixed impure academic" is a name for a type of quizbowl question that contains both academic and pop culture clues.

For example, a "mixed impure academic" question about Pittsburgh might include literature clues from August Wilson's plays, historical clues about the French and Indian War, and sports clues about the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Some "mixed impure academic" tossups may be common link tossups.

Etymology

The name comes from NAQT's official question distributions, which includes categories for both "mixed impure academic" and "mixed pure academic" questions under a "Miscellaneous" category (which accounts for roughly 6% of all NAQT questions).[1][2]

The name can be understood as being formed by the terms "mixed" (meaning a question whose clues come from several categories) and "impure academic" (meaning "not purely academic" in NAQT's specific usage[3]).

Incidence

"Mixed impure academic" questions are rare outside of NAQT events. Almost no mACF tournaments include "mixed impure academic" questions, either as a separate category or not.

Assessment

Proponents of "mixed impure academic" questions may see them as helping improve conversion rates, especially for some questions for which teams might not know the answer from more difficult academic or pop culture clues alone. Opponents tend to find such questions confusing and prefer questions whose clues are entirely academic or entirely pop culture.[4][5]

Notes

  1. ↑ https://www.naqt.com/college/distribution.jsp
  2. ↑ https://www.naqt.com/hs/distribution.jsp
  3. ↑ This concept is unlikely to be referred to by most everyone else using any term that adds a modifier to "academic," since the premise of good quizbowl presupposes that questions are purely academic (except for those few that are explicitly on pop culture).
  4. ↑ https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=252568#p252568
  5. ↑ https://hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=214101#p214101
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