Iām not claiming to be an expert in APUSH (Especially since scores havenāt come out yet). But I feel pretty comfortable with the subject and feel capable of helping you nerds taking it next year.Ā
1. The Curriculum: Ok so this is how itās gonna be set up. You have 9 different periods. Each of these periods are broken up into different historical time periodsā¦which is why itās called periods.
**Pre period 1: Native American livingĀ
Period 9:Ā 1980āpresent
Now the exam is going to be focused on historical thinking skills which include:
Continuity & change over time
Periodization (Grouping your info & fitting it into periods)
Comparison & contextualization
Contextualization (Connecting history into a broader perspective)
Crafting historical arguments from historical evidence
Historical argumentation (You get a question, now you must be able to properly construct an argument to answer it basically)
Using relevant historical info [RHI] (These are your proper nouns & using specific terms NOT USED IN THE QUESTION OR PASSAGE ex. Thomas Jefferson, Bolshevik Revolution, Potsdam Conference, etc.)
When you write short answers, long essays, & DBQs, you need to be able to categorize the info you write into something called BAG PIPE
Belief systems: Ideas, beliefs, culture
America in the world (Global scale)
Geography & enviro, physical & human geo
Identity: Race, class, gender, etc.Ā
Peopling: Migration & immigration, settlement, movement
Economy: Work, exchange, technology
2. The Exam: TheĀ is going to be broken up into 4 different sections
55 Multiple ChoiceĀ (40% of exam & 55 mins)
A majority of these are stimulus based, meaning you will be given a short passage, graph, political cartoon, etc. used to answer the question. Usually youāll have from 2-5 questions to go along with each stimulus.
4 Short Answer (20% of exam & 45 mins)
Again, you will be given a stimulus for all 4 of the questions. The 4 questions are actually broken down into that shitty system where itās 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, etc.Ā
You have 23 lines to write on for each question.
1 Document Based Question [DBQ] (25% of exam & 60 mins)
You will be given 6-7 documents (Political cartoon, graph, letter, etc.)Ā
You will be given a question and using the documents along with relative historical info (RHI), you must answer the question.Ā
You will be given 15 mins to read over the documents & outline your essay.Ā
The max points you can be given on a DBQ is 7. View the rubric here on page 121.
1 Long Essay (15% of the exam & 35 mins)
You will be given no stimulus.Ā
You have the option of answering 1 of the 2 questions given.Ā
You donāt get bonus points for doing both so DONāT DO IT.Ā
Part of the 15 mins used for reading the docs in the DBQ can be used to outline your long essay as well.
3. Tackling the Exam: #1 rule. Use your time wisely and answer everything.Ā
You have 1 min to answer each MCQ. Youāre not actually going to use up the full 1 min to answer every question though, thank God.Ā
Ok, so you might not know the answer right off the bat. Use process of elimination. Thereās usually 1 āok this looks hella wrongā answer, 1 āok this looks OKā answer, and 2Ā āthis looks like it could be itā answers. Once you narrow it down to 2 answers, reread the question. 1 of those answers is more right than the other and fits the question better.
If youāre crunched for time, skip the question. Go ahead & mark something down for it, but put a star next to it so you can go back and make changes later if you have time left.
Ok so hereās something super useful: Remember like 3 major events & their dates from each period. Itās preferred if you can remember a hell of a whole lot more than that though. If you can do that, you can begin to insert smaller events into the time frame and associate it with shit likeĀ āOh hey!!! That was in the Second Great Awakening!ā Itāll help, trust me.Ā
You might ask yourselfĀ āwtf is this question trying to ask?ā Ignore the fancy words & focus on the raw question.
Donāt over think the questions.Ā
Donāt over analyze the stimulus.Ā
Try to write small if you think youāre going to need all 23 lines.
The short answer is pretty straightforward actually. Make sure you address the question and donāt try to skip your way around it and BS it w/ fancy words. Remember, this is content theyāre grading, not your English skills.Ā
Use your RHI when applicable.
REMEMBER: Just answer the fucking question. No BS.Ā
Even if you donāt know what to write, WRITE SOMETHING (Especially in cases where you need RHI). Pull something from your arse and try to make it relevant to the question, but historical accuracy is still important.
OUTLINE YOUR ESSAY. This is coming from someone who NEVER outlines anything. Utilize those 15 mins. This is how I recommend you do it:
Thesis: ANSWER THE FUCKING PROMPT. Try to include 3 topics to write about concerning the prompt. Develop an argument. Donāt be vague.Ā
For example, what you shouldnāt do as a thesis:Ā āThe Articles of Confederation was ineffective in supporting America as a new nation due to its lack of structure for solving social, economical, and political problems.ā or some shit like that.
Instead:Ā āThe Articles of Confederation was ineffective in solving many of the problems America faced due to its lack of structure. For example, it failed to create a system of checks and balances and failed to establish a government necessary to carry out the basic governmental processes. Lastly, it ultimately failed to create unity within the nation.āĀ
HIPPO: AKA what you need to address for every doc. When you use the docs to support your argument, make sure it addresses one of the following.
H- Historical context: Whatās going on during the time period? What just happened? Whatās going to happen? How is the doc representative of the time period?
I- Intended audience: Who is the person/audience the author is trying to address? Is there a specific person or audience? Why are they specifically being addressed?Ā
P- Purpose: What is the author trying to do? Are they trying to persuade, oppose, question, encourage, warn, clarify, demand, inspire, apologize, compromise, etc.?Ā
P- Point of view: Who wrote the doc? What do they believe in? What are their values or viewpoints?Ā
O- Organization: Make sure your DBQ is well organized. Do it based on topic and not in chronology.
Relevant historical info (RHI): Basically, this is your outside info and your proper nouns. Donāt throw in RHI just to throw it in. It has to support your argument in some fashion.
Contextualization: This is placing the event in a broader timespan. So for example, isolation, industrialization, economic & cultural growth, migration & immigration from rural to urban or vice versa, modernization, etc.Ā
Synthesis: Connect the event to another time period in history. Find comparisons or changes. Use BAG PIPE to help with synthesis so that your synthesis addresses them.Ā
Choose 1 of the questions & stick to answering it. I repeat: CHOOSE 1 & STICK TO IT.
Itās basically the same thing as a DBQ minus the documents. Youāre going to do the same process more or less.Ā
4. Resources: ** = recommended
**Multiple resource folderĀ
**historyteacherĀ (Download link)
wikinotes (I personally used the 13th edition)
apstudentĀ (Chronological ordered flashcards)
scribd (Super review packet)
**whfreeman (Full length exam 1)//Answer key
**whfreeman.com (Full length exam 2)//Answer key
If you have any questions, feel free to hmu.
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