#ap masterpost

~ how to get a 5 in ap world history ~

Hi everyone! Now that everyone’s going back to school, I figured this would be a good time to make this post. I took ap world history over the past two years. I took the exam in May and got a 5. I wanted to share some of my tips for how to succeed in your class and get a good score on the exam. 

Please note that though some of these tips are broad and should be followed by everyone really (like doing your notes) others can be more based on personal preference. You don’t have to follow all of these tips to the letter to get a good score, I’m just sharing what worked for me. Ultimately, you should make all your decisions with your own personal weaknesses and strengths in mind. 

Do your readings and notes: This class covers thousands of years of history and your teacher can only cover so much in class. If you want to get a good score on the exam, you have to do your readings and notes in order to know a lot of what will be on the exam.

Pay attention to your teacher: Chances are your teacher has taught this course in the past and even if they haven’t they have been certified for this course and know more about it than you do. Often they’ll tell you when they think something is definitely going to be on the exam or if they think something is likely to be on the exam or not. Even if they, when they emphasize something or talk about it for a long time it is likely to be on the exam.

Ask a lot of questions: I know it’s a cliche, but there are no dumb questions and it’s better to be safe than sorry. Even if you’re just a little unsure about something, ask about it, whether you ask a friend or a teacher or another resource. You don’t want to get to exam and realize there’s something on there that you’re not sure of. 

Focus on concepts, not details: I find that this applies to most history classes. Learn concepts first and details later. During my quizzes and tests and the exam, I found that I could answer a lot of questions even if I didn’t know the details about what was being asked by finding the answer that best fit a concept or pattern or ruling out answers that contradicted a concept or pattern. You should learn details and examples, but learn them second and focus on understanding the concepts first.  

Keep all the materials you’re given: Your teacher hands out papers and packets for a reason. Keep them and review them along with your notes when you’re preparing for the exam. These papers can help you just as much, if not more, than a review book. 

Make your own flashcards: I recommend making your own flashcards as you go along or while going through a review course (see #8). You know your own strengths and weaknesses and by making your own flashcards, you can tailor them to include more of the information you know least. These are better than flashcards you can buy, in my experience. 

Learn how to write the SAQs and essays: Writing counts for more than half of your exam score. You cannot get a qualifying score if you do not do the writing sections well. Often the way you write your responses is just as, if not more, important then the content you include, especially for the DBQ. Learn the rubric, what you need to include, and the way to structure your response. Your essay one of four types: learn how to write all of them. You don’t want to get to the exam and find that the essay is one you don’t know how to write. 

Learn how to interpret primary documents: The exam is very stimulus-based now so most of your questions will be based on primary  documents. Learn how to be able to read them and understand them - not being able to interpret a document means you’ll probably get all the questions based on that document wrong.  

Pay attention to pictures: Like I said, the exam is very stimulus-based now. There will be at least a few question sets based on pictures and in all likelihood, at least one SAQ will be based on a picture. Learning how to analyze a picture can be the difference between getting a point and not getting a point. 

Start studying early and have a schedule: You have a lot of material to cover when reviewing for the exam so going over everything in one night won’t cut it. I would recommend starting at least one month in advance of the exam. Sitting down before you start studying and setting a schedule is also very helpful. It can be stressful to sift through all the material and try to figure out if you already studied something or not. Setting a schedule greatly reduces this stress and helps you focus on the material. 

Don’t ignore certain periods: Even though there won’t be as much material on periods 1,2, and 6 doesn’t mean you can ignore them. You don’t have to go crazy, but there will still be questions on them and so you have to know about them. In addition, there could be more questions about a period than you anticipate so be prepared. In my opinion, there were a lot more questions about period 6 (including an essay) than I was expecting on my exam, so if I hadn’t studied that period there’s a good chance I would have gotten a lower score.

YOU

YES YOU,

quick, I’m trying to help you.

Are you in high school? (I’ll be adding college stuff soon)

Are you in an AP class?

(Or have you considered self-studying? bc u can do that u kno, i didnt util the end of my junior yr)

I TOOK EVERY SINGLE AP MASTERPOST I COULD GODDAMN FIND AND MADE A WEBSITE

also there are online courses and prep books

every piece of useful information I could find on 16 different APs I’m taking/considering. (Sorry AP World and APUSH I already took those, If you need those let me know in my inbox and I can make it happen)

even if this isn’t useful to you it might be to some of your followers so a reblog would be appreciated!

Introduction

Calculus is the mathematical study of change. (Which means a lot of  Δ really.) Being in my senior year I take this class and while I normally excel at mathematics, it was my lowest grade. I got a B. Cue screaming. However, I can and WILL rise my grade. I’ve been working and practicing like never before and I have actually come to love the class.

These are the things I have learned + Resources

1. Practice everyday

I can’t stress this enough. Maths are all about practicing. Sure if you use a textbook there will be answer sheets online but you will NEVER learn that way (unless you’re a freaking genius). Do your hw yourself. NO CHEATING. With that said I will clarify what is not cheating.

Searching for the principles.

Check your final answers with answer sheets.

Asking a tutor, teacher, friend, neighbor, parent, stranger in the street...to explain the exercise.

Searching for examples that look like the exercise you are struggling with.

Check your final answers with answer sheets. Srsly this way you will practice, learn and know for sure that you have learnt.

Hey it’s your girl Kat and I’m here with a post on prepping for AP exams! Having taken my fair share of AP tests (you can see them on my about page if you want help in a certain subject or are just curious), I’ve learned a couple things that have really helped me to be prepared and ready to knock out that test. 

TEST TIPS 

Come up with a study plan. I usually start reviewing for the test mid-March or early April so I’ll have ample time to go over everything. If you can afford to get a prep book like Barrons or Princeton Review, use the chapter outlines in the table of contents to figure out how to break down your review session. An easy way to break down your schedule looks like this: set aside a couple days/a week for final review and take the total number of remaining days you have until the test. Divide this by the number of chapters to review and the quotient should be the number of days allotted to each section. If you can’t or don’t want to buy a review book, I’ll have the link to the course outline for every AP subject below. 

Practice practice practice. You know that saying “practice makes perfect”? It’s true. Collegeboard usually uses certain types of questions for the AP tests and the format generally doesn’t change much from year to year, so taking a multitude of practice test will help familiarize you with the test. I’ll usually schedule in a full practice test every two weeks as I’m reviewing, and then take 3 or 4 consecutive ones during my final review week right before the test. 

Figure out your weak spots. If you’re consistently getting the same kind of questions wrong or have that one concept that you don’t understand, ask someone for help. It can be a teacher, a parent, a friend, KhanAcademy, or Google. Make sure you target your weak spots before the test because I guarantee you they’re going to show up. 

Do not cram. The night before the test, you should be completely relaxed. If you can help it, don’t even look at your book or your notes. Take the day to fully unwind. Take a bath or do some yoga. That way, you’ll be fully relaxed for tomorrow and ready to operate at your maximum potential. 

For free response, write down everything. My AP Government teacher, who’s graded tests for a couple of years, says that as long as you answer the question somewhere in your answer, you can earn credit for it, even if you have a lot of miscellaneous information (has to be correct though). So when it comes to free response, more is always better. A little trick he also taught us is to correspond your answers to the subsection of the questions, like a, b, c, etc so it’s organized, but then to cross out the letters when you finish writing the response (only for subsections). This is because if you accidentally include the answer to part a in part b, they cannot give you credit, but if you cross out the designations, the whole answer you wrote becomes fair game. 

GENERAL TIPS 

Get a good night’s sleep. Trust me. 

Eat breakfast and bring snacks/water. The tests often go for more than 2 or 3 hours at a time and you will get hungry. You’ll be allowed to eat a snack during break time, so make sure you bring some food and water with you.

TURN YOUR CELL PHONE OFF WHILE TESTING. You will not be allowed to bring your cell phone with you. You will also not be allowed to use your phone during break. CollegeBoard is very strict about this. One time at my school, a girl used her phone during break to text her mom during the AP Biology test and she almost made everyone have to retake the test. Don’t be that person. PLEASE TURN YOUR PHONE OFF AND LEAVE IT OUTSIDE. 

Dress in layers. You never know what kind of temperature it’ll be like in the testing room and a temperamental thermostat should not come between you and your hard work for this exam. Just avoid bringing hoodies because sometimes the proctors are very strict with them as the guidelines do not allow hoodies. 

Be prepared. Check ahead to see what kind of calculators, if at all, are allowed for your specific exam. Take note that for the AP Biology test, only 5 function calculators are allowed. That means no scientific or graphing calculators. Pack up all your stuff the night before and set it aside so you don’t have to worry about it the next morning. 

Breathe. It’s only a test. You’ll be fine. 

RESOURCES 

AP Exam Basics 

Exam Fees and Waivers 

Registering for Exams - Unlike SATs/ACTs, registration does not happen on the CollegeBoard website. Instead, it’s through your school’s portal. Ask you guidance counselor if you’re not sure how to register. 

AP Exam Calendar - which tests are happening during which day and what time 

What You’ll Need

Course Outline for Every AP Subject - click on your subject and use control+f or command+f “PDF” to find the outline quickly 

Practice AP Questions for Every Subject

Resources for Every Subject 

O T H E R 

AP Cram Packets - @if-dementors-were-pink​

AP Masterpost - @studaeing

AP Advice - @pittsfieldpp

AP Prep Folder - @tosinisupgrading

AP Study Guides - @back-to-school-series

Good luck to everyone taking AP exams this year! You can do it! 

Hello! I’ve seen many masterposts floating around, a lot of them for AP in general. This one is going to reflect the changes to the curriculum and exam this year. A lot of credit in this goes to my awesome teacher:)

the only hard-copy book my teacher has been able to find that matches the new class: the AMSCO Review book

it has summaries of the periods, sample MS questions, and a sample exam. it’s so good that on days I got super busy, I read this and not the textbook

APUSH Concept Outline produced by the College Board. good for showing what they emphasize from each unit. tip from my teacher: any time this says “teachers have flexibility to use examples such as the following”, those examples are highly testable

****Gilder Lehrman Site***

my man Gilder is about to be your new best friend.

this site has videos that cover each period, cover the essay formats/rubrics, cover the historical thinking skills, etc. also, each period has its own page with a super informative timeline and documents.highly reccommended!!

Vocab to Know this is courtesy of my teacher. she gave us these as vocab quizzes. all of these terms are directly from the outline and are very testable.

APUSH Video Study Guide:

Part I(Periods 1-5)

Part II(Periods 6-9)

this guy made a video study guide for the entire class. Not quite as interesting as Crash Course, but exactly aligned with the new class p.s. the guy also made a billion other videos that align with the new curriculum so definitely check out the rest of his youtube channel Essay Writing

(see Gilder site above, plus)

How to Write the Short Answer

How to Write the Long Essay Question(LEQ)

How to Write the New DBQ

Your teachers put the countdown on the board. Suddenly, you're bombarded with essays, FRQs, DBQs, and multiple choice questions. Drowning underneath practice tests and scoring guidelines, you search for the correct answers. It seems there will be no surviving.

Welcome to AP test season.

It sounds awful and is the dread of every student that participates. However, it's never too late to try to grasp that last minute concept or practice something your teacher hasn't clarified for you. In addition to giving out money for a review book (which you should consider), try these links and resources.

This website provides notes for some AP classes, including European History, US History, and Psychology.

This website isn't specifically designed for the AP tests, but it does provide note and examples for most subjects taught in school.

This website has downloads of practice tests for some of the AP subjects.

This app (for Apple devices) has flashcards for every AP subject. And not like one set -several sets for each subject. It also has the option to create your own card sets.

Search for AP review videos on YouTube -you should get several hits and one of them is bound to help.

Ask your teacher if they have study materials that could help you. More often than not, they already own review books and will share them with you or make copies of pages you need.

The CollegeBoard has several resources from old exams. Even just glancing at them can give you an idea of what may be on your test.

Perhaps most importantly, don't let the test-taking get you down. Focus on the material; the test will cover all of it and you can only strive to know as much as you can as thoroughly as you can.