~ 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.
Use a video review course: Video review courses are a great way to help you understand the material and an excellent way to review. Most of them are free as well, which is fantastic! I recommend watching through a video review course while studying for your exam. There are plenty of options to chose from. Crash Course has two world history series, but I find that they tend to focus on one example for a concept or topic (especially the first one). Get a 5 is definitely longer and doesn’t go as in-depth into examples, but they focus on concepts and mention many examples. In my opinion, Crash Course is better for when you need help understanding the material and Get a 5 is better for reviewing content, but they might work differently for you or you might find another video review course that works better for you so don’t make all your decisions based on this interpretation. Try them both out and see what works better for you.
