ap us history exam

ap us history exam

Strategies for Success on the AP US History Exam

1. Introduction to the AP US History Exam

The AP United States History course reflects colleges’ focus on developing students’ critical thinking skills and understanding the enduring concepts central to US history. While it should include the political, social, and economic history concepts, it is a skills-based course built on the understanding of history content. The course focuses on the development and testing of these skills and includes the scientific method as part of the scientific investigation. Students will also develop evidence that tests the historical thinking structure, the ability to interpret and organize the evidence along with primary and secondary sources. These skills are based on the understanding of US history content and the nature of psychology research problems; therefore, students will experience both general and specialized topics in the course material. Furthermore, the exam is not just an assessment of historical knowledge but will be the development and deployment of these historical skills. Students who successfully complete the courses and exams receive credit, enriched and status in this discipline. Furthermore, this serves as a forecast for the success of similar disciplines in college. Success in the course means achieving this skill.

The AP US History Exam is an assessment given to students in the United States who seek credit or advanced placement in college and university, such as a passing score for course credit. The exam consists of a 70-minute multiple-choice section, a 101-minute free-response section, and a 10-minute Constitutional section. The test evaluates the high school student’s mastery of the course in a college setting and is graded by college professors and experienced AP teachers. The focus of the exam is on the students’ understanding of the themes, concepts, events, issues, causes, and effects, and broader trends in US History through budget political cartoons, document-based questions, and essay questions. High school students who are successful in this exam can earn a number of college credits that can assist them in enrolling in advanced college courses as freshmen. They show that they can excel in a college-level course and the exam is a preview of college-level expectations.

2. Key Content Areas and Themes

– Visual symbols used to promote nationalistic pride. – Portraits of Native Americans in the National Gallery of Art. – Portraits of Founding Fathers. – Role-playing historic events. – Guest speakers.

Learning Activities:

– American Indian cultures influenced European ideas. – United States origins are rooted in conflict over interpretations. – Colonial movements emphasized the creation of new political communities. – The United States was created by diverse groups and influences. – Government structure adapted to a new culture.

Key Content:

Early America

AP U.S. History students have developed a list of key content areas that they believe are important for success in the course and on the exam. The list is organized around the major themes found in the U.S. History curriculum and includes suggestions for a variety of learning activities.

3. Effective Study Techniques

Focus on the biggest issues. Sectionalism, expansionism, New Deal, and civil rights stuff are fruitful areas of investigation. Seek out the testimony of important actors in history. Seek the significant fragments in a wealth of descriptive data. Keep on connecting things (hypothetico-deductive reasoning). Seek the double play – deriving information by evoking the senses and the intellect. This has been the key to successful interpretation of history in the past and should be the key to doing well on the examination in the present. Form your own questions but take into account specified topics that will be important on the exam. Use your study or review time right. Use a study guide to direct your attention to the most important issues. Avoid venturing into extensive and extraneous topics. A temporary courage should see you through until the evening of the examination. The objective of assuming such a relatively public posture is to push your boundaries and effect a change in behavior or intellectual stance so that you can effect a permanent change. Hold regular study groups. After sporadic references to college board questions, homework will include a sequence of college board. Be honest with yourself: answer the questions before evaluating the questions independently, and compare your responses with the college board responses. Once again, January and February are vital months. May seems to be turbulent. Spend time on each long essay question. Formulate and proofread your responses with thought. Make sure Gibbon, Luther, and Locke – the patron saints of the examination – help create lucidity and simplicity when you work on your two tough degrees. On specific topics, consider focusing on those items targeted by the assignment. On demanded issues, determine which of the entities will be helpful to a successful response. Don’t use an extensive complex structure. Concentrate on your central academic node. Form your argument, don’t list. Avoid burdening yourself with an excessive quantity of documents. Mold your study methods to allow for more efficient use in college and beyond. Success in our interconnected world will be heavily dependent on the virtues of connections – analysis, evaluation, and consideration of others. Be inquisitive but ask others to provide points of view beyond your college preparation. Don’t wait until a single O.K. moment to change your lifestyle and enjoy others’ diverse examples.

If you cannot participate in a formalized AP US History course, try setting up a study group with others who are also taking the exam. Use recent U.S. History textbooks. Prepare a course of study making sure to outline the crux of the topic. Much of the real learning in history comes from extra readings. Make use of historical and internet data files. Learn to separate primary documents from those with secondary commentary.

Good analytical skills, clear and concise communication, and a thorough knowledge of history are documented keys to success in AP US History. The exam is both informative and selective. However, the key to success in the exam is your ability to be analytical. The critical skills are reading document texts, interpreting the meaning of primary and secondary sources, and writing clear, concise, lively essays. Build an extensive vocabulary, as this will help later when you study historical topics. Try to acquire a basic understanding of the broader themes in American history. Young people tend to think in terms of good/bad. Abandon this tendency and learn to see history as a complex interplay of forces.

4. Practice Exam Tips and Resources

A completely different type of multiple-choice question is constructed as reading-comprehension-recall questions. The longer the passage for analysis, the less essential careful rereading becomes. The carefully prepared student should complete the two practice tests, then review the questions missed. Then he should review the relevant sections in his syllabus.

Both high school and college teachers usually build multiple-choice questions that test knowledge in one of two ways: by giving students a passage or a part of a speech and then asking for the purpose or meaning or speaker or author or by asking a question followed by a series of four possible answers. In the questions that ask the student to supply the answer, known as completion questions, the possible answers are taken from a list of specific topics.

After you have organized your data and reviewed the knowledge tested on the exam, practice taking exams. The best preparation for the multiple-choice section is practice. Practicing true/false tests is especially helpful, as it familiarizes the student with the type of negative phrasing used in multiple-choice questions. When you practice, use questions based on factual information; questions based on broad principles will be difficult to recall.

5. Final Preparation and Test Day Strategies

Learning. Once. Now. You should have completed the study plan and practiced test-taking accordingly in previous weeks. As the exam nears, you should watch a review video, get a good night’s sleep, and get prepared with some breakfast in the morning. You should know the type of support materials (tools) that are allowed and expected and also how to use this system. For days, you need to be surrounded by familiarity or friends or be alone. Come last-minute test morning, you should contemplate it. Have confidence in the foundation you have laid in the previous months. Lastly, be well aware of the directions and know what you are being asked to write. Lastly, be sure to pace yourself. Get the entire test overview, and if there is a concept, you are not responding as quickly, you should move on and come back later. The test may bring stress, but if you stay calm and focused, you should succeed. At the end of the day, the test is about what you know, not your greatest fear. So, be ready in every respect, and have a plan. You’ve got this!