#ap resources

[quathxr]

I’m taking AP German this year, and we have a new teacher. Any former students/german speakers that have any tips or resources?? I’ll take anything I can get

[studynwrite]

My Exam Score: 5

Let me preface all of this by saying that my perspective on this course is coming from someone who is very much a humanities person and who had already taken an AP History (World) before taking this course. That said, let’s begin.

So, unlike AP World, APUSH requires you to know a lot of very specific details about history; among the things that you might need to know, for example, are the year the cotton gin was invented, and by whom, (1791; Eli Whitney), what president and party passed the Alien & Sedition Acts (Adams; Federalist), what caused a split between suffragettes and abolitionists (the 15th Amendment), so on and so forth. This was definitely the part of this course that was the hardest for me. I already had experience with the historical thinking skills thanks to World and I feel I’m pretty good at thinking in the big picture of the themes of APUSH (again, similar to World, though APUSH has many more themes than World did), but learning all of the very specific details was difficult.

All of that said, my biggest tip for anyone in APUSH is, as my teacher would lovingly yell at us during class, know your content. If you don’t take the time to learn the facts of history (like those mentioned previously), you will struggle through connecting historical periods or historical themes, and that is truly the crux of APUSH (and AP history in general). 

Aside from just memorizing facts, though, the best thing you can do to prepare yourself for the exam is to practice reading and analyzing historical sources (for APUSH these won’t be any older than the 15th century, but a bulk of what you see will be post-revolution). Understanding historical documents is necessary for the multiple choice, the short answer questions, and the DBQ (especially the DBQ). The best way to practice would be to either find a quizlet or something with a list of documents and their meanings or through the official College Board scoring guidelines for the exams--every year there is a detailed breakdown of every document from the year’s DBQ, thought I don’t think this will hold true for the 2020 exams.

Further, I will always preach that reading the Chief Reader Reports from exams will do wonders for your score; in the report there is a breakdown of knowledge gaps for nearly every period featured on the exam. With this, I recommend reading the breakdown of each FRQ and the example FRQs given. All of this can be found on the AP Central website.

I would also recommend using Fiveable, a platform made for AP studying; Quizlet (just search for APUSH and a multitude of options for studying will come up); Khan Academy; and Albert.io, which is a paid program that I used for World (Not, APUSH) that is definitely worth it if you can afford it (or maybe ask your teacher/school about getting it for the school--that’s how I used it for World!).

Really, APUSH comes down to your memory, your ability to connect ideas together, and your ability to articulate both of those skills in writing. A good practice would be to take major events/people/ideas from the course and sort them into the various themes that are presented in APUSH, and maybe even try to connect them using historical thinking skills as well. 

That’s all I have to say! If you have any questions about APUSH/AP History/AP Classes & Exams in general feel free to ask me! 

(Though I will be making similar posts for English Language & Composition and Biology so)

Much love & Good Luck in APUSH!

Colby <3

Resources:

APUSH AP Central Page

APUSH Course & Exam Description

APUSH 2019 Scoring Guidelines

APUSH 2019 Chief Reader Report

Heimler’s History DBQ Guide

Jocz Productions (Really Good APUSH Review Videos!)

Fiveable

Albert

Quizlet

[caroline-studying-blog]

ap european history masterpost

Test and Exam Preparation

EasyEuro Exam Studying Guide

EasyEuro “How to Make Multiple Choice into Multiple Win”

Quizzes by Unit

Tips and Tricks

How to Pass the Exam

30 Question Practice Test

Essay Preparation 

Essay Writing Guide

EasyEuro Essay Writing Help

(costs $$)

The College Board’s Past FRQs, Sample Responses and Grading Rubrics

DBQ-FRQ Training Packet

EasyEuro How to Ace the DBQ 

EasyEuro How to Ace the FRQ

Content

Study Guide for the Renaissance

“Ism” Flashcards

Post War Europe

How To Survive AP European History Videos and Outlines

(frickin amazing)

EasyEuro The Oracle’s Archives

(this is so amazing,, has a ton of information)

Khan Academy World History

AP Study Notes Resources

huge amazing google spreadsheet

Midterm Study Guide

Exam Help Review Packets (lots of good vocab)

Literature Quizlet

AP Euro Mega Folder Quizlet

Exam Quizlet

Quizlet Dates

Yale’s European Civilization (1648-1945)

Links

Books

Peterson’s AP European History from 2006

The Western Heritage, AP Edition 

AP European History Crash Course from 2011

Barron’s AP European History from 2003

2008-09 5 Steps to a 5 AP European History

[lets-get-crackalackin]

AP Euro: What I wish I knew [Review Books]

Having taken the exam and been exposed to review books of all shapes and sizes, I am going to give some information I wish I had known before buying a review book.

Barron’s 8th Edition:

PROS: Great Practice tests, DBQs and SAQs. When I got this book, I didn’t use it for content but rather all their writing portion examples and chapter tests. I borrowed this book from the library to read and review the writing response samples and to read their commentary on them. CONS: Very information dense. There was excess information.

Princeton Review:

PROS: Hits all the necessary information and contains chapter tests and full length tests just like Barron's with multiple choice descriptions. I liked Barron's explanations better but they're equal. CONS: No writing samples. Or not as many/as good as Barron's. 

Crash Course:

PROS: Concise and quick to the point. The Crash course just gives the general points of the century so I would suggest getting it to remind you of what happened and to refresh your memory but not as a primary review book. Crash course had great exam tips dispersed throughout the book which I found helpful. ex: Don't mix up Bacon and Descartes. (my own tip: DD, Descartes , Deductive) CONS: You'll probably have to buy a second book to review. They have a code inside to be able to take their online practice exam. However, I can only be used once and I heard the practice exam was easy.

5 Steps to a 5:

PROS: 5 has a pretty cover and gives quick summaries with the bare minimum information. The information they have is very concise and clear. CONS: Too little information and far too brief. It fails to match up with Barron's and the Princeton Review and can't compete with Crash Course as an outline.

Overall, I would recommend Princeton. I got 5 Steps before the school year started and before I knew what I wanted, etc. I got Princeton about 3 weeks before the exams rolled around to actually review and revise (not to mention, to cover the 1900s that my class ran out of time for). I used Crash Course as a reminder and Barrons to beef up my writing.

[iampazzis-blog]

what's better than trippin is fallin in love

[asimplehoe]

hey, if anyone has any last minute APUSH  help they can point me towards (specifically for the LEQ or DBQ), i would super appreciate it and love you forever

[total-metamorphosis]

HEY! STUDENTS LOOKING AT THE AP EXAMS RIGHT NOW!

Crash Course LITERATURE.

Crash Course CHEMISTRY.

Crash Course PSYCHOLOGY.

Crash Course BIOLOGY.

Crash Course ANATOMY/PHYSIOLOGY.

Crash Course WORLD HISTORY. AND WORLD HISTORY II.

Crash Course US HISTORY.

Crash Course BIG HISTORY.

Crash Course US POLITICS/GOV.

Crash Course ECONOMICS.

Crash Course PHYSICS.

AND HERE ARE SOME BLOOPERS FOR YOU TO RELAX TO.

YOU’RE WELCOME.

[toofemmetofunction]

HEY AP CHEM STUDENTS, IF YOU NEED TO CRAM FOR THE EXAM TOMORROW (OR LEARN EVERYTHING FOR THE FIRST TIME- SHIT GETS WEIRD I GOT YOU)  HERE’S  AN INCREDIBLE VIDEO SERIES THAT COVERS LITERALLY EVERYTHING. IT’S SPLIT INTO 71 PARTS SO YOU CAN FIND EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED, AND IF YOU WANTED TO WATCH EVERY SINGLE ONE IT WOULD ONLY TAKE 8 HOURS. HIS EXPLANATIONS ARE FAST, DETAILED, AND GLORIOUSLY SIMPLE. MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR TOMORROW.