anybody good with studying for ap/ ap like exams?

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by ceneret0023, Jan 11, 2009.

  1. ceneret0023

    ceneret0023 Level III

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    ive got semester exams coming up this week and i've gotta study for world history ap and ive gotta study some 400 words that could all possibly be on the exam 0.o and of course since the questions are supposed to get us ready for the ap exam there confusing and i can never study the right way for them so i was wondering if there's like any tricks for ap stuff specifically since ap questions can't be like normal questions and actually make since xD
     
    #1 ceneret0023, Jan 11, 2009
  2. krilas

    krilas Level II

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    My country doesn't have AP exams but I suppose there are major exams that are equivalent to what you are referring to. Basically what I do for History is to read up on more texts (ask your teacher to recommend some books or guides) and make key notes then revise those for your topics. It is always useful to have a discussion with a group of friends (who are genuinely interested in studying of course...) and from there find out:

    1) Reasons for an issue (how did it happen, why, etc)
    2) Elaboration (you have to read text for this basically)
    3) Evidence (don't really need to memorise the dates, just quote major events like if your topic was on Ireland, maybe you could quote Bloody Sunday)
    4) Link (it is important to link properly; alot of time people fare very well for the above 3, but because they don't link or link very poorly, they fail to get the grades they deserve)

    Hope that helps. :)

    EDIT:

    I just remembered this, if your country's AP exams are standardized throughout the level, maybe you could look at past year questions to refer to for practise. Usually they are available in the stores and comes with model answers so those are quite useful.
     
    #2 krilas, Jan 11, 2009
  3. ceneret0023

    ceneret0023 Level III

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    ok that sounds like good advice i'll try it out :) i've been doing the discussion stuff with a group of friends and thats been helping so i'll try the rest of the stuff you suggested :)
     
    #3 ceneret0023, Jan 11, 2009
  4. Genocide11

    Genocide11 Level III

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    I haven't taken AP World History, but I have received 5's on the tests for European history and US history. Here are some tips.

    1) Read more books. No single textbook can cover everything that the test will ask, so it's to your advantage to read more.
    2) Do not summarize on the essays. It is very difficult to score above a 3 by only summarizing. The test focuses more on the impact or the change a significant event causes. Like krilas suggested, create links with the historical evidence.
    3) The test will rarely question you on dates, but I find it helpful to know a general timeline of significant events. Then you can put events into context, even if you don't know what the event is about.
    4) As a general tip, start studying early. It is impossible to cram a few thousand years of history within a week. Keep up with the school work and you should be fine. I would recommend reviewing 1-2 months before the test date.
    5) Don't panic on the test. There are usually VERY GENEROUS curves on AP tests.
     
    #4 Genocide11, Jan 11, 2009