Official AP US History Thread 2013

AimHigh2 · 07-06-2012, 09:12 AM

Getting ready for next year. Since everyone will be getting their scores, I'd like to know what worked and didn't work for you guys.

Sejine · 07-06-2012, 09:38 AM

I will repeat this until the end of time, if I have to:

If your teacher doesn't go over a certain era in class, do it on your own. A lot of teachers stop around WWII, but the CB doesn't care. They test on basically every era of American history at points.

kamnn1 · 07-06-2012, 05:50 PM

Near the end of your class, maybe March-April before the AP test, one of the best things you can do (imo) is find the list of all of the FRQs and brainstorm on them. Our teacher would hand out these slips, then we would write down information that pertains to the prompt. It's very helpful, since if you get handed one on immigration in the 1920s and draw a blank, you know what you need to work on.

Unless your writing/organizational skills are lacking and need work too, I wouldn't bother with actually writing essays on the prompts. Just writing down the information should suffice.

greyhoundgirl213 · 07-06-2012, 07:56 PM

Study changes over time.. this helps IMMENSELY. Don't worry about knowing specific dates for EVERYTHING, but you will need to know some years of court dates, legislation, etc.; they will serve as useful SFI! Knowing decades should suffice. Our teacher gave us these study worksheets that split everything into chunks and ordered them chronologically. For example, we had one that focused solely on Native Americans (their migration patterns, activist movements, legislation, etc) and another that dealt with the labor movements throughout history. THOSE REALLY HELPED. There are things that are on the test pretty much every year (Ida Wells, Silent Spring, The Jungle, etc.) that you should know, as they are essentially guaranteed points. Couple that with kamnn1's advice and you are well on your way to a 5!

DTXJunior · 07-06-2012, 08:06 PM

This might not work for everyone, but personally I attribute my 5 to last minute cramming using flash cards (Barron's) and a quick study guide. Throughout the year, I'd advise reading the Amsco/Newman study guide and reviewing the key terms and dates at the end of each chapter. I was also encouraged by my teachdr to use the American Pageant textbook, but I personally hated it. The study guide I used to review a week before the AP was the one from Direct Hits. It's no longer printed, but you could probably find one somewhere, and it's extremely helpful. You may have to go over the Vietnam War more in depth independently, too, as your class may not get to it. There's usually nothing on any part of the test past Reagan. I think that's about it... Good luck to everyone taking it next year. It's a hell of a class.

coolpillow · 07-07-2012, 01:33 PM

Also buy Crash Course from amazon.
I think I answered at least 50% of multiple choice using the knowledge from this book.

It's a small book about 200 pages, you could read it over in a day or two before the test.

smithsonian123 · 07-07-2012, 10:20 PM

I used - AP US History Exam Review Course

used it last year for APUSH. Best practice exams by far. Sure beats the hassle of taking the book versions, lol.

Also the topic outline is pretty useful as well.

Amandurrs · 07-07-2012, 10:53 PM

Make lists! They make remembering events SO much easier. For example, my teacher gave us a list of like 13 acts that led up to the Revolutionary War (Proclamation of 1763, Navigation Laws, Stamp Act, etc.) and just seeing all the different acts will help you remember the details and you can write a great, detailed essay from that. He also gave us a list of events leading up to the Civil War and various other ones for the Cold War. I spent a lot of time studying the lists for various eras so I felt prepared for whatever essays were thrown my way.

Also, my teacher's tips for DBQs were to read the prompt first and plan a whole essay without the documents, using outside info only and then go back in and integrate docs. That didn't really work for me. I felt it was still easier to go the way my AP Euro teacher taught us, scanning through all the docs and seeing what four groups I could make from that and then bringing in outside info.

Awflapjackz · 07-07-2012, 10:57 PM

Hoping to get a 5 on this next year. ^^

DontTrollOnMe · 08-30-2012, 08:24 PM

I'm generally extremely committed, I got a 99 percent last year for my gov/reg. course. I enrolled in AP US History, however, I just went on Ubandictionary and read some horror stories. I'm really in the class to raise my GPA is it possible to get an A plus? If not I'll drop it, help please.

icanhasamanda · 08-30-2012, 09:44 PM

Taking this as sophomore, wish I wasn't. I hate social studies, but it's kind of expected I did it since I'm on the "accelerated" track. Had a lot of summer work, but I guess it makes since since we don't start school until after labor day!

nerdlyfe · 09-02-2012, 05:33 PM

Someone mentioned Direct Hits and it is tossed around on CC all the time as one of the best APUSH books. But, it is out of print. However, there is a new and improved book by the same author. People have contacted him via facebook and he has said the book is exactly the same as Direct Hits just with more hints and more coverage of certain topics.

It is only sold on Amazon. The Insider's Complete Guide to AP US History: The Essential Content: Larry Krieger: 9780985291204: Amazon.com: Books

His website also includes podcasts of some of the material. Podcasts | Insider Test Prep

I am going to use this book and AMSCO throughout the year.

stupiddorkyidiot · 09-02-2012, 10:35 PM

Use many, many resources throughout the year. It's extremely important to read from several different points of view - it helps you tie ideas together and form your own picture of what happened. You'll find that having a personal stance on major issues will really help you on the DBQ and FRQs. Analyzing primary source documents is also an important skill for the DBQ. If you have a good teacher, he/she will provide you with various documents and books to read throughout the year - mine did, and it worked really well for me. In addition to reading the textbook, we analyzed photos and graphics, read essays in The American Record and Portrait of America, etc. I also used AMSCO (found it for free online), and it helped immensely. It's like an entire textbook.

One thing that you might not have thought of: it's a really good idea to create timelines within each period of history so you get a really good picture of what's going on when. Textbooks tend to jump around from subject to subject (e.g. industry to politics to protest movements, all in the same time period but detailed in separate chapters), and a master timeline will help you put all that together.

In general, study however works best for you. Make lists, sing songs, rewrite your notes, make flash cards - whatever you know works. It'll be helpful in the long run if, however, whatever you used to study is easily accessible come spring when you'll want to start reviewing. For about half the year, I made flashcards for each chapter to help me on the unit exams, and I was able to reuse those when studying for the real exam (and I wished I'd made more!). Something like that will be helpful for you as well.

Lovehistory · 09-03-2012, 02:07 PM

It seems like whenever I outline a chapter in the American pageant it takes me at least a few hours, does anyone have any advice on how I can do it quicker?

ArtsyGirl13 · 09-03-2012, 05:07 PM

I have never had to outline for a history class (this will be my first year, but I have not had to yet), but I have found that there is not way to avoid outlines taking forever. It is really annoying and they get a little quicker with time, but not really, they are tedious no matter what.