APWH class help/suggestions?

exzachly
Mon, 03 Feb 2014 08:00:01 +0000

So I’ve been in an APWH class for about 5 months now, and I’ve learned absolutely nothing. Since my teacher is not the best, I’ve been doing a lot of self studying. We take approx. only a page of notes, while the rest is emailed to us and we only get 1-2 homework assignments per month (homeworks are long and have a week or two before deadline) I use the textbook given to us (World Civilizations: AP Edition) and the APWH Barrons book. Every month or so, we have 1-2 tests on a certain topic. The thing is, I study for this one unit and after the test, it’s all gone. (test grades range from 70-80), so any good study habits? (Also, I have a HORRIBLE attention span, and I mean just horrendous) I make my own flashcards, because I somehow remember info better if I write them down myself. It’s already Feb. and the test is in 3 months.

We were just assigned our first practice essays, starting with the DBQ (2002 version). I’ve been re-reading the questions/docs for the past 45 minutes and I’m absolutely confused. I understand all the docs and the question (kinda), but I don’t know where to begin. I tried to time myself (10 mins for reading docs, 40 mins writing), but eventually gave up on that because 1)The docs were confusing and took too long to understand and 2)I don’t do good under time pressure so by the time I got to my 2nd paragraph, time had run out already. The question is:

“Using the documents, compare and contrast the attitudes of Christianity and Islam toward merchants and trade from the religions’ origins until about 1500. Are there indications of change over time in either case, or both? What kinds of additional documents would you need to assess the consequences of these attitudes on merchant activities?”


1. What is the question asking us to do? There’s like 3 different questions with confusing vocab that were combined and it’s really confusing me.

2. How does the whole grouping work? Should I group 2 docs that share the similar ideas or with contrasting ideas?

3. How does one go writing a thesis statement? My teacher never taught us the "outline’ of a DBQ.

4. How does one manage time?

(tips for the other 2 essays would be great,too.)

I know I have serious issues that I need to manage, and I really am trying my best. This is my first FRQ, and I’m only hoping that it gets better and easier for me from here. So any advice/tips/helps/suggestions or whatever would be GREATLY appreciated. I’m terribly sorry for making you read this, but I really am just desperate.