<p>Hey,
I haven’t taken it yet (I’m taking it this May, like you, I assume), but here are a few things that will help. You’ve probably heard it from your teacher already, but reminders are always good:</p>
<ol>
<li>Show your work. Do steps that you normally do in your head on paper.</li>
<li><p>Always give the units.
I’ve seen the solutions for many of the old tests and they occationally throw in extra points just for having units, or showing a certain step. It seems kind of obvious, but it shows that you know what you’re doing and you aren’t careless.</p></li>
<li><p>Be familiar with the equations on the test sheet, and know what you need to use for what. My teacher sometimes gives us slightly different equations (like he uses PE for potential energy instead of U) to help us remember, but makes sure we’re familiar with the test formulas too.</p></li>
<li><p>If you aren’t sure about a question on the free response–it’s worth it to guess or reason it out (without spending copious amounts of time, of course)! You can’t lose points like you can on the multiple choice, and you can often get a few more points even if you’re not sure about the question (especially because you get the formulas for this part).</p></li>
<li><p>Be careful about guessing on the multiple choice–it’s like the SAT that way. As an example, we did an old AP test as a midterm exam (my teacher only counted points for what we were supposed to know, but we got extra points if we did stuff we hadn’t learned yet). I answered 28 MC questions, guessed on about 8 or 9 more MC and left the rest I wasn’t sure about blank. Everyone else in my class guessed on a lot more of them. I did second best in my class on that section because I answered fewer problems (only the ones I was sure of or had down to 2 or 3 choices). This is in a class of 21 students. Of course, it’s a little different on the actual test because you’ve covered most/all of the material, but it’s still good advice.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I know these are mostly just testing skills, but part of the AP IS testing skills, so those are some good tips. ;)</p>
<p>Let me know if you want to compare notes or talk more or anything. I’m getting a little nervous about AP tests!</p>