<p>Does anyone else here have AP U.S. history. The essays and DBQ's are totally killing me. Does anyone have any suggestions? It's my thesis's I can't write. Please Help!!!! I have to get my grade up before semester!</p>
<p>Yes, of course this class blows..it was designed to be that way especially to a math/physics person like myself who hates anything that doesnt involve numbers. However, its not that it is incredibly hard, rather, there is just alot of work to be done. I usually score 8-9's on the DBQ's and essays, and I just half ass the cornell notes for hw now, but I still do well on tests and quizzes (86% on Chapter 1-6 test so far!). I have a 94% in the class but that wasnt a cakewalk A like I have in my other classes. There have been countless nights where I have not laid my head down until 2:30 doing hw for this garbage class.
So in the end, yes AP U.S. sucks...</p>
<p>To tell you the truth, I'm finding this class quite interesting and not that difficult. All I do is read the textbook (don't really take notes), and I've been averaging about 95-100% on the tests. I think having AP Euro my soph. year really helped. You just need to sit down without ANY distractions and activley read the textbook. Slow down, quiz yourself every few sections. If you need to take notes, wait till you end a paragraph (or section) before you write anything down. Definitely use the 80/20 rule (80% of info in textbooks is completlely irrelevant, 20% you NEED to know). To review for quizzes, I either take the quizzes online that are on the book website, or I take the quizzes on
<a href="http://www.historyteacher.net%5B/url%5D">www.historyteacher.net</a></p>
<p>By the way, I'm more of a science/math person myself...</p>
<p>At last the math/science people, who so cruelly wreck the curve in AP Calc and chemistry, get their comeback! (j/k). Try reading ahead to have a firm grasp on the material before the teacher goes over it and make sure you understand every paragraph after you finish reading it. For essays, the thesis statements should be a long, drawn out (some of mine were 3-4 lines), complex sentences that fully addresses the topic and answers the question posed while perhaps signifying the structure for the remainder of the paper. i.e. "Despite their original popularity and entrenched strength in New England, the Federalists eventually fell victim to internal divisions, unpopular acts such as the alien and sedition acts, and their opposition to the war of 1812." This sets the stage and sets up an effective 5 paragraph essay format to continue the remainder of the essay.</p>
<p>I'm really enjoying APUSH. Granted, there have been some less than interesting topics <em>cough</em>thefreakingnationalbank<em>cough</em>, but overall, I like the subject material. When it comes to writing a thesis statement, my teacher has us group the information into categories first. Then use the categories to create topic sentences. Finally, your topic sentences combine to help you create a thesis.</p>
<p>omg ap us is totally rocking my sox. it might be my teacher, whos the biggest fruitcake on earth, but for some reason the info can never sink in. maybe its because of the bs discussions we have in class (how much a slurpie costs in 7-11 today ... lol) and the lack of notes (he's too lazy to even talk about us) but usually history just sinks in to me.</p>
<p>I am finding AP US to be absolutely horrible. I'm averaging high-90's in the class, but it is with a considerable amount of working and studying, which is something I'm NOT used to.</p>
<p>That is an insanely hard class but it was my favorite! You gotta make yourself interested. It's amazing how much you can get out of the class! DBQ's are awesome once you get the hang of them. You'll be getting 9's before you know it!</p>
<p>I don't know if I liked or disliked AP US. I'm definitely a history/English person. But the combination of a weird, weird teacher and her stupid learning methods (group work! every single day!)</p>
<p>but it definitely amused me. I had a good time.</p>
<p>Last year, my AP US History course was crazy. My teacher was very good, but his grading methods were way too weird. For example, the way it worked out at the end of one particular marking period was that 1 DBQ was worth 25 percent of our grade, and in another marking period one homework assignment (not a project, just a simple assignment) was worth as much as 2 tests. It was very odd, but everyone in the class learned a lot, despite a lot of complaining throughout the year.</p>
<p>Haha I am an international student and don't need to take APUSH. YES!!!</p>
<p>I love my APUSH Class and the teacher is great. I really feel like i'm going to be prepared for this AP test in may. Even though he grades hard on the DBQ and FRE's i love his grading scale:
90-100=A
85-90=A-
82-84=B+
78-81=B
75-77=B-
71-75=C+
etc...</p>
<p>That sounds a lot like my school
86-100 = A
73-85.99=B
50-72.99=C
it sounds easy but none of the teachers ever give perfect marks and there is no extra credit</p>
<p>Caliplaya03 basically just described my teacher and my class. I love APUS. It's my favorite class this semester. Yes, I even like it more than ART. My teacher is great and the class is full of all my smart friends. I'm glad I didn't reject my invitation to AP history classes a third year in a row.</p>
<p>I love the class to, I do fine on the tests and everthing, I usually get an A or high B on them. Right not I have a solid B in the class but I really want and A for semester. It's just the essays that I'm having trouble with. My teacher said my essays are fine history wise, it's just my thesis's aren't strong enough. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>I think it depends really on the teacher. APUSH was my favorite class that I have taken in high school so far, and I was so well prepared for the AP Exam come May. It was very hard (actually AP English was harder for me personally) but the people in the class were great and we did some really neat projects too.</p>
<p>yes, I hate (maybe not that much, but still) history... But at least AP USH covers only 200 years and one country...<br>
Compare THAT to AP EURO... about a dozen countries for 500 years... that class was killer.</p>
<p>In my current APUSH class, we've had like 3 grades so far... Two are tests.... ESSAY tests.
blah~</p>
<p>We had an essay test in AP US on the 2nd day of class. Heh.</p>
<p>Besides that, its just tons and tons of quizzes. Three a week or so, too.. much.. studying.. lol</p>
<p>our APUSH is so harsh. Everyone gets at most 7-9 on their DBQ's and mostly 4-6. The best student has like a C+(80-84).</p>
<p>I don't hate the class...but I do wish I hadn't have signed up for it. I knew that I was going to have the same teacher that I had for American Government, and I suppose I was a bit incredulous when he said that 70% of our grades would be tests/quizzes. Well, they really are, so...I'm screwed. I get A's on most of the assignments, but C's and D's on the tests, so as of now I've got a B. I don't care. I hate the teacher (he wastes at least a quarter of the class period discussing his own political views and semi-criticizing present Europe), and therefore have little passion for the subject.</p>