<p>Can somene tell me how they studied for the AP exam? This is my worst subject as i have trouble memorizing everything. :(</p>
<p>Especially for DBQs</p>
<p>I have the REA book, btw.</p>
<p>I also had trouble memorizing, but the Sparknotes study cards for U.S history were a great help. </p>
<p>I've never used REA (I hear it's good though), but I did use some Kaplan and Petersons.</p>
<p>Btw, I got a 5, so i think this is reasonably good advice.</p>
<p>Hope this helps</p>
<p>i briefly scanned and skimmed the amsco book, but then again i have a stellar memory. i also got a 5.</p>
<p>For me, I just took some of the multiple choice tests in the REA book and looked over their answers. Also, for the DBQ it's good to have a format:</p>
<p>~Intro= Background. As in, if you're talking about civil war, talk about jamestown, bleeding kansas, and the stuff leading up to the civil war. then relate it to the DBQ's prompt and put in a thesis at the end of your intro. This should be no longer than a medium-sized paragraph. The thesis at the end of the first paragraph method works well because essay graders can spot it easily.</p>
<p>~Supporting evidence: talk and talk and talk. cite the sources they give you with one of the following formats "In Document C, a cartoonist is portraying a bloody riot in Kansas, which represents...." or "the cartoonist is representing the riots in Kansas (Doc C)</p>
<p>~Conclusion: restate facts in a novel way if possible, and make your finale grandiose- tie it into the future, if that makes sense- as in "The Civil War ended slavery, but racial equality would not be achieved for another one hundred years. " <---not the best, but decent.</p>
<p>This is basically the 5 paragraph essay. It's the best type of essay for AP essays (though not to be confused w/ a good college essay). Also, essays that score a 5 are generally 2.5-4 handwritten pages long.</p>
<p>My teacher made us make 600+ flashcards with all the events, people, etc. Just making the cards is a great review. I never looked over them after I made them, but it forced me to look up terms. Obviously we didn't make them all at once. We would do about 100 during the week and 200 on the weekend.</p>
<p>I started reading the Princeton about a week before the exam. I read the review once and did the two practice exams. I got a four and I honestly didn't know a thing until I started reviewing. And seriously, I mean I knew absolutely nothing.</p>
<p>my teacher always tells us that you can't cram for the DBQ. "You either know it or you don't".... What the heck does that mean? lol. I'll take my test in May, so i don't have any real first hand experience....</p>
<p>Even though I am in Ap European History a thing my teacher does that might be helpful for any AP history class, is he makes us do an outline of the Chapter were reading from a book and we are assigned to make our own study guides for his test.</p>
<p>I got a 5 on my exam. For the MC section, mostly what I did was have my teacher feed me MC questions one on one during my study period. We discussed each so that we could get a feel for each option, not just the right one. I only did this a couple of times, but it helped tremendously on the earlier stuff. I do have a good memory though.</p>
<p>For the essay, try to give examples. My teacher was a grader last year. He said that you should have certain examples, but if you can connect them to higher/more obscure things, you'll win favor. Also make sure that you have solid thesis statements, as these can make or break an essay reading.</p>
<p>Good luck! :)</p>
<p>I was way more intimidated by the AP US History than I needed to be, and I'm sure you are too. I loved my class and the subject, so I think I had a leg up that way, but seriously, the REA book helps. I mean, the publishers put everything (and I mean like really almost everything) in the text. That way, you'll know the material, be sure not to miss anything, and feel relieved when you're done because you knew a lot more stuff than you needed too. Psychologically, it's good. Plus, you'll be pretty prepared. </p>
<p>Just be sure to take a couple practice test so you're familiar with the format of the test and if you don't want to write practice essays, at least do an outline to organize your thoughts. </p>
<p>(By the way, I got a 5, so I think my advice is probably valid.)</p>