What do you guys think is the best way to be prepared for the exam? (Also, my teacher is horrible)</p>
Read my textbook throughout the year and use PR for the exam</p>
Read my textbook and use a prep along with it and another review book for the exam</p>
Just use a prep book throughout the year</p>
Any other ideas from prior experience?</p>
Based on my personal experiences, option three is the best. You can reference things in your textbook if you want but a PR book has all the info you need for a five, so just memorize that and practice essay writing and you’re good to go.</p>
I agree with Anomaly. I used PR for the exam, and it was all I needed for a 5. However, I suggest using your textbook throughout the year because your teacher might base his tests on it.</p>
From my experience, I’d go with 1. We used Stearns, and I read and took notes on each chapter that we covered (1-2 per week). My teacher wasn’t great either, but I loved the topic, so I did it anyway and always managed to pass the tests.</p>
I would use PR to review for the test, but take some of it with a grain of salt. The section on the DBQ is particularly helpful (my teacher didn’t explain the rubric at all), but I wouldn’t always take their advice on how to write the other two.</p>
I have no idea if I over-studied. All I know is that I got a 5, and the exam was much easier than expected.</p>
I picked up PR World History in about September, read it off and on, and finished it in December. I read it over again. Then, in about February or March, I picked up Barron’s and read that through. I found Barron’s to be more detail-oriented and more like a textbook, which was great. However, I enjoyed reading PR more and found that it helped me a great deal more on the actual exam, especially when it came to main ideas and the FRQs (also the practice tests were better in PR.) In February/March, I made some study sheets (based on PR) and studied sporadically, but didn’t really start until mid March. I started studying it heavily then, and about a week before the exam, I downloaded some free cram packets online, studied those, read over parts of PR, and took some practice exams. Just Barron’s and PR worked well for me, in addition to the free cram packets. Good luck!</p>
1 worked well for me. However, the PR exams were artificially easy. I got a 5, but still. On the 4 practice exams, I got 69/70, 55/70, 50/70, 50/70. Those are pretty big ranges, and they were pretty easy.</p>
Do as much essay prep as you can. Get all the released essay topics. Learn how to write a DBQ, and do the first one or two without a time limit to get the method down. Make sure you have multiple sets of groups and cross-groups, to get those 2 extra points. DBQs give you all the information, you don’t need to try to remember sources or facts. Then work on doing them in the time limit. COTs and CCs should be done first untimed and (if you want) with an open book, to familiarize yourself with the format. Then work on excellent essays within the time limits. Essay work will make/break your score.</p>