APUSH 2010 post exam thoughts

<p>I think I got either a high 4 or low 5 on the Multiple Choice. I also fried the DBQ which I got either a 7 or 8 on and I think I got a 5 on the second essay (#2) and a 4 on the last essay (#5).</p>

<p>Oh yeah, what study materials did you guys use? I used the Sparknotes power-pack. It was awesome because it had hundreds of flashcards, two practice exams, and a detailed timeline of American History back to 1492. It was really helpful and a big reason I did well on the exam. How effective were your study materials?</p>

<p>I watched lectures on youtube. They were extremely effective.</p>

<p>I wrote 4 pages for my DBQ and 2.5 pages for each of my essays. </p>

<p>I thought the multiple choice was surprisingly easy (I’m hoping for a 65+ correct at least) and the DBQ topic was awesome (our teacher talked about puritans a lot, since she was born into a puritan family). Essays were okay, I did the one about the events that led up to the secession but I included the Missouri Compromise, which was out of the timeline (in addition, I did the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas, and Compromise of 1850). For the other essay, I did suburbanization and immigration, and basically made up a lot of stuff that made sense. Hoping for 4+ on each of the essays and a 6+ on the DBQ because that will basically guarantee a 5 for me.</p>

<p>@blake: I used the Sparknotes Power Pack as well. It was helpful, although I wish I had more time to go through the notecards. I found that my Amsco book was the most helpful in the end though.</p>

<p>I participated in the CC study thread + did a cursory read through of REA Crash Course. Besides that, I did not study. My AP US class more than prepared me for the test.</p>

<p>i looked at my amsco book for the first time last night, and read the first 10 chapters (thank god the dbq was about puritans) and skimmed the other 20 because i didn’t have time. i’m predicting at least 65/80 MC (should have studied more), at least an 8 on the dbq, at least an 8 on the frq 2, and at least a 6 on frq 5 (i ended up completely lighting up suburbanization but didn’t really have nearly as much for immigration).</p>

<p>For the DBQ this is how it works on the grading at least from the past AP essay grading sessions I’ve been to. They give you a packet on what the DBQ/FRQ questions are. Then the following pages list what a 8-9 essay will have (good thesis, explains question correctly etc) and what qualifies for all the other possible scores. Then they give a list of events that occurred during the time period THAT IS RELATED TO THE QUESTION. As well as other basic information related specifically to the question. For the possible outside information, they give the ap readers a list of about 40-50 SPECIFIC events that could be used. The readers are looking specifically for those events. The more of those specific events you mention in your essay, the more points for you. Then they give you a detailed explanation of what each document is referring to and the possible outside information that could be mentioned. </p>

<p>In other words, the essay graders are looking for very specific things. If you go into the APUSH exam without knowing how the exam is graded in detail then the odds are greatly against you. Likewise, for those who know this information, the odds are greatly in your favor.</p>

<p>They key things you need to focus on:

  1. perfect thesis
  2. well balanced arguments related to the question
  3. lots of outside information (ie. talk about SPECIFIC events related to the question)
  4. Reference the documents often, at least 4+.</p>

<p>I thought my form (q) was actually really simple xD
The essays were topics I knew I had studied well (I got so lucky with the time period of the DBQ) and the multiple choice had only a few questions I had no idea about.</p>

<p>On a side note, something I learned in Art actually helped me in history xD
Although, I felt bad for students who had no idea about that particular art movement</p>

<p><em>Trying to be vague due to exam rules</em></p>

<p>I am terrified of not getting a 5</p>

<p>^Me too. I will die if I don’t.</p>

<p>I KNOW, right?</p>

<p>People say it doesn’t matter…but if you want to go to a realy good college, they dont care if you make a 4 due to bad luck, etc. You have to take the class again.</p>

<p>And if you can only take 2 APs before your Junior year, they basically HAVE to be 5’s…</p>

<p>@killer2021: Wow. That just lowered my hopes of getting a good score… =/</p>

<p>There isn’t a huge difference between a 4 or 5. Very few, if any colleges don’t give credit for a score of 4 but give credit for a score of 5. For almost every school they either give you the credit for a 4 or don’t give you the credit no matter what score you receive. You will be hardpressed to find a school that only gives credits for a 5 but not a 4. So really, there isn’t much of a difference.</p>

<p>Williams, Harvard, Princeton, Davidson do not give credit for 4’s.</p>

<p>MC was pretty easy high 60s - mid 70s.
DBQ was an easy topic but outside information was LIMITED unless you used a document right before the date or used some fact after.</p>

<h1>3 = so easy prob got a perfect or near perfect</h1>

<h1>5 = I prob did ok, oh well hopefully my other essays + MC will bring me up.</h1>

<p>Okay, so four schools don’t give credit for a 4, but do for a 5, doesn’t disprove my point.</p>

<p>I don’t know about APUSH, but for other exams like AP Lang or Lit, some colleges (like UCB, I believe?) give one semester of credit for a 4 but two semesters of credit for a 5. So yeah. </p>

<p>Anyone take the May SAT II USH? How do you guys think the MC’s compared? Personally I thought the AP MC’s this year had a greater variety of difficulties, while the SAT II was kinda just medium difficulty all the way through.</p>

<p>To anyone who has taken the US History SAT II:</p>

<p>Do you think I should get the review book for the US History SAT II or is the AP exam review book enough? And are the questions broad or specific?</p>

<p>I used a mix of Barrons US History Subject test and 5 steps to a 5. 5 steps to a 5 was very AP-testy, it helped me on info for the essay. The whole book is more essay feeder than anything.</p>

<p>The Barrons book for subject test was VERY helpful in finding quick info all condensed. It also lays out the presidents and important things that happened during their term - VERY VERY helpful. </p>

<p>In short, to me, I find 5 steps to a 5 to be helpful on essays and Barrons subject test book to be extremely helpful for MC.</p>

<p>Kaplan is very good at doing both though.</p>

<p>Hmm…well people say that the SAT II looks more for specific details, but I didn’t really feel that much of a difference in terms of specificity or broadness. I mean, both had quotes and cartoons and maps and except questions. </p>

<p>If you have a good AP exam review book, it should be enough. I used the AMSCO. Perfect for both SAT II and AP, even though it’s meant for AP, and I felt pretty confident with both sets of multiple choice questions…</p>