<p>I have the 2008 edition of Barron's "AP World History." Is this a good prep book to self-study AP World? As background, I have taken Accelerated World History, and so Chapters 20 and on(1750-Present) look very familiar to me. I am also taking APUSH, and thus I will be getting intensive practice on writing essays and DBQ's. With this information, do you think I can get a 5 by studying only this book?</p>
<p>Also, how accurate are the practice tests in this book?</p>
<p>Bump10char</p>
<p>For APWH self-studiers, I’ve read that Barron’s is the way to go. I actually took APWH and had a decent-good (wasn’t bad, wasn’t super good) teacher and I always read the textbook when I had outlines to do. That being said, I purchased Princeton Review with two weeks to go before the exam, read it (didn’t have time to go back and reread or read what I had highlighted) and it saved my life. I received a 5.</p>
<p>However, since you’re semi-self-studying, I think Barron’s will be very helpful BUT I think you should purchase PR as well. Barron’s has a lot of extra details so getting the big picture might be harder but PR is organized well and it did a really good job reteaching me all the history I had forgotten. I had forgotten pretty much all history from 600-1750…
Using both should help you learn not only the history but also the interactions, similarities, differences, and etc. between civilizations, big concepts tested on the exam :)</p>
<p>I can’t help you with the accuracy of practice tests as I didn’t take any from PR or Barron’s but I would try to find released APWH exams. Also, the DBQ is much easier than APUSH’s because outside information isn’t needed for APWH. Look at the rubric!</p>
<p>Would it help if I just studied the book during Spring Break(in April) so that I retain the info better? I’d like to avoid buying another book if I can</p>
<p>I think when you study is up to you. It might help to start reading a bit earlier, though. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>I recommended buying another book because Barron’s and PR are organized differently; PR’s easy to read and thorough without having superfluous information. It’s not retaining info that’s the problem but what you actually retain, in my opinion. Of course, it is important that you actually do learn your history.</p>
<p>I stand by my PR recommendation and I highly suggest it.</p>
<p>I like PR because it’s pretty thorough and provides an extremely fun read!</p>
<p>I would suggest [Amazon.com:</a> AP Achiever (Advanced Placement* Exam Preparation Guide) for AP World History (College Test Prep) (9780073292113): Dixie Grupe, Sigrid Reynolds: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Achiever-Advanced-Placement-Preparation-History/dp/0073292117]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Achiever-Advanced-Placement-Preparation-History/dp/0073292117). It’s made for the McGraw Hill but it says any textbook will suffice. It saved my butt last year. The practice questions are helpful and have full explanation and whatnot. The example essays and prompts are good, too.</p>
<p>Yes it’s a great book! Didn’t really use it much throughout the year, but when it came to 2 weeks before the exam, I read it nearly cover-to-cover. I had bought Princeton Review too, but decided against it. That alone, (with a bit of flash card studying) was an adequate enough review to score me a 5. </p>
<p>So I’d say, if your not sure, go to a bookstore, or order some, try them out and find which style you like the best. But if Barron’s looks like a good fit for you, I’d def. go with it.</p>
<p>And as far as practice tests, I really never did them, honestly I really never did any practice tests, I really only did the reviews at the end of each section of Barron’s.</p>
<p>Oh and I should mention I used the 2008 edition also.</p>