How to get a 5 on APUSH?

<p>Should you read everything in the preparation books to get a 5 on APUSH? I mean, should you highlight it or something? I don't know if I should continue to highlight if I should just read everything.. Almost everything is important in it right?</p>

<p>I don't know how you are as a student, but this is what worked for me. My teacher gave as a couple study guides a week before the test. I pretty much memorized the study guides. I found the multiple choice section to be ridiculously easy after doing this. Even though I didn't know really how to write the essays I still got a 5. You could use your preparation book in the same way.</p>

<p>Nucleus, try writing down a bunch of terms you come across on a piece of paper. Then, every once in a while, go down the list of terms and try to define them and state their evidence. Try to make the whole response coherent. This is a great way to review. </p>

<p>I used Princeton Review, and I have to say that I didn't find highlighting very useful, because everything in the prep book is important! </p>

<p>Your book is a prep book, but you don't need to memorize everything. Just know the basic, general trends. That's what the AP exam tests. </p>

<p>Also if you find sample essay questions, try to answer those as you're reading.</p>

<p>i got a 5, w00t, w00t, they call me da historian!!!</p>

<p>I got a 4, but I think reading your textbook, reading review books, and periodically writing FRQs and DBQs will give you a 5. You should focus on main events and trends.</p>

<p>i got a 4 --- read amsco and u will get a 5. if i cared for one, i woulda done it.</p>

<p>I took a "Regular" american history class, which was not as rigorous. Never did an actual "Ap Style" DBQ for that class but tons of Regents ones. Didn't study except for what I learned in that so called "regular" class. Got a 5.</p>

<p>So it all depends I suppose. I'd say if you are in an AP class or a particularly good American history class, you should be fine with that. Take a practice test to make sure. I didn't but then again, I had a crazy teacher who taught us lots of VERY specific details (like the proposed silver:gold ratio was 16:1 and Betty Friedan wrote the Feminine Mystique)</p>

<p>Yup, if you're in a good class, you should be fine. Just use the prep book to review the information and take a practice test to get a feel for what the test is like.</p>

<p>the only thing i did to study for the exam is read AMSCO front to back over 2 days. i got a 5 and thought the exam was extremely easy. </p>

<p>(I did pay attention in class however - 95% in class)</p>

<p>Yes, I heard AMSCO was a really good one for APUSH.</p>

<p>it is...all i did was read over the book...</p>

<p>Just read and memorize the AMSCO review book for AP US history. It is extremely good. I was in an online class, and it was very hard for me to keep up, so basically the only preparation I had for the AP exam was reading 22 out of the 30 chapters in the book. Even though I had seven chapters remaining, I got a score of 3 on the exam. I know a 3 isn't as great as a 4 or 5, but if you don't stop where I stopped and read (with interest) all of the 30 well written chapters, you can easily get a 4 or a 5. DO the questions in the book as well.</p>

<p>I got a 5 (and a 790 SATII USH) but the amount of work was ridiculous.</p>

<p>Just doing Barrons though will do it for you if you do not get snagged into a
time gobbling course at school :)</p>

<p>How much work did you guys have? 1 chapter a week? 2 chapters?</p>

<p>We have to write summaries for each of the sections (like 5 BIG paragraphs per chapter). Do you think that is a good thing or should I just read it? How do I know if summarizing what I remember helps me or not? I guess it makes you "think about what you've read" which is like paraphrasing..</p>

<p>make sure you do ALL of the work in class properly...AMSCO is only for the few weeks before the AP test.</p>

<p>Ok, I'm probably going to read the textbook extensively and then the summaries after I read the textbook once (however I feel like I just remember the summaries; although some details still pop up) I don't think I will have enough time to read the text more than once. mabye a few passages twice for tests.</p>

<p>Should I memorize the order of the Kings of England? Like Charles, James.. I think it helps me like a timeline sort of (without the dates). For example, if I know that James II abdicated his throne then William and Mary succeeded him. Someone said that memorizing the presidents is good too..</p>

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Should I memorize the order of the Kings of England?

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</p>

<p>no, its US history. so the england kings really arent very important. its good to know that england has a monarchy, and we dont. but thats about all you need to know. and maybe king george, but it isnt necessary.</p>

<p>
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Someone said that memorizing the presidents is good too..

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</p>

<p>yeah, its definitely helpful. but focus more on the order, and what events happened during their presidency, than on the actual exact years that they were president.</p>

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How much work did you guys have? 1 chapter a week? 2 chapters?

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</p>

<p>in my class, we had two chapters most weeks and some weeks we had one chapter.</p>

<p>whatever you do, read amsco in the week before the test or so.</p>

<p>My class reads/ outlines amsco to reinforce the textbook. We also have to do outlines/ answer questions every night ( 2 hours of hw + :( ). I think that this will definitively work but i dont think u could really cram the AMSCO book a few nights before the test... its thick as hell</p>

<p>yeah, i meant use it during the year to help with your class, and then review it before the test. so i should have said reread, not read.</p>

<p>Also, is it better to read small sections (~1pg long) and take notes or read huge sections (2pages long) and try to summarize everything? I like doing short ones but I'm afraid that it will not prepare my long term memory.</p>