I’m taking APUSH 
But we’re having a different teacher than we expected 
I was so looking forward to having her, too. She was supposed to be the best. Oh, well. I’ll just be doing a little more self-studying than I had planned.</p>
As a side note, I’m planning on self-studying AP World.</p>
Woo APUSH! I’m honestly excited for this class lol. I thoroughly enjoyed and dominated AP world last year, and I always considered myself a US person when it comes to history. Hopefully I do pretty well in this class!</p>
Being an international makes this exam slightly harder than usual!</p>
^Really? Why? :P</p>
Any of you guys have summer assignments for APUSH? We have to read the first four chapters of our textbook (Liberty, Equality, Power), but there’s a test in the first week or two of school, so I’ll probably take notes as well.</p>
^Because I’m starting from scratch, like almost not knowing anything.</p>
For summer assignment I have to read 4 chapters of my “America Past and Present” book. Write a 5 paged paper-single spaced, 13 one paragraph answers, and 33 half page long responses. As well as making index cards for chapter 1-2 quiz. The best part is… half of this summer assignment is due next friday, ■■■ =[</p>
^ That’s weird you have so much summer homework. I didn’t have any when I took the class, but my class ended up only getting to the 1970’s.</p>
ha people on here talk about summer work all the time…we never get summer work.</p>
A tip for the DBQs…I know you have to focus on the documents and incorporate as many as you can (doing it well!) into your essay as possible, but make sure to use a lot…meaning A LOT, of outside information still. there were some threads like 2 weeks before the test this year w/people thinking you onlly had to use the documents for the DBQ and no outside info. Big mistake. I thought of it as basically an FRQ w/the documetns to enhance the essay and provided for points of analysis.</p>
^I agree. Make sure to include as much outside information in your essays as you can. Use the documents, but don’t rely on them.</p>
Oh I also have an open book test thats due first week of school. Though its not graded, the questions on the test are mostly from my textbook. I bought the AMSCO thinking it would help me with the tests but I guess I’m gonna have to read every chapter of my textbook since most of the questions are from there. But AMSCO and crash course would definitely be enough for the AP exam and SAT II right?</p>
^Correct. Read Crash Course multiple times.</p>
I will be taking this exam next May and am excited to discuss our school year with you all. I’m assuming most of you will be juniors? We’ve got a tough year ahead of us. Good luck to you all!</p>
I took APUSH this year and have some advice too. What the OP said is correct - those three sources are very helpful. I also had a fabulous teacher who taught the material, made us think outside the box and develop our own conclusions, and assigned DBQs twice a month during class for practice (and a grade). Needless to say, she made us work a lot!</p>
My advice would be to definitely know your basic facts, but don’t kill yourself reading AMSCO (but those who read the whole thing will recommend it). I got it and only got about halfway through, skimmed some, and skipped some. Crash Course is great for the two weeks before the test though - I LOVE that book.</p>
What helped the most for our class though is The American Pageant, believe it or not. We had mandatory reading. The textbook has cheesy jokes, rambles, and bores you, but if you read the whole thing cover to cover, not only will you feel very accomplished at the end of the year, you’ll also remember a lot by the time you take the AP test. I admit that I remembered some facts solely because of the extended metaphors. xD So even though it may seem cheesy, long, and boring, it’s all there for a reason. Most of the info will stick in your mind without you realizing it.</p>
Another tip would be to work on your writing skills. DBQs are actually fun once you get the hang of them.</p>
This was my first AP test and my favorite class this year. History’s fascinating! And for those of you who think that “history is bunk,” do know that quote was taken out of context. Ford didn’t actually condemn history. ;)</p>
Good luck to future APUSH’ers!</p>
Is it possible to get a 5 by using AMSCO and Crash Course only without really having a teacher?</p>
Actually, you can still get a 5 by using only AMSCO, and many CCers have done it before. Since Crash Course was released recently, many CCers perceive it a blessing since it actually improves their chances of receiving a higher score on the AP Exam. Therefore, you can indeed obtain a 5 with that prep books combo.</p>
Thanks jerrry4445.</p>
If you go that route though, make sure you get some writing practice in, since the DBQ/FRQ combined account for half of your score. The DBQ/FBQ also weighs how you express the topic, not only what you write about.</p>
I have the AMSCO book, and it appears that there are about 5 regular essay (FRQ) questions per chapter. There are 30 chapters, so I doubt that there will be a lack of writing practice if one makes use of the book. According to the introduction, there are also 10 DBQs in the book; I imagine that this should be sufficient.</p>
If that isn’t enough, [there</a> are many FRQs/DBQs available from past years.](<a href=“Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board”>Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board) So no additional resources are required for writing practice.</p>
^^ Is the amsco book you have the 2010 edition? if so, would the answer key thats all over the internet work with the 2010 edition? I heard the answers all the same except for the last chapter, correct?</p>
^Yeah, it is the 2010 version, but I don’t know enough to decide whether the answer key will work. It doesn’t work for the last chapter, since the last chapter has 14 questions whereas the last edition had 10 questions.</p>