Has anyone used the Kaplan AP World History Express book? At this point, what do you guys recommend as the best way to review and prepare for the test in two days?
Hi Guys,
I took the exam last year and got a 5. Here are my two cents regarding preparing for the exam:
Multiple Choice: The College Board is in the process of revamping AP exams to place a greater emphasis on critical thinking skills and concepts (“big ideas”) rather than on memorizing random facts. This change is most evident on the multiple choice section, which is more of a historical thinking test than a world history exam. This change hurts some students and helps others. There’s nothing you can do, but here are some things to be aware of regarding the multiple choice section:
-The MC section has a good amount of quote/passage-based questions. Read the quotes carefully and extrapolate the key words, while getting a gist for the writer’s opinion.
-Remember to view the “bigger picture” regarding interactions between cultures and countries.
-When studying for the MC, focus on the larger concepts, especially globalization, economic systems/trading, etc.
For the Free Response: The DBQ is a technique that needs to be mastered. It’s the same type of DBQ it was with the same rubric from before they changed the exam, so it would be a good idea to practice off of previous DBQs. Be sure to know the rubric and what’s asked of you. Be analytical in your essay, and extract all the pertinent information from the documents, especially the POV and differences/similarities.
The CCOT is IMHO the easiest essay to master. Again, remember the rubric, especially the significance of the event in the global context. The best prompt to practice with is “analyzing inter regional trade from 1450-1750 in sub-Saharan Africa (triangular trade).”
The CC is probably the hardest of them all, as it can be asked regarding minute facts (take last year’s CC). Think critically and extricate all the details you can from your head and you’ll be good to go.
Even if you bomb one essay, it’s not the end of the world. If you have a solid technique for the DBQ and CCOT and can get a 6+, you’re good to go as far as the essays are concerned.
@haal2014 My favorite book was the Princeton. It has the most realistic MC section,. The Barrons is good as well, but my classmates did not like the Kaplan and Crash Course.
**This was my first AP, and many APWH test takers are sophomores. Remember to relax; this test won’t matter five years down the road. It gets much better in AP Gov/Politics!!!
Good luck to you guys; I was in your shoes last year and know how stressful the first AP can be!!!
@SSBP101 Thanks for your advice! Since you took the exam and also used Princeton book, I wonder if the practice multiple choice in it is close to the actual exam as far as difficulty? About how many passage(or whatever)-based questions were on the test last year? I am always confused because i have at least 8 minutes left every time i practice MC even with the one in Barron’s with 9 passage-based questions, and i hear many people say they did not have enough time during the test. Could you possibly explain? Thanks so much!
In my class we’ve done 2 practice tests from prior years’ multiple choice and they have been easier than the MC in the Princeton Review. For example, on an actual AP World MC I got 62/70, but in the practice test from the Princeton Review I got 50/70.
Sorry this took so long but here’s what I have to say about your essay. I’m going to be a bit strict in my grading so you might disagree with my evaluation.
- Thesis: I was a bit on the fence about whether to give you this point because I don't think you were very specific about how they supported each other, and the rubric said not to just say "positive," but you did talk about laws that were put in place +1 -You seem to understand the basic meaning of the documents +1
- I don't think your evidence for doc 1 was adequate, but according to the rubric you still get 2 points. +2
- Good POVs +1
- You have to group the documents in two ways, according to the rubric. That's annoying because how are we supposed to know if we should have 2 or three groups? Well, I guess I have to follow what the rubric says. 0/1
- Good AD +1
So according to the rubric, you would get 6 points, but I think that your groups are rather weak. You pretty much just said that it was supportive and positive, which I don’t think is enough. But it’s still a pretty good essay!
Hey @jackwang0703 !
The practice questions in the Princeton are the best ones out there, but are more of a hybrid of both the old AP (which required the knowledge of random facts) and the new one (which tests critical historical thinking skills). I would definitely go through the Princeton tests, in addition to the 30 sample multiple choice posted on the course outline on the College Board website (save those for tomorrow night – they are the best practice questions out there).
I would say that there were a good 15-20 passage-based questions on last year’s exam. They really are critical, and with some practice, you’ll learn to extract the information they want and pick the correct answer.
Regarding the timing, everyone works at a different pace. Some are faster readers; others take more time to read the passages. I remember that on last year’s AP, I had a solid 15-20 minutes after I finished all the questions to go back and review the ones I was unsure of. the fact that you have time to spare is great and will be of tremendous benefit on test day!
@dsi411 Check what year the exam was from. If I recall correctly, the new exam was implemented for the 2012 administration. Some people are better at the older questions; others are better at the newer questions, but at the end of the day, you will be answering the newer questions on Thursday, so be sure to practice with those and check out the 30 sample multiple choice from the new exam that are on the CB curriculum guide for APWH.
And a note to everyone: be sure to review the rubrics, especially for the DBQ and CCOT. It’s not just enough to know the material – you have to know it and be able to respond in the manner that the College Board wants you to. Feel free to ask any questions; the upperclassmen at my school provided me with a lot of help for this exam and I’d like to pay it forward :).
@SSBP101 The practice exam I took was from 2014, has it changed much since then? Do you think they’ll have more passages this year or something?
Here is a link to the revised curriculum. Check out the new MC section starting on page 97.
@ruhigeKlavier Last year’s AP had almost no questions from the mid to late 20th century. The writers of the exam know that most classes rush through those topics at the beginning of May and don’t cover them comprehensively. If I recall correctly, maybe there was a question or two about the genocides and there was the Chinese Communist DBQ.
@dsi411 Thanks
@dsi411 2014 is from the new administration, so that test should be very similar to the real thing.The amount of quote-based questions is not set in stone, but the proportion of questions should be quite similar to the real exam.
Can anyone help clarify some essay stuff for me?
For DBQs, using the docs as evidence, for example, if a doc is talking about the negative effects of the industrial revolution from the harsh working conditions, would this be sufficient to use? The changes brought by the industrial revolution caused harsher working conditions (doc 5). rather than saying: in document 5, the author argues that The changes brought by the industrial revolution caused harsher working conditions.
I feel like the first way is too much of summarizing the document rather than using it as evidence, or does that only matter if I don’t further explain it?
@shiftydraw I would add a little bit more just to be safe, like “____'s journal entry shows that the industrial revolution brought harsh working conditions to factories”. It doesn’t take much time but is a bit more specific.
Thank y’all both for the constructive criticism of my essay and for taking time to grade it. I can’t tell you how helpful your criticism was because the DBQ is basically the essay where you have the most potential to maximize essay points since the evidence is given to you.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, thanks
@SSBP101 Thank you! I have done the 30 sample questions before and i don’t think they are really hard. So are they pretty much identical to the actual exam you took concerning difficulty? And about the passage-based questions, we can just figure out the answer from the question if we are cautious enough, right? Lastly, do you possibly have any idea what the essay topics would likely to be this year based on recent exams? Thanks so much!
I’d prefer not to have an essay on 1900-present, and it seems like they dont do that very often anyways, just a feeling of being so recent and the focus of classes aren’t really on it
I would love an essay on 1900 to the present. You all must have bad teachers if they just rush through that part. It’s very important. What with the world wars and the cold war and such.
And it also seems that there are not a lot of MC questions asking about 8000BCE to 600CE, as well as recent events.
8000 BCE- 600 CE is only supposed to make up 5% of the exam