Studying for the AP World Exam

Test Preparation AP History & Social Sciences
1

Hello:

I am a sophomore in HS currently taking AP World. The class itself has not been terribly difficult- I’ve earned mostly uncurved A’s (and always curved A’s) on our multiple choice tests that are based on the AP exam. We also have short answer reading quizzes on a regular basis, which makes me feel confident about those two components of the exam.

However, it’s almost 4th quarter and my teacher has NOT given us enough LEQ/DBQ practice. We’ve done one open note LEQ, three or so LEQ outlines and one DBQ that’s yet to be returned. I got a 6/6 on the open note essay but that is obviously not representative of the exam (plus I have a feeling that my teacher is more relaxed with grading than the AP graders will be).

I’ve maintained a 99% each quarter, so I intend to earn a 5 (although I’m trying to talk myself into accepting a 4). Last year, 80-something% of people passed the exam and 20% got a 5, which I know is great, but that’s taking into account the classes of the veteran teacher (who I do not have).

My question is mostly to people really familiar with AP: what would you recommend I do? I bought the Barron’s booklet and intend to start writing practice essays really soon, but I feel too inexperienced to judge my own essays at this point. I would bring them to my teacher but considering his grading pace I’m not sure. I’ve even considered bringing them to the veteran teacher for advice, but I don’t want to waste his time or offend my teacher in the process.

So I’m just wondering if you have any recommendations besides doing the practice essays and reading the Barron’s book essay guidelines/AP rubric.

Thank you!

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AP teacher and grader here. On the college board website, you can download past AP essays and see the rationale for their score. I think this is actually a really handy strategy for figuring out exactly what the essay should look like. If you shoot me an a PDQ, I can give you an idea of whether you’re on the right track.

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I agree, I would go through past exams that the College Board posts and see how they break down their scores. I haven’t used Barron’s for history, but I know that Princeton Review books also break down their practice essays with how it would be scored. It may be beneficial to also look into some online resources like Fiveable (https://fiveable.me/), since they have a lot of live streams that go over AP World essay writing specifically as well as review sessions, although it sounds like you are doing great in the class content.

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I’m sorry I never replied to you @KTfl04 and @jumpaheadck but thanks so so much! Your strategies were both super helpful and I got a 5!! So grateful for the help.