<p>Hi, I have a college AP US History teacher.. basically his class runs like this: reading 2 chapters of the textbook(The Enduring Vision, basically fact after fact...), him lecturing daily over it... we just take notes, and then we take a test. Only tests with very little homework. I have alot of trouble in this class, I just received my first 82% in the class on the very first test. This is better than I have ever done on a test, so it shows improvement; however, I am still upset as to the fact that I may not receive an A in this class, any tips or pointers? I had an A- last term, and REALLY want an A</p>
<p>what do the tests cover? how are they structured?</p>
<p>I did not do AP anything :( </p>
<p>But, I made A's in University level lower division history (I have yet to take American History Part Two, though) by outlining.</p>
<p>I read that one book: "What Smart Students Know" and in that book the say to eventually consolidate everything. </p>
<p>So, I would outline the assigned readings, take good lecture notes, and then consolidate the outline. And by consolidate the outline, I mean kinda like make a new one containing the material from the text as well as what the Professor covered. </p>
<p>Then, I would write down all the main topics and covert that to the cornell note-taking method. I am real near sighted, so I use this template right here...<a href="http://www.eleven21.com/notetaker/%5B/url%5D">http://www.eleven21.com/notetaker/</a></p>
<p>And then to prepare for a test, I could make a Cornell note taking template where I would only put the topic and try my best to write out everything I knew of the topic without looking at anything. </p>
<p>If you do not care for the Cornell note taking stuff, you could make flashcards. </p>
<p>The moral of the story is that I did all of that because I soo did not do the AP's and I felt kinda bad. But, my A's make me feel kinda good :)</p>
<p>Good luck, and all. A B is better than a C, know what I mean?</p>
<p>I read Enduring Vision last year. Have you tried going to the online questions and seeing if your teacher borrows multiple choice questions from the web site? The website also has lots of other helpful stuff. apstudent.com (or something like that) has lots of flash cards for US history. The barron's flashcards are also fairly helpful for memorizing facts and key events (I used them to review for the AP exam and got a 5). </p>
<p>Are you having problems in the class because the teacher only uses tests and has no homework buffer grades? That is a hard adjustment for many students, but isn't college more about the test and less about busy work? Don't get hung up on the letter grade. Just try to learn the material and ask for help if you can't grasp any concepts. You can get into a top college with an A- on your transcript.</p>
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Hi, I have a college AP US History teacher.. basically his class runs like this: reading 2 chapters of the textbook(The Enduring Vision, basically fact after fact...), him lecturing daily over it... we just take notes, and then we take a test. Only tests with very little homework. I have alot of trouble in this class, I just received my first 82% in the class on the very first test. This is better than I have ever done on a test, so it shows improvement; however, I am still upset as to the fact that I may not receive an A in this class, any tips or pointers? I had an A- last term, and REALLY want an A
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<p>Read, read, read, and read. It's the best way to study for history. We're using the Enduring Vision too, but it's not that bad. It's better than the American Pageant. </p>
<p>I'd also recommend that you go to the textbook's website (look on back of book), and read the chapter summaries, study the vocab, and take the practice quizzes.</p>
<p>Review books can be helpful as well. I use Kaplan, but Princeton Review is good too.</p>
<p>Better than American Pageant? Blasphemy!!</p>
<p>I've found this website helpful:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.historymentor.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.historymentor.com</a></p>
<p>They have great review sites and textbook sites towards the bottom.</p>
<p>I second the above, "read read read." as you read, make a list of key terms, events, people, and dates. Then, after you finish reading, go back to your list and see if you can talk about the terms you wrote down. If you don't really remember much about them, go back or ask the teacher to explain</p>
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Better than American Pageant? Blasphemy!!
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<p>Yes! When I take AP US History, I don't want a textbook with the vocab of a third grade textbook. The Enduring Vision is so much better. I've used both...trust me, The Enduring Vision is more interesting than the pageant.</p>
<p>I was being sarcastic, I could care less how good the books are as long as I get a 4 or 5 on my test.</p>
<p>Ha, I like the American Pageant. I like coming across the incredibly odd sentences that the authors come up with. It spices up my reading experience =) I now remember chapters by the sentence that amused me the most.</p>
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I was being sarcastic, I could care less how good the books are as long as I get a 4 or 5 on my test.
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<p>Damn that internet sarcasm! lol</p>
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Ha, I like the American Pageant. I like coming across the incredibly odd sentences that the authors come up with. It spices up my reading experience =) I now remember chapters by the sentence that amused me the most.
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<p>I noticed that too! One of the authors of the pageant must have a sense of humor with history.</p>
<p>His tests are structured.. pretty damn difficult, 5 choices, all seem very right- guessing = failure. Average grade on tests are like a 75%, I made an 85% on this test... there are people in both classes(block scheduling) who make 96%'s and above... I suppose they just memorize every question though.</p>
<p>Read the chapter, and like the chapter. Force yourself to be interested in the chapter. Visualize the chapter in your head as a movie or videogame if you have to. I guarantee you that you will be a lot more successful if you are interested. Try it sometime.</p>
<p>Also, our American History class is structured pretty much the same way as yours, except we have to take at least two sheets of independent notes on every chapter. I'm finding that I'm not having any problems maintaining an A in the class at all, so taking independent notes might help you. I must warn you though--DO NOT just take notes for the hell of taking notes. Take notes because you're interested in taking notes. If you're not, then don't bother because it won't help.</p>