Taking AP classes is the easy part, preparing for the test is the hard part.
Throughout the year, I have lived through sports, co-curriculars, jobs, medical issues, and AP classes. I’ve learned, or come to realize what the best way to prepare for the AP Language and AP United States History tests are, and I’ve come to share that advice with you.
For APUSH, I recommend you take notes in class. Don’t just sit there and listen to the lecture, that will do nothing. Handwritten notes are the absolute best way to retain information, but sometimes the lecture goes by a little too fast to write down notes, so I typed most of mine.
Something I wish I knew about sooner is Heimler’s History. This is an AP teacher who creates review videos on YouTube for APUSH, AP Government, AP World, and AP Euro. He also covers tips and tricks for short answer questions (SAQ’s), long essay questions (LEQ’s), and document based questions (DBQ’s). I recommend going over his videos and writing notes along the way, and most videos are an average of five minutes long. I’ve been watching his videos and taking notes on them every day leading up to the APUSH test.
If an AP teacher recommends a YouTube channel, videos on AP Classroom, or looking in the textbook, I highly suggest you watch/read the material. The information in those materials usually answered questions that I had and further explained topics that I didn’t understand or we may have run out of time for in class. There are tons of online resources that help with understanding topics for AP classes that have really helped me out.
Procrastination is inevitable for high school students, especially when the due date seems so far away. Trust me, get started on that assignment as soon as you can. Cramming the night before to finish explaining 20 plus primary sources after sports practice is not a fun time or good for your mental health. Cramming those assignments also means you’re not paying as much attention to the material, which is often really important and helpful for preparing for the upcoming tests.
Once March rolls around, start reviewing material from August. Trying to study eight units of material in less than a month and retain that information is not easy. In APUSH, review the “Fast Track to a 5” book and do the multiple choice questions. Take the practice writing prompts seriously, and have your teacher read through it and give feedback. For AP Lang, prepare for the timed-writes and do your best on them. They are the best practice for the AP test, and doing as many as you can, the best you can, will change your score from a three to a four.
Take my advice, or the advice of another AP student, and do your best. Everyone is capable of scoring well if you try and review properly. Good luck.
