Transcript DO`S AND DONT`S OF THE APUSH EXAM

DO’S AND DONT’S OF THE
APUSH EXAM…
DO…
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GET PLENTY OF SLEEP THE NIGHT BEFORE
EAT A GOOD BREAKFAST
HAVE A SNACK BETWEEN SECTIONS OF THE
TEST
USE A BLUE OR BLACK PEN—BRING SEVERAL
BRING PLENTY OF SHARPENED PENCILS FOR THE
MC PORTION OF THE TEST
BRING A BOTTLE OF WATER…KEEP HYDRATED
FOR YOUR BRAIN!
BRING A WATCH—MAKE GOOD USE OF YOUR
TIME
STRATEGIZE 1ST—IT WILL SAVE YOU TIME IF YOU
PLAN AND CREATE A SHORT OUTLINE FIRST
DON’T…In General
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Make little
doodles/pictures/scribbles on your
paper—looks like you didn’t even
try (therefore…why should the
person grading your test give you
ANY benefit of the doubt)
Do not use abbrevations or “text
slang”
Do not use familiar terms i.e.
Tommy J, Teddy or T.R., George
etc…
What do the numbers mean?
5= extremely well qualified. Highest
possible grade
4= well qualified.
3= qualified.
2= possibly qualified.
1= no qualified to receive college credit.
Level of college credit awarded will vary
from college to college—some may
exempt you from taking the class, while
others may not only exempt you, but give
you credit for the class as well.
Multiple Choice…
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80 questions-each with 5 possible
answers
55 minutes to complete—that’s
about 68 seconds per question…
Read through the question AND
answers before selecting an
answer—make certain you know
what the question is asking before
you answer
Historical Eras covered
1/6 of the questions deal with events
from 1600-1789
½ of the questions deal with events
from 1790-1914
1/3 of the questions deal with events
from 1914 to present day
YES…the AP exam can ask MC
questions up to present day!
MC Topics…
37% of the questions deal with political
institutions and public policy
36% of the questions deal with social change
13% of the questions deal with diplomacy and
international relations
8 % of the questions deal with economic changes
and developments
4% of the questions deal with cultural and
intellectual developments
Don’t stress out! You’ve had ALLLLLLL of these
style questions on all of your tests all year
long!!!!
How is it graded? (MC)
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80 questions (answered all)
60 correct (raw score)
20 incorrect
# correct (raw score) - ¼ * # incorrect =
scaled score
60- ¼ * 20 = 60-5=55 (scaled score)
57 and above = 5
41-56
=4
31-40
=3
Should I guess???? (On the APUSH
exam…not class tests—class tests
should be completed)
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If you don’t have a clue---DON’T GUESS!
If you can narrow it down to 1 or 2 answers—
YES…GUESS
Go with your first gut instinct—it’s usually right
and honestly you don’t have the time to debate
every single question
Do not leave more than 8-10 questions blank
MC is easiest in the beginning and harder as the
test progresses
You will probably see political cartoons on the test
DBQ…
OK…SO HERE’S THE DEAL…THE
AVERAGE SCORE ON THE DBQ FOR
2007 WAS 3.4—YOU GUYS ARE NOT
AVERAGE!!!!!!!!!
DBQ…
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You will have a mandatory 15 minutes to
review the documents prior to writing the
DBQ—make an outline
Then you will have 45 minutes to write
the DBQ
Think about it—I’ve given you 25 minutes
from start to finish the review and write
the DBQ—15 minutes to review is a GIFT
You can write on the DBQ—use this
opportunity to make notes and highlight
(***) key pieces of information to help
you with your essay
DBQ…
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Incorporate as many documents as
possible into your essay
Do not use long or frequent quotes—best
not to quote at all
ANSWER THE QUESTION…focus on your
essay—the documents are merely
supporting your thoughts and ideas—not
the other way around
Cite the documents (Document A)
Do NOT write your essay in order of the
documents—no laundry lists of
Documents
DBQ…
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Do NOT NOT NOT (did I say NOT
already????) state the following in
your essay
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Document B says---AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! We don’t live at
Hogwarts—and there are no Howlers
except for me if I get your paper back
and you have written this…I WILL hunt
you down like a dog in the Junior halls
next year…
FRQ’s…
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2 FRQ’s
70 MINUTES FOR BOTH—
APPROXIMATELY 35 MIN. EACH TO
ANSWER
CHOOSE 1 OF 2 OPTIONS ON A
QUESTION PRIOR TO THE CIVIL
WAR AND CHOOSE 1 OF 2 OPTIONS
ON A QUESTION AFTER THE CIVIL
WAR
Possible topics…on both DBQ & FRQ’s
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Change over time
Cause and effect
Compare and contrast
Define and Identify—not an essay itself,
but may be necessary to answer the
essay
Statement and Reaction
Evaluation
Analyzing viewpoints (Do you agree with
this statement—is this a valid point of
view)
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On both DBQ’s and FRQ’s…
You MUST have outside information
Do not use “weak” words
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For example: do not use “Says” “Tells” “Speaks of” “Firstly”
“Secondly”
Instead use action words: the author contends, portrays, presents,
argues, illustrates,
Do not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES state the following in your
papers---This topic is alike yet different—It is the kiss of death!
Do not ask a question—you have the answers—let the reader
know it
Have a kick…….thesis statement—once you grab them they will
spend more time on your paper
Don’t ramble---be consistent & use transitional sentences/
phrases
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For example: On the otherhand, From a different perspective,
Likewise,
ALWAYS keep your paper in the 1st person—do not use “you” or “we”
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For example: “it can be implied” or “one can deduct from this line of
reasoning that ….”