AP US History: Secrets of the

AP Exam

Or—what you need to know to get

through the next 36 weeks and pass
the exam.
Reasons to take the AP course and
try really hard to pass the exam…
 Colleges and universities see AP
experience as a huge plus.
 AP experience will give you the
reading, writing and thinking skills so
important to college success.
 Passing the AP exam will give you
college credit and save you money in
the long run.
The National Pass Rate
 Only 53% of students who take the
AP exam pass with a score of 3 or
better.
 This is not to scare you, but to show
you how much work we have to do to
make sure you all are one of the
53%!
How is the Exam Structured?
 Part I—Multiple Choice
 50% of the final score
 Part II—Writing Section
 50% of the final score. Of that, the
DBQ counts for 45% and the 2 essays
combined for 55%.
How well do I need to do on the
multiple choice section?
 In order to score a 3 (or pass) on this
section, you must have 48 points
(60%). Remember, that is the score
after the guessing penalty is
subtracted from the number you got
correct.
Multiple Choice—BREAKDOWN
BY ERA

ERA PERCENT OF NUMBER OF

QUESTIONS QUESTIONS
1600 TO 1789 17 13 OR 14

1790 TO 1914 50 40

1915 TO 33 26 OR 27
PRESENT
BREAK DOWN BY GENERAL
SUBJECT MATTER
SUBJECT PERCENT OF # OF
QUESTIONS QUESTIONS
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS 35 28
AND BEHAVIOR AND
PUBLIC POLICY
SOCIAL CHANGE 35 28

DIPLOMACY AND 15 12
INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
ECONOMIC CHANGE 10 8
CULTURAL AND 5 4
INTELLECTUAL
DEVELOPMENTS
EXPLANATION OF CHARTS
 A BIAS TOWARD THE CONSTITUTION
THROUGH WWI
 POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
EMPHASIZED
 LITTLE ABOUT ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL
TRENDS
 AT MOST TWO OR THREE QUESTIONS PAST
1975
NO MILITARY HISTORY AND TRIVIAL
PURSUIT
•THE APUSH EXAM DOESN’T ASK ABOUT MILITARY
HISTORY
•WHEN IT ASKS ABOUT WAR, THE QUESTIONS
CONCERNS THE POLITICAL OR SOCIAL
IMPLICATIONS OF A WAR RATHER THAN THE
DETAILS OF WARFARE
•APUSH QUESTIONS NEVER TEST ROTE
MEMORIZATION ONLY. WHILE YOU HAVE TO KNOW
YOUR FACTS TO DO WELL ON THIS TEST, THE
QUESTIONS ALWAYS ASK FOR INFORMATION IN
THE CONTEXT OF LARGER HISTORICAL TRENDS.
What about the DBQ?
 An essay question that requires you to
interpret primary source documents.
 Documents might include the following:

Newspaper articles/editorials
Letters/diaries
Speeches
Legislation
Political cartoons
Charts and graphs
A Different DBQ
 The US History DBQ is different than
the World History DBQ.
 For the US exam, you have to not
only discuss the documents, but also
include outside information to prove
that you know more about the topic.
 Without outside information, it is
impossible to get more than a 4 out
of 9 on your DBQ!
What Is the Free-Response
Question?

 Two part essay section

 Pre – 1870 (one prior to 1740)
 After – 1870 (one after 1950)
 Two questions in each group – select
one from each group
 70 minutes to plan and write both
essays
 What Is the Free-Response
Question?
Continued
 Yes and No
 Multiple arguments
 All outside information
 Not as long or in-depth as DBQ
 Defensible thesis
 Information to support thesis
 Evidence, Evidence, Evidence
Study, Study, Study!
 For review and other resources, go to
my website:

 www.lennox.k12.ca.us/~lweston
Class Discussion
 What is difficult about each of the
following areas of the course? What can
we do as a class to better get through
them?
 1. Reading and understanding the text
 2. Taking effective notes
 3. Doing well on multiple choice
 4. Doing well on DBQs
 5. Doing well on essays
Goals for the Year
 Take 5 minutes to come up with three
SPECIFIC goals about what you hope
to accomplish in this course.
 Your goal should not be as big as “to
pass the exam,” but something more
specific like “take more effective
Cornell Notes during discussion,” or,
“be sure I study my notes for at least
twenty minutes a night.”