It seems far away yet there are less than three months until the big exam and there is no better time to at least plan on HOW you will study for the final exam. Tips used while studying for the semester exam still apply yet there are some differences here that will be beneficial to know and it all depends on how much time you have left to study.
THREE MONTHS BEFORE
At this stage, you don't know everything, therefore any flashcards that Barron or other AP Test prep books give you won't be that helpful and can make you feel more stressed out. Instead, this is the time where you can better focus your time on learning how to structure and manage FRQs and DBQs. I know it's a pain but a goal that I would set is that at least once a week, you use the resources given in the AP Exam Review page to find a DBQ or FRQ. From now until somewhere like March 20th (5 weeks), work on timing and building up upon different parts of the DBQ or FRQ in order to increase efficiency and feel confident on how YOU want to approach the essay.
Week 1: DBQ --- annotating the documents, developing a thesis, and word vomit what comes to mind that you can tie to the paper (10 minutes)
Week 2: FRQ --- develop a thesis and word vomit everything that comes to mind that you can tie in together for each paragraph point (5 minutes)
(DO TWO OF THESE FOR A TOTAL OF 10 MINUTES)
Week 3: DBQ --- annotating the documents, developing a thesis, and word vomit what comes to mind that you can tie to the paper AND plan out a basic structure of what the documents and specific examples will be used and where (15 minutes)
Week 4: FRQ --- From a new FRQ question develop a thesis, word vomit/structure, and write the paper response (35 minutes)
Week 5: DBQ --- From a new DBQ question develop a thesis, word vomit, structure, and write the paper response (60 minutes)
Each time you do one of these, take it in to Mr. Johnston during ELO and have him look over your thesis at least because if your thesis is bad, then there is no way you can score anything higher than a 5 out of 9 on your paper!
TWO MONTHS BEFORE
Now it is officially crunch time around March 8th where the realization that you have about 60 days until the exam approaches. Now that you know how you feel comfortable with how to make the test suit your needs and how to approach it confidently, it all depends on the knowledge that you know.
DBQ/FRQ: Instead of working on time and structure, now work on the word vomit part where you find specific examples and can make an explanation for each one. Show the college board and Mr. J that you know what you are talking about. Take this list of examples into ELO and debate questionable ones with him.
TERMS: This is the most important thing you can ever do for studying for this test. Now that we are further in the year, you should know (heh heh...not like me who still didn't know) what kind of studying habits work best for you for terms. Only problem that I can see some running into is long-term memory vs. short-term memory. If your habits are more for short-term, things might need to change at this point. One long term way I found best remembering (well, more like trying to remember) over 200 terms were flashcards. For me it was all about content and what it was, so I'd want to write a quick blip of what in general happened and when. If I'd been paying attention at all during the year, the whys would formulate and I could make the wheels turn so I didn't take too much care to writing any of that down.
ONE MONTH BEFORE
If you haven't started studying until now, your best bet is to do terms. When writing more practice DBQs and FRQs, as long as you know your content and can tie in info and explain how it ties in, then you are good to go yet in order to do that, you first have to know your stuff. This is the time where the Barron Flashcards can be pulled out and it wouldn't be a bad idea to skim that beginning portion of tips and tricks to the test in the Prep Book. Most importantly though is that you have to take the time to study terms. Without the content, it's going to a rough road! Get together with friends to study in groups and go over eras or specific events that you have a mind lapse in and they can help to fill in the blanks.
TWO WEEKS BEFORE
I'm assuming that this is the point where most people are hard-core studying and thinking that they are going to die on the test. This is the week of sleepless nights, classmates making study guides and the time where we all feel the pressure of the (possibly first) AP Exam. At this point, if you don't know your content, terms are way to go and it would be advisable that you make sure you fill in any gaps in time that your mind keeps forgetting. If you are more or less good with content, work more taking two or three terms and being able to at least list off 15 specific examples that tie in with it (If you need motivation, as study groups, make it a competition to see who can come up with the most and debate against people whose examples might not fit to drop down their total number).
ONE WEEK BEFORE
PRACTICE EXAMS and TERMS!!!! This week sucks the most out of all of them!!! Your exam is Friday, May 8th and during this week it is advisable to take practice exams and still look over terms. What you could do:
Saturday, May 2nd (PROM!!): Terms
Sunday, May 3rd: Terms
Monday, May 4th: FRQ Practice Exam (35 min) and Terms
Tuesday, May 5th: Multiple Choice Practice Exam (55 min) and Terms
Wednesday, May 6th: DBQ Practice Exam (60 min) and Terms
Thursday, May 7th: Terms and REST YOUR MIND (Plan for 8 hours of sleep even though we all know we will only get 6)
Anyhow, it's a lot to process but I wish you guys the best of luck!!!
THREE MONTHS BEFORE
At this stage, you don't know everything, therefore any flashcards that Barron or other AP Test prep books give you won't be that helpful and can make you feel more stressed out. Instead, this is the time where you can better focus your time on learning how to structure and manage FRQs and DBQs. I know it's a pain but a goal that I would set is that at least once a week, you use the resources given in the AP Exam Review page to find a DBQ or FRQ. From now until somewhere like March 20th (5 weeks), work on timing and building up upon different parts of the DBQ or FRQ in order to increase efficiency and feel confident on how YOU want to approach the essay.
Week 1: DBQ --- annotating the documents, developing a thesis, and word vomit what comes to mind that you can tie to the paper (10 minutes)
Week 2: FRQ --- develop a thesis and word vomit everything that comes to mind that you can tie in together for each paragraph point (5 minutes)
(DO TWO OF THESE FOR A TOTAL OF 10 MINUTES)
Week 3: DBQ --- annotating the documents, developing a thesis, and word vomit what comes to mind that you can tie to the paper AND plan out a basic structure of what the documents and specific examples will be used and where (15 minutes)
Week 4: FRQ --- From a new FRQ question develop a thesis, word vomit/structure, and write the paper response (35 minutes)
Week 5: DBQ --- From a new DBQ question develop a thesis, word vomit, structure, and write the paper response (60 minutes)
Each time you do one of these, take it in to Mr. Johnston during ELO and have him look over your thesis at least because if your thesis is bad, then there is no way you can score anything higher than a 5 out of 9 on your paper!
TWO MONTHS BEFORE
Now it is officially crunch time around March 8th where the realization that you have about 60 days until the exam approaches. Now that you know how you feel comfortable with how to make the test suit your needs and how to approach it confidently, it all depends on the knowledge that you know.
DBQ/FRQ: Instead of working on time and structure, now work on the word vomit part where you find specific examples and can make an explanation for each one. Show the college board and Mr. J that you know what you are talking about. Take this list of examples into ELO and debate questionable ones with him.
TERMS: This is the most important thing you can ever do for studying for this test. Now that we are further in the year, you should know (heh heh...not like me who still didn't know) what kind of studying habits work best for you for terms. Only problem that I can see some running into is long-term memory vs. short-term memory. If your habits are more for short-term, things might need to change at this point. One long term way I found best remembering (well, more like trying to remember) over 200 terms were flashcards. For me it was all about content and what it was, so I'd want to write a quick blip of what in general happened and when. If I'd been paying attention at all during the year, the whys would formulate and I could make the wheels turn so I didn't take too much care to writing any of that down.
ONE MONTH BEFORE
If you haven't started studying until now, your best bet is to do terms. When writing more practice DBQs and FRQs, as long as you know your content and can tie in info and explain how it ties in, then you are good to go yet in order to do that, you first have to know your stuff. This is the time where the Barron Flashcards can be pulled out and it wouldn't be a bad idea to skim that beginning portion of tips and tricks to the test in the Prep Book. Most importantly though is that you have to take the time to study terms. Without the content, it's going to a rough road! Get together with friends to study in groups and go over eras or specific events that you have a mind lapse in and they can help to fill in the blanks.
TWO WEEKS BEFORE
I'm assuming that this is the point where most people are hard-core studying and thinking that they are going to die on the test. This is the week of sleepless nights, classmates making study guides and the time where we all feel the pressure of the (possibly first) AP Exam. At this point, if you don't know your content, terms are way to go and it would be advisable that you make sure you fill in any gaps in time that your mind keeps forgetting. If you are more or less good with content, work more taking two or three terms and being able to at least list off 15 specific examples that tie in with it (If you need motivation, as study groups, make it a competition to see who can come up with the most and debate against people whose examples might not fit to drop down their total number).
ONE WEEK BEFORE
PRACTICE EXAMS and TERMS!!!! This week sucks the most out of all of them!!! Your exam is Friday, May 8th and during this week it is advisable to take practice exams and still look over terms. What you could do:
Saturday, May 2nd (PROM!!): Terms
Sunday, May 3rd: Terms
Monday, May 4th: FRQ Practice Exam (35 min) and Terms
Tuesday, May 5th: Multiple Choice Practice Exam (55 min) and Terms
Wednesday, May 6th: DBQ Practice Exam (60 min) and Terms
Thursday, May 7th: Terms and REST YOUR MIND (Plan for 8 hours of sleep even though we all know we will only get 6)
Anyhow, it's a lot to process but I wish you guys the best of luck!!!