FINAL ADVICE FOR THE APUSH EXAM

1. FINAL ADVICE FOR THE APUSH EXAM

2. MY RULE FOR THE AP EXAM: YOU MUST MAKE A GOOD FAITH EFFORT THIS MEANS YOUR HEAD IS NEVER ON THE DESK, AND YOU DO NOT PUT DOWN YOUR PENCIL OR PEN AND STOP WORKING ANY EARLIER THAN 5 MINUTES BEFORE THE END OF ANY SECTION OF THE EXAM OR ELSE I WILL OVERRIDE YOUR GRADES AND GIVE YOU AN F FOR THE ENTIRE CLASS. I’VE DONE IT BEFORE AND WILL DO IT AGAIN IF I HAVE TO!

3. HOW THE EXAM IS SCORED (UPDATED) 111 – 180 = 62% = 5 91 – 110 = 51% = 4 76 - 90 = 42% = 3 THESE NUMBERS ARE FROM 2009 – THEY CHANGE A BIT FROM YEAR TO YEAR, BUT IN ANY YEAR . . .

4. LUCKY 7 (70%) WILL ALWAYS BE A 5 56 CORRECT ON MC = 70% 7 ON DBQ' AVERAGE OF 7 ON FRQS THE HIGHER YOUR MC SCORE, THE LOWER YOUR ESSAY SCORES NEED BE

5. MC STRATEGY • ANSWER ALL 80 QUESTIONS –THERE'S NO PENALTY FOR WRONG ANSWERS • READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY! • YOU SHOULD KNOW MOST OF THE ANSWERS BUT IF YOU DON'T KNOW AN ANSWER, GUESS!

6. TRY TO MAKE AN EDUCATED GUESS. USUALLY AT LEAST TWO AND SOMETIMES THREE OF THE ANSWER CHOICES ARE NOT ONLY WRONG BUT ALSO LOONEY! • IF YOU DON’T KNOW ENOUGH TO MAKE AND EDUCATED GUESS, MAKE A RANDOM GUESS • ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS!

7. ESSAY STRATEGY • DO NOT SPEND MORE THAN 45 MINUTES WRITING THE DBQ OR MORE THAN 35 MINUTES ON EACH OF THE FRQS • YOU MAY HAVE TO PACE YOURSELF BECAUSE SOME PROCTORS WON'T TELL YOU WHEN TO SWITCH TO ANOTHER ESSAY – SO WEAR A WATCH!

8. WRITE SOMETHING ON EACH ESSAY. AT LEAST WRITE A THESIS FOR 1 POINT. • USE THE FORMULAS FOR YOUR THESIS • WITHOUT EXCEPTION EVERYONE WHO THOUGHT S/HE COULD WRITE AN ELEGANT THESIS ON 1968 WROTE AN INCOMPLETE THESIS. • AND GOOD WRITING IS PLAIN AND COMPLETE

9. FOR AN "ASSESS THE VALIDITY" OR "TO WHAT EXTENT" QUESTION THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS "YES" FOR AT LEAST TWO REASONS AND "NO" FOR AT LEAST TWO REASONS

10. FORMULA: IN THE PERIOD _____ X IS {TRUE/ VALID} TO SOME EXTENT FOR SEVERAL REASONS, INCLUDING ______ BECAUSE -_____. X IS ALSO {TRUE/VALID})BECAUSE ________. BUT X IS NOT ENTIRELY TRUE FOR SEVERAL REASONS INCLUDING ______ BECAUSE. ALSO, {REASON/ EXPLANATION}

11. FOR A PROMPT ASKING FOR FACTORS. CAUSES, EFFECTS, ETC. – USUALLY THESE PROMPTS SPECIFY WHAT TYPE OF ANALYSIS YOU MUST DO (SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, ETC.) IF THAT'S NOT SPECIFIED USE PIEMASTER AND CHOOSE THE MOST RELEVANT TWO. • HINT: ECONOMICS IS ALMOST ALWAYS RELEVANT BECAUSE $$ MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND

12. THESIS FORMULA: IN THE [PERIOD] X INCLUDE(S) {E.G., CAUSES, FACTORS, EFFECTS, BECAUSE ________ [REPEAT X ALSO INCLUDE(S) _________, BECAUSE ________ AND ________ BECAUSE ____________

13. FOR A PROMPT CALLING FOR A COMPARISON: X AND Y ARE SIMILAR IN SEVERAL WAYS, INCUDING _____ BECAUSE. THEY ARE ALSO SIMILAR IN THAT ________ BECAUSE _______. BUT X AND Y ARE ALSO DIFFERENT BECAUSE ___________ AND _________.

14. USE SPECIFIC, BUT BROAD CATEGORIES EXAMPLE: POLITICAL CAUSES OF THE CONSERVATIVE REVOLUTION INCLUDE THE VIOLENCE OF 1960s POLITICS, BECAUSE THAT CAUSED A DESIRE FOR STRICTER LAW AND ORDER AMONG MOST WHITE VOTERS. [NOT “ASSASSINATIONS, RACE RIOTS, CAMPUS VIOLENCE” – BUT THESE FACTS AND MANY OTHERS CAN BE DISCUSSED IN ESSAY UNDER THE CATEGORY OF VIOLENCE]

15. OR: ONE POLITICAL FACTOR IS GOVERNMENT DISHONESTY IN THE 1960s AND 1970s BECAUSE THIS LED TO A DECLINE IN CONFIDENCE IN THE GOVERNMENT THIS WOULD LET YOU DISCUSS VIETNAM LIES, THE CREDIBILITY GAP, WATERGATE, MALAISE AND CARTER’S SPEECH ABOUT IT, AND HOW THE LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN GOV’T LED TO “ME” GENERATION IN 1980s WITH NO INTEREST IN PROGRESSIVE REFORMS

16. IF YOU DO YOUR THESIS ACCORDING TO THE FORMULAS, EACH SENTENCE IN YOUR THESIS SHOULD BE USED AS A TOPIC SENTENCE FOR THE RELEVANT PARAGRAPH IN THE ESSAY IF YOU DON’T USE THE FORMULA, YOUR ESSAY WILL PROBABLY BE INCOMPLETE AND POORLY WRITTEN