By ANNA MARIE BORIA AND JOSEPH COLLAZO
The late nights, long outlines, pounds of homework and loads of stress that a typical AP class brings is all in preparation for the most important exam of the year.
With the month of AP exams slowly approaching, good preparation is a necessity. Much of the stress that AP exams add on students is the fear of not preparing correctly for the exam.
With that in mind, students who scored fives on the exams and the teachers of four of the most popular AP classes on campus share tips on how to succeed in May. These tips range from what to study, when to begin studying, as well as important things to remember for each exam.
Important tips students should remember to succeed for any AP exam is to relax, review with ample time as well as keeping a clear mind before and during the exam.
Reducing any unnecessary stress caused by AP exams is important to keep in mind. Exams should be viewed as something to be looking forward to instead of something to panic about. The exam should be seen as the finish line of a journey filled with sleepless nights, countless outlines and dedication.
AP Human Geography
This exam torments newcomers, causing stress for freshmen across campus. According to sophomore Janet Jones, the exam should be approached with ample preparation. Jones used a variety of study techniques including creating notecards and buying the AP Human Geography Kaplan review book, which is requirement in Suzanne Unger’s class. She says that students worry too much, and that this can hinder their score.
“Study, but don’t take it too seriously. You know it. You’ve learned it all year,” Jones said.
Unger’s Tips:
Suzanne Unger notices that her students just look at the material as something to study for a test. When in fact the exam will test students on applying their knowledge. She recommends they think about it, ask questions and try to apply what he is learning to different situations in either the question portion and/or the Free Response Question portion of the exam.
“More than half my students admitted recently that they don’t read their FRQ answers after they write them. Make sure they make sense,” Unger said.
AP Statistics
The exam tests students on the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from sets of data while using a graphing calculator. This is something different from what previous AP students experienced, which makes studying early crucial for this new material.
Junior Dustin Fontaine recommends making flash cards and studying in a quiet place.
“I would [also] recommend to someone taking the exam to really know how to use your [graphing] calculator,” Fontaine said.
Godfrey’s Tips:
Re-reading the book several times is the key to doing well in the AP Statistics exam. Kay Godfrey gives several practice exams. She grades them in the same format as the AP exam, to help students gain an idea of what is to be expected.
“We end learning all the material needed for the exam by the end of the third quarter, and by the beginning of the fourth quarter it is a good place to start studying for,” Godfrey said.
She also suggests to work more workbook problems for extra practice for the exam.
AP United States History
Beginning to study for the AP United States History exam should begin as soon as possible.
“Keep reviewing throughout the year because it makes it a lot easier to study for the exam,” senior Clay Townsend said.
Essential things to review for this exam are the PowerPoints Mr. Parrett provides., homework, classwork and key parts of United States history are not as emphasized in class [social and political history]. In addition to reading the shorten versions of the chapters in the handbook each student received this year.
Parrett’s Tips:
Students should prepare for the AP United States History exam by reviewing social and political history. Keep in mind the rules on writing a Document Based Question and an FRQ are also essentials in doing well on the AP United States History exam.
“You can always recover from a bad [FRQ or DBQ] from having a good thesis but never the other way around.” AP U.S. History teacher Christopher Parrett said.
Other helpful tips would be to begin reviewing the handbook at least a month before the exam.
AP Language
One hundred fifty-seven juniors across campus are taking AP Language. The exam may seem frightening to some students since the exam is harder to study for with it being skilled based, but students need not worry.
Senior Kaitlin Cheatham advises the use of online practice resources such as those found on SparkNotes. Cheatham does have one regret about studying.
“[I wish I had] extra time to practice writing with time limits [during the essay portion of the exam],” Cheatham said.
Preparing for the AP Language exam begins the very first day of school according to Vicky Nicoll.
“You can not cram on an AP exam that is completely skilled based,” Nicoll said.”
Nicoll began preparing her students the first quarter of the school year. Her tips on doing well on the exam are studying vocabulary terms and doing extra language work than what is given in class. The main areas she believes any student taking the AP Language exam should focus on is rhetorical strategies and devices.