PREPARE WITH CONFIDENCE Excelling on the AP U.S. History Exam REA gives you all the tools you'll need to master the Advanced Placement Examination in United States History: * Unrivaled detailed review of all the facts in a context that will sharpen classroom discussion and keep you from having to continually check your textbook for citations as you study. * Handy timelines that clearly summarize each period's major events. * Photographs and other carefully chosen artwork that bring critical events and personalities to life. * Sidebars that highlight key historical figures and issues. * Comprehensive index that speeds specific referencing. * Six full-length, true-to-format practice exams--with 480 multiple-choice items in all--that prepare you for the actual AP exam like no other book.
* Practice Tests 1, 2, and 3, provided on REA's exclusive TEST ware CD, affording you the benefits of instantaneous, accurate scoring and enforced time conditions. * Full explanations of every practice-exam answer. * Complete array of sample essay questions and answers. Beginning with the 2006 exam, the AP Program's U.S. History Development Committee has embraced the trend on college and university campuses to view United States history through the prism of social change on the one hand, and cultural and intellectual developments on the other. Our book does likewise.In choosing REA, you're putting yourself in the company of tens of thousands of AP students who have benefited from our total preparation package year after year.
Moreover, teachers across the nation and beyond find that this book offers a clear-eyed, no-nonsense perspective on the history of the United States of America. In fact, many AP instructors use it to supplement their classroom text and lectures precisely because it so comprehensively supports specific curriculum objectives for the AP course and exam. ABOUT REA's TestWare Practice tests 1 through 3 of this book are included in two formats: in printed format in this book, and in TestWare format on the enclosed CD. We strongly recommend that you begin your preparation with the TestWare practice exams. The software provides the added benefits of automatic, accurate scoring and enforced time conditions. The content and format of the actual AP U.S. History exam are faithfully mirrored.
ABOUT THE EXAM The Advanced Placement Program is designed to allow high school students to pursue college-level studies while attending high school. The three-hour five-minute AP U.S. History exam is usually given to high school students who have completed a year's study in a college-level U.S. History course. The test results are then used to determine the awarding of course credit and/or advanced course placement in college.According to the College Board, students taking this exam are called upon to demonstrate "systematic factual knowledge" and bring to bear critical, persuasive analysis of the full sweep of U.
S. history. This is why we make every effort to establish and build upon context for you, rather than encouraging rote memorization of disconnected facts. FORMAT. The AP U.S. History Exam is divided into two sections as follows: 1) Multiple-Choice Items: This section is composed of 80 multiple-choice questions designed to gauge your ability to understand and analyze U.S.
history from the Pre-Columbian period to the present. The majority of the questions, however, are based on nineteenth- and twentieth-century history. This section tests factual knowledge, scope of preparation, and knowledge-based analytical skills. You'll have 55 minutes to complete this section, which accounts for 50 percent of your final grade. 2) Free-Response Items: This section is composed of three essay questions designed to measure your ability to write coherent, intelligent, well-organized essays on historical topics. The essays require you to demonstrate mastery of historical interpretation and the ability to express views and knowledge in writing. The essays may relate documents to different areas, analyze common themes of different time periods, or compare individual and group experiences that reflect socioeconomic, racial, gender, and ethnic differences. Part A consists of a mandatory 15-minute reading period, followed by 45 minutes during which you must answer a document-based question (DBQ), which changes from year to year.
In Part B and Part C, you'll be directed to answer one of two questions presented in each section. You will have 70 minutes to write your essays. The free-response section counts for 50 percent of your final grade. Test-Taking Tips If you are not familiar with standardized tests such as the AP United States History exam, there are many ways to acquaint yourself with this type of examination and help alleviate any test-taking anxieties. Listed below are ways to help you become accustomed to the AP exams, some of which may be applied to other standardized tests as well. Become comfortable with the format of the exam. Stay calm and pace yourself. After simulating the test a couple of times, you will boost your chances of doing well, and you will be able to sit down for the actual exam with more confidence.
Read all of the possible answers. Just because you think you have found the correct response, do not automatically assume that it is the best answer. Read through each choice to be sure that you are not making a mistake by jumping to conclusions. CONTACTING THE AP PROGRAM Prospective examinees should download from the College Entrance Examination Board's website or request by phone the free bulletin offering a general description of the AP Program, including policies and procedures as well as instructions on how to register for the AP Examination in United States History. Here's how to contact the College Board: AP Services P.O. Box 6671 Princeton, NJ 08541-6671 Phone: (609) 771-7300 or (888) 225-5427 Website: http://apcentral.collegeboard.
com E-mail: apexams@info.collegeboard.org .