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United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination Review
User Submitted United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination ReviewsAugust 24, 2008 All You Need for AP and SAT Subject Test This books is practically amazing. My school scheduled the AP US History course first semester (one semester only) and the class was a disappointment. Massive curving on tests and incompetent students abounded. I read AMSCO for the January SAT subject test and scored a 760. Then I read it again for the May AP test and scored a 5. Simply amazing. July 24, 2008 Probably the best book out there This book was recommended to my class by my APUSH teacher who was a former college professor. She was right in her assertion that this book is better than any other review book out there for AP US History. This book will give you a concise explanation of events and their significance, give you sample questions, and practice DBQ's and FRQ's for each individual section. Me being the procrastinator I am, I crammed with this book the day before the exam. Lo and behold, I got a 5. Now, I'm not saying this book will get you a 5, but using this book properly with all it has to offer will increase your chances infinitely. I'd recommend this book over any other out there on the market. June 30, 2008 a GREAT resource for AP US History!! My AP US History class was way behind schedule - only reaching WWI in the week before the test. Luckily, I had AMSCO to prepare me for the AP test. This book summarizes everything you will need to know for the test, and keeps it interesting. There are many maps and charts to visually display the information talked about, and historical documents from each time period that help you to understand historical context. Every chapter has 10 multiple-choice review questions that force you to remember what you just read, sample essay questions, and vocabulary words. Some of the multiple-choice questions were almost exactly the same as questions I saw while taking the AP test. At the end of the book is a practice test that closely models the real thing. It has sections on Writing the DBQ and FRQ essays. The sections on the DBQ were invaluable to me, because they explained how to write a good essay much better than my teacher did. It goes over structure, how to know what the question is specifically asking you, and shows you how to get a high score using analysis. This book is also almost indestructible. I took it to many track meets where it was stepped on, thrown across the team tent, and got rained on. It is still in great condition!! The only downside to this book is that the answers to the questions aren't in the back of it. However, just use Google, and you can find the answers in seconds. AMSCO is best used over a period of at least two weeks - a month is best. If you are looking for a quick cram book, this one isn't for you. May 26, 2008 This is basically another textbook This book is too long to be a useful review book. I had this same book (previous edition) as an accompanyment to our American Pageant main text. I think the pageant had like 2220 pages which I real all of in 1 semester. It's interesting that someone mentioned that they did the course in 2 years (4 semesters). If you follow the rule of 2 high school semesters = 1 college semester, this is correct since you get 2 college semesters credit of history for this course, and we had to do it all in 1 high school semester (so we learned it in quadruple speed, no wonder I was up till 1AM everyday!!!) Anyway, since we took this 1st semester, and took other courses the 2nd, I forgotten ALOT of the material. The teacher had weekly review sessions for 1 hour every week at library at school at like 8 pm, but my dad wasn't going to take me after a long shift at work. Though I vaguely remember we were allowed to keep the AMSCO until the test in May the following semester, I remember trying to review with this, but it was just too much information. It is basically another textbook, and the information is not "summarized" in a useful way for review (as opposed to the Barron's AP European history text I have commented about previously). You basically have to reread the entire thing, which, if you are doing by yourself with no assignments to help reinforce the info (not to mention the fact you already read this), you won't retain anything, at least i didn't I couldn't afford to pick and choose books at the time and went with what was free, but if you can find some review book that is only about 300-400 pages (i think this one was like 900), that would be the one to get. However, if the pageant is too long for you, and you can get by in the class without the pageant, i would recommend reading this as a textbook. May 13, 2008 The best AP US review book, hands down. I took the AP US exam in 2004, after a 2-year long AP US History class offered by my high school. I was terrified that I'd fail, but this book saved my butt! It's comprehensive, easy to understand, and the review questions and quizzes in the back are fantastic - I even saw a question from the book on the exam! This tome is intimidatingly thick, but don't let that daunt you. I studied 3 chapters per week in the 2 months leading up to the test, and there wasn't a single thing I didn't know. It could use a bit more post-1970 foreign policy information, but you can probably cover that with your teacher/textbook/class. Oh, and a whole chapter devoted to important Supreme Court cases & their significance would be great, but all that information is scattered throughout the book as well. My AP teacher recommended _not_ writing the practice essays & DBQ, but I don't see why. Any practice writing in the style of the AP exam is critical to scoring well. In all, if you are taking the AP US History exam (or just want a concise US history reference book!), I highly recommend this one. I still consult my AMSCO from time to time. April 27, 2008 No answers, no explanations This book offers a better summary than the vain APUSH textbook from Houghton Mifflin which spends nearly 30 pages for every chapter gabbling useless stuffs (it always describes every president's personal characteristics. It talks too much about historically insignificant materials while spending too less for significant points). But a reader can get those summaries from any other major publishers such as Kaplan, REA, McGraw-Hill, etc. All of them have answers and some of them have explanations about them. Kaplan and REA have CD or internet support for further assistance. This AMSCO version does not have any answer or explanation about them, or any further support besides the analogue papers. If you don't have a private tutor to point out what's wrong with your answers, do NOT but this book. What's the benefit if you answer the questions and have difficulties knowing that's correct or wrong? April 10, 2008 this book saved my life!! Before, my Ap US History class used this big textbook that was so hard to understand. Then I got this book, and I'm telling you it's the most effieceint way to learn about history. It's so easy to understand and it covers everything you basically need to know. I would highly recommend this book to any struggling AP US Hisotry student. December 24, 2007 Best APUSH Book This book could easily be used as the primary source for someone studying for the AP US History exam. In fact, on the inside of the front cover, there's a table for names like in regular school books. So if you're looking for a prep book that you can use to prepare a week or two before the exam, this might not be the best choice. But if you use it throughout the year and actually read through it and do the exams, I would find it pretty amazing to not get a 5. Plus, it's written well, and is as entertaining as a book about US history can be. Like other people have said though, there are NO answers for any of the questions in the book. Of course, the internet (google) can solve that problem... so don't let that dissuade you from buying this wonderful book. November 23, 2007 the best for apush! This has to be the best book to prepare you for APUSH. I found out about this book through an ap forum and read about how people read this and got a 5 on the ap exam. It's extremely straightforward with only about 30/700 pages for introductions, index, and practice exam with the rest of the 670 pages pure content and practice questions/dbq. This book doesn't dance around American history with dumb strategies and tiny summaries like Barron's or PR. This book also doesn't try to appear bigger with a huge amount of practice tests either *though REA is also a good choice for APUSH*. It gives you everything you need to know for the exam in a clear and straightforward style. November 6, 2007 Best Book for APUSH This is probably the best book out there for the AP US History exam. Along with this book I also had Princeton's Review and REA and of the three, this one was definitely the best. I've got to warn you this book is pretty long, but if you are willing to put in the work of reading it, then you will definitely reap the rewards. With this book I GOT A 5!! It has all the information you need to know and sample DBQ's and FRQ's at the end of EACH chapter, something that Princeton's or Barron's definitely doesn't have. If you are look for the BEST preparation for the APUSH exam then this is it! For more United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination reviews click here.
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