1. Start Early!!!

There is a reason why we begin talking about the AP exam around Spring Break! Take the time to gather all of your materials and get yourself organized. Review your notes, start looking over your study guides, go over your old essays to jog your memory about themes from the units. It would be a good idea to form a study group made up of people that you trust and that you can WORK with. Don't waste time trying to predict what the essay/DBQ topics are going to be. If you take advantage of a well-rounded history course, preparation for the essays will take care of itself. Regardless, you will be better served by getting an early start and spending a little time each week getting ready than you will be if you wait until the day before to cram.

2. Know your Enemy

Here is the format of the AP exam:

There will be a break at the end of the multiple choice section, but not during the writing portion of the exam. You are given 130 minutes of time to finish all three essays and you are on your own to budget your time. As you can imagine, the AP exam is as much a test of your endurance as it is a measure of your historical knowledge.

In addition to knowing the structure of the exam, it helps to know a few things about the content of the exam. According to the College Board, the test will break down something like this:

The exam does not go in chronological order. It does, however, tend to cycle forward and back. Go with it. It also tends to get progressively more difficult. Does this mean that you should do the last part of the test first and get it out of the way? NO! The last thing you want is to spend so much time on the "hard" questions that you don't get a chance to score points with the "easy" questions.

3. Study like a historian

While there is a temptation to simply find a list of terms and memorize it, you would be doing yourself a disservice. If you really want to UNDERSTAND history (and, by extension, know things for the exam), you need to look at the BIG PICTURE! While you look at those terms, keep an eye focused on forces of continuity and change. Look for causes of progression. Try to find ways to compare and contrast issues across historical periods. For example, once you have studied the women's movement of the 1840s, try to make connections and find similarities/differences with the movement at the turn of the century and in the time after World War II. Look across those terms and to find examples of change and be able to explain. This is what separates good history students from mindless robots.

4. On the night before the test...

FIGHT THE URGE TO CRAM! This is not to say that you should not study, just see #1 on this list. On the night before the exam, you should go home or meet with your study group soon after the end of the school day. Begin studying early, so you can finish studying early. Staying up really late the night before the test will not serve you well (remember the part about how long the test is?), so try to get to bed NO LATER THAN eleven o'clock the night before. On the morning of the exam, eat a good breakfast. Loading up on sugar and caffeine means that you run the risk of crashing during the test. Protein is your friend. Come to the Breakfast of Champions and get ready for the exam.

Once you reach the testing room:

5. Pace yourself

One of the best friends you can have on test day is a watch. There may or may not be a clock in your test room. With knowledge of the test's structure, make note of the test's start time and set goals for yourself. Be sure to keep up a brisk pace during the multiple choice test, and remember not to rush through your writing section. Keep track of when you need to finish each stage of the test.

6. Read the question carefully

Good news: there is no tip jar for the AP exam. Bad news: if you misread the question you lose out on points. Keep an eye out for phrases like "all of the following except" or "which was not". Be sure you know what you answering before you make your choice. This, of course, is even more important for the essay questions. Read it three times and break it down before you start planning.

7. Keep track of your answer document

Especially if you skip questions. Make sure you mark all of your answers in the correct space. Also, do us all a favor: don't worry about patterns on the answer document. Honors/AP students tend to have a stroke if they see three of the same answers in a row. On AP exam day, let's rely more on our knowledge of history and less on exam tricks, shall we?

8. A few words on guessing...

You know the drill: every time you give an incorrect answer, they will deduct one-fourth of a point from your score (just like the SAT). This is done to prevent you from randomly guessing answers. That said, it is always a good idea to give it a try if you can eliminate an answer or two. After all, if you guess five times and get one of them right, you break even; get two right, and you get ahead. Rule of thumb: skip a question only if you have ABSOLUTELY NO EARTHLY IDEA WHAT THE QUESTION IS TALKING ABOUT.

By the way, please don't tell me how many times you had to guess or how many times you had no clue. It will only serve to make me bitter.

9. Remember your training, young Jedi

Be confident. You've been taking test of this length all year. Remember the things that you were taught about essay writing (or follow this link and remind yourself). If you have done what we have asked you to do, you will be fine.