Dear Incoming AP Students, AP World History is a rigorous course for history lovers and diligent students up to challenge of taking a college level course. Every night you will be assigned lengthy readings. You should always be prepared for pop quizzes and unannounced in­class writing assignments. Over the summer, you must read The World that Trade Created by Kenneth Pomeranz and Steven Topik and complete a comprehensive writing assignment. In mid May, you will take the AP test. I recommend buying a review book at least 3 months before the exam so that you will have a sufficient amount of time to prepare. Among many things, the course requires you recognize broad patterns and trends throughout a time period or region. Do not expect to survive this class doing minimal work or merely following the requirements. This is not a class for everyone! Many kids drop out early in the year. However, if you up to the challenge and have a keen eye for history I would recommend taking this class. Good luck! ­Dan Kylander Dear future WHAP student, First of all, congrats on getting through freshman year! But, before you go off and enjoy your summer, I should probably let you know that no prior history class will have prepared you for World History with Mr. Woolley. Now, I'm not saying this to scare you, but I do want you to enter that class with a very realistic expectation of what the class will be like. The summer reading project will be daunting. You really should not save it until Labor Day. Save your English books until two days before school starts, sure, but you will regret it if you procrastinate your World That Trade Created essays. They are a grade booster which, trust me, you'll probably need. The homework will be hard. It's usually reading anywhere between 20 and 40 pages of history a night. Depending on the subject and material, it usually took me about an hour and half to do my homework just for this class. In WHAP, you will write. A lot. Every time Mr. Woolley is absent, you write an in­class essay. Before the end if each unit, you usually write a DBQ. The first DBQ will probably be the hardest part of the class and you will probably get around a D. You do so many essays in­class because on the exam, you only get 2 hours to write 3 essays, but Mr. Woolley prepares you so well for that test that it seems easy. In general, up until Christmas Break is really hard. There is no transition between your Freshman history class and this one; Mr. Woolley already expects you to be as intelligent and mature as someone who is taking this class in college. It also difficult because Mr. Woolley is trying to weed out all the kids who are not dedicated or brave enough to last. So really if you're questioning if the pressure an stress of this class is worth it, you should drop out before its too late. Okay, I hope I haven't scared you too much. Even though this class is incredibly hard and stressful, it pays off in the end. Mr. Woolley is a fantastic teacher who will literally teach you all of human history and do it well. But honestly, it's up to you. If you have good time management, you ask questions in class, you are willing to get things wrong, you talk to him frequently after school, and you study, you will be fine. I promise. Good Luck, former WHAP studenDear future WHAP student, Dear Incoming Sophomores, Obviously if you are reading this you are thinking about taking AP World History, or have already decided to take the class. If you’ve already decided you want to do it, don’t let anyone convince you not to do it. It’s a really fun and interesting class, and makes you view history from perspectives you had not ever thought about. Also, it is certainly not as hard as many people say (this is my perspective and also what a lot of my friends said). I was told that it was the hardest class I would ever take. As long as you remember general principles about many civilizations and are not afraid to contribute in class, this is not at all the case. Talking and taking part in the discussions each day in class is huge though. Almost every day, we simply talk about the reading from the night before, and discuss the civilization or whatever we are learning about. So doing the reading is really important for keeping up. I don’t want to discourage you, but if you are afraid to talk out loud to the class and teacher, then the class is going to be much more difficult. As well, one of my favorite things about the class was the structure of class. Mr. Woolley usually just lectures to us, and although he sometimes writes on the board, usually he just sits back and talks. I learned that it’s easier to just listen and absorb rather than try to take notes on everything. If you want the teacher reading off a powerpoint, then that’s too bad, because it never happens. That might be a problem for some students, but if you dislike constantly taking notes, like myself, then this class might be right for you. Yes, we do write a lot of in­class essays, probably around 10­15 over the course of the year. Prior to this year, I was a pretty slow writer, and disliked in­class essays. But I got much better, and this class helped me a lot for essays for English. One day, my English teacher said we had an in­class essay. All the students were worried and stressed out about it, except the kids in AP, because we knew it couldn’t be anywhere near as hard as the DBQs we had in history. In conclusion, if you have decided to take the class, don’t let anyone convince to not do it. If you are on the fence, think about how you learn the best. If it matches the way I outlined the class is, take the class. If you don’t think you’d mesh well with the structure of the class, think about what would be best for you. Sincerely, Max Fickenwirth Dear Prospective AP World History Student of the 2014­2015 Year, There are four types of students at Hingham High: people who don’t sign up for WHAP, the people who sign up but drop out in the summer because of the summer work, the people who make it to the school year but then drop because of the work, and the people who sign up for the class and stay in it for the rest of the year. You have already made it past the first two steppingstones, but as I stated, people still drop after the summer. The students that do switch out of the class are either too lazy, which I cannot do anything about, or are too intimidated and think they cannot handle class, which I can do something about. The first and most important thing I recommend in order to survive the class, especially the first couple weeks, is do not take Mr. Woolley too seriously. I mean this when he tells you that you are all going to fall and you just might as well drop out now. He is just trying to scare you in order to get a smaller class. When Mr. Woolley is teaching, do take him seriously because if you don’t, he will crush you (not physically of course). Second, always take the most notes in class and not from the book because the things Mr. Woolley says are always more useful than the things the book states. Yes you should probably read the book, but it drags on about insignificant details that Mr. Woolley will never ask you about. I recommend just skimming the chapters he assigns to you; it saves a lot of time. Third, when Mr. Woolley asks if there are any questions, ask questions because the more questions you ask, the less time there is for a quiz. Fourth, if you truly do not know what something means or why something happened but you are too embarrassed to ask a question about it, ask anyways because Mr. Woolley will call on you, knowing that you don’t know the answer, embarrassing you more than if you actually did ask the question in the first place. Fifth, always be prepared for a quiz because they do come at random. They are simple quizzes that if you review your notes every night, you should be able to get a 100 on in order to boost your grade; which I am sure will be needed. Sixth, do not let the first couple weeks’ assignments intimidate you. Things get easier as you go through the year and you learn to maximize your time in order to benefit your skills in the class and therefore your grades. And lastly, write as fast as you can on the in­class essays. Mr. Woolley has no sympathy for anyone and he will rip your bluebook out of your hands while you are still trying to finish that last paragraph. Overall, I hope my words of advice will help you become one of those students who signs up for the class and survives the school year with minimal suffering. I am sure that my letter is much more optimistic than some of my fellow classmates’, but that does not mean that you can take this class lightly. If you do not try in this class, you will fail. Good Luck, Survivor of WHAP 2013­2014 Dear Incoming AP World History Student, I hope that you’re mentally prepared for the year ahead! AP World is a great class and you will learn more in this course than you have in any other class. Mr. Woolley is an outstanding teacher who prepares you very well for your exam in May. However, it takes a mentally strong and flexible student to succeed in this class. AP World work will take up a lot of your time. A reading for homework can often be a 20­30 page chapter in your textbook, or a hefty packet that you must prepare notes about for a discussion. It is not uncommon for homework from this class to take well over an hour to complete. Knowing this, it IS possible to adapt and find ways to get everything done. But if you are a slow worker, it may be difficult for you to succeed in this class. My first piece of advice is to start work early: do NOT procrastinate. On the summer assignment, I would suggest to start it as soon as possible. I would NOT recommend starting it in August: you may not give yourself enough time and you could make your last month of summer very stressful. Starting in July will give you plenty of time to complete your best work without a time crunch. Working with a friend could also help you answer questions about the book. Secondly, it is important to write quickly and clearly during in­class essays. Especially with DBQ’s, you may feel very crunched on time. Outlining your essay is a good way to write clearly. Writing straightforward sentences can often be better than writing complex sentences. You will get no bonus points for using advanced vocabulary, so don’t exert your energy on writing perfect sentences. Instead, make sure that the content of your essay is clear, concise, and has causality. Lastly, I advise you to study right. Do not exhaust yourself over memorizing each specific fact from each time period from every part of the world. Instead, focus on world patterns and similarities and differences between places. This will give you more of an understanding of the time period, and will also be more helpful for the class. If you have any questions, asking Mr. Woolley after school is a great way to get them answered. Not only will you fix your confusion, but you can learn study tips and suggestions from your own teacher. AP World can be a very informative class and a great experience if you are mentally prepared. Be sure that you are ready to take on this class. You will be able to succeed if you are prepared and confident. Good Luck! , 2014 June 16th Dear freshman and soon to be WHAP Student: Despite the long hours of reading, terrible first essay grades, and unexpectedly tedious summer assignment, you made the right choice by taking AP world. I don’t think I’ve ever learned as much in a class as I did in room 283. Mr. Woolley knows what he’s doing. So, even after you get back that first dreaded DBQ, stick with it. Luckily, I learned a few things that might help you survive. First, don’t let the summer assignment discourage you. However, don’t start it the last week of summer as I did. I recommend beginning the book before August, and get your other summer work done beforehand. The first few weeks are the hardest. There’s nothing you can do but mot complain, turn your phone on silent, and realize that you may get a few less hours off sleep than you’re used to. Use the online textbook chapter outlines. They tell you all you need to know in three pages instead of 30. Make sure you study every picture you come across. Think of essay outlines whenever you can; whether that’s in the halls, at practice, or when you’re eating breakfast. Talk history with people in your class. Chances are, they’re history nerds and will jump at the opportunity to debate Russian politics or effects of the Crusades. Make a Facebook group or have some means of communicating as a class. Check edmodo all the time and activate the text notification. Whenever you get a chance, especially this summer, watch realistic fiction or nonfiction movies, from any time period or place. It will help later on. Read Animal Farm by George Orwell, watch John Green’s Crash Course World History videos on YouTube. Even if you think you’re too independent to stay after and get extra help, do it anyways. Sometimes it’s hard if you play sports but get in any minute of extra help you can. Review a little bit every night instead of all at once the night before the test, it will be too late then. Try to learn the story, make connections, and use context instead of relying on memorization. Overall, don’t get stressed. If you’re interested in history, everything else will come. If you’re not, I would not take this class. Take advantage of WHAP while you can, it will blow your mind. Sincerely, Louisa McCullough To the future AP World History student, Many people are going to tell you how difficult this class is. You may have received other letters that tell you to “quit now” or “offer a sacrifice to Satan if you want to succeed”. These are both viable options but they are not the only options available to you. Early in the year, Mr. Woolley will tell you to constantly think about essays that you can write. FOLLOW THIS ADVICE. It seems difficult at first but it becomes much easier. What I did was buy a medium­sized whiteboard (maybe 2 feet by 2.5 feet), a pack of Expo markers, and an eraser. You can make timelines and charts on the whiteboard to practice outlining essays. Once you’ve finished an outline on the whiteboard, if you have phone you can take a picture of the outline and save it on your phone. Before a test or essay you can look through your photos and review your outlines. Those notes are really good but reading the book really is the best. A good way to take notes is by using index cards. Write the most important points of each paragraph (or a group of paragraphs) on the cards. Once you’ve done that you can put a rubber band around the cards and keep them with you. Alternately, you can also type or write up the stuff you wrote on the notecards. This allows you to look over the information again. Something I cannot stress enough is to read the colored boxes in the book and look at the pictures. The boxes contain primary documents or an in­depth explanation of something. The pictures, while rare, are always useful. Try to control you anxiety about this class. Being worried can be a powerful motivator but many times in the beginning of the year I was paralyzed with fear about in­class essay or tests. Pay attention in class and don’t give up. From, Sara Randall So You Wanna WHAP? Dear prospective student, If you’re reading this you’re probably a nerd. Congrats. It also means you’re interested in AP World history, so congrats on that as well. In my humble experience as a WHAP alumn can solidly say that the Summer assignment is the most tedious part of the whole course, so if you’re contemplating dropping out­do so before putting serious work into the Summer course. If you do choose to continue on into the school year you will be confronted with a heavy reading load (mostly interesting reads through), high expectations as a student (gotta get that 5!), and a whole new approach to history. Once you get the hang of the new style of writing and thinking you’ll be fine, SO HANG IN THERE. Also just know its possible to do well in the class if you’re not particularly great at writing because of this whole new style, and yknow...Mr. Woolley. Mr. Woolley is an excellent teacher, he really knows what he’s talking about. This being said, Mr.Woolley means business; he’s there to teach and he’s a really great resource so pay attention and work hard! For me, when electing to take AP World, I feel as though I didn’t really consider the fact that you actually have to take an AP exam and really what that meant, so I would do some research if you were really interested in the course. Speaking of research, it’s also key to remember that after the exam you still have to write a research paper, in a fraction of the time the other classes took, so don’t take this obligation lightly. But all in all, I highly suggest making a work schedule for the Summer assignment (and sticking to it!), always making time for history, and enjoying the class, because it really is so different from any other courses. Don’t take AP world if you’re worried about college and excited about how it’s going to look on your resume, take it if you’re genuinely excited about history. Good Luck! Best Wishes­ Maddie Chan Dear Freshman Interested in AP World History, I think that my classmates did a great job at explaining most aspects of the AP World History course: the daily class structure, the frequency of essays, grades, and general prerequisites for taking the class. If you are interested in knowing about any of these things, consult their letters first. For this letter, I will just offer some of my own thoughts and advice. The first and most important piece of advice I can offer is to write as clearly and concisely as possible. Many high school students end up obfuscating their primary point by trying to vary word choice or sentence structure. English teachers do not punish this because the topics of English essays are much more straight forward and the class itself revolves around style more than content. Besides writing clearly, you also must write as specifically as possible. For example, writing “The Safavids and Ottomans both used gunpowder weapons but the Ottomans were more tolerant of religious minorities” is always better than writing “The Safavids and Ottomans used similar weapons but differed religiously” even if the latter point is expanded upon in the following sentences. Mr. Woolley also discourages the use of any pronouns to be specific and maintain focus on the subject. The only other advice I have is to try to organize information in your mind as much as possible. Mr. Woolley always recommended to us that we should write compare and contrast essays and change over time essays in our head when we aren’t thinking of anything else, but I think the most important lesson is that it is unimportant to memorize as much as possible when you can just remember how ideas are related. Regards, Andy Soszynski Dearest Freshmen, Congratulations on surviving your freshman years. I did that once. You’re not that special. Undoubtedly, you are thinking about taking Mr. Woolley’s AP World History class. Nerds. As far as the class, many of the softer individuals won’t even make it past the summer assignment. (Wo)Man up and do it. If you make it past the summer work, then you will be faced with further trials and tribulations. You will feel very intelligent until the first DBQ. Then, you will realize your mistakes after failing it and either change yourself, or your class. For those of you who will decide to stay in the class and step up your game, good job. Just after you think you have it all figured out, and right when you become lackadaisical about reading the packets and taking notes, you will be confronted with another challenge. The Mongols Debate, a virtual APWH Hunger Games pitting student against student. Only one team will survive (or you could tie). All of these will test your will and spirit, and only the strongest of you will advance through all of the rounds. I hope you all the best of luck, and, when you find yourselves in times of trouble, just keep thinking to yourself, “If Chris Bierwirth can do it, then so can I”. But deep down in your heart of hearts, you will know it’s not true. The odds are against you. But you can still try. Love always, Chris Bierwirth Dear future AP World History students, Taking AP World History was probably one of the best decisions I made this year, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about taking it. A normal AP World class is composed of a lecture given by Mr. Woolley where we copy notes down from powerpoints or charts he writes on the board. Knowing these charts is, in my experience, the best way to prepare for the dreaded in­class essays. Knowing basic comparisons and broad trends is the key to doing well in the class; the big picture is usually more important than the details in AP World. Mr. Woolley will also have you practice point of view for in­class DBQs; like all else in the class, it will seem intimidating at first but with some practice it will become much easier. Homework is generally a reading packet or chapter in the textbook; it is important not just to read blindly in an effort to finish, but to take your time and make sure you understand key ideas. When reading a long chapter, it is sometimes OK to brush over some details, as long as you understand the big pictures the chapter is trying to convey. The class will prepare you extremely well for the AP Test in May, so don’t worry at all about it. It will also train you to write simply and to­the­point on essays. Don’t worry if you get a few bad essay grades in the beginning of the year­ you will improve and there will be plenty more opportunities to raise your grade. Good luck! Don’t let AP World’s or Mr. Woolley’s reputation intimidate you­ the class can be easy and fun if you give it a chance! Sincerely, Mark McNiskin Dear future AP World Students, Looking back, my personal experience in WHAP was defined completely by Mr. Woolley. His class is far different from those I have taken in the past due to his teaching style. From now on, when I imagine a college class, I will picture Mr. Woolley giving his lectures. Our classes mostly consisted of a verbal lesson assisted by an array of PowerPoints, classroom objects, and a strong sense of humor. We reinforced what Mr. Woolley discussed in class with a large amount of independent reading. Nestled among the textbook history, we got to see incredible bits of primary evidence such as a copy of the Zimmermann Telegraph. Once we were (hopefully) familiar with the time period, we did what was, in my opinion, the most challenging part of the class: in­class writing assessments in the blue books. Document based questions, change over time essays, comparison essays, and even comparison change over time essays; we had them all. Each to be finished in a less than hour­long class. You will get some bad grades. We all did. But eventually you will learn how to write quickly and clearly. The blue books are excellent preparation for the AP exam. In fact, the whole class prepared me well for the exam, to the point where it was fairly easy. Overall, Mr. Woolley’s class was a great experience for those who enjoy learning about history. The classroom environment, while sometimes intense, was prone to humorous discussions. I recommend taking this class. Sincerely, Jacob Goldman Dear Future AP World Student, I’ve been given the task of giving you advice to succeed in Mr. Woolley’s class. The best advice I can give you is to do exactly what Mr. Woolley says, if he says to do T charts or review, do it. When it comes to the large reading packets, always read them, but make sure you take down the main points and ideas, details aren’t as important. You need to know the general idea before being able to get into the details. I recommend knowing what was happening in each place during the time period, that way you can connect each events to one another. While in class, speak a lot; I regret not speaking as much. The more you speak; there more you will comprehend a topic. Before you get to school, during the summer don’t do your reading at the last minute, it takes forever to read. The assigned book can be extremely boring, but during the year you will be able to connect what you’ve learned to the book. While preparing for the unit tests, don’t just go over your notes, take the practice quizzes in the AP review book (get the book as early as possible) and take practice tests online, you’ll do better. My last piece of advice is to talk to Mr. Woolley whenever you’re confused or need help, I wish someone had told me this when I went into his class. Good Luck, Past AP Student Dear prospective WHAPonauts, AP World History is really not that difficult. The summer reading and the first term are by far the worst parts, and are intended to weed out the ‘weak ones’ from the strong or stubborn ones. If you chose to take the plunge into the ocean of WHAp, you will get sub­par grade for the first term. Even after scaling, I received a 78 as my average. Though, even if you do end up with a less­than­satisfactory grade, you will still learn much more in this class than you would otherwise. WHAP gives you the metaphorical tools that you need to learn history, rather than teaching you history in agonizing detail. It is focused more on global trends and changes, and less on the memorization of dates and the names of dead people. However, knowing some names and dates will certainly facilitate your success on change­over­time essays. There is very little written work outside of class except for the summer reading assignment and the research paper at the end of the year. Though, Mr. Woolley assigns in­class essays on a regular basis. These essays are, like many things about this class, are pretty terrible in the beginning of the year, but much less so as the year progresses, and you improve as a writer, a student, and a human being. Mr. Woolley also likes to assign extremely long readings for homework, especially early on. While it is certainly beneficial to do the all readings in their entirely, you can usually get away with not doing them. However, you should at least skim through the reading or watch some videos on YouTube to familiarize yourself with the topic being covered. I would definitely recommend ‘Crash Course World History’ on the ‘Tube, it’s simply enlightening. AP World is difficult but not impossible, and as long as you don’t obsess over grades, you will learn a good deal about a good many things. Your pal and future president of the United States of America (vote Harrington), Billy Dear Future/Potential WHAP Students, Hi. If you’re reading this, then you are considering taking AP World History with Mr. Woolley next year. It’s an amazing class that I enjoyed (and feared) all year. That being said, it’s also the hardest class I have ever taken so far, and you haven’t met Honors Chemistry yet! Do not, I repeat, DO NOT take this class if you just want a GPA boost. If you are not incredibly interested in history and global trends, then please don’t even bother. It will waste your time, stress you out, and eventually lead you to dropping out (or spending a year miserable under the mountain of work we do every night). The only way not to be miserable is to truly love the subject matter. Also, if you’re someone who relies on big words and fancy phrasing to sound smart, leave that at the door. One of the first things Mr. Woolley told my class was, “Don’t try to sound smart. Don’t say anything stupid either.” Have fun walking that perilous line! A few words about Mr. Woolley now. First, he’s an amazing teacher. He runs a very difficult class. There is a ton of homework. But if you do the work, you will learn more than you can imagine about world history. Mr. Woolley enjoys teasing the class, but he’s honest. If he tells you that you need to work on something, work on it! Also, be aware that Mr. Woolley randomly jumps on desks to point at things (or maps) on his wall. It’s normal for him! Onto the subject of homework. Mostly, you’ll read huge packets or chapters from the book. (Side note on the book: Always reading the extras (colored passages on the sides of the pages) because he’ll ask about them.) Sometimes, you’ll prepare for a SLD or essay. Learn to love DBQs ­­ you can’t prepare for them. On the topic of DBQs, you will have one whenever Mr. Woolley is absent. Learn to do them well. Never write ‘This document shows’. Mr. Woolley always threatens to give people zeroes if they write that, and you don’t want to test him! Sometimes, the homework is simply to fear (and that’s only partly a joke). Many people stop doing the long readings, but I would not advise this. That being said, learning to skim and find main ideas is a valuable skill. If you are determined to take this class, you absolutely adore history, and you’re willing to spend hours each night on history homework, then good for you! Here are a few things that you should look up and learn during the summer: A) Look up and memorize the Conrad­Demarest Model. It outlines the rise and fall of empires, and although we learn it in WHAP, it’s a good thing to know going into the class. B) Know the five parts of civilization. C) The book, A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage, is really interesting, fun to read, and useful. Mr. Woolley mentioned it at one point in the class (and I had read it the previous summer). D) Do not procrastinate on your summer project. Take notes AS you’re reading the book. Laugh a little at the book ­­ some of those stories (i.e. guano) are funny! I wish you well in the class. If you ever need any help and/or guidance, feel free to stop me in the halls or give me a call. And if you have absolutely no clue who I am, at least one person in the class will know! Have fun in WHAP! Best of luck, Samantha Garland Hello Incoming Sophomore! If you are a hard­working and dedicated student, then you have made the right decision by signing up for AP World History. Don’t be scared away by the summer project or essays in September, because as time goes on, you will become accustomed to the difficult, yet consistent pace of the class. This year, I’ve learned more in World History than I have ever learned in any other class. For that alone, I am happy that I stayed in the class despite my indecisive thoughts at the beginning when I wasn’t doing as well as I had hoped. AP World can change your perspective and understanding of everything from the clothes you wear to the food you eat to any news article you read. This is because you will develop a vast understanding of the entire world’s past, which affects everything that occurs and exists in today’s world. Since you are enrolling in an AP course, the workload will obviously be greater than what you have experienced before, but it is never unmanageable. Be sure to not only do the reading and pay attention in class, but also comprehend major ideas that could help you process an essay or even understand an event that you may not have learned about before. Although we discussed specific, pivotal events and people, AP World focuses mainly on the “big picture” and as long as you understand it, you will always be able to contribute to discussions and answer questions on the topic at hand. My last suggestion would be to ignore any shy tendencies and participate! Asking questions, answering questions, and talking about your thoughts will get you farther in the class than you can imagine. Mr. Woolley is truly a great teacher and is always enthusiastic about the subject. I entered the class with history being my least favorite subject – only taking it to challenge myself – and am proud that I have developed a new appreciation for it. You will be extremely well prepared for the AP exam, even if you don’t get an amazing grade in the class. Good luck next school year! Isabel Allen HEY FUTURE AP WORLDER! CONGRATS ON FINISHING FRESHMAN YEAR! Hope that was fun, because it only gets harder from here J! So this letter isn’t supposed to scare you or anything. I’m just going to give you some advice on how to survive sophomore year and AP World. For starters, I really hope you’re a history nerd. I’m not joking. You’re going to be spending a whole lot of time studying and doing work for this class, so you better love it. I’m also guessing one of your main concerns about next year is time (I know that’s what I was worried about). I played three sports (2 varsity), did GCP and StuCo and still did fine in this class. I’m not going to say that I got a lot of sleep, but I did fine. I honestly suggest you do something you love outside of this class so you don’t go insane. Ok, so on to the summer work. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!! It’s easier said than done, but try to set a schedule for yourself and stick to it. Try your best, because he does read them all. On the first day of school, get to class on time and try to find a seat close to the middle. Mr. Woolley will do everything in his power to scare you, especially during the first few class discussions. My best advice is to stay calm and be able to support your idea very well. Some other general tips: ∙ ALWAYS do the reading, even if its just an outline you find online ∙ Try to talk at least once a day ∙ Don’t put too much time into WHAP and forget that you have other classes ∙ The research paper at the end of the year is not as easy as people tell you its going to be So that’s the main stuff that I think will help you for next year. Mr. Woolley is a great teacher and you will be totally prepared for the AP Exam! My favorite study tool was John Green’s Crash Course World History series on Youtube. If you have any questions or need any more advice, feel free to talk to me at any time J GOOD LUCK! ­Erin Hurley Dear AP World History 2014­15, Although AP World History is a very difficult class, I think that it is worth taking. I did not take the SAT 2, but I heard from others that it included information from the beginning of civilization onward, and students who took honors history were not prepared for that. Also, on your weighted GPA, the class counts as 10 percentage points higher than an honors class, and for most of the year my grade was only 8­9 points lower than my 9th grade Honors World History grade. In the beginning of the year, there was a lot of work to do, but as the year progressed, it was just keeping up with the readings. There was actually not that much homework to do; it was just that the assignments were much harder. The tests were significantly harder than honors, as to be expected, but for me at least, what was really hard about the class was the intimidation. I felt like I should always be saying something, but I usually had nothing to say. Mr. Woolley made the class scary, but that prepared us for the test very well, and I think that is one reason for someone to take the class. I actually loved how the writing was in­class. There was not as much to do at home, and you could be more direct, without worrying about style I am glad I took the class, for all of the above benefits, and that you can get college credit, based on your AP Test score. The one thing that disappointed me, although I should have expected this, is that we didn’t actually learn about any empires or people. We only studied trends and generalizations, as there are too many exact aspects of world history to learn, so we instead learned how to predict them. Although the purpose of these letters is partially to scare away unready students who are not sure whether to take the class, I actually recommend staying in the class. It gets better as the year progresses, and it has more benefits than costs. Love, Evan Collins Dear incoming sophomore, I’m writing this letter to you because you chose to take AP World History (WHAP) for your sophomore year. It’s no small undertaking, so here’s some advice. First of all, you should figure out as soon as possible if you’re dropping this class to go into level 2, because you don’t want to be doing the summer assignment if you’re going to drop out anyways in the first week. The class is hard, and you need to be good with writing and understanding concepts. It gets much better as the year goes along, as the summer assignment is probably the worst part of the class, so just know that once you do the summer assignment the worst is over. If you’re worried that WHAP will affect your GPA (I was) just know that for the first two terms your grade is scaled. So, my first term average of a 66 was scaled up to a 73, which is again scaled to equate to an 83 in an advanced class or a 93 in an upper standard class (look on the guidance website to better understand GPA scaling). So, your grade is sufficiently jacked up to compensate for any negative affect it might have on your GPA. Now onto the class itself. The class is based around broad concepts, not specific facts. You will have around three or four tests the whole year, and there won’t be a huge emphasis on multiple choice. Instead, you’ll have to learn to deal with broad concepts and how to express them in your writing. Good writing and the ability to understand concepts are crucial in WHAP, but a good memory not so much. I’m terrible at multiple choice, but my good writing was able to get me through the class. Don’t be fazed when you get your first in class DBQ grade back, almost everybody fails. The homework load isn’t as much as I expected. There is a lot of reading, but I found that you can get by without doing 100% of it (I really hope Mr. Woolley doesn’t read these), and I got the general feeling that I was doing less actual homework than my level 2 friends. Do the summer assignment as soon as you can and know that the homework load isn’t as much as everybody says. While I like math and science much more than English and history, I feel that taking WHAP was a good experience (Mr. Woolley is a hilarious guy) and it bettered my writing skills and my thinking ability. Whatever your choice is (drop WHAP or take it), stick with your choice and don’t half­*** it. And, if you do end up dropping the class for level 2, please give this letter to one of your friends taking the class because I would hate for this advice to be lost. Best of luck in your sophomore year and congrats on finishing freshman year. Sincerely, John Gillig Dear future AP world history student, As a graduate of Mr. Woolley's class, I can assure you that you are in for a tough year! However, the class is definitely manageable if you take heed to a couple of my pointers. First, do not be afraid to ask questions. I know that I personally did not do this, and I struggled for the first semester. It may seem like your peers have no questions or that Mr. Woolley will think that your question is stupid, but trust me when I say that this is far from the truth! Although the class is very competitive, you will find that the majority of your classmates will have the same question as you. Also, asking questions is a great way to prove to Mr. Woolley that you are engaged in the class. However, if you are uncomfortable with asking questions at first, going after school is a great way to build a relationship with Mr. Woolley. Despite his intimidating lectures or homework assignments, his helpful and gentle approach after school is what helped me get through the class. Do not feel like you are too smart to stay after because if you have that attitude then this is the wrong class for you. Staying after at least once a week is the key to success for this class. If you do feel like you need to drop out please stay after with him because I promise it will change your perspective of the class. Having given you this advice I'm sure you still have questions about the workload. There will definitely be long textbook readings where you will be up late, but I urge you to use YouTube. It was my best friend throughout the course and it will give a helpful summary in less than 10 minutes. Trust me when I say that there are videos on everything that has to do with the class. Now this doesn't mean that you shouldn't do the homework, because if you don't do that then there will be several pop quizzes where you will not like your grade! In conclusion, make sure you follow this advice and please do your summer assignment early! Good luck!