AP US Review Session #2
1940 – 1880
Tuesday 5/7/13
General Review Tips
• Prioritize - Focus on topics/areas of weakness first
• Avoid trying to memorize too much - Review “big picture” concepts first, specific
terms/name/events later
• Look at old materials - Review packets, in-class notes, past essays & tests and old
PowerPoint’s: http://rhsweb.org/assignments/Kelemen/AP%20US%20History/
• Try different approaches - There is no “best” way to review (alone/group, online/book/flash cards, practice tests/packets – it depends on your learning style –
try mixing it up).
• Find a “middle ground” - Some review better than no review. Too much review
is counterproductive.
• Be positive – You have learned a lot this year & the AP exam is graded on a major
curve.
AP Exam Multiple Choice Information
• 55 minutes for 80 questions
• Each question has 5 possible answers
• Multiple Choice counts for ½ of total score
• No points lost for wrong or skipped questions.
• Questions get progressively more challenging.
• BIG curve on multiple choice – In the past, score over 40 likely earns
a 3 (passing score) – over 48 likely earns a 4 and over 56 a 5.
• Chronology of Questions:
– 16 (20%) pre 1790; 36 (45%) 1790-1914; 28 (35%) 1915 – 1990
• Topic of Questions:
– 28 (35%) Politics; 28 (35%) Social/Cultural; 12 (15%) Foreign Policy; 8 (10%)
Economics; 4 (5%) Cultural/Intellectual
AP Exam Essay Information
• There is 1 DBQ essay you must write on and 4 FRQ prompts
of which you must write on 2. You will be required to write
one FRQ on a topic prior to 1880 and one FRQ on a topic
after that date.
• The 5 total essay prompts will range in their topics
chronologically and thematically.
AP Essay Writing Tips
• READ prompts multiple times
• Brainstorm & make a quick “plan of attack”
• Introduction needs some brief background on “big picture”
followed by an on-topic thesis
• Body paragraphs need to BLEND details with analysis in a
systematic way. (Facts & explanations in separate
paragraphs).
• Grading is “holistic” – no points “taken away”, just earned. If
in doubt, make a guess.
Analyze the origins and
outcomes of the intense cultural
conflicts on the 1920s. In your
response, focus on TWO of the
following:
Immigration
Prohibition
Religion
Compare and contrast the
foreign policies of Theodore
Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson
Analyze the effectiveness of Progressive Era
reformers in addressing problems of the
late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries. In your answer, focus on reform
efforts in TWO of the following areas:
State and Federal Government
The Workplace
Living Conditions in the Cities
Compare and contrast the
programs and policies designed by
reformers of the Progressive era to
those designed by reformers of the
New Deal period. Confine your
answer to programs and policies
that addressed the needs of those
living in poverty.
Compare and contrast the attitudes of
TWO of the following toward the
wealth that was created in the United
States during the late 19th century.
Andrew Carnegie
Eugene Debs
Horatio Alger
Booker T. Washington
Ida Tarbell