A Concise AP Euro Outline?
May 9, 2012 11:52 AM Subscribe
Where can I find good study materials for the AP European History Exam?
My niece is taking AP Euro Exam in the next few days. I told her I would help her study tonight and tomorrow.
She did well in the class, with a B+ / A- grades. Her teacher is not the best, and her notes are a bit disorganized. She is willing to put in hours of study and prep, but she is not die-hard about it.
I have been searching on-line for a good study guide to use - and I can only find one of two things. Either a) a web-site site selling something - or B) an outline or vocab list that is so long that it is useless.
I need a 10 page basic study guide that hits the high-lights. The top 300 vocab words. Something like that. A list of five thousand vocab words is pointless.
Where can I find a concise, to-the-point, study guide to help her prepare for the AP Euro Exam.
When I was in law school, we would distill a massive course down to a 10 or 15 page outline. If you needed more info on the topic, then you went to your class notes and the book - but a decent, concise outline that gives a full over-view of the course is very useful. I know such things can be made, and I know they can have great value to a student. But I can not find anything like that for the AP Euro Exam.
Can you help me?
My niece is taking AP Euro Exam in the next few days. I told her I would help her study tonight and tomorrow.
She did well in the class, with a B+ / A- grades. Her teacher is not the best, and her notes are a bit disorganized. She is willing to put in hours of study and prep, but she is not die-hard about it.
I have been searching on-line for a good study guide to use - and I can only find one of two things. Either a) a web-site site selling something - or B) an outline or vocab list that is so long that it is useless.
I need a 10 page basic study guide that hits the high-lights. The top 300 vocab words. Something like that. A list of five thousand vocab words is pointless.
Where can I find a concise, to-the-point, study guide to help her prepare for the AP Euro Exam.
When I was in law school, we would distill a massive course down to a 10 or 15 page outline. If you needed more info on the topic, then you went to your class notes and the book - but a decent, concise outline that gives a full over-view of the course is very useful. I know such things can be made, and I know they can have great value to a student. But I can not find anything like that for the AP Euro Exam.
Can you help me?
Yeah, I was going to suggest Googling "European History since 1450" and looking for undergrad course outlines or something.
posted by KokuRyu at 12:10 PM on May 9, 2012
posted by KokuRyu at 12:10 PM on May 9, 2012
There are study guides that you can buy for AP exams. The Princeton Review is a good publisher. They should have these at most bookstores. They cover all the material, and generally summarize key points at the beginning of every chapter. I don't recall if there's a 10-15 page outline, but you could definitely get the equivalent by just reading the summaries of each chapter. There are also practice tests, which might be helpful to her before the real thing.
Relatively cheap, like $10-$15. As someone who's taken a lot of AP classes, I think these are the best thing to study with this close to the exam.
posted by vogon_poet at 12:14 PM on May 9, 2012
Relatively cheap, like $10-$15. As someone who's taken a lot of AP classes, I think these are the best thing to study with this close to the exam.
posted by vogon_poet at 12:14 PM on May 9, 2012
The Princeton review books plus practice tests are the way to go.
posted by MadamM at 12:26 PM on May 9, 2012
posted by MadamM at 12:26 PM on May 9, 2012
Response by poster: Unfortunately, I live in a rural community. We do not have malls and bookstores - we have farms and pastures. The nearest bookstore is over an hour away. There is no time to go to a bookstore, or to order online. The test is Friday.
I need to find something online - but I am beginning to doubt that there is anything decent online.
posted by Flood at 12:42 PM on May 9, 2012
I need to find something online - but I am beginning to doubt that there is anything decent online.
posted by Flood at 12:42 PM on May 9, 2012
Ok, you can't get a physical book, but there are some ebook versions of the test prep books. This one looks like your best bet: Cracking the AP European History Exam, 2012 Edition.
posted by wsquared at 12:58 PM on May 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by wsquared at 12:58 PM on May 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Go to the College Board website and download the AP Euro course description.
It's long but the only parts you need are the topic outline on pp5-6.
That will give you a good course overview.
The good study tools like quiz banks, you will probably have to pay for.
posted by rmless at 12:58 PM on May 9, 2012
It's long but the only parts you need are the topic outline on pp5-6.
That will give you a good course overview.
The good study tools like quiz banks, you will probably have to pay for.
posted by rmless at 12:58 PM on May 9, 2012
Best answer: The book I mentioned is $10 as an ebook from Google Books.
posted by miyabo at 1:43 PM on May 9, 2012
posted by miyabo at 1:43 PM on May 9, 2012
Might your county or her school library have one of the books recommended here?
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:04 PM on May 9, 2012
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:04 PM on May 9, 2012
I got a 5 in May 2008 by exclusively using the Princeton Review book. It shouldn't be more than $20 at your local bookstore.
posted by lotusmish at 4:03 PM on May 9, 2012
posted by lotusmish at 4:03 PM on May 9, 2012
Best answer: Also note that the multiple-choice is 55 minutes and the two writing sections are 130 minutes. This isn't as much as a names-and-dates test as it is a "can you analyze the themes" test. With this amount of time to prepare I would focus on essay-writing strategies especially if your niece is not used to doing timed essays. Taking time to read the passage carefully. Outlining. Clear concise thesis statements. Quoting from the source passages to support her points. The AP tests are very tiring and stressful and having a clear plan of a attack for the essays will allow her to demonstrate her knowledge.
posted by newg at 5:55 PM on May 9, 2012
posted by newg at 5:55 PM on May 9, 2012
Yeah, you really want Schaum's Modern European History. You can download the Kindle application and then use it on your computer.
posted by ThisIsNotMe at 8:45 PM on May 9, 2012
posted by ThisIsNotMe at 8:45 PM on May 9, 2012
Check your local public library's website to see if they have a database called LearningExpress Library (formerly called Learn-A-Test). It has study guides for all sorts of exams, including AP European History.
posted by stampsgal at 7:37 AM on May 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by stampsgal at 7:37 AM on May 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by miyabo at 12:09 PM on May 9, 2012