Customer Reviews

How to Prepare for the Advanced Placement Examination European History (Barron's How to Prepare for the Advanced Placement Examination. Ap European History, 2nd ed)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Today I took the 2000 AP Euro History Test. After a quick review in class, I used the Barron's book for about 1 week to review and prepare. The book does a great job with the earlier stuff like Renaissance material, but slides off near the end. Most of the review is political history, which was great for the 2000 exam. I would definitely recommend this book for any AP student, as it is invaluable for late preparations, and does a good job with the overall review, although the multiple choice questions were more difficult than those on the real AP test. That may be a positive aspect though, as it prepares you for the most difficult examination possible.

I bought four books for the AP European History test(this one, the Princeton Review's, REA's, and this book called Modern European History). This was actually the only book that I got all the way through(and I did the last two chapters right before the test). This is an awesome book. The chapters are short, but you really get a good understanding of the material. The book focuses a lot on the essay part of the test(which is good 'cause my strategy was to ace the essay part, get 50% right on the multiple choice, and get a 5). It gives a lot of prompts for essays for you to write(if you actually have time) and also gives you sample essays. One thing to beware of. Do not attempt to write essays like the sample essays they give you. I mean, like the ones they rated a five were like seventeen paragraphs long or something! Like you're going to have time to do that on the test. Stick to your five paragraph essays. However, despite the fact that you're not going to write essays like the ones they give you, I found the sample essays really helpful. They summed up a lot of things and made connections that really helped me see the causes and effects of certain events. This is just a great book. I really recommend that you buy this one if you're studying for the AP Euro test, although if you can, try to get the Princeton Review's too. I think that the books work better together than they do alone.

This prep is good for reviewing and learning basic info near May. It doesn't cover social history whatsoever, which was a disaster for the 1999 AP Euro Exam, in which half the questions from the multiple choice and one essay group were social history. Don't rely on this book, but rather use to review along side notes/textbooks if you haven't before the test date. The practice questions adn essays were way too easy.

Well, I would give this book a 5, but I didn't read the summaries. Instead, I only took the practice tests and got a 4 on the AP European History test. I would suggest buying this one over the Princeton Review (I bought both) because its practice tests are very good and a more accurate representation of what the actual test was like.

Also, one thing to note is that I only had instruction from 1500-1900 (my teacher wasn't the greatest planner of his time). So, in effect, I didn't know a bunch of the questions, but I was still able to score a 4, which is partly a reflection of how well the Barron's book prepared me.

Oh, and one more word of advice. When you take the sample tests, DO NOT simply check your score, instead, look at every answer (they give detailed answers in the book) to every question you missed, and even some of those which you answered correctly. This was probably the most important thing that I got from this book (I had to write an essay comparing the rise of Stalin to the rise of the Jacobins, and all that I knew about Stalin was from the Barron's book because my teacher did not prepare us, lol).

So, if you're looking for a book to prepare you for the test, this is the one. But, it does take some time preparing as you should take as many of the sample tests as you can because it will give you an accurate impression of what the test will be like, it will give you extra information for you to use on the real test (in the answers to the sample tests), and it will prepare you for the real test ("practice makes perfect!").

The test-taking tips are kept to a minimum, unlike PR. The review is concise and accurate, though it leaves out social history and information about the ideologies. The test questions are more realistic than in other books. This book is not comprehensive enough to stand as a single source.

I bought this book about three weeks before the 2001 exam and found that by really using it in conjunction with my textbook, "The Western Heritage" and highlighting, writing in margins, and doing all the practice tests the test was remarkably easy, I wizzed through the multiple choice section, and it gave me just the perfect amount of material to answer my free response questions and DBQ. In fact the lively, easy to read material, encouraged studying and I found that because of this I retained so much more information then I would have otherwise, this is a great book!

The test preparation tips are helpful. The review goes fairly smoothly, examining major ideas and people adequately. It does fall short in a few areas: Exploration, Second Industrial Revolution,a description of different Ideologies in 19th century, and Social history. The questions are of similar type to those on the AP exam, but they are somewhat easier than real AP questions.

I used this book to cram for the weekly tests that I had in my AP European History class...and found it to be a concise outline with holes in the big picture and lacking some specifics that would have made the outline more "understandable." If you are looking for a book that will prep you for the AP test, buy the Princeton Review book...it offers an overview and allows you to grasp the conceptual flow of history. I got a 5 on my Ap Euro exam using Barrons to guide my weekly cramming for the first 6 months of class, then switched to the Princeton Review a month before the test to really REVIEW the fundamental cause/effect relationships and interconnectedness of ideas that the AP Euro test really focuses on.

Of course there are many specifics on the test, mainly: Darwin, Calvinism, Anibaptists, Reconquista, Luther, the 14 points, Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, and a few others...but if you can get the "big picture," the details will already be there for you. Use Barrons for your AP Euro class to study for unit tests, and Princeton Review to prep for the actual exam.

I did not take an AP European History course in my school. Due to a dismal passing rate the class was dropped several years ago, well before my freshman year.

I took the exam because I love history, and I love a challenge. And I got a 5 on the exam for my efforts.

This is how I did it:
Over spring break I bought this book, and started outlining it chapter by chapter. With barely a week left I still had a little less than half to outline. I quickened my pace, and finished outline the last chapter two days before the exam. The next day I picked up the Princeton Euro Review book, and sort of skimmed through it. This was quite useful, as there were some questions I would have been incapable of answering had I not skimmed this book. The next day I walked into school, alone since we had the day off, and sat down to take the exam. I walked out thinking I had done my best, and only time would tell if I had succeeded. And I did... so who do I take on next?

I really enjoyed this book mainly because as a history student I never achieved history buff status, due to one dismal fact. I couldn't see the big picture. I guess to some that may not be a big deal...but seeing the big picture is truly important for history since you have to piece events together through time. I would always be able to understand small events, but I could never exactly understand the relation they had with other events. An example of this is that I could memorize Erasmus's books and their subject matters in a matter of minutes- go me, right? But I couldn't relate that fact to the Protestant Reformation. I understood Martin Luther's beliefs, I understood Erasmus's beliefs in his urge for clerical reform, yet unfortunately I did not understand how Erasmus "laid the egg that Luther hatched." Yet after intensely studying this book, I began to learn and grow. I began to visualize and view, to experience in my own rights how to link events together through history! Buying this book was the best decision I ever made due to the highly essential section in this book on framing the big picture. Helpful tips allowed a true breakthrough for me. I might have earned a 2 for simply knowing the facts straight cold and through sheer (but confused) memorization, but I earned myself a 5 by finally reaching a zenith of understanding through Barrents. Kudos, Mr. Eder! Kudos! The feeling of victory is mine, as I realize NOW, though don't hold me to these facts because I haven't quadruple-checked them yet- that Erasmus's urgings for reform within the church gave those that spearheaded the reformation ammunition! And what a wonderful realization that is.