Customer Reviews

Cracking the AP U.S. History Exam, 2004-2005 Edition (College Test Prep)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've always been a history student, but I decided I needed to review for the AP before I took it, and this book did me very well. The practice tests were very good. Not only that, but it has a summary of everything that was on the AP tests, and I felt that the level of information the summary gave was very good. It had about 70 pages for 200 years of history, with a surprising amount of detail. I read through the whole summary, and it was never overly academic and was written very well. Take it from someone who got a 5, this is a great help.

I followed this book along with class lessons to review, and found that this method works very well. Nearing the time of the test, all you have to do is take the practice tests and a bit of review in class and out of class, and you're guaranteed a very high score on this test. Class is very important, so if your teacher isn't up to par, I'd suggest writing essays be your focus. The difference between all the people who receive 3's and those who receive 4's and 5's is all based on those 3 essays!

History was never my favorite subject in highschool. Glancing at the Barron's one, I thought if I chose a book with more material to study, I would have a better chance of getting a good score on the AP test. However, the Barron's book proved to be extremely boring, and I was always falling asleep whenever I read it (If History is your favorite subject, go ahead and read Barron's. I myself pick Barron's for Bio. and Chem. simply because I don't get bored easily reading about these subjects). So I picked Princeton Review at last minute, went over only half of the book and took one practice test. I got a 4 on the test. If I had studied more and did both tests I could have got a 5. The only thing I want for improvement is more practice. It's always helpful to have more practice at the end of the chapter and more practice tests as well.

I had possibly the greatest teacher in the world for my AP US History class. The book he chose although was well written (neglecting the fact that it was ungodly boring)lacked the ability to emphasize important events in US History (just emphasized everything else) nor did it have summaries or pinpoints at the end of the chapter. Thanks to Princeton Reviews book I was able to supplement my rigorous textbook with easy to use information. Also the practice questions were exactly alike to the actual exam although the practice essays need work. This book is great for any student taking the AP US History exam. I highly recommend it.

I had ok history teachers...but are we seriously supposed to remember everything? Well I crammed this book in the few days before the test. The review of History they have is brief enough for you to skim through while still being thorough enough to start the DBQ or essay with. Questions on the AP Exam were as if they came right out of this book's text. Definitely buy this book and read it over a few times and your guaranteed a five.

This book was terrific. It gave fairly short summaries on different sections of history, with the most pertinent information, and it gave an enormous list of terms that were INCREDIBLY helpful for the actual exam. I got this only two weeks before the exam and I read through parts every night, defining different terms, and I ended up getting a 5. This is despite a change in teacher about two months into school and playing catch up the entire year. I can't say that part of it wasn't due to my new teacher, but this was definitely better than rereading the entire history book.

This book is decent for a few uses. It is excellent to use while studying for tests in the class, just to read what happened during an event from a different perspective, helped certain concepts and facts stick in my brain.

The MC tests are also useful for discovering time periods or concepts that you need more time to review. I did find that some of the MC questions were over topics not covered in the condensed review, or were terribly obscure, stuff that never appeared on the actual AP exam. It seemed like the practice tests featured some questions that were heavily into the minutia on certain events or concepts, while the actual exam had broader questions, even towards the end of the section.

The strategies for the written section are all right. It had some useful tips for the DBQ, but honestly, for the whole section, you can't BS your way through it too much, you either know your facts or you don't.

I think if I spent a lot more time reviewing in-depth a lot of the concepts and practiced writing the essays, I could have raised my score from a 4 to a 5.

Although, for some this might provide a little solace: I thought I did pretty good on the MC, and decent on the DBQ, the short essay topics were when I ran out of gas, one I wrote was 3/4 of a page, and the other one was possibly a little bit longer than a full page, and I still got a four.

Also, kill two birds with one stone and buy this book to also prepare for the SAT II US History test. The AP test was on a friday, and then the next day I had the SAT II history test, and I got a 770, so it helps to take them both.

I found this book to be a great way to study for the AP exam. It contains a somewhat detailed 90 page narrative of the AP US History curriculum followed by 20 pages that list terms and concepts that are useful for the test. The narrative is well written and surprisingly comprehensive considering its brevity. Although I had done a lot of work for my AP US class, American History was something of a blur until I sat down one afternoon and read the whole thing. All of a sudden everything fell together and made sense. I found the terms and concepts section to be just as useful. My study routine consisted of quizzing myself with these lists and googling the terms I didn't know or didn't know well.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information on the test, I'd recommend this book because within just over 100 pages, it provides quick access to all of the concepts, as well as the random facts you'll need to know to do well on the exam. Spend three or four hours with this book and you'll be on top of the game.

For the same reason, this book is appropriate for those just making sure that they know everything. The terms and concepts section is an excellent way to test your knowledge.

I only gave this book 4 stars out of 5 because, as other reviewers have mentioned, the practice tests, as well as the information about test itself, is not always acurate. These shortcomings are superficial, though, so they should not seriously influence your decision. I strongly recommend this book.

A great way to review for the APs. It is summarized in ways that are extremely easy to understand. Plenty of maps and cartoons. Explains the actual AP test and has great sample tests (multiple choice, DBQ, & FRQ), plus all the answers and bullet-style options for the essays. I strongly recommend this book!!!!

Well if you're like me, this book is a godsend. Because of the hurricane, my APUSH class lost about a month. My school didn't apply for an extension, so long story short most of my class was pretty unprepared for the exam. This book saves a lot of worrying. I advise using this priceton review's history in short, and the SparkNotes flash cards. I didn't study until 2 or 3 days before the exam, but by reading the book's history section, I knew almost every single question on the AP exam!