Customer Reviews

How to Prepare for the AP U.S. Government and Politics

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

 

 

I disagree with the two "mixed" reviews. If you're looking for a brief outline then Barron's AP books - and in this case, the US Government and Politics one - is not for you. Barron's is noted for overpreparing you so that you'll feel ready and comfortable on test day. I used Princeton's as well and found that to be much quicker to get through and it had very nice outlines. However, it was detail and examples that I was looking for, and I found that in Barron's. If the problem is length and you don't feel like reading through all the chapters, then go for Princeton. However, if you have the time and want to ace your free response section by having lots of different examples and a good detailed understanding of government and politics under your belt, then this is the book for you! I got through the nineteen chapters in a week before the test. That should be sufficient time for this book. And even though the student example essays are overly detailed and somewhat unrealistic, they still provide you with many examples and familiarize you with important concepts. I took the test last week and I couldn't have done it without Barron's. GOOD LUCK!

Barron's has its shortcomings, sure. I'd still give it five stars, because I earned a 4 on the exam after speed-reading the majority of its contents in a single sitting having not taken a class. I will say this much: the answers to the questions on the exam are in this book; the trick is remembering them! Had I studied more rigorously (i.e., for a week), I am sure I would have earned a five.

Let's first talk about some of the books shortcomings. First and foremost, it's unrealistically difficult - the actual test is child's play compared to the sample problems and questions in this book, which may or may not be a good thing! Still, it is worthwhile to do the practice questions. I recommend getting a second book with some more practice multiple choice.

What is a complete waste of space in this book is the sample essay questions. The 'student' answers will scare you to bloody-you-know-where and back. Why? Maybe Barron's essay questions have appeared on an AP test before. If they have, I'd imagine they are the most difficult questions in the history of the exam, because no where on the test will you need to know such information as an in-depth analysis of Bill Clinton's administration (one sample essay in the text).

Why did I give it five stars then? Where the book really shines is its information. I don't think the actual text was too in-depth at all. It covered the necessary information, and sometimes more. But the point is, it covered the necessary information, and it covered it well - every answer to every question is in this book. Know this book, and you know the exam, inside and out, and are prepared for a five.

I can't recommend anything better for the serious student.

Let me get this out in the kindest words: this book is bad.

I have used review books for AP/Regents exams to great success in the past, and Barron's and Princeton Review are very trusted names. However, this is just horrible...almost.

Let's take a look:
-Each chapter is well-written and informative, and covers exactly what my textbook did very well. Good job here.
-The sample multiple choice questions at the end of chapters are, for the most part good, though some are too easy, and some have a horrible selection of answers. The descriptions of the right answers are average, at best.
-The sample essay QUESTIONS are good, though they ask to know some pretty specific stuff, but they're good to think about to help prepare for the exam.
-The sample essays: absolutely, unforgivably bad. My first problem is that they are too exact: "...was first mentioned in Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address on January 25, 1982". I'm sorry, but who is actually using such a fact on the actual AP exam? There have been other examples too, such as citing the name of a mayor from Chicago from 20 years ago...we're supposed to know these things? I think not. However, what compelled me to speak out against this book was the sample essays in Chapter 11. These are, in every meaning of the word, horrible. The first one is a pretty good response to the question, but the analysis offered by the author is terrible...his analysis of the thesis says it is clear (which it is), but claims it is one thing, when it is in fact another. He then draws conclusions from the sample essay that are far-fetched, and are never mentioned in the essay. Furthermore, the essay itself only partially answers the question. The second essay is ridiculous. He is writing from a graph of party identification, and though he cites some good facts, they contradict the graph. For example, he claims that after Watergate, the number of people calling themselves independents increased. A logical conclusion, but the graph shows the complete opposite...that LESS people called themselves independent after 1976. That is inexcusable. Further, the essay is poorly structured, and offers average answers to the question asked.

There have been many examples of overly-precise, badly worded, and just flatout incorrect ideas in the sample essays offered by the author. This is unacceptable in a book designed to prepare the highly motivated student for a difficult exam...it is not fair to the student putting in the effort to do well, to confuse him, and to give him a poor impression of what a good essay is. Further, it is pretty sad that as a student myself, I can point out Mr. Lader's ineptitude.

Overall, I would say, if you can get a deal from your teacher to get this book for $10 or less, then get it, read the chapters and do the questions at the end. Skip his essays, they will just frustrate you. I have yet to even do the practice exams at the end, but I am sincerely hoping they're much better than what I have seen from Mr. Lader through 11 chapters. I paid $10 for this, but personally, I want my money back.

While it extensivley details out the US government and its workings, it is hardly more than bloat.......

In addition, the bloat leads to confusion, because the author often fails to clarify major points, such as federalism. The author adequately describes everytype of conceivable federalism, but fails to integrate their definational function into a working defination that a student may readily understand.

The questions are of dismal quality, and do not reflect those that are asked on the AP exam. I currently own the 1994, 1999, and the 2002 released exams. I also possess a copy of Kaplans 2004, Princetons 2005, and "The Best Test Prep for the Advanced Placement Exams in Government and Politics."

If you are looking for a book that will give you good test questions, buy the princeton. If you want a book that will fill in various gaps of understanding, you may consider the Barron's (Whatever you do DONOT Buy Kaplans, it is little more than a the remains of a dead tree)

If, however, you want to just buy one book, buy Anita C. Danker's "The best test prep", it is truly wonderful. I had been in AP US Government for one month before reading the entire review book in one sitting. I proceeded to take the the 1994, 1999, and 2002 released exams (keep in mind this was my first time looking at such, without any source other than Danker's I managed to score a 50/60, 52/60, and 53/60, without any classroom experience, and or textbook. All knowledge to gain such scores I had learned in a single sitting (4 hours long). The exercises are also high quality..... If you want to additional practice questions, then you should consider buying Princeton, but only after first buying Danker's.

I strongly discourage the purchase or use of this book.

The book goes far too in depth and the "sample AP" questions are unimportant, trivia questions.

The only thing in the book which is noteworthy is the glossary. However, it contains too many specific terms which have NEVER nor will NEVER appear on the AP Test.

The sample essays found at the end of every chapter are also discouraging. The prompts are poorly written and the responses often center around unimportant things (such as): the family reinforcement act, statistics on Hispanic poverty etc......

Buy the Princeton Review Book for AP US Government and Politics.
Read it...Score a 5.

I have no other book to compare it to, but it helps me review for my AP Government class tests. I sometimes wish it had more multiple test questions to offer, but overall the information is well classified and it goes into decent detail on every topic. The sample essays are very helpful.

This book aims not to prepare students for the AP test, but to put them through an unnecessarily difficult and time consuming process that only frustrates. The practice tests, arguably one of the most important parts of the book, are terrible. The multiple choice questions are much more difficult than anything I saw on the AP test, and the essays were unreasonably specific and furthermore did not even follow the format used by AP. My score on the book practice tests led to suggest that I would fail the actual exam, yet I easily managed a 5. Get Kaplan's or Princeton Review.

Reader evaluations on all other AP Government reviews books were very consistent. Any differences were minor - just one star away. On the other hand, reading previous reviews on this Barron's publication was mystifying. People either loved or hated it. There were good reasons for this extreme polarization of views.

If this volume were marketed as a textbook alternative to GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA by Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry - the standard text for a high school AP Government class, I would have rated it "five stars." The contents covered all the important facts and details in 508 pages instead of 779 pages in the Edwards-Wattenberg-Lineberry volume. However if you factored into consideration the differences in font size, the empty white spaces, charts, drawings, tables, and pictures, the differences in page number narrowed. The amount of contents for both books was almost the same.

In addition, the vocabulary and writing style was very "high level." The author also assumed that the reader already had the necessary background knowledge on various things. A passage from page 287 on election campaigns illustrated this: "They use selective leaks, known as trial balloons, to test the political waters. They become 'talking heads,' with the media focusing on the face of politicians during speeches and talk shows often ending up as sound bites. . . ." Unless a student knew what were "talking heads" and "sound bites," understanding this passage was a definite problem.

As a review for the AP Government test, I rated the Barron's book with "two stars." Although many of the sample multiple-choice questions were basic, some were extremely specific and impossible to answer. One good example involved knowing the published source of a short one-sentence quotation. This came from page 139.


9. "The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations [in the past] of man toward woman." Which of the following documents contained this passage?

A. Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
B. Equal Rights Amendment
C. Seventeenth Amendment
D. THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE
E. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act


A few sample Free-Response essay questions were just as impossible to answer. One example came from page 99:


Define what is meant by the term NEW FEDERALISM. Explain how one of the following provisions of the Contract with America supports your definition.

1. Unfunded Mandates Law
2. Welfare Reform Act


It was unrealistic to require any high school student to know and understand the specific provisions in the Contract with America. At the same time, the question required the student to relate one of the two provisions to a constitutional concept - NEW FEDERALISM. In my personal opinion, this question went beyond textbook knowledge.

All in all, the Barron's book was a good alternative to reading the AP course textbook. As a review for the AP Government test, it failed. Many of the multiple-choice questions and essay questions were extremely specific. It was doubtful that they accurately represented the actual questions in the AP test. If they did, students who received scores of "5" should be awarded with M.A.s or Ph.D.s instead of just college credit for an American Government course.

I used this one week before the ap exam.
While reading, I highlighted important facts to remember and when it was time to take the test, I felt really prepared.

:)

Barron knows what hes talking about when it comes down to things on the exam.

Im pretty good at government and always made high grades in the class so thats a disclaimer----
This book is ok in that it goes over the material that you need to know. However most of its free response questions are a bit too detailed and you probably wont encounter stuff like that (you might especially b/c 07 AP exam had pretty specific FR question. However while reading the review chapters it goes a bit too depth and in my opinion adds useless information in the form of examples etc. I didnt find all the examples useful on the test since they ask you pretty cut and dry questions as in general principles and facts. SO overall I think this book goes into too much useless detail---find something inbetween the depth of Barrons and excessive outline form of princeton review. Gluck on the exam