Hints for doing well on your AP Exam

DO NOT STAY UP LATE STUDYING THE NIGHT BEFORE THE EXAM! Have your favorite snack and go to bed early. A clear, rested mind is the most important thing you can take to the AP Exam.

Dress comfortably and make sure to bring plenty of sharpened pencils and good erasers and a black pen. STUDENT ID Be there on time 7:45 AM, and relax. Bring a snack for the break. Where? Small Gym: A-Sholl Room 120: Sk-Vale Room #182: Vas-Wong Carlisle room B: Wong- Zhang room 112: students with accomodations

Read questions completely before answering. Think before you bubble. Don’t make careless mistakes. If you have time left over, double- check your answers.

Do not waste time on multiple choice questions that are extremely difficult. Come back to them later when your thinking juices are really flowing. You SHOULD write on your exam Try to answer 25 questions every 20 minutes (This leaves 10 min. to check answers)

Distribute the 90 minutes equally on the four FRQ questions (22 minutes each). Do not make the mistake of wasting a large percent of your time on one question, and then not having enough time to answer the other three.

Outline form and bullets are NOT acceptable, answers must be written in prose style. Use underlining, especially if you are a poor writer, but be sure to give a full explanation. Just listing things will earn zero points.

Don’t fabricate information, it is a waste of time and will not earn any points.

Write very clearly and large enough for the reader to read your words.

Eliminate “fluff.” You don’t need fancy introductions or conclusions on your essays.

If you are going to write down several points, write down the best ones first. Often graders will just grade the first one or two and ignore the rest.

If you use diagrams, label and explain them. A diagram without an explanation gets zero points.

If the question asks you to show your work, write out all the steps clearly so the reader/grader can clearly see your work. Many students lose points because they do their math calculations in their heads or on a sheet of paper other that the answer sheet.

Scores Available Online July 8 th 5am EDT go to apscore.org to create a fee account (Do it soon) Remember your AP number Seniors some schools want scores by July 15 th

Mrs. Mayer’s AP Test Hints!!!

FRQ Hints: 1.The maximum number of points you can get on each FRQ is 10 points. After you have answered all the FRQ’s go back and see if you can “find” where the points come from. If you only get to 8 or 9 points, chances are you forgot to respond to some part of some question. See if you can find what you forgot! 2.I recommend answering the FRQ’s in this order… 4, 1, 3, Question 1 will most likely be a DBQ. Question 2 will probably be the math question and question 3 and 4 are usually “typical” FRQ’s that are looking to see what you know about some environmental issue. 4.Make sure you show all your work on any math questions…even if that work could be done in your head! No work= no credit! 5.Make sure all your answers are on the answer document and not the test booklet. The test booklet does not go to Cincinnati..it comes back to me. 6.Use the test booklet to brainstorm, then answer on the answer document! 7.All answers must be in complete sentences! No credit for incomplete sentences!

FRQ Hints: 1.When the question asks you to “identify”… this can be done in one sentence. 2.When the question asks you to “describe”, “discuss” or “explain” you need about 3 sentences for each answer. 3.When the question asks you to “identify and describe”, etc. you need about 4 sentences!

FRQ Hints: 1.When the question asks for an “Environmental” benefit or cost… you talk about animals, plants, soil, air, etc. Do not talk about humans! 2.When the question asks for a “societal” benefit or cost… you talk about people, cities, crops, etc. 3.When the question asks “human health” effects… you talk about asthma, emphysema, nervous systems issues like birth defects, brain damage, or cancer. These cover most environmental health hazards. Obviously, if you know the effect, then write the correct effect…otherwise guess! 4.When the question asks for “economic” benefits or costs… you talk about money and jobs. 5.When the question asks “what could the government do?”… you answer with something about writing a law, taxes or educating the public.

FRQ Hints: 1.Do not skip any parts of the FRQ…. Put something down that you think might be right! 2.If the question says to give “TWO” reasons… only the first two things you write down are graded. Same if it says “ONE” reason…only the first is graded. 3.If the question says “Identify and describe TWO reasons…” that means that you need 4 sentences for the first reason and another 4 sentences for the second reason… 8 sentences all together! 4.Do not restate the question or give an opening paragraph and conclusion. This is NOT an English essay… it is a “free response”… that means short answer, complete answer, complete sentence! 5.Pace yourself… you have approximately 22 minutes for each FRQ. Don’t spend too much time on one, you will run out of time on the other. This is why I say to answer the math question (probably question 2) last. Most students spend a lot of time answering the math question. Also, there will be some questions on the math question that are not math. Answer those first, then go back and try to answer the math. Remember, you are not allowed a calculator on this exam so show all your work!

FRQ Hints: 1.Do not answer a question with “it is bad for the environment”, it causes air pollution, or it will “harm biodiversity”. These are too vague. You need to explain HOW it is bad for the environment or HOW it will harm biodiversity. Also, don’t say it will cause “pollution”… any third grader can say that.. Be specific, name a particular chemical, etc. Show the grader that you know some science facts… you do! I taught you! 2.Do not answer the FRQ’s with one giant “super paragraph”. Label your answers with 1a. 2c. Etc. That way the grader knows exactly what you are trying to say! 3.Remember that there are environmentalists grading your response…always go with the answer that is best for the environment unless it asks you to do otherwise. 4.Sometimes they want you to show “both sides of an argument”. An example of this is “describe one incentive that the government of a country could offer its citizens that would favor a reduction in the growth rate of its population. Explain how this incentive would work, and describe one possible drawback.” They are looking for you to play “Devils advocate”. 5.Go with the most obvious answer. The grader doesn’t give you “extra” points because you know some obscure fact or law that you learned about on Discovery Channel. Try to give the answer that MOST of the nation will give. 6.If you don’t know a law… always fall back on the Endangered Species Act, The Clean Air Act or the Clean Water Act. These usually work if you can support you answer!

Multiple Choice Hints: 1.Often times there are more than one correct answer…but there is a BETTER answer! 2.Some people think the test gets easier as you go.

Go in with a positive attitude. You have the knowledge to do a great job on this test!

Go APES!!