AP Human Geography AP Exam Review FRQ Academy, 2015 AP Human Geography AP Exam Review

Deconstructing the different parts of the APHG exam

Summary of main FRQ writing tips… Students should try to avoid writing “dump” essays where they “dump” or empty their brain of everything they can think of on to the paper. Remember to try and integrate geographic themes in their response. For example, using a point from several different units of study in their answer. PLEASE answer the question in the same format that it is written. For example, if the question has three parts which are labeled A, B and C, they need to answer in the same format. Students can sometimes “explain” in a sentence or two. They should not belabor a point. Please be direct and use evidence to support their argument. However, they try to use Geo “vocabulary” wherever it is relevant.

Summary of main FRQ writing tips (cont.) Please do not rewrite the question in their response and make sure they answer what the question asks! Please, NO THESIS statements, introductions or conclusions. DO NOT use bullets in their answers. As noted, there are no DBQ’s on the AP Geo exam.

Outlines are your friend  OUTLINING the questions is an important tool that will help students tremendously! As soon as students get the FRQ’s, they should spend a couple of minutes outlining the main points for their answer right on the questions sheet. This way, when they go to write their full response they will have a baseline of information/important points to send them on their way!

Outlines are your friend  Students who have created outlines in the past have told me it has really helped them be successful on the exam! I have my students do this throughout the course of the school year. Even though students balk at doing this, especially those students who struggle with time management and always think they will run out of time and not finish, they find by the end of the year that this strategy is a big help for them.

Miscellaneous FRQ Tips … Answer the question students think is the easiest first than they should go on to the next easiest, etc... This way, they leave the hardest one for the end where they have more time to answer. It doesn’t matter if the questions are in order when they write them in their answer booklet.

Miscellaneous FRQ Tips … Students should be as neat as possible when writing their responses. Remember, this is not their classroom APHG teacher who is used to reading their hieroglyphics that will be reading their response  In the same vain, skip a line in between each line of their answer to the FRQs. They have plenty of space in the answer booklet and they can then go back and add information if need be.

Key WORDS/PHRASES to understand the meaning of with regard to answering FRQ’s

APHG Verbs Effective answers to essay questions depend in part upon a clear understanding (and execution) of the meanings of important directive words. These are the words that indicate the way in which the material is to be presented. For example, if students only describe when they are asked to compare, or if they merely list causes when they have been asked to evaluate them, their responses will be less than satisfactory.

APHG Verbs An essay can only begin to be correct if it answers directly the question that is asked. Individual teachers can provide what AP Examinations cannot — help with the meanings and applications of some key terms like the following on the next few slides:

APHG Verbs Analyze: determine their component parts; examine their nature and relationship [usually answers the question "why?"] Assess/Evaluate: judge the value or character of something; appraise; evaluate the positive points and the negative ones; give an opinion regarding the value of; discuss the advantages and disadvantages of. Compare: examine for the purpose of noting similarities and differences.

APHG Verbs 4. Contrast: examine in order to show dissimilarities or points of difference. 5. Describe: give an account of; tell about; give a word picture of. 6. Discuss: talk over; write about; consider or examine by argument or from various points of view; debate; present the different sides of.

APHG Verbs 7. Explain: make clear or plain; make clear the causes or reasons for; make known in detail; tell the meaning of. If you are asked to explain something, make sure to read carefully as to what you will be explaining and how many or what specifically you are asked to address. Do not try to read between the lines of the question. ONLY ANSWER WHAT THEY ARE SPECIFICALLY BEING ASKED TO ANSWER! To earn a “5” elaborating on their basic premise is KEY!

Other prompting terms/words: Define: If you are asked for a definition, make sure you specifically define the term or concept. Choose either/or: You don’t have to pick both! Pay attention to how many examples the question is looking for if a specific number is noted! Key Features or factors: Discuss TWO or THREE ideas in detail. Look for a specific number of examples that the question is asking for. List: No elaboration needed. Identify: Point out and you will then most likely have to discuss.

Summary of key MCQs answering strategies There are 75 multiple choice questions on the APHG exam, each with five answer choices. Students have 1 hour to answer them. Types of MCQs: Definition questions. Synonym questions. All of the following EXCEPT questions. Stimulus questions (some type of visual).

Summary of key MCQs answering strategies Students need to make sure they read the entire question carefully. There should be some phrase or clue in the question to lead students in the right direction. Students should not linger on answering any given question. If they are not sure of how to respond to a question they should move on as they can always come back to it.