Well... I had my first SAT Subject Test ever. That was during May 2009.
Aaaaand. Now chances are, I'm going to take what I learned and adjust my approach:
1) Actually NOT study the night before and
2) Take more practice exams and
3) Not bother to take notes on my errors, just
4) Eat lots of bananas and briefly acknowledge them while
5) Talking out loud to myself because that's supposed to make you remember.
GIVEN that.
I'm going to start studying for Math II now! That's right. That's... 3 weeks before it? Wooow, that usually doesn't happen!
Going to start with Barron's Math II. I also have Kaplan and Princeton Review.
Now for this one, I heard that Barron's is way harder than it is. And that if you get a 680 or something on its practice tests, you're bound to get an 800.
I'm going to be naive again, and just like how I said I wanted to self-study 5 APs before... I'm going to attempt to even get the advanced concepts in Barron's.
I mean, we're going to have to use pre-calc in our lives anyways right? This actually does have real life applications! As opposed to calculus, some say...
A Word on Pacing...
Labels:
APUSH Personal Experiences
Oh yes.
So you probably know, it's 55 minutes for 80 multiple choice, a break, and then you're going 2 hr 10 minutes for the whole haul.
That's 15 minutes for reading the DBQ, 45 minutes recommended for writing it, 35 and 35 each for the two essays.
Now I can't believe I made it. But I did.
Here's a few.
With the multiple choice... time went a lot faster with the SAT. Or rather, I went a lot slower because the questions were harder. OR I had the experience gained from the SAT and knew that the best thing was actually to NOT read word for word and use a "multiple choice" test taking approach -- that is, know how to FLY read. Read very fast.
Bottom line. Chances are, you have time to check over your answers. For me, I guess I knew my stuff (hey... :)), and I managed to check about 3/5 the way through before the proctor announced time stop.
But of course, keep a time on the watch. Mark, and do all that stuff you were told to do by the review books. Mark, go back, skip, blah blah. You know the drill.
I remember I went "WHAT?" with the prompt.
With the DBQ, you're going to expect something weird. Usually. I know I probably shouldn't be acting like an APUSH veteran (well... I am :D) just because I took one APUSH exam. But the documents are there to help you. They jog your memory. So DBQ pretty much is taken care of :D.
Though... read over documents quite carefully, but not too carefully. Literally this happened for me during the test:
[me thinking to myself... wait. Do we ever think to anyone other than ourselves? o=]
"Doc A... OK.... wait. I'm not registering"
"OK, I'll read it again"
"Wait... I see text, but I'm not absorbing their meaning"
"It's not sinking in!"
"OMG if I don't do good on the DBQ..."
"OK, now's not the time! One last time"
"I DON'T GET IT! What???"
"OK, you know what??! This is the ABSOLUTE last time! Or else you're NOT using this document!!"
"Ok! Ok! I think I get it. But wait... can I have one more try?"
"No."
[And no, I'm not weird. I bet you do it too]
I ended up wasting about 2 minutes...and not really using the document. Oh wait I did, but you could tell it was ... very ambiguously referred to. Something you should avoid :)
The FRQ... that will take some luck. But you can do it. The thing with the DBQ is, I wanted to add in one last thing in so I went 5 minutes into my essay time. Remember, this time accumulates. That just means not only do you have to finish on time for the essays, you have to finish 5 minutes early.
Lesson learned? You never stop writing in an APUSH exam!
It may get a bit panicky. You're searching for that term, but you just can't seem to get it. For me, I usually list out all the terms I can list associated with the question, even if I know that it isn't directly related (you can always talk about the history of some theme too), and then use these terms to guide you.
Of course, one of the biggest questions I find myself getting marks off is that you have to answer the question. This may sound obvious, and you may even heard of the statement "answer the question asked", or maybe even heard of "answer the question asked. This may sound obvious".
Bottom line, answer the question for real. Sometimes you feel like you aren't answering the question. When you get that feeling, you're probably right. USE the words in the actual prompt! Use word for word!
Even when in meaning, you aren't answering the question... if you use the words in your answer, even if it doesn't answer the actual question ... you sound relevant, and that may be the factor that gives you the extra few marks needed.
So, good luck, APUSHers of 2010 and beyond! I hope I've left behind something.
So you probably know, it's 55 minutes for 80 multiple choice, a break, and then you're going 2 hr 10 minutes for the whole haul.
That's 15 minutes for reading the DBQ, 45 minutes recommended for writing it, 35 and 35 each for the two essays.
Now I can't believe I made it. But I did.
Here's a few.
With the multiple choice... time went a lot faster with the SAT. Or rather, I went a lot slower because the questions were harder. OR I had the experience gained from the SAT and knew that the best thing was actually to NOT read word for word and use a "multiple choice" test taking approach -- that is, know how to FLY read. Read very fast.
Bottom line. Chances are, you have time to check over your answers. For me, I guess I knew my stuff (hey... :)), and I managed to check about 3/5 the way through before the proctor announced time stop.
But of course, keep a time on the watch. Mark, and do all that stuff you were told to do by the review books. Mark, go back, skip, blah blah. You know the drill.
I remember I went "WHAT?" with the prompt.
With the DBQ, you're going to expect something weird. Usually. I know I probably shouldn't be acting like an APUSH veteran (well... I am :D) just because I took one APUSH exam. But the documents are there to help you. They jog your memory. So DBQ pretty much is taken care of :D.
Though... read over documents quite carefully, but not too carefully. Literally this happened for me during the test:
[me thinking to myself... wait. Do we ever think to anyone other than ourselves? o=]
"Doc A... OK.... wait. I'm not registering"
"OK, I'll read it again"
"Wait... I see text, but I'm not absorbing their meaning"
"It's not sinking in!"
"OMG if I don't do good on the DBQ..."
"OK, now's not the time! One last time"
"I DON'T GET IT! What???"
"OK, you know what??! This is the ABSOLUTE last time! Or else you're NOT using this document!!"
"Ok! Ok! I think I get it. But wait... can I have one more try?"
"No."
[And no, I'm not weird. I bet you do it too]
I ended up wasting about 2 minutes...and not really using the document. Oh wait I did, but you could tell it was ... very ambiguously referred to. Something you should avoid :)
The FRQ... that will take some luck. But you can do it. The thing with the DBQ is, I wanted to add in one last thing in so I went 5 minutes into my essay time. Remember, this time accumulates. That just means not only do you have to finish on time for the essays, you have to finish 5 minutes early.
Lesson learned? You never stop writing in an APUSH exam!
It may get a bit panicky. You're searching for that term, but you just can't seem to get it. For me, I usually list out all the terms I can list associated with the question, even if I know that it isn't directly related (you can always talk about the history of some theme too), and then use these terms to guide you.
Of course, one of the biggest questions I find myself getting marks off is that you have to answer the question. This may sound obvious, and you may even heard of the statement "answer the question asked", or maybe even heard of "answer the question asked. This may sound obvious".
Bottom line, answer the question for real. Sometimes you feel like you aren't answering the question. When you get that feeling, you're probably right. USE the words in the actual prompt! Use word for word!
Even when in meaning, you aren't answering the question... if you use the words in your answer, even if it doesn't answer the actual question ... you sound relevant, and that may be the factor that gives you the extra few marks needed.
So, good luck, APUSHers of 2010 and beyond! I hope I've left behind something.
Right after the APUSH Exam!
Labels:
APUSH Personal Experiences
How was it?
WELL.
I can't discuss anything, just like the SAT Subject Test.
BUT I must say that the multiple choice is EASY. (Then again, I took a LOT of practice exams and even for those that I thought were "easy" ... well, those I got 19 wrong. Unfortunately, that translates to a 55... which isn't so good).
Point is, if you can get 65 on the multiple choice, an "average" on the essays, that is, a 5 on all of them (they are all out of 9)... then you're on a way to the 5.
So what practice exams are good?
Well I've had my separate reviews for each.
Basically, the practice exams are the same as the ones I used for the SAT Subject Test:
1 Practice Exam from AMSCO and the Quizzes after each chapter
These have their own unique "style" in the way that there is a LOT of emphasis on identification of who, what, when, in my opinion-- however, some of the concept questions are useful. There are some things that you shouldn't bother wanting to learn about, some people that you would "never" have to know for US history. I give this a 5/10 -- however, their final practice exam at the book was very accurate. Perhaps that boosts the score to a 6.5/10.
There is an answer key that can be purchased from them -- fortunately, my AP teacher gave the entire class the answer key so this proved especially useful.
4 Practice Exams from Kaplan for SAT II
These were ... relatively easy. Easier to just the level of the SAT II, but leaning on the way of easy. However, my scores were still averaging at about 19 wrong per 90, in this case. With the SAT II, you should know that there are a lot of questions dealing w/ graph, chart, and cartoon analysis, and this doesn't appear to be stressed in the practice exams above. Given that, its usually the graph, chart, cartoon analysis that empowers you to answer it because the answer is staring at you right in the face.
Even with it being relatively easy, the concepts that it emphasizes here is quite useful. 6/10.
8 Practice Exams from Barron's for SAT II
Barron's is well known for its... difficulty. And there are definitely MANY questions that you can almost expect to not appear on the SAT II. I mean, things with "where do impeachment charges begin in Congress"? Well, the House. But we don't need to know that.
Having said that, Barron's takes a ... well, unique approach as well as a more difficult approach that "hits" on the style and difficulty of SAT II all the other times -- meaning that it IS a good balance to the "easiness" of all the other practice exams.
If you have time, definitely get the practice and experience you'll learn from the 8 practice exams.
1 Practice Test from the "official source" CB
Unfortunately I only got hold of one of these... and I took this. AAAND I got a higher score on this than on any of the other tests! This may be a good sign...
It should be noted that I did take this "last" as a "final measure" of how I did. The packet also provides a "raw score to scale conversion", and it seems like anything below a raw score of 79 (which is about 8 wrong if you answer all) starts getting deducted from 800.
Well. Scratch that. I took a bit more after the SAT Subject Test for APUSH
3 Practice Tests from Peterson's
Amazingly, I did not feel that these were hard -- BUT I got one of the lowest scores on these quizzes. It turns out that some of the answers on the answer key I actually disagree with because the some of the questions and options for answers are very vaguely worded! This doesn't apply to a majority of the questions -- however, I still learned a lot from these :). Practice makes perfect, even if that practice is a bit flawed. Of course, these aren't first options.
2 Practice Tests from AP Barron's
I heard a lot of people say that "Barron's is hard". But amazingly it's not true for AP US History. Or maybe because AP US History multiple choice is easier than SAT US History, and because of that I assumed that Barron's AP US History would be the same difficulty as the Barron's for SAT US History. Either way:
Easier than I expected. Relatively easy, and "up to level". Perhaps just the right level. I got relatively high scores on these, perhaps one of the highest scores I got on any other practice tests. Anyways, these were a good ego boost... these were the last I took going into the test and I felt that while the style on the actual APUSH multiple choice was different, the difficulty and areas of concern are the same. Worth doing -- unfortunately there's only 2 practice exams from AP Barron's! Aww, they are known for more practice exams, c'mon AP Barron's for US History!
Well that concludes it.
I can't believe a year of my first AP ever is over. I can't believe it. I'll be getting that ... X 4 or X 5 next year. I don't know yet.
Again, important -- ONLY TAKE APUSH if you really like US history. That's why I'm not taking AP Euro :). Sorry monarchs, I don't care.
WELL.
I can't discuss anything, just like the SAT Subject Test.
BUT I must say that the multiple choice is EASY. (Then again, I took a LOT of practice exams and even for those that I thought were "easy" ... well, those I got 19 wrong. Unfortunately, that translates to a 55... which isn't so good).
Point is, if you can get 65 on the multiple choice, an "average" on the essays, that is, a 5 on all of them (they are all out of 9)... then you're on a way to the 5.
So what practice exams are good?
Well I've had my separate reviews for each.
Basically, the practice exams are the same as the ones I used for the SAT Subject Test:
1 Practice Exam from AMSCO and the Quizzes after each chapter
These have their own unique "style" in the way that there is a LOT of emphasis on identification of who, what, when, in my opinion-- however, some of the concept questions are useful. There are some things that you shouldn't bother wanting to learn about, some people that you would "never" have to know for US history. I give this a 5/10 -- however, their final practice exam at the book was very accurate. Perhaps that boosts the score to a 6.5/10.
There is an answer key that can be purchased from them -- fortunately, my AP teacher gave the entire class the answer key so this proved especially useful.
4 Practice Exams from Kaplan for SAT II
These were ... relatively easy. Easier to just the level of the SAT II, but leaning on the way of easy. However, my scores were still averaging at about 19 wrong per 90, in this case. With the SAT II, you should know that there are a lot of questions dealing w/ graph, chart, and cartoon analysis, and this doesn't appear to be stressed in the practice exams above. Given that, its usually the graph, chart, cartoon analysis that empowers you to answer it because the answer is staring at you right in the face.
Even with it being relatively easy, the concepts that it emphasizes here is quite useful. 6/10.
8 Practice Exams from Barron's for SAT II
Barron's is well known for its... difficulty. And there are definitely MANY questions that you can almost expect to not appear on the SAT II. I mean, things with "where do impeachment charges begin in Congress"? Well, the House. But we don't need to know that.
Having said that, Barron's takes a ... well, unique approach as well as a more difficult approach that "hits" on the style and difficulty of SAT II all the other times -- meaning that it IS a good balance to the "easiness" of all the other practice exams.
If you have time, definitely get the practice and experience you'll learn from the 8 practice exams.
1 Practice Test from the "official source" CB
Unfortunately I only got hold of one of these... and I took this. AAAND I got a higher score on this than on any of the other tests! This may be a good sign...
It should be noted that I did take this "last" as a "final measure" of how I did. The packet also provides a "raw score to scale conversion", and it seems like anything below a raw score of 79 (which is about 8 wrong if you answer all) starts getting deducted from 800.
Well. Scratch that. I took a bit more after the SAT Subject Test for APUSH
3 Practice Tests from Peterson's
Amazingly, I did not feel that these were hard -- BUT I got one of the lowest scores on these quizzes. It turns out that some of the answers on the answer key I actually disagree with because the some of the questions and options for answers are very vaguely worded! This doesn't apply to a majority of the questions -- however, I still learned a lot from these :). Practice makes perfect, even if that practice is a bit flawed. Of course, these aren't first options.
2 Practice Tests from AP Barron's
I heard a lot of people say that "Barron's is hard". But amazingly it's not true for AP US History. Or maybe because AP US History multiple choice is easier than SAT US History, and because of that I assumed that Barron's AP US History would be the same difficulty as the Barron's for SAT US History. Either way:
Easier than I expected. Relatively easy, and "up to level". Perhaps just the right level. I got relatively high scores on these, perhaps one of the highest scores I got on any other practice tests. Anyways, these were a good ego boost... these were the last I took going into the test and I felt that while the style on the actual APUSH multiple choice was different, the difficulty and areas of concern are the same. Worth doing -- unfortunately there's only 2 practice exams from AP Barron's! Aww, they are known for more practice exams, c'mon AP Barron's for US History!
Well that concludes it.
I can't believe a year of my first AP ever is over. I can't believe it. I'll be getting that ... X 4 or X 5 next year. I don't know yet.
Again, important -- ONLY TAKE APUSH if you really like US history. That's why I'm not taking AP Euro :). Sorry monarchs, I don't care.
Freedom... then I miss the "Oppression"
Labels:
APUSH Personal Experiences
Not "Oppression".
But AP US History is over :(.
I mean, even while I was going into the test, I was thinking "I can't believe it. This is it".
During the test -- well it was pretty OK. But I can't believe it. I'm thinking, these ... 3 hours determine my fate. Well, not really, if I don't want it to be.
But you know what it means. I paid $90 for this. C'mon.
After I came out, I celebrated with all the others -- but something didn't feel right.
I mean, don't you miss LBJ and the Alien and Sedition Acts...and all these terms! All the forced writing, despite how cruel it was at times...All the DBQ analysis, all the forced memorization...
I mean, for most of us, we were cramming the night before, only to "let it go" as soon as we came out of the exam.
But I guess I never really wanted to let go. I hope this information just doesn't go away. Good thing is that relearning will take faster, and I might just "revisit" all this knowledge when I retake the SAT Subject Test (should I get a "bad" score... depends.... there is the economic crisis right now, so it better be a lower score. Of course, I wish it's a high score. Not one of those in betweens =P).
Ahh, I just miss APUSH already. Sometimes I can't believe I'm saying this.
But if you ask me if I want to take the whole course again... well I like the challenge. Just new information would be better.
I mean, I can't believe how much I learned.
I entered the year not knowing anything about D-Day and never even hearing of a President Cleveland or Harrison...and only hearing of Carnegie Hall, but I didn't know the story behind it.
Its amazing ... how, despite us not being in the "moment" when we were learning or attempting to stay awake with each of the teacher's lectures... we are probably having one of the experiences of life that will impact us forever.
A bit cheesy, I know. But perhaps it relates to LIFE in general as well! I mean, APUSH. It's going to remain relevant (until US gets out of power anyways...but that's out of my lifetime :). I think).
And my future is probably in the states. Very relevant.
Just hope I don't forget it.
But AP US History is over :(.
I mean, even while I was going into the test, I was thinking "I can't believe it. This is it".
During the test -- well it was pretty OK. But I can't believe it. I'm thinking, these ... 3 hours determine my fate. Well, not really, if I don't want it to be.
But you know what it means. I paid $90 for this. C'mon.
After I came out, I celebrated with all the others -- but something didn't feel right.
I mean, don't you miss LBJ and the Alien and Sedition Acts...and all these terms! All the forced writing, despite how cruel it was at times...All the DBQ analysis, all the forced memorization...
I mean, for most of us, we were cramming the night before, only to "let it go" as soon as we came out of the exam.
But I guess I never really wanted to let go. I hope this information just doesn't go away. Good thing is that relearning will take faster, and I might just "revisit" all this knowledge when I retake the SAT Subject Test (should I get a "bad" score... depends.... there is the economic crisis right now, so it better be a lower score. Of course, I wish it's a high score. Not one of those in betweens =P).
Ahh, I just miss APUSH already. Sometimes I can't believe I'm saying this.
But if you ask me if I want to take the whole course again... well I like the challenge. Just new information would be better.
I mean, I can't believe how much I learned.
I entered the year not knowing anything about D-Day and never even hearing of a President Cleveland or Harrison...and only hearing of Carnegie Hall, but I didn't know the story behind it.
Its amazing ... how, despite us not being in the "moment" when we were learning or attempting to stay awake with each of the teacher's lectures... we are probably having one of the experiences of life that will impact us forever.
A bit cheesy, I know. But perhaps it relates to LIFE in general as well! I mean, APUSH. It's going to remain relevant (until US gets out of power anyways...but that's out of my lifetime :). I think).
And my future is probably in the states. Very relevant.
Just hope I don't forget it.
Ratification of the Constitution
Labels:
APUSH Outlines
“Initially, ratification of the Constitution was highly unlikely, and only after a fierce debate did a combination of factors bring about its adoption by the 13 states.”
Assess the validity of this statement with reference to the roles and influences of Anti-Federalists and compromise on the Bill of Rights.
Thesis; The statement that “…” is primarily valid due the disunity with the antifederalist and federalist debate
Introduction
· Process of making the Constitution
o Continental Congress 1776
§ Colonies to draft new constitution.
§ Asking for colonies to summon themselves into being new states
§ Massachusetts sets an example.
· Called for special convention and then sunmitted final draft to people for ratification.
· Changes only to be through specially called constitutional convention.
o New state constitutions were very similar.
§ Defined powers of government
§ Authority from people.
§ Annual election of legislators, most.
§ Weak executive and judicial branches.
o 13 sovereign states basically alike in government structure and functioned under similar constitutions
o Second Continental Congress.
§ Asserted some conrol over military affairs and foreign policy.
§ But 13 states were sovereign and they coined money, raised armies and navies, and erected tariff barriers.
§ Appointed committee for Articles of Confederation
· Failed, too weak.
o Rise of the federalists:
§ Shays’ Rebellion
§ Trade wars
§ Mobocracy.
· Process towards the Convention
o Annapolis Convention (no unity)
o Constitutional Convention (Philadelphia)
§ Sole and express purpose of revising.
o Immediate disunity – Rhode Island independent minded, stronghold of paper moneyites, did not send delegates until last minute.
· The representatives:
o Did not represent the ‘common man’
o 55 delegates, WASPS, propertied men.
o Held in secret
· Process
o George Washington unanimously elected chairman.
o Bejamin Franklin, Madison (Father of Constitution), Alexander Hamilton (Federalist).
o Most fiery leaders absent – Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Patrick Henry not there.
· Conflicts > All of these represented sectional/inter-state conflicts due to what they each want the Constitution to say.
o Representation: Great Compromise
§ Had large state plan (Virginia plan) and small state plan (New Jersey Plan)
§ Large state = bicameral all based on population. Small state = unicameral, equal representation.
§ Resulted in House of Rep and Senate, each given their specific powers.
§ Made the Constitution ratification more likely.
o Powers: Est. of executive branch.
§ Strong independent executive branch in presidency.
· Inspired by effective governor suppression of Shays’ Rebellion.
§ Clashes with the anti-federalists = more debate over Constitution ratification.
§ Reduced powers of “mobocracy”
· Electoral College
§ Debate over the power eventually decided:
· Veto Congress legislation.
· Limit to four years, but no limit to number of terms.
o Slave powers: 3/5 Compromise
§ Compromise 3/5th of a person for slave trade to end at 1808.
§ Result: eased sectional jealousy in the House.
o Conservatism
§ Constitutional Convention delegates generally favored stronger government w/ 3 branches of check and balances.
§ Federal judges appointed for life, senators indirectly chosen.
· Only House of Reps directly elected then.
o Trade
§ Northern states wanted central government to regulate interstate commerce and foreign trade.
§ South feared that export taxes would have to be placed on its agricultural products such as tobacco and rice.
§ The Commercial Compromise allowed Congress to regulate commerce and place tariffs on foreign imports, but prohibited taxes on any imports.
Anti-Federalists
Anti-federalists bad the initial ratification of the Constitution very unlikely as they intensified the anti-federalist and federalist debate over the central government and delayed the ratification by the 13 states
· Wanted weak government
o Believed that single branch of government – the legislature would be able to govern while federalists believed that three branches, exec, judiciary and legislature required.
o Ratification fiercely debated for almost a year from Sept. 1787 to June 1788.
o Federalists – Atlantic seaboard and Antifederalists – western frontier.
· Already Constitutional Convention delegates said that only nine states’ ratification required for Constitution to be supreme law of land in those states.
· Leaders of antifeds – Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee.
o States’ righters, westerners, farmers, poorer classes.
o Also consisted of paper-moneyites and debtors.
o Patrick Henry refused to have any growth of government at home and refused to go to the convention.
· Against Federalists – Washington, Benjamin Franklin
o Wealthier, more educated, better organized.
o Controlled press - Federalist Papers
· FIERCE DEBATE >> Reflected in four states that hesitated to ratify
o Virginia fierce antifederalist opposition.
§ Patrick Henry professed to see in the Constitution the “death warrant of liberty”.
§ Antifederalist opposition behind Patrick Henry and George Mason.
§ After debate in state convention, narrowly ratified 89 to 79
· Prevailed only after promising a bill of rights.
o New York
§ Hamilton Federalist went along with John Jay and James Madison to penning the Federalist Papers
· Most influential is federalist No. 10 which declared it possible to extend a republican form of government over large territory.
§ Realized that it could not prosper apart from the Union
§ Close count of 30 to 27
§ Still issued a call for another convention to modify Constitution.
o Dissenting states North Carolina and Rhode Island
§ Did not summon ratifying convention, rejected Constitution.
§ Were very individualist
§ Only accepted after new government in operation for some months.
Compromise on the Bill of Rights
o Argument over the bill of rights (further strengthened the fierce debate)
o Antifederalists objected to the “gilded trap”, the Constitution.
§ Elements of no democracy
· 55 delegates propertied men, neglected the common man
· All done in secrecy and without telling the people.
§ Charged that freedom of individual challenged because of absence over bill of rights.
o Later federalists gave assurance that first Congress would add safeguard by amendment, would add bill of rights
o Lots of compromises worked into it.
o Fierce debate reflected in rough path towards ratification.
§ Four small states quickly accepted it.
§ Massachusetts second most populous state
· First contained antifederalist majority.
· Only after promising addition of bill of rights was ratification secured in narrow margin 187 to 168.
§ New Hampshire first contained strong antifederalist majority as well, but federalists won over enough waverers to secure ratification after addition of bill of rights.
· Made the ratification of Constitution more likely after the compromise on the Bill of Rights.
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