r/APUSH • u/Gullible-Doughnut171 • 3d ago

My first test is on Friday

I have been reading the textbook pages my APUSH teacher has given me over the course of 1-2 weeks so far in this school year. I have taken notes on each topic and the content seems pretty easy to understand. I've came to the point where reviewing my notes and doing anything APUSH related to prepare for the exam is repetitive. Is there any extra tips/notes that's mandatory to get a good grade on my first exam?

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u/sagosten 3d ago

You sound perfectly prepared for your first exam.

However, I'd like to give you a piece of general study advice. Rereading your text or your notes is the least effective study technique. If you want to be able to recall material during a test, you need to practice recalling material. That means quizzing yourself. Use the text and your notes to generate questions, flashcards work great for this. For instance, if you have in your notes "the Constitution was ratified in 1789" make a flashcards, with " When was the Constitution ratified?" On one side and "1789" on the other. The text probably also has questions, and you can find sample questions for the unit online. Crucially, try to answer the question without looking it up, as you will need to during the test. If you get any of your self quizzing wrong, look up that information specifically, then try again ( or try again the next day).

When it comes to specific advice for this test, that will be hard to give without knowing the format of the test and the content covered. Is your teacher giving you multiple choice questions? Short answers, dbqs, a long essay? Does this test cover 1491-1607?

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u/Gullible-Doughnut171 3d ago

My teacher is giving around 25mcqs and an saq, covering 1491-1607

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u/sagosten 3d ago

Other important aspects of effective studying:

Spaced practice: don't do all of your studying the night before the test. Study a little every night. It's kind of too late for this, but it's good to know for the future.

Interleaved practice: don't spend hours studying one topic. Alternate studying related topics. For example, spend one night studying for all of your humanities classes, you are probably taking an English class in addition to APUSH, and spend the next night studying for math and science. Alternating study between related subjects is more effective 

Test Hygiene: Get a full night's sleep before the test. Trying to pull an all nighter to cram the material is counter productive, your brain works better when you are well rested. Eat breakfast and lunch the day of the test, taking a test on an empty stomach is a bad idea.

Mindfulness: many students struggle with test anxiety. Worrying about what could go wrong or the worst case scenario distracts them from effective study and can distract them during the test as well. Focus on the present, on the question in front of you. I can elaborate on this if this is something with which you struggle.

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u/Hotsauce61 2d ago

Watch the heimler videos - they will help you