Keep in mind, everyone is different, and therefore there is not one book or method of studying that is truly “better” than another one; everyone has their one way of studying and prefers to use certain study guides that they feel are the best for them.
Below we have provided you with a list of study materials and our opinions on them for ourselves (your opinions on them might differ)

* denotes ranking of study guide (in our opinion)
*poor to *****excellent

REA AP History ****

–Provides students with 6 full-length practice exams (however, I feel that the questions are somewhat easier than what would appear on the actual AP test, but it is a good way of reviewing information and studying for the trimester)
–Most recent edition includes a disk, with three interactive practice tests the disk enforces time restrictions, individual diagnostic analysis of what subjects need extra study, and provides instant scoring of your diagnostic
–this book provides a good overview or summary of the material, however, it does not mention all the materials that you are expected to know for the test. When studying for a test, this book alone will not get you a good score on the exam (if you are shooting for an “A” in this class, use this book as additional information to what you have read in the textbook). However, if you are satisfied with a “B” or lower, this book is all you need to know
–REA gives the facts about history, it provides little, if any, opinion on controversial events or sayings; you need to be aware of opinions in order to write effective essays or DBQ’s

Barron’s Guide to AP History ***
–Provides students with practice exams
–Contains good era summaries
–Helpful suggestions for essay writing

Arco Guide to History **
–Provides students with practice exams
–Contains good era summaries

Cliff Notes Guide to AP History ***
–Provides students with three practice exams, with answers and explanations of why
–Contains good suggestions on how to write essays/how to approach the essay writing format (ex: compare/contrast, evaluate to what degree, asses the validity of this statement)
–The overview (summary) is very brief; it only mentions a few main themes, major people, events, or laws, and lists other terms that you should know for each section (but it does not define them–so no, this book doesn’t really help when defining all the terms)

Princeton Review: Cracking the AP History Exam **
–Provides good test taking suggestions (for taking the multiple choice section and essay portion of the AP Test)

Amsco: Preparing for the Advanced Placement History Exam (Flag Book) *****
–This is definitely the most popular book with students (the top two are Amsco and REA)
– It provides students not only an in depth summary of each era, but also analytical and opinionated assessments of certain events in history, which really help when writing essays or DBQ’s
–After every other section, or so, it explains to students in-depth ways of how to approach, begin, or deal with both essays and DBQ’s (I though this section was very helpful!
–In addition to a summary, there are also famous quotes (which you will definitely need to be familiar with when taking History tests, trimesters, and the AP exam)
–Also provides students with a list of common terms from that unit that they should be familiar with (however, it does not provide the definitions, just the term names)
–After each unit summary there is a multiple choice section for that specific unit (for the most part, these questions are fairly easy, but it is a good way to determine if you have mastered the material or not–ask the librarian for the answer key, the book does not give you the answers
–It provides students with a “Historical Perspective” on a certain event or time period in history; these are very helpful in forming opinions because they provide the student with different historians’ views on certain things
–I would definitely recommend that you read this book as a way to review for the AP Exam, however, if you feel like you are running out of time, don’t cram everything in your brain, instead just read the REA book

Computer Lab materials ****
–The Multiple Choice Questions that are in the computer lab are very helpful for taking each unit test in History class and the three trimesters. They are an excellent source of review for the test (rather than just reading the textbooks) and often times many of the questions on the practice multiple choices will appear on the actual tests/trimesters
–There is also about 40 pages worth of essay questions (divided into certain time periods) that allow students to review for possible essay questions that they will be given on a history test–I recommend that you skim these essay questions, you don’t have to analyze every single one, just make sure you are familiar with the ideas surrounding the question and understand how to define all the words in the question. The essay that appears on the tests will be from this essay list, however, it is not worth going over every one in great detail; just know the main concept surrounding the idea of the essay question

The American Pageant (Thomas Bailey) ****
– All the 1998–99 History exams in this class are based on this textbook
–In order to get the small details, students are recommended to read this book, however, it is very time consuming, and often strays from the topic (ex: describing every president’s appearance for about one paragraph or two)
–the reading is often slow and boring, however, the majority of the information on the tests come from this text
– I recommend that you read over the unit in the textbook, highlighting main points and understanding the main concepts presented in this period, then either read Amsco or REA for additional review and possibly slightly different information

We suggest that you don’t depend just on one textbook’s information, try to study by using a combination of a few textbooks, allowing you to receive the best possible and most thorough information provided

Mr. Tomlin has provided you with an endless variety of study materials (study guides, practice tests, practice essays, videos, historical documents, etc...), it is your job to take advantage of them.

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