Princeton Review - Cracking the AP U.S. History Exam, 2015 Edition: Created for the New 2015 Exam

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eBook ISBN: 978-0-8041-2517-8
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8041-2516-1

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Editor: Meave Shelton
Production Editor: Kathy Carter
Production Artist: Deborah A. Silvestrini

2015 Edition

v3.1_r1

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Princeton Review would like to extend special thanks to Chris Stobart and Gina Donegan for all their hard work updating this edition, and to David Stoll and Susan Babkes for their contributions to past editions.

Contents

Part I

Using This
Book to Improve
Your AP Score

PREVIEW: YOUR KNOWLEDGE, YOUR EXPECTATIONS

Your route to a high score on the AP U.S. History Exam depends a lot on how you plan to use this book. Respond to the following questions.

1. Rate your level of confidence about your knowledge of the content tested by the AP U.S. History Exam:

A. Very confidentI know it all

B. Im pretty confident, but there are topics for which I could use help

C. Not confidentI need quite a bit of support

D. Im not sure

2. Circle your goal score for the AP U.S. History Exam:

3. What do you expect to learn from this book? Circle all that apply to you.

A. A general overview of the test and what to expect

B. Strategies for how to approach the test

C. The content tested by this exam

D. Im not sure yet

This book is organized to provide as muchor as littlesupport as you need, so you can use this book in whatever way will be most helpful to improving your score on the AP U.S. History Exam.

• The remainder of will provide guidance on how to use this book and help you determine your strengths and weaknesses.
  
• of this book will
  • provide information about the structure, scoring, and content of the AP U.S. History Exam
  • help you to make a study plan
  • point you towards additional resources
    
• of this book will explore various strategies:
  • Attacking multiple-choice and short-answer questions
  • Writing effective essays
  • Managing your time to maximize the number of points available to you
    
• of this book covers the content you need for the AP U.S. History Exam.
  
• of this book contains practice tests and answers and explanations.

You may choose to use some parts of this book over others, or you may work through the entire book. Your approach will depend on your needs and how much time you have. Lets now look at how to make this determination.

1. Take a Test
   Before you can decide how to use this book, you need to take a practice test. Doing so will give you insight into your strengths and weaknesses, and the test will also help you make an effective study plan. If youre feeling test-phobic, remind yourself that a practice test is a tool for diagnosing yourselfits not how well you do that matters but how you use information gleaned from your performance to guide your preparation.
   So, before you read further, take Practice Test 1 starting at of this book. Be sure to do so in one sitting, following the instructions that appear before the test.
   
2. Check Your Answers
   Using the answer key on , count how many multiple-choice questions you got right and how many you missed. Dont worry about the explanations for now, and dont worry about why you missed questions. Well get to that soon.
   
3. Reflect on the Test
   After you take your first test, respond to the following questions:

   How much time did you spend on the multiple-choice questions?

   How much time did you spend on the short-answer questions?

   How much time did you spend on each essay?

   How many multiple-choice questions did you miss?

   Do you feel you had the knowledge to address the subject matter of the short-answer questions and essays?

   Do you feel you wrote well-organized, thoughtful essays?

   Circle the content areas that were most challenging for you and draw a line through the ones in which you felt confident/did well.

   Puritanism/Early Colonization

   Colonial Era

   English Oppression and the Revolutionary War

   The U.S. Constitution and Early American Politics

   The Louisiana Purchase and Westward Expansion

   The War of 1812

   Womans Rights and Suffrage Movement

   Slavery and the Abolitionist Movement

   Manifest Destiny

   Civil War

   Reconstruction

   The Gilded Age (Reconstruction1900)

   The Industrial Revolution

   World War I

   Prohibition

   The Great Depression and New Deal

   World War II

   The Cold War

   McCarthyism

   The Civil Rights Movement

   Great Society

   Vietnam War

4. Read of this Book and Complete the Self-Evaluation
   As discussed in the Your Guide to Using this Book section, will provide information on how the test is structured and scored. It will also set out areas of content that are tested.
   As you read , you will revisit and refine the questions you answer above. You will then be able to make a study plan, based on your needs and time available, that will allow you to use this book most effectively.
   
5. as Needed
   Notice the word engage. Youll get more out of this book if you use it intentionally than if you read it passively, hoping for an improved score through osmosis.