WHAP Survival Guide Part Four

Study Groups

Setting one up, Making it work

I did not participate in a study group this year, but if I had, this is what I would’ve done….

~ Choose smart people, not necessarily your bffs.

We all love our friends, which is why it is sometimes best to not have them in your study group. If you are anything like me at all you will NOT study, you will simply chat and perhaps watch a movie or go on a walk or have a photo shoot at a park or something crazy like that. Just save yourself a grade and go with people who are not compatible with your personality. Actually, that might not be a good idea ‘cause then you’d be fighting all the time. Ok scratch that. Go with who is smart and serious.

~ Meet every couple weeks or so

This way you won’t get tired of each other but you will still be productive.

~ Make t-shirts!

This will boost the morale and make you look cool and super-nerdy. Mr. Edlowitz will be truly touched by it, trustttt me.

~ Use your group’s strengths!

Say Billy’s brain is like a sponge and it absorbs everything he reads and he understands the textbook perfectly and Sally is really good with maps and you are a definition master. Help each other out!

Strategies

Preparing for the AP test

First of all, take a deep breath. This AP test is neither the end nor the beginning of the world. Here are some tips to help get you through it, though…

~ IT IS OKAY TO SKIP SOME MULTIPLE CHOICE

The AP test is scored that if you get a question wrong you get a ¼ point off, whereas if you just skip it, you don’t earn anything but you get nothing taken away. So in the long run, it is better to skip when you know absolutely nothing. However, there a golden number of questions you can skip before it stops benefiting you. I forget what it is, but Mr. Edlowitz will tell you! Try not to skip more than that.

~ DBQs are fun!

Read the historical context they provide you and look for obscure and obvious connections alike between the documents.

~ Other Free-Responses

Know your stuff. If you don’t, fake it.

~ Get a ton of sleep the night before. Don’t try last-minute studying- it won’t work.

~ Bring in…

Peppermint gum (Stride, sweet peppermint)

Mints

Blueberries

Bananas

You will be a genius :)