AP World & How To Score a 5

This is my attempt at making a list of tips on how to get a 5 on your AP World exam as someone who is not a history person. BTW, the only resources I used to study were Heimler and AP Classroom. Also, I have linked his 30 day plan (you can tweak to match your schedule) at the end of this video.

Do watch Heimler! I recommend watching his short lesson videos split by units and do exactly this: Watch the video, write down whatever info pops up on the screen (it literally pops up as Cornell-style Notes) and understand it as a story. By this I mean connect the causes and effects, if things change or continue, and how one pattern contains multiple examples. The reason I found it so helpful is because he takes exactly what College board wants you to study and converts it into entertaining videos. Next, after every video, hide your notes and blurt out the “story” in your own words until you know it by heart. If you have extremely short time, the unit videos essentially contain the same info, but they stop being free around Unit 5. To be honest, although I used them as a review, if all you did was watch these (like self-study) with zero background knowledge they would give you all the information you need to know. I have heard a few people saying they aren't detailed enough, but 99% of what I knew taking the test came from the videos, and the Unit 6 video I watched was the reason I was so confident on my DBQ. If you are short on time, skip out on units 7, 8, & 9.

Do utlilize AP Classroom! It’s quite literally the most accurate resource. If your teacher hasn’t already, ask them to assign all possible assignments: MCQ progress checks and full practice tests. I started off with around a 35/55 on my MCQ’s around two weeks before the exam, but managed to get up to a 50 with just a few full MCQ practices. For FRQ’s, if you are scoring yourself SCORE HARSHLY and complete everything within the same time limit you have on the exam.

DO NOT USE THE AI BASED PRACTICE (Knowt!). Althought the idea of it forming a full plan with fleshed out practice tests for you sounds great, the documents are not real and the MCQ’s provided are far too easy. What I do recommend, however, is scoring your SAQ’s and FRQ’s with AI if your teacher is busy.

Do overcompensate with writing! I highly recommend TEA (Thesis Evidence Analsysis) for all SAQ’s, as it essentially guarantees you all the points if done correctly, whereas a one or even two sentence response might not be enough. Tip: In your analysis (3rd sentence) bring up another piece of evidence connecting to your first one. For your body paragraphs in FRQ’s, spam any evidence that could somehow be connected (I genuinely mean could be connected in any way possible, even if it sounds “stupid” ) & analyze it , because points cannot be taken away, only given. For DBQ’s, the easiest way to earn complexity is sourcing 4+ documents (do 5 to be safe). Remember, when in doubt, H.A.P.P.Y. it out. If you have no idea what any of the documents are trying to say, be creative and find ANY WAY to connect it to an argument. Think of it like those videos where people find a way to connect one random person to a famous celebrity. You can find a relationship for anything.

Do not be neutral! When writing a thesis, pick a side. It either significantly affected it or it didn’t. DO NOT make it a mix of both.

Do plan out your FRQ’s. Either on paper or in the text box you are given, write out ANY related information regarding the topic and group it into potential arguments. If you don’t know what you claim is, for instance, if you don't know if something changed or continued, write out a Vs list (think PROs VS CONs) and use whichever one you have more concrete names & events for.

To conclude, not getting the score you want on this exam is not the end of the world. So many people have failed exams and then gone on to become experts in the same field. Please do not pull all-nighters, it will do more harm than good (speaking from experience). I tried it once, and I will never again. As promised, here is the link to Heimler’s 30-day plan, which I recommend printing out or converting into a spreadsheet so you can track your progress:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yVPwjiqTzxvi_90bMYvUNhUEkPU1g5AT/view?usp=sharing