AP Exam Prep
When Taking Cornell Notes in Class organize your Cue Questions, the left hand column, around questions that address the 7 themes of AP US History.
Work, Exchange, and Technology
Overarching question:
➤ How have changes in markets, transportation, and technology affected American society from colonial times to the present day?
Overarching question:
➤ Why have different labor systems developed in British North America and the United States, and how have they affected U.S. society?
Overarching question:
➤ How have debates over economic values and the role of government in the U.S. economy affected politics, society, the economy, and the environment?
Identity
Overarching question:
➤ How and why have debates over American national identity changed over time?
Overarching question:
➤ How have gender, class, ethnic, religious, regional, and other group identities changed in different eras?
Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture
Overarching question:
➤ How and why have moral, philosophical, and cultural values changed in what would become the United States?
Overarching question:
➤ How and why have changes in moral, philosophical, and cultural values affected U.S. history?
America in the World
Overarching question:
➤ How have events in North America and the United States related to contemporary developments in the rest of the world?
Overarching question:
➤ How have different factors influenced U.S. military, diplomatic, and economic involvement in international affairs and foreign conflicts, both in North America and overseas?
Environment and Geography
Overarching question:
➤ How did interactions with the natural environment shape the institutions and values of various groups living on the North American continent?
Overarching question:
➤ How did economic and demographic changes affect the environment and lead to debates over use and control of the environment and natural resources?
Politics and Power
Overarching question:
➤ How and why have different political and social groups competed for influence over society and government in what would become the United States?
Overarching question:
➤ How have Americans agreed on or argued over the values that guide the political system as well as who is a part of the political process?
Peopling
Overarching question:
➤ Why have people migrated to, from, and within North America?
Overarching question:
➤ How have changes in migration and population patterns aff
Section I:
Part A: Multiple Choice (55 questions; 55 Minutes; 40% of total exam score)
Part B: Short-answer questions (4 questions; 45 minutes; 30% of total exam score)
Section II:
Part A: Document-based question (1 question; 60 minutes; 25% of total exam score)
Part B: Long essay question (1 question (chosen from a pair); 35 minutes; 15% of total exam score)
How your learning will be assessed on the AP Exam:
The following are general parameters about the relationship between the components of the curriculum framework and the questions that will be asked on the AP Exam:
Achievement of the thematic learning objectives will be assessed throughout the exam
Use of the historical thinking skills will be assessed through the exam
Understanding of all nine periods of U.S. history will be assessed throughout the exam
No document-based question or long essay question will focus exclusively on events prior to 1607 (Period 1) or after 1980 (Period 9)
You will always write at least one essay – in either the document-based question or long essay – that examines long-term developments that span historical time periods.
The coverage of the periods in the exam as a while will reflect the approximate period weightings (which you can find on page 28 of the Course and Exam Description).