Very few students stop to think about how to improve their test-taking skills. Most assume that if they study hard, they will test well, and if they do not study, they will do poorly. Most students continue to believe this even after experience teaches them otherwise. Have you ever studied really hard for an exam, then blown it on test day? Have you ever aced an exam for which you thought you weren’t well prepared? Most students have had one, if not both, of these experiences. The lesson should be clear: Factors other than your level of preparation influence your final test score. This chapter provides some insights that will help you perform better on the AP European History Exam as well as other tests.
A big part of scoring well on an exam is working at a consistent pace. The worst mistake made by inexperienced or unsavvy test takers is that they come to a question that stumps them, and rather than just skip it, they panic and stall. Time stands still when you’re working on a question you cannot answer, and it is not unusual for students to waste five minutes on a single question (especially a question involving a graph or the word EXCEPT) because they are too stubborn to cut their losses. It is important to be aware of how much time you have spent on a given question and on the section you are working. There are several ways to improve your pacing and timing for the test:
Know your average pace. While you prepare for your test, try to gauge how long you take on 5, 10, or 20 questions. Knowing how long you spend on average per question will help you identify how many questions you can answer effectively and how best to pace yourself for the test.
Have a watch or clock nearby. You are permitted to have a watch or clock nearby to help you keep track of time. It is important to remember, however, that constantly checking the clock is in itself a waste of time and can be distracting. Devise a plan. Try checking the clock after every 15 or 30 questions to see if you are keeping the correct pace or whether you need to speed up; this will ensure that you’re cognizant of the time but will not permit you to fall into the trap of dwelling on it.
Know when to move on. Since all questions are scored equally, investing appreciable amounts of time on a single question is inefficient and can potentially deprive you of the chance to answer easier questions later on. If you are able to eliminate answer choices, do so; but don’t worry about picking a random answer and move on if you cannot find the correct answer. Remember: Tests are like marathons; you do best when you work through them at a steady pace. You can always come back to a question you don’t know. When you do, very often you will find that your previous mental block is gone, and you will wonder why the question perplexed you the first time around (as you gleefully move on to the next question). Even if you still don’t know the answer, you will not have wasted valuable time you could have spent on questions that you found easier.
Be selective. You don’t have to do any of the questions in a given section in order. If you are stumped by an essay or multiple-choice question, skip it or choose a different one. In the section below, you will see that you may not have to answer every question correctly to achieve your desired score. Select the questions or essays that you can answer and work on them first. This will make you more efficient and give you the greatest chance of getting the most questions correct.
Use Process of Elimination on multiple-choice questions. Many times, one or more answer choices can be eliminated. Every answer choice that can be eliminated increases the odds that you will answer the question correctly. The section on multiple-choice questions will go through strategies to find these incorrect answer choices and increase your odds of getting the question correct.
Remember: When all the questions on a test are of equal value, no one question is that important; your overall goal for pacing is to answer the most questions correctly. Finally, you should set a realistic goal for your final score. In the next section, we will break down how to achieve your desired score as well as how to pace yourself.
Depending on the score you need, it may be in your best interest not to try to work through every question. Check with the schools to which you are applying to see what score you need to earn credit.
AP exams in all subjects no longer include a “guessing penalty” of a quarter of a point for every incorrect answer. Instead, students are assessed only on the total number of correct answers. It is really important to remember that if you are running out of time, you should fill in all the bubbles before the time for the multiple-choice section is up. Even if you don’t plan to spend a lot of time on every question and even if you have no idea what the correct answer is, you need to fill something in.
Everybody experiences anxiety before and during an exam. To a certain extent, test anxiety can be helpful. Some people find that they perform more quickly and efficiently under stress. If you have ever pulled an all-nighter to write a paper and ended up doing good work, you know the feeling.
However, too much stress is definitely a bad thing. Hyperventilating during the test, for example, almost always leads to a lower score. If you find that you stress out during exams, here are a few preemptive actions you can take.
Take a reality check. Evaluate your situation before the test begins. If you have studied hard, remind yourself that you are well prepared. Remember that many others taking the test are not as well prepared, and (in your classes, at least) you are being graded against them, so you have an advantage. If you didn’t study, accept the fact that you will probably not ace the test. Make sure you get to every question you know something about. Don’t stress out or fixate on how much you don’t know. Your job is to score as high as you can by maximizing the benefits of what you do know. In either scenario, it is best to think of a test as if it were a game. How can you get the most points in the time allotted to you? Always answer questions you can answer easily and quickly before you answer those that will take more time.
Try to relax. Slow, deep breathing works for almost everyone. Close your eyes, take a few slow, deep breaths, and concentrate on nothing but your inhalation and exhalation for a few seconds. This is a basic form of meditation, and it should help you to clear your mind of stress and, as a result, concentrate better on the test. If you have ever taken yoga classes, you probably know some other good relaxation techniques. Use them when you can (Obviously, anything that requires leaving your seat and, say, assuming a handstand position won’t be allowed by any but the most free-spirited proctors.).
Eliminate as many surprises as you can. Make sure you know where the test will be given, when it starts, what type of questions are going to be asked, and how long the test will take. You don’t want to be worrying about any of these things on test day or, even worse, after the test has already begun.
The best way to avoid stress is to study both the test material and the test itself. Congratulations! By buying or reading this book, you are taking a major step toward a stress-free AP European History Exam.
Respond to the following questions:
How long will you spend on multiple-choice questions?
How will you change your approach to multiple-choice questions?
What is your multiple-choice guessing strategy?
How much time will you spend on the DBQ? The long essay? The short-answer questions?
What will you do before you begin writing an essay?
How will you change your approach to the essays?
Will you seek further help outside of this book (such as a teacher, tutor, or AP Students) on how to approach multiple-choice questions, the essays, or a pacing strategy?