Multiple-Choice Strategies

• Don't be afraid to write in the test book. When you take the exam, you will be given a test book and an Scantron® answer sheet on which you will bubble in your answers. No one is going to look at the test book itself -- only your answers on the answer sheet will be scored. Therefore, feel free to write all over your test book (but keep the answer sheet neat). Circle the questions in the book that you skip so you can easily find them again ... cross out the letters of choices that are definitely wrong ... mark up graphs ... write whatever it takes in the book to get the right answer.
  
  
• Don't think too hard. There are easy questions and there are hard questions. Don't let the easy questions mislead you. If you come across what seems like an easy question, it probably is. Don't suspect everything to be a trick question.
  
  
• Pace yourself. Don't spend too much time on any problem. You have 90 minutes to answer 120 questions -- that leaves you about 45 seconds per question. If you come across a question you can't answer, mark it so you can easily come back to it later. If you can eliminate some answer choices right off, mark those too. The questions on the exam are NOT arranged from easy to hard, so you don't want to waste time mulling over hard questions and not try all the questions on the test. Why spend so much time answering a hard question when you can answer three easy ones and get three times the points in the same amount of time? Also, if you don't finish the test, don't be overly concerned. The test is designed so that the average person earns a score of 50%, so it is not unusual to have blanks.
  
  
• Take only educated guesses. To discourage random guessing, the College Board deducts one-fourth of a point for each question answered incorrectly. No points are deducted for questions left blank. To avoid incurring a massive penalty, guess only on the questions in which you can narrow the answer choices down to two or three. Leave other hard questions blank.
  
  
• Watch for key phrases like "all of the following EXCEPT" and "NOT" in the questions. The College Board loves questions with these words in them. By adding these words, the test writers force you to go through each answer choice and determine whether or not it is true or false. Normally, a multiple-choice question will ask you to pick out the correct answer (true statement). When the phrases "EXCEPT" and "NOT" are used, however, you must pick out the incorrect answer (false statement). To avoid confusing themselves, many students find it useful to mark true statements with a "T" in their test book and false statements with an "F."

Free-Response Strategies

• Write your strongest answer first. For the essay portion of the exam, you will be given a green insert with the prompts printed on it and a pink answer booklet in which to write your essays. You don't have to start writing from the first question. In the upper right hand corner of the answer booklet, there is a box for the prompt number that you are writing about. So, read through all the prompts first and then pick one to write about.
  
  
• Unload all the information in your brain. Before you start writing on your chosen prompt, jot down all the terms relevant to the topic. By doing this, you will be able to remember to include as many of these terms as possible while writing your essay. And, it is likely that you will receive points for incorporating some of the terms in your essay.
  
  
• Answer all parts of the question. If the question asks you to write about two of the following three, then do so. You will only receive full credit if you complete both parts.
  
  
• Don't do more than is required. If the question asks you to write about two of the following three, then only write about two of the following three. AP readers must score thousands of essays from across the nation. They won't have time to read extraneous paragraphs, so don't write any for them to read.
  
  
• Answer each part of the question separately. In questions with multiple parts, answer each part in a separate paragraph. AP readers don't have time to plod through your essay checking to make sure you have each part. By putting each part in a separate paragraph, you simplify the search for the readers and ensure that they don't miss anything and not give you credit.
  
  
• Try every question. If you leave a question unanswered (or a part of a question unanswered), you will not receive any credit. If you write something down and attempt to answer the question, you will at least receive partial credit (so long as your answer is somewhere close to what they are asking for).
  
  
• Don't be afraid to guess. Don't be afraid to put down facts that you are a little unsure to be true. The readers do NOT deduct points for incorrect information, so it is better to guess than to omit the information.
  
  
• Pace yourself. You have 90 minutes to answer four questions -- leaving you approximately 23 minutes to answer each. You'll want to answer or at least attempt all parts of all the questions, so don't spend too much time on any one essay.
  
  
• Don't write a standard five-paragraph essay. The AP readers don't care about elaborate or creative introductions: they just want the information they requested in a well organized format. Give them just that and don't worry about literary embellishments.
  
  
• Don't concentrate too much on grammar, spelling, punctuation, or penmanship. No points will be deducted for bad grammar, spelling, punctuation, or penmanship unless it impairs the ability of the reader to understand the content of your essay.
  
  
• Pay attention to the directions. Watch for key words such as discuss, describe, define, explain, compare, or contrast.