APUSH

Hi! I took APUSH last year and found it manageable. How you approach the class depends on what you find most difficult: reading, memorizing, or writing.

For me, I find memorizing to be the most easy, my reading is in the middle, and writing was the most difficult. One nice thing is that APUSH doesn’t really have any abstract or hard to understand concepts like math does, because history is really just a bunch of stories. Because I can memorize, I did well on the quizzes we were given, but had more difficulty with essays and homework assignments. However, I know people who were the exact opposite and found the writing easy, but the quizzes hard.

I didn't get As on every assignment, but I enjoyed the class. The most important thing is making sure you at least have heard of everything in the units before it appears on a test - meaning pay attention in class and do the reading if it’s assigned! Aside from that, I will try to give some tips, but you could have already heard of all of them.

If you struggle with reading textbooks:

-Your school might not even use one, but mine did… At first, I wasn’t sure if reading the textbook was worth it, but it covered a lot of things that weren’t talked about in class, meaning it was actually necessary

-I found it hard to focus on it in the evenings, so I tried to do the reading during lunch whenever possible

-E-book versions are also great!

-Heimler’s History is an excellent Youtube channel that also covers every APUSH unit. If you prefer video media, watching him could be a great idea. I’m not sure if he could replace the entire textbook, but the videos are a great resource for learning & review.

-Using a note sheet to keep track of key events & people is great for review

If you struggle with memorization:

-Great news: you don’t have to memorize any dates! It’s helpful to know what time period things happen in, but you won’t get any points taken off for misremembering a date or misspelling a name on the APUSH exam.

-Talking to your family about the class is also a great way to learn and review - they probably know things you don’t. Having conversations with my Dad about different time periods and presidents is what made the class enjoyable for me.

-I used Quizlet for review before tests and found it really useful. However, I don’t think that studying for hours is necessary unless you missed school.

-There are also review packets you can buy or find for free online for the exam. I only used what my school provided, but I know people who found outside review packets pretty helpful

If you struggle with writing:

-Heimler has a great series on writing for APUSH - his videos cover every type of question that appears on the exam. These were really good, and my teacher even showed some of them in class.

-Don’t try to write any essays without first understanding the time period you’re writing about. Meaning: study!

-Reviewing key events, people, and vocabulary before essays is a great way to make sure you have evidence for your claims.

Overall, I would say don’t stress about the class. Different classes are hard or easy for different people, but APUSH can be a lot of fun. If you find it difficult/too much work and consider dropping it, talking to your teacher a few times about what you’re struggling with could make a big difference. I sympathize with you, and hopefully some of this is helpful to you!