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APUSH Exam Breakdown: What's it Like?

I'm about to take APUSH and I'm starting to think about the exam a lot. Could someone give me a breakdown of what the exam looks like? I hear it's unlike most others, and I'm hoping to get an idea before things start to get a bit too intimidating! Thanks ahead!

3 months ago

Sure! The AP United States History (APUSH) exam is broken down into two main sections: multiple-choice/short-answer and free-response.

The first section of the exam usually lasts for 1 hour 55 minutes and is split into two parts. First, you'll get 55 multiple-choice questions based on a series of reading passages, and these make up approximately 40% of your score. The questions are typically in sets of 2–5, meaning they are interrelated and test your understanding of the primary source material.

Then, you'll have 3 short-answer questions. Usually, you will have the choice of answering either question 3 or 4. The second part accounts for around 20% of your total exam score. These questions may test your ability to analyze historians' interpretations and your historical knowledge, and they could require you to create an argument on the basis of historical evidence.

The second part of the exam is the free-response section, and it lasts 1 hour 40 minutes. The first question in this section will be a document-based question (DBQ). You'll have to develop an argument that answers the question prompt using the seven documents provided for reference. This DBQ question makes up 25% of your total exam score.

The last part of the free-response section requires you to answer a Long Essay Question (LEQ). You'll choose from three different prompts and develop an argument based on evidence. This question makes up the remaining 15% of your exam score.

Keep in mind that all the short-answer, document-based, and long essay questions are designed to assess your ability to argue effectively, use historical reasoning, analyze and interpret historical evidence, and understand significant historical events.

Hope this helps! Make sure to familiarize yourself with these exam components and good luck on your preparation!

3 months ago

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