Arco Ap United States History: Everything You Need to Score High (Ap United States History : Everything You Need to Score High, 6th ed)

Rating:
Summary: Is it possible to give a book negative stars?
Review: I used the Arco book to review for the A.P. exam and it was not very useful. The practice tests were extreemely difficult, and the book does not define the terms it lists in each unit. I would recommend the REA book instead. However, the Arco book does provide good tips on writing an essay. I wouldn't recommend buying it, but I would recommend checking it out from your local library.

Rating:
Summary: Not a Very Good Book
Review: I used the Arco book to review for the A.P. exam and it was not very useful. The practice tests were extreemely difficult, and the book does not define the terms it lists in each unit. I would recommend the REA book instead. However, the Arco book does provide good tips on writing an essay. I wouldn't recommend buying it, but I would recommend checking it out from your local library.

Rating:
Summary: Is it possible to give a book negative stars?
Review: This book is completely horrible. It has hundreds and hundreds of minute terms and details, most of which you prohably haven't even covered in your class, much less in the the review. Furthermore, there are no definitions given to the tons of dumb terms and ... that the author puts in here which makes it even more worthless. The point of reviewing for an AP exam is to take a mountain of material and put it into somewhat digestable portions to remember for the test. The author just gives you more insignificant stuff that you don't even need. The author makes it seem that the secret to scoring high on the AP exam is to memorize thousands of terms and minutia. The reality is that the AP US History exam focuses not so much on little details but on broader four things: ESPR: Economic, Social, Political, and Religious factors and how they have defined US history and how US history has defined them. The book does not even make an attempt to review the broader themes of US history which is so crucial to the exam. I would recommend The Prineton Review or Barron's with my preference twards the Princeton Review because that book deals with a very compact yet detailed review of US history that actually doesn't put you to sleep, practical test taking pointers, and practical essay and DBQ pointers. I ended up getting a 3 on the exam. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: I got a 5 with this book!
Review: We used this book last year in our AP History Class, and this book contained great tips on how to write an essay. In addition, all the key terms provided were an excellent supplement to our history textbook to keep us aware of what was really important. All in all, this book alone will definitely not prepare you, but if you use this combined with a suitable reference to look up all the key terms, you will do well. (The practice tests are great too: a little harder than the actual AP exam, but overpreparation is definitely better than underpreparation. Using this book and suitable references, I am happy to say I received a 5.