5 Steps to a 5: AP Human Geography 2020

This book is organized as a 5-step program to prepare you for success on the AP Human Geography exam. These steps will provide you with essential skills and test-taking strategies and give you practice so you can score the perfect 5. Here are the 5 steps.

STEP 1: Set Up Your Study Program

In this step you will read a brief overview of the AP Human Geography exam. This includes an outline of topics and the approximate percentage of the exam that will test knowledge of each topic. You will learn:

•  Background information about the AP exam

•  Reasons for taking the exam

•  What to bring to the exam

•  Additional tips to prepare for the exam

•  How to select the exam preparation plan that’s right for you

•  Calendars for three suggested plans

STEP 2: Determine Your Test Readiness

In this step, you will take a diagnostic exam in AP Human Geography. This full-length practice AP Human Geography exam will show you what you’re up against and give you an idea of how prepared you are before beginning your study program. Use the diagnostic test to help you identify weak areas in which you will need to focus your review.

•  Go through the diagnostic exam step-by-step and question-by-question to build your confidence level.

•  Review the correct answers and explanations so that you see what you do and do not understand.

•  Customize your study program based on your level of test readiness and the areas you most need to review.

STEP 3: Develop Strategies for Success

In this step, you will learn strategies that will help you do your best on the exam. These strategies show you:

•  How to read multiple-choice questions

•  How to answer multiple-choice questions, including how to improve your chances of guessing correctly when you don’t know an answer

•  How to answer free-response questions

Included are frequently-asked questions and advice taken from my experience as a reader of the AP Human Geography exam.

STEP 4: Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High

In this step, you will review the material you need to know for the exam. This review section comprises most of this book. It contains major content areas, key concepts and models, vocabulary lists, and review questions. The material is organized by major themes covered in the AP Human Geography course. Each unit will serve to refresh your memory of the key terms, concepts, and facts relating to the main theme covered.

STEP 5: Build Your Test-Taking Confidence

In Step 5, you will finish preparing for the exam by taking two full-length practice exams modeled after the actual Advanced Placement Human Geography examination. Each test is followed by a section that explains the correct answers for each question so you learn from any mistakes and understand the answers you have missed. The questions in these practice exams are not questions from previous AP exams; however, they are modeled after the questions that are typically asked in an actual exam.

•  Use the strategies provided in Chapters 4 and 5 of this guide for the multiple-choice questions and the free-response questions.

•  Read the explanations provided for each question and make sure you understand the strategy and reasoning behind each answer.

Finally, at the back of this guide, you’ll find helpful resources to aid your preparation. Use these resources to review and improve your knowledge and understanding of AP Human Geography topics. These resources include:

•  Glossary

•  Key Geographic Models and Their Creators

•  Recommended Reading

•  Useful Websites

The Graphics Used in this Book

Icons

To emphasize particularly important ideas, strategies, and tips, we’ve used several icons throughout this book. An icon in the margin will alert you that you should pay special attention to the accompanying text. The three icons you’ll find in this book are:

– The Key Idea icon points out a very important concept or fact that you should not pass over.

– The Strategy icon calls your attention to a problem-solving or test-taking strategy that we recommend you try.

– The Tip icon indicates a tip that you might find useful.

Boldface Type

We have boldfaced key terms when they are introduced and explained in the text of the review chapters. Use the key terms list at the beginning of Chapters 6 through 12 to review and check your knowledge; then, if there’s a term you don’t know, look for the term in boldface in the chapter text to find the definition and get the explanation you’ll need. Words that are boldfaced in the text also appear in the Glossary located in the Appendixes of the book. The Glossary contains definitions of key geographic terms and concepts.