How to Get a 5 on AP US History

How to Get a 5 on AP US History

I took APUSH my freshman year, and it was the first AP exam I took. I was pretty nervous before my first day of class, but by the time May 9th rolled around, I was confident that I was going to do great on the exam. I could complete the multiple choice section in 15 minutes with 90%+ accuracy, and I’d learned how to effectively answer all of the writing questions.

If you’re in the same scenario that I was in the beginning of the year, and want to crush it on the APUSH exam, you’re in the right place. Here’s how I got an A+ in the class and a 5 on the exam, broken down step-by-step.

This article is meant to be a fairly comprehensive guide that, if followed properly, will substantially increase your preparedness for the Advanced Placement United States History examination. However, I cannot guarantee any single result on your classwork and AP exam. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, feedback, or want some more help with APUSH.

All of these tips, tricks, and resources helped me get grades like these

Table of Contents

This is a pretty long article, so here is a table of contents for your convenience.

• General Tips - Jump
• Understanding the Course and Exam - Jump
• Resources I Used - Jump
• My Ultimate APUSH Study Plan - Jump
• Tips to Ace APUSH - Jump
• The Curve - Jump
• Final Thoughts - Jump

General Tips

These tips can apply to any class, but are especially important for APUSH.

Actually Pay Attention

I cannot emphasize this enough. Even when class seems boring and you’re falling asleep (I had it bright and early at 7:30am), pay attention. It’s a tip that seems so simple and not worth mentioning, but you would be surprised how many people I saw scrolling on their phones or falling asleep just days before unit exams or our midterm. If you pay attention and are engaged in the class, you will do better. In addition, your teacher will like you more, giving you a better chance at getting a grade rounded up. (not that you’ll need that with this guide)

Do the Textbook Readings

For my class, we had (roughly) weekly textbook readings. They would be 30-60 pages from Henretta’s America’s History, and we would have 10-12 specific questions to take notes on. We could use these on weekly chapter quizzes. I know a lot of people who used ChatGPT or SnapChat AI to take their notes for them, and would be stressing to write notes down the class before their APUSH class. Don’t be that person. If you take the notes, you’ll remember things better for your unit exams and the AP exam.

Have Fun

Not everyone likes history, and I understand that. However, you can still find ways to have fun in class and with the material. My friends and I would play skribbl.io with custom APUSH wordlists that we generated with ChatGPT. If there’s a certain part of history that you really like or find interesting, take some time to research it and break away from your studying. My teacher would briefly mention events in class like the Whiskey Rebellion, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, or the Bonus Army protest, and I would research them more on my own time because they seemed interesting. If you engage more with the coursework, you’ll remember it better.

We played lots of skribbl to remember key facts

Understanding the Course & Exam

Units of Study

The course is broken up into 9 units. I would recommend learning the general timeframe of each unit. Tieing events to units in your mind will help make sure you don’t accidentally say Brown v. Board was in 1850 and Manifest Destiny was in 1950 during a LEQ. I had this exact list on a post-it note in my room, and would look at it every day to help remember dates.

Unit 1: Pre-Columbian America (1491 - 1607)

Unit 2: European Colonization (1607 - 1754)

Unit 3: The American Revolution (1754 - 1800)

Unit 4: Building a New Nation (1800 - 1848)

Unit 5: The Civil War (1844 - 1877)

Unit 6: The Gilded Age & Industrialization (1865 - 1898)

Unit 7: World Wars, Imperialism, & Progressivism (1890 - 1945)

Unit 8: The Cold War, Communism, & Civil Rights (1945 - 1980)

Unit 9: Reagan & Modern America (1980 - Present)

The Exam

The exam lasts 3 hours and 15 minutes, which is probably more like 3.5 - 4 hours depending on your school’s test day procedures. It’s broken up into 2 sections, with a 10 minute break in-between.

Section 1:

55 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

• 55 minutes
• 40% of your score
• Pick the best answer out of 4 choices
• All time periods
• All stimulus based; primary and secondary sources

1 minute break

3 Short Answer Questions (SAQs)

• 40 minutes
• 20% of your score
• Write 3 sentences for each part A, B, and C of each question
• #1: 1-2 secondary sources, between 1754 and 1980
• #2: 1 primary source, between 1754 and 1980
• #3: No source, between 1491 and 1877
• #4: No source, between 1865 and 2001
• You must do #1 and #2
• You pick between #3 and #4

10 Minute Break:

Grab some chips or some water, and get ready for a whole lot of typing.

Section 2:

1 Document Based Question (DBQ)

• Recommended 60 minutes, including 15 minute reading time
• 25% of your score
• Write an argumentative essay using evidence
• Between 1754 and 1980
• 7 primary or secondary sources

1 Long Essay Question (LEQ)

• Recommended 45 minutes
• 15% of your score
• Write an argumentative essay using evidence
• No sources
• #1: Between 1491 and 1800
• #2: Between 1800 and 1898
• #3: Between 1890 and 2001
• Pick #1, #2, or #3

Resources I Used

This is the list of the main resources I used in preparation for APUSH, and my review of them. This list is in no particular order.

America’s History 8th Edition (Textbook)

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ☆ ☆

Cost: ~$50 - $100 (Not worth it)

This was the textbook provided by my school that I had to study for weekly chapter quizzes. It was fine, and pretty much what you would expect from a textbook. There was nothing groundbreaking, and the writing was fairly informative but not very engaging. I would not recommend purchasing this textbook for yourself, but if your school provides it, you might as well use it.

Heimler’s History (YouTube Channel)

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cost: Free

Heimler was the #1 most recommended resource when I told upperclassmen that I was taking APUSH freshman year. His videos are engaging, snappy, and cover every single topic you need to know for APUSH. Some people bought his Ultimate Review Packet on his website, but I don’t see much of a need for that. There are lots of free resources online that are great. I used his videos to study for exams and study for the AP exam. He provides great explanations of the course content, and has videos explaining the various written responses and strategies.

We 💖 Heimler

AMSCO Advance Placement United States History 4th Edition (Textbook)

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cost: ~$20 - $50

I was also provided this textbook by my school, and it is highly recommended. It has concise topic overviews, and numerous MCQs and FRQs for every topic. If you studied with just this and Heimler, you would do pretty well on the AP exam. I read this book cover to cover, did every single MCQ, the practice test, and 2/3s of the FRQs in preparation for the exam. All of the content was high quality, and I didn’t find any mistakes in this book. If you want a physical copy, you can probably find a discounted one online. You might find a digital copy by searching “amsco apush pdf”, but note that the AMSCO APUSH textbook is copyrighted. Under federal law 17 U.S.C. § 506(a), downloading copyrighted textbooks without permission is a misdemeanor and can lead to up to one year in prison and $100,000 in fines.

Khan Academy APUSH Course (Website)

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ☆

Cost: Free

I exclusively used the multiple choice questions from Khan Academy. They provided a good overview of each topic, and helped me to remember key details. All of it was fairly high quality, and it included a mix of primary, secondary, and no source questions. The questions did get repetitive after going through each exercise 2-3 times as Khan Academy has a fixed question bank for each one. The questions were not AP-style, hence the 4-star rating. Khan Academy definitely helped cement details in my mind, but did not focus on the AP reasoning skills. I would recommend using it in conjunction with more AP-level sources.

AP Active Recall (Website)

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ☆

Cost: Free

I found this website just a few weeks before the exam, and I’m glad I did. It had active recall guides for each unit, the presidents, major event, and SCOTUS cases. This is a good resource to test your knowledge and see how much you remember and know what you need to focus on in your studying. It contained nearly every key event, and the answer keys were generally accurate and detailed. I would use this for general content review, and combine it with other practice and review.

Other Resources

These are the other resources that I used briefly.

⭐⭐⭐ ☆ ☆ - Knowt Reviews (Website): These were fairly helpful, and I liked the flashcards and cram sheets. The multiple choice questions were of dubious quality.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ☆ - The Princeton Review’s APUSH Prep, 23rd Edition (Prepbook): This was not the most recent version of the text, and I didn’t use it too much. I got it from a friend who used it to study for a previous APUSH exam. From what I saw, the content seemed to be of good quality and provide good overviews.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - APUSH Released FRQs (Website): These were previous FRQs that were officially released by the College Board. I looked at a few of them and the examples to better understand the structure of the writing components and what makes a good SAQ, DBQ, and LEQ.

⭐⭐⭐ ☆ ☆ - ChatGPT (Website): I used ChatGPT to grade my FRQ practices, and to help me create a studying framework. Whenever I asked it for practice questions, the content was good, but the answers were written weird and often the correct answer for every single question was B). I would not use this as your sole or one of your main resources for APUSH. Find real AP-quality questions online. Use generative AI to supplement your studying, and don’t use it to do your classwork for you.

⭐⭐ ☆ ☆ ☆ - Hamilton: An American Muscial (Musical): I used Hamilton to help remember dates and events from the earlier periods of APUSH. The songs were catchy, and they helped me remember key differences between Federalists and Anti-Federalists with songs like the Cabinet Battles. However, its only useful for the first few periods, and some information is exaggerated. Don’t trust this musical to be your only source of reliable information about the American Revolution.

⭐⭐⭐ ☆ ☆ - Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (Website): This site’s APUSH study guide was pretty useful, and contained good information. For a review guide, it focused a lot on smaller, less relevant events and details. I mainly used this site for the MCQs, which were good quality. However, about half the time they wouldn’t load and the site would throw an error.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ☆ - High School Test Prep (Website): This site had some good practice questions, but there’s already so much material out there, so I didn’t use it all that much. I did like how they provided example answers for the writing questions..

Best Resources

If you only used 2 resources to study for the AP US History exam, I would recommend Heimler’s History videos and the AMSCO APUSH textbook. These resources provide phenomenal content overview, and have good practice questions, tips, and tricks. Overall, you should make sure to use a variety of resources (videos, books, articles, practice questions) to ensure that you retain the most information and are prepared the best for the APUSH exam.

My Ultimate APUSH Study Plan

I studied for 50+ hours for the APUSH exam, which was probably overkill. However, it paid off. Here is my exact study schedule, broken down by unit.

Overall Breakdown

I split up the hours I spent dedicated to each unit relative to how well I understood it and how much it was tested on the exam. I spent only 1.5 hours on Unit 1, but spent 6 hours on Unit 3.

I split each unit up by starting with reading the entirety of the AMSCO textbook chapter for it. Then, I would test my knowledge with MCQs on Khan Academy. Finally, I would apply it by doing as many writing prompts from the AMSCO textbook as I could in the time limit. I wrote them all on a Google Doc, and I used ChatGPT to grade my writing and evaluate my strengths and weaknesses.

You don’t need to write this much

Studying Per Unit:

Unit 1: 1.5 hours

• 30 minutes of AMSCO review
• 30 minutes of Khan Academy MCQ
• 30 minutes of AMSCO writing practice

Unit 2: 2 hours

• 1 hour of AMSCO review
• 30 minutes of Khan Academy MCQ
• 1 hour of AMSCO writing practice

Unit 3: 6 hours

• 2.5 hours of AMSCO review
• 1.5 hours of Khan Academy MCQ
• 2 hours of AMSCO writing practice

Unit 4: 6 hours

• 2.5 hours of AMSCO review
• 1.5 hours of Khan Academy MCQ
• 2 hours of AMSCO writing practice

Unit 5: 6 hours

• 2.5 hours of AMSCO review
• 1.5 hours of Khan Academy MCQ
• 2 hours of AMSCO writing practice

Unit 6: 6 hours

• 2.5 hours of AMSCO review
• 1.5 hours of Khan Academy MCQ
• 2 hours of AMSCO writing practice

Unit 7: 6 hours

• 2.5 hours of AMSCO review
• 1.5 hours of Khan Academy MCQ
• 2 hours of AMSCO writing practice

Unit 8: 6 hours

• 2.5 hours of AMSCO review
• 1.5 hours of Khan Academy MCQ
• 2 hours of AMSCO writing practice

Unit 9: 2.5 hours

• 1 hour of AMSCO review
• 30 minutes of Khan Academy MCQ
• 1 hour of AMSCO writing practice

Final Review

The last 12 days before the AP exam were a bit stressful. I was nervous for my first big exam, and really wanted to lock in all the knowledge and skills I needed for the exam.

I watched and took notes on every Heimler’s History APUSH video that week, did all the MCQ questions in the AMSCO textbook (I used ChatGPT to grade them for me), and completed active recall guides for each unit from AP Active Recall. I also completed practice tests from the AMSCO textbook, AP classroom, and a workbook that I got from a friend.

If you only study for 2 weeks before the exam, follow this framework. Even if you’ve already studied, you should still do this. It’ll help cement more of the knowledge required for APUSH in your mind, and help you feel more prepared for the actual exam. If you want all of my notes, click here to download them.

12 Days Before: Unit 1

• Heimler’s APUSH Unit 1 - 43:16
• AMSCO Unit 1 MCQs
• AP Active Recall’s APUSH Unit 1
• Take a full length practice test

11 Days Before: Unit 2

• Heimler’s APUSH Unit 2 - 53:47
• AMSCO Unit 2 MCQs
• AP Active Recall’s APUSH Unit 2

10 Days Before: Unit 3

• Heimler’s APUSH Unit 3 - 1:31:30
• AMSCO Unit 3 MCQs
• AP Active Recall’s APUSH Unit 3

9 Days Before: Unit 4

• Heimler’s APUSH Unit 4 - 1:36:02
• AMSCO Unit 4 MCQs
• AP Active Recall’s APUSH Unit 4
• Take a full length practice test

8 Days Before: Unit 5

• Heimler’s APUSH Unit 5 - 1:08:55
• AMSCO Unit 5 MCQs
• AP Active Recall’s APUSH Unit 5

7 Days Before: Unit 6

• Heimler’s APUSH Unit 6 - 1:22:29
• AMSCO Unit 6 MCQs
• AP Active Recall’s APUSH Unit 6

6 Days Before: Unit 7

• Heimler’s APUSH Unit 7 - 1:15:32
• AMSCO Unit 7 MCQs
• AP Active Recall’s APUSH Unit 7
• Take a full length practice test

5 Days Before: Unit 8

• Heimler’s APUSH Unit 8 - 1:13:36
• AMSCO Unit 8 MCQs
• AP Active Recall’s APUSH Unit 8

4 Days Before: Unit 9

• Heimler’s APUSH Unit 9 - 27:47
• AMSCO Unit 9 MCQs
• AP Active Recall’s APUSH Unit 9
• Take a full length practice test

3 Days Before: All Units

• Take a full length practice test
• Review notes, classwork, and guides
• Brush up on any topics you need help with

2 Days Before: All Units

• Take a full length practice test
• Review notes, classwork, and guides
• Brush up on any topics you need help with

1 Day Before: Rest

• You have studied as hard as you can, and cramming won’t help. You got this!
• Eat a good dinner, play a video game or watch a show, and get to sleep early

Tips to Ace APUSH

Multiple Choice Questions

• Each question will normally have 2 answers that are untrue, a distractor answer that is close, and the correct answer. Cross off the 2 obviously wrong ones first. That turns each question from a 25% chance to a 50% chance.
• I would recommend reading the question first, so you have an idea of what you’re looking for. As you read the stimulus, come up with your idea of what the correct answer is. Finally, read the answer choices, cross off the two wrong ones, and select the answer that most aligns with your idea.
• Answer choices that say always, never, or other definites are often incorrect. History is nuanced, and you generally cannot make statements like “Every Northerner opposed slavery” or “No southerners opposed slavery”.
• In your head, try to justify why each answer choice is wrong. Outside the time period, infactual, irrelevant to the topic of the question, makes a definite statement, just feels wrong, etc.
• Skim the source, but read the question and answer choices closely so you don’t get tripped up by a not or least likely.
• Work through the exam in 3 passes. Start by going through and answering the ones that you know right off the bat. Then, go back and do the ones that require a little more thought. Finally, go back through every question (if you have time) and double check your answers.

Short Answer Questions

• I follow the framework of TEA for SAQs: You should have one topic/thesis sentence, one evidence sentence, and one analysis sentence connecting the evidence to the topic.
• Pay attention to the first word. Is the SAQ asking you to identify, explain, compare, or something else. If it asks you to explain, don’t just identify an event/development.
• Each part a), b), and c) should take you roughly 4 minutes, giving you more than a minute per sentence.
• Part c is often the hardest part of the SAQ, so you may want to block off more time for that part.

Example: One development that influenced American westward expansion was the idea of Manifest Destiny. (Topic) Manifest Destiny was the idea that Americans had a god given right to move westward and settle the whole American continent to become rich and powerful, and spread Christianity. (Evidence) Many Americans, especially those looking for new economic opportunities, bought into this idea and went westward as a result of Manifest Destiny. (Analysis)

Document Based Question

Rubric Breakdown:

• Thesis: 1pt, requires you to make a claim that can be defended and has a clear point and line of reasoning. Something like “Native Americans were affected by European colonization” won’t cut it. Use the formula of X, as evidence by A, B, C. X should be your claim (ie. “Native Americans had their way of life completely uprooted by European colonization”), and A, B, and C should be your reasons or map points (“some groups of Europeans, like the Spanish, forced natives to discard their animist religions and conver to Christianity”). You need a specific claim or argument that you’re making, and 3 specific reasons that you can elaborate on with evidence later in the DBQ.
• Contextualization: 1pt, requires you to describe context, before, after, or during the time period, that relates to your claim. You should be setting the scene for your argument. If you are talking about fighting during the American Revolution, try discussing the Stamp Act or other policies that led to colonists wanting to fight for their freedom. This should be 3-4 sentences, and forms your intro paragraph when coupled with the thesis.
• Evidence: 3pts
  • Using Documents: 2pts, requires you to use 6 of the 7 documents to support your argument relating to the prompt. Shoot for using all 7 if possible. Don’t just quote the documents, actually analyze them and how they relate to your claim. If you just want one point, use at least 3 documents in a way that relates to the topic of the prompt.
  • Outside Evidence: 1pt, requires you to bring in at least 1 piece of outside evidence that isn’t in your documents. This point tests your background knowledge. This needs to be a specific person, law, event, group, or other tangible thing related to the prompt. You need to be specific and explain how it related to the prompt.
• Analysis and Reasoning: 2pts
  • Sourcing: 1pt, requires you to HIPP at least 2 documents and explain how that makes them or their point more relevant to your point. HIPP stands for historical context, intended audience, point of view, and purpose. Try to vary which element of HIPP you use for each document.
  • Complexity: 1pt, requires you to demonstrate a complex understanding of the topic. You can do this by explaining multiple themes, perspectives, causes/effects, similarities/differences, or continuties/changes. You could also explain both continuity and change, similarity and difference, and cause and effect. However, I believe the easiest way to get this point is to use all 7 documents effectively, or HIPP at least 4 documents.

Tips:

• Use the 15 minute reading period wisely. Highlight key details, and group the documents into which of your three map points they support. One document can support more than one point.
• Clearly cite documents by using phrasing like “As historian John Smith says in Document 1, …” or cite with parentheses (Document 1).
• The general structure is intro (thesis, context), body paragraph 1, body paragraph 2, body paragraph 3, and closing (counterclaim, tie it all together).
• Even if you have no idea what the DBQ is about, you can get the thesis, context, and evidence points pretty easily. Don’t give up and write a letter to the AP reader, try to get as many points as you can.

Long Essay Question

Rubric Breakdown:

• Thesis: 1pt, just like the DBQ.
• Contextualization: 1pt, just like the DBQ.
• Evidence: 2pts
  • Identify: 1pt, identify at least 2 specific pieces of evidence related to the prompt
  • Support: 1pt, use those pieces of evidence to support the argument related to the prompt
• Analysis and Reasoning: 2pts
  • Reasoning: 1pt, demonstrate historical reasoning like cause and effect, continuity and change, or comparison.
  • Complexity: 1pt, you can provide nuanced and complex understanding just like the DBQ. You can also use 4 pieces of specific evidence to support your argument as opposed to 2.

Tips:

• Choose the prompt that you know the most about, not the one that seems the easiest or most fun
• Use the same structure as a DBQ for simplicity (intro, body paragraphs, closing)
• For the first 5 minutes, write down every event, person, or concept that could be relevant to the topic in that time period. This will help you find your pieces of specific evidence much faster.
• Don’t use generalizations like “people didn’t like this.” Instead, say “working-class immigrants were angry over wage reductions and poor conditions, fueling strikes such as the 1877 Great Railroad Strike.”

The Curve

Some students think that, just to get a 5, they have to get a 90% or even higher on the exam. This is untrue. While you should shoot to get as high of a raw score as you can, you really only need a ~75% to get a 5. There are tons of APUSH score calculators out there, and they all generally agree that a 75% is a 5. Here is the rough breakdown:

Raw Score	AP Score	What does this mean?
75-100%	5	✅ Excellent! Most colleges will accept this.
62-74%	4	🎉 Great job! Some colleges will accept this.
49-61%	3	👍 Nice! A few colleges will accept this.
34-48%	2	😐 That’s ok. You’ll have a better foundation for college.
33-0%	1	🧠 At least you challenged yourself with college level coursework.

I would recommend shooting for a 80-85% to be solidly in the 5 range. Try to get a 45/55 on MCQ, 7/9 on the SAQs, 5/7 on the DBQ, and 4/6 on the LEQ. You can adjust these numbers as needed if you’re better at multiple choice questions or writing.

Final Thoughts

APUSH is a challenging course, but it can also be fun and interesting. If you put in the work and follow this guide, I’m confident that you can get an A in your class and a 5 on the exam.

The key is repetition and consistency. If you keep working hard, even when it seems like you can’t do anything right or don’t remember anything, the class will become much easier.

On exam day, just have faith and confidence. Stressing an hour before the exam won’t get you anywhere. Get a good night’s sleep, eat a good breakfast, pray for a couple of minutes, and be ready to take the APUSH exam. You got this.

If you need any more help, or have questions or comments, feel free to let me know by contacting me. I’m happy to help. If this post helped you out, consider sharing it with your friends and classmates. Enjoy your APUSH journey!