Introduction

AP® European History can seem incredibly hard to learn and review – especially if you don’t have much time to get ready for the AP® exam. In this subject you need to know centuries of complicated history, memorize tons of obscure names and dates, and thoughtfully analyze historical events in Europe. This massive load of material can be overwhelming to memorize and learn. If you don’t know where to find resources to help you, this course can even seem impossible. But with the right study guide and the best materials available, it can be simple and even easy to review AP® European History and ace the exam – even if you only have a month!

We’ve created this one-month AP® European History study guide to help you as you review all the key ideas in the course and practice for the AP® exam. If you decide to use our guide, you don’t need to worry about studying material that won’t be tested at the end of the year. We focus only on what you need to know for the AP® test. Plus, we’ve searched everywhere to find the best resources for AP® European History so you don’t have to stumble around looking for them. With enough motivation and a great study plan, you can confidently take the AP® European History exam and walk out with the score you want.

To get more information about AP® European History and for strategies to help you do well on the exam, check out some of these helpful articles:

• Is AP® European History Hard?
• The Ultimate List of AP® European History Tips
• How to Study for AP® European History

What You will Need for this One-Month AP® European History Study Guide

If you don’t have the right materials, it will be hard to score well on the exam. We will reference these resources as we work through this guide, so it’s vital that you can use them. If you can’t find or access one of these resources, try to find a substitute.

Albert.io AP® European History questions. The Albert.io system has hundreds of questions on European history, from the Gutenberg press to the Warsaw Pact. The problems are designed to increase your understanding, and the system reports your accuracy to help guide your study. The European questions test both your knowledge of the content and your understanding of the historical trends in Europe over the ages. It’s a perfect way to help you excel on the AP® European History test.

Plenty of practice tests. If you don’t practice, you cannot possibly get ready for the test. You have to know what the exam will require you to know. The best resource to find practice tests is CollegeBoard’s AP® Central for AP® European History. This central website includes a variety of practice tests and other materials for the course. We’ll be using these resources regularly, so save this website.

Flashcard site like Quizlet or flashcard app like Anki. You could also use paper index cards, but those are quite a bit harder to use than computer-based flashcards.

A review book for AP® European History. The two most popular books for learning and reviewing AP® European History are the Princeton Review and the Barron’s review book. The Princeton Review was written to cover only the essentials – what you absolutely need to know for the test. It’s best as a review for those who are taking an AP® European History class in school, not as a way to learn the material for the very first time. The Barron’s book is updated for the 2016 exam and is great for either reviewing or for learning the material for the first time. It loses out on some of the unique and helpful aspects of the Princeton Review and it isn’t as concise, but it is great for what most students need. For this guide, we’ll be using the Barron’s review book: Barron’s AP® European History, 8th Edition. Even if you don’t have this particular book, you can relate our advice to any review book your using. All of them cover the same basic material, just in slightly different arrangements.

Extra Resources for AP® European History

You will not need these resources to pass the test, and they aren’t required to use this study guide. But we might reference these resources at some point, and they will be very useful on the AP® European History test. Since most of them are free, you can use them as an extra way to improve your review plan.

An AP® European History textbook. If you’re taking the class in school, you probably have already been given a textbook. You should take advantage of this book to gain a better understanding of AP® European History. The AP® exam tests your ability to view historical events within the broad story of Europe, and a textbook is one method to develop this deep, integrated understanding. They are much more comprehensive than just a review book. If you don’t have a textbook, there isn’t much need to buy one. They can be very expensive, and much of what they focus on is never tested. If you do want to get a textbook, great! If you’d like to look at some options, the CollegeBoard has created an example textbook list for AP® European History.

This YouTube playlist on AP® European History from Tom Richey. An experienced AP® Euro teacher named Tom Richey created these videos to help students prepare for the AP® exam. Videos are the best way to learn for some people, and this playlist is especially helpful. Mr. Richey takes care to make entertaining, interesting, and informative videos. This playlist wonderful method for reviewing and learning AP® European History.

European History videos from Khan Academy. These videos were created by one of the best online learning websites in the world, and they are extremely valuable for learning about some specific period of European history. However, these videos are not comprehensive – they only cover a tiny snapshot of European history, and they focus mostly on the Napoleonic Wars.

AP® European History Study Materials List. An expert AP® European History teacher put together this extensive set of worksheets, study guides, websites, and review notes to help students prepare for the test. Using all these resources to your advantage can improve your studying and dramatically increase your score.

How to Use the AP® European History Study Guide

Your study should be determined by how prepared you are at the time you start this guide. If you are very prepared, you won’t spend very much time going back over concepts and learning content again. Instead, you will focus your time and energy on answering sample questions, making sure you have the material memorized, and practicing for the AP® test. On the other hand, if you’re not as prepared, you should be learning new ideas and reviewing old content to help you study for the upcoming exam.

We recommend you take a diagnostic test before you start using this study guide to see how much you already know. This will be valuable for directing how you study in the future and helping you decide what you need to review. If you want to take practice exam, there’s a diagnostic test at the beginning of the Barron’s review book. If you’ve already taken a test in school, you can use that to evaluate your knowledge so far.

Once you’ve taken the test, grade it. If you got a 4 or 5, you’re very prepared for the AP® European history test. However, you should keep reviewing until the test so you can keep the material fresh in your mind. If you got a 3, you’re somewhat prepared. Use this study guide to improve from just an average student to an exceptional student. If you got a 1 or 2, you’re not very prepared, and you should use this resource to improve your score.

Regardless of what score you got, you should flip through your test to see what types of questions you missed and what questions you got right. Try to find the concepts and sections that you didn’t understand. For example, if you missed a lot of questions about the Renaissance, you should use a significant amount of time this month on making sure you know everything you need to know about the Renaissance.

If you don’t feel prepared at all: Learning the content well enough for the exam will require extra work and a great plan. Depending on your situation in particular, you need to study about 10 to 15 hours a week. Do not skip any of the readings or practice tests, and do more if you have time. Complete everything in this study guide for AP® European History. Evaluate your performance on practice tests to decide what you should study the most. We designed this study guide to help you make your study time as efficient as possible, so you don’t waste critical time on material you won’t be tested on.

If you’re somewhat prepared: This guide is a comprehensive way to improve your memory and fill in all the gaps in your understanding of AP® European History. Since you already know most of the concepts and you’re reasonably confident in European history, you don’t need to learn much new material. When this study guide tells you to learn a new concept, just skim over the reading or lecture instead of watching it deeply. Your study should all be about practicing, memorizing, and reviewing. Instead of reading passages from a book, just answer tons of sample questions to test yourself. You should study about 10 hours a week in the five weeks before the exam. Every day, practice going through your flashcards, complete some questions on Albert.io, or answer a few AP® questions.

If you’re very prepared: You probably know who you are. You might have already taken a course that covered European history. Maybe learning about the Renaissance, the Crusades, and the Reformation is your personal hobby or passion, and perhaps you already know a ton about the subject. No matter which situation you’re in, you mostly need to focus on practicing. Even if you’re an expert historian, there are probably a few small flaws in your understanding that you need to repair. The AP® test is filled with tricky questions about specific or obscure events, trends, and people. This study guide will make sure you know everything you need to finish the AP® exam and stroll out with a 5. You should spend at least five hours a week studying for the test in the month before the exam.

There are a few main themes the CollegeBoard wants you to understand for the AP® test. They are the concepts that help you combine all the individual historical events into a few big ideas.

1. Interaction of Europe and the World. This theme is all about how Europe has affected other countries throughout the world, and how the world has affected Europe. For example, how did the Silk Road with China affect the culture, economics, and warfare of Europe? On the other hand, how did European imperialism affect Africa and the Americas?

2. Poverty and Prosperity. The movements of communism and capitalism both began in Europe – Adam Smith in England and Karl Marx in Eastern Russia. Class, the distribution of wealth across a population, has affected Europe throughout history. You can use your knowledge of class to understand why certain events occurred – for example, the French revolution can partially be explained by a disparity between the poorer working classes and the aristocratic upper class.

3. Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions. You probably know about the Enlightenment. This was a movement that swept across Europe and the world, encouraging reason, thought, science, and free speech. However, you may not know as much about romanticism and existentialism, the philosophical backlash to the Enlightenment. These movements argued that reason and science alone could not understand everything, and they emphasized the subjective experiences of individuals. To comprehend Europe’s culture and intellectual history, you must understand this historical conflict between reason and emotion.

4. States and Other Institutions of Power. Kings, institutionalized religions, empires, and nation-states all play a massive role in the history of Europe. To understand European history, you must be able to explain the structures of all these different types of power. How do they control individuals? How did individuals respond to these institutions? How did they affect European history? Being able to answer these types of questions is essential to understanding the fourth theme of AP® European History.

5. Individual and Society. Often, we forget that the huge shifts in European society had effects on the lives of individuals. The fifth theme is about this interaction between the broad landscape of European history and the everyday routines of real people. For example, how did the Catholic Church influence the way women were perceived in European cultures, and how did this change over time? How did the shift from an agrarian to industrial economic system affect the lives of families in England?

That’s it! There are only five very big, abstract ideas you need to comprehend for the AP® test. However, there is a very detailed list names, dates, and events that you must know in order to apply these ideas to the AP® exam. The people who designed the AP® European History course decided to divide the curriculum into four units of time. Each unit has equal weight and importance on the AP® test – each area will take up approximately 25% of the exam.

1. Period 1: 1450 to 1648. This period covers some of the most important events and processes in world history: the Enlightenment, the shift from religious states to secular states, the Reformation, the rise of capitalism, a change from a an almost universally Catholic society to a pluralistic society, the age of exploration, the Columbian exchange, and more.

2. Period 2: 1648 to 1815. This period was marked by the Industrial Revolution, a massive transformation that changed the lives of everyone in the world and caused seismic shifts in European society. The world became economically and culturally interconnected. Science was emphasized more than ever before. No one could ignore these huge changes.

3. Period 3: 1815 to 1914. In this era, the Industrial Revolution expanded dramatically, moving from England to the continent, and from Europe to the rest of the world. Now that industry and capitalism have taken hold in the world, we can begin to see how people responded to these changes. Socialism and communism, movements based on collective action to protect worker’s rights, began to shape Europe. The economic changes led to a series of revolutions and shifts in the way European society was structured.

4. Period 4: 1914 to Present. The first half of this period was probably the most violent and unstable era in the history of human civilization. Total war, genocide, and political instability wreaked havoc on Europe. The rest of the 20th century was largely dealing with the aftermath of these wars. International organizations like the United Nations, the League of Nations, the Warsaw Pact, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were formed to prevent future world wars. The conflicts between democracy, fascism, and communism played a massive role in this period.

You should be excited to get started! European history is a messy, complicated, long, and exciting narrative, and it is one of the most important stories you’ll ever hear.

This guide is based on a study schedule of six days a week and two hours a day. However, if you don’t need to review certain ideas, feel free to skip over them. You get a break at the end of each week. However, even on your rest day, you may want to skim over your notes and test yourself on a few flashcards.

There are a few things you should be doing nearly every day this month, regardless of how prepared you are. First, you need to make a deck of flashcards for reviewing and memorizing key ideas in AP® European History. Since AP® European History is a very memorization-focused course with dozens of events, names, and dates, you should make sure to add what you learn to your flashcards.

Second, you should be taking notes throughout the course. Use your notes to keep track of what you know and what you need to study. Nearly every day, you should review your notes and practice your flashcards to keep the material fresh in your mind.

If you miss a day, try to catch up the next day. Don’t cram, as it will not be effective in the end. Every week, we’ll give you a rest day to chill out and take a break from your review.

Week 1

Day 1

We’ll start off this month of studying by making sure you understand what you will be required to know on the AP® European History test. By the end of the day, you should know what concepts will be tested and what you need to review for the AP® exam.

Read pages six all the way through 29 of the AP® European History Course Description from the CollegeBoard. This description includes a full outline of everything you need to know on the AP® test. Every time you see a word or concept that you are unfamiliar with, write it down in your notes. You’ll want to come back to these concepts later in the month to review them. As you read, try to understand the broad, main ideas of European history.

Now, skim through the rest of the course description. Read a little bit about each period. Don’t read every paragraph – just look at the headings.

Next, skip down to page 165 of the AP® European History Course Description. This part of the description is all about the test itself. It’s vital that you read through this section carefully, as it tells you exactly what the test will be like and how your responses will be graded. Plus, this section includes some practice AP® European History multiple-choice questions and free-response questions. Set aside some time to answer all of these questions. Go to a place where you won’t be interrupted. Treat this like a real practice exam.

After you finish the test, grade your answers. What do you already know? What do you need to learn? Make sure to write down any key ideas that you don’t understand.

For the remainder of this guide, we’ll be reviewing all of European history.

Day 2

Today we’ll be starting our review by understanding the main ideas of European history. Before we delve into all the particular events, we need to understand the concepts that bind all these works together. It is very important that you can write about these broad, philosophical questions for the AP® exam. For these questions, you’ll be graded for having a thoughtful, insightful, and well-informed response, not just for using the correct terms and knowing the right events.

Watch videos three through sixteen in this YouTube playlist from Crash Course World History. Watch the videos on 1.5 or 1.25 times speed, as they are relatively simple and easy to understand. These videos cover some of the most important ideas in AP® European History in a concise, thematic way. They’re perfect for reviewing the big ideas of the history of Europe.

Day 3

Now that you have been introduced to European history, it’s time to really delve into the content. The first major unit is the time period from 1450 to 1648.

Start by opening up your Barron’s review book. Read the overview for Time Period 1, and then read Chapter 1: The Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance. Remember to take notes as you read.

When you’re done reading the chapter, complete the practice long-essay questions and the practice multiple-choice questions. Time yourself to see how close you are to finishing the sections on time. By the end of this guide, you should be able to finish each section within the time limits of the AP® test.

Day 4

Today we will review the material that you raced through yesterday.

Often it’s not enough to just read – you need to see the time period through images, audio, and more. To review the same periods you just covered, open up Tom Richey’s AP® European History Review Videos and watch the following videos: The Italian Renaissance, Renaissance Art, Headbanger Humanism, Machiavelli, and the Northern Renaissance.

Watching all these videos should take you about 45 minutes.

Now, go through all your notes from yesterday. Quiz yourself on your flashcards. Review all the questions you got wrong in the multiple-choice and free response sections at the end of Chapter 1.

Finally, go to Albert.io and use all the time you have left to answer questions in the section on Time Period 1: 1450 to 1648. Try to finish the Introduction to Humanism section.

Day 5

Now, open up your Barron’s review book again. Flip to Chapter 2: Protestant Reformation, Catholic and Counter-Reformation, and Wars of Religion. Read through the entire chapter.

When you’re finished reading, complete all the multiple-choice and free response questions for the section.

Go over all your notes. Highlight anything you don’t understand, and go back to the chapter to re-learn the material you’ve forgotten. Then, quiz yourself using your flashcards.

After you complete the chapter and the chapter review, open up your Albert.io page. Answer as many questions as you can in the time you have left.

Day 6

Before we begin, here’s a quick preview of what’s coming next in this guide. In exactly 19 days or about three weeks, we’re going to be taking your first real AP® European History practice test. You need to know and review all of the basic concepts in AP® European History before that test.

Today, we will finish learning the first time period in AP® European History, 1450 to 1648. We’ll review this period next week; don’t worry about forgetting everything.

Open your copy of the Barron’s review book and turn to Chapter 3: The Growth of European Nation-States and the Birth of Science. Read through the entire chapter, take notes, and add to your pile of flashcards. When you finish, take a five-minute break to refresh your mind. Then, go back to the end of the chapter and take the multiple-choice quiz and the free response quiz.

When you’re done taking the quizzes and grading your responses, open up the playlist of AP® European History Review Videos. Watch the following videos:

• Causes of the Reformation
• Martin Luther’s Reformation
• The Catholic Counter-Reformation
• The English Reformation (Henry VII and the Church of England)
• French Wars of Religion
• The Thirty Years War
• Congratulations on making it through the first week!

Day 7

We have absolutely rushed through this first unit! In the last six days, you’ve learned or reviewed about 25% of the material that will be tested on the AP® exam. Don’t worry; you’ll have time to review this. Today is your rest day, so catch up on your sleep and exercise. Try to find some time to lightly review all your notes and flashcards.

Week 2

Day 8

Before we jump into the second time period in AP® European History, we need to solidify your understanding of the first period. Take the practice assessment for time period one, one page 147 of your Barron’s review book. Once you finish the practice test, grade it and evaluate your performance. Go back to the chapters in this unit to read the sections you forgot.

With the remaining time today, we will introduce to the second time period in AP® European History – 1649 to 1815. First, read the time period overview and the special chapter on periodization in your Barron’s book. These begin on page 167.

Then, watch this video on mercantilism to learn about one of the key concepts of this time period.

Day 9

Start today’s study session by opening up to Chapter 4: The Expansion of Europe and the Enlightenment in your Barron’s review book. This chapter covers the rise of capitalism and the first rustlings of the Industrial Revolution, so be sure to pay attention as you read.

When you finish reading, take the multiple-choice and free response quizzes for Chapter 4. Grade your responses and use them to decide what you need to study more.

Finally, go to Albert.io and complete as many questions as you can in 1648 to 1815 section. You should answer about 30 to 40 questions.

Day 10

Before anything else, review your flashcards and notes from yesterday. Try to keep the material fresh in your mind. Review what you got wrong on the chapter quizzes.

After that, open your Barron’s book and flip to Chapter 5: The French Revolution, Napoleon, and the Congress of Vienna. The Napoleonic Wars were incredibly important, and they shaped Europe for centuries. This chapter describes the beginnings of these wars.

After you’re done with the chapter, take the multiple-choice and free response quizzes for Chapter 5.

Then, watch the following two videos: The French Revolution Part 1, and the French Revolution Part 2.

When you finish watching these videos, open up Albert.io and complete about 20 questions in the 1648 to 1815 section.

Day 11

The final chapter in the unit on Time Period 2 is Chapter 6: Industrialization Reshapes Europe. The events you learn about in this chapter will affect everything else you learn in this entire course. The Industrial Revolution leads to the arms races in the early 19th century and the subsequent world wars, it causes massive societal shifts, and it determines the structure of most of the countries in Europe.

When you finish reading Chapter 6, take both the long essay and multiple-choice quizzes for this chapter.

After you’re done taking these quizzes and grading your responses, take a five-minute break to go outside, walk around, or get a snack. We will be taking another exam right after these, so it’s important that you refresh your mind.

When you’re break is over, take the Time Period 2 Practice Assessment on page 235 of your Barron’s review book. Grade your test and see which material you missed.

Day 12

This is our last day on reviewing Time Period 2: 1649 to 1815. Start by going over all the notes you’ve taken for this entire period. Then, work through all your flashcards until you can answer them all correctly.

After you finish going through your notes and your deck of flashcards, open up Albert.io. Try to complete the entire set of Time Period 2 questions. Don’t worry if you can’t finish them all, as there are a lot of questions.

Use Albert.io’s system to see what you understand and what you still need to study. It will show your accuracy on each type of question so you can guide your review and determine what you need to study.

Day 13

Now, we will start our review of Time Period 3: 1815 to 1914. If you remember, this unit focuses on the Industrial Revolution and the consequences it had for Europe.

Start by reading the time period overview and the special note on periodization in your Barron’s review book. These are found on page 257.

Then, read Chapter 7: The Growth and Suppression of Democracy, From the Age of Metternich to the First World War.

When you finish reading the chapter, take the multiple-choice and long essay quizzes.

With any time you have remaining, go to Albert.io and try to catch up on the previous time period. If you already finished the last time period, start answering questions from Time Period 3.

Day 14

Have a refreshing rest day! In the last 13 days, we’ve already completed our review of about half of the material that will be test on the AP® European History exam. If you’ve already made it this far, you are well on your way to dominating the test and getting the score you want. Great work!

Week 3

Day 15

On Wednesday next week – Day 25 – we’ll be taking our first full AP® European History practice test. That is in exactly 10 days from today. Don’t worry; we’re more than halfway done with learning everything you need to know. Keep up your focus and hard work, but don’t panic.

You’ve probably forgotten some of the material you learned on Saturday last week. Review it by skimming over your notes and flashcards.

To make sure you understand Metternich, the Congress of Vienna, and their influence on 19th century politics, watch this video on The Congress of Vienna: Mettternich’s Conservative Order.

Then, read Chapter 8: The Ideologies of the Nineteenth Century: Liberalism, Conservatism, Nationalism, and Culture.

After you finish reading, take the quizzes for this chapter.

Day 16

Start today by opening your Albert.io account and working on questions for Time Period 3. Complete at least all the questions in section about The Industrial Revolution, and try to answer any more questions you can. Limit the time you spend on answering questions to just one hour.

Then, read Chapter 9: Imperialism and the Causes of the First World War in your Barron’s review book. After you’re done reading, take the chapter quizzes for both the multiple-choice section and the long essay section.

Day 17

Today and tomorrow we will be reviewing everything you’ve learned about Time Period 3. Start today by opening your Barron’s review book to page 319. Take the practice assessment for Time Period 3.

After you’re done with the practice assessment, grade your test. Then, read all the answer explanations for every single question – including the ones you answered correctly. This will help make sure you didn’t just get answers right because you were guessing, and it will also improve your understanding of each question.

Use all of the time you have left to work on answering questions on Time Period 3 on Albert.io.

Day 18

Spend the majority of your study session today on Albert.io. Try to finish all of the questions for Time Period 3. Use the feedback you receive from the Albert.io system to decide how well you know this unit. You can also use the practice assessment you took yesterday to gauge your understanding.

In the last 15 to 30 minutes of your study session, go to your notes and your flashcards. Skim through them and circle all the concepts you missed frequently on your practice assessment or on Albert.io. Then, re-read your notes for these concepts, and flip through your flashcards. Target your study on the ideas you didn’t understand in this unit.

Day 19

Today we will start our review of European history in Time Period 4: 1914 to Present. This unit involves some very vivid wars and global events. You can’t understand these events merely using a textbook. You need to see them, hear them, and relate to the individuals who experienced these events. This will help you write better essays on the AP® exam, and it will also help you gain perspective on what you learn in the upcoming days.

First, watch the following videos from Tom Richey’s AP® European History Review Playlist:

Dulce et Decorum Est – Wilfred Owen (WWI Poetry). This video is from Time Period 2, but it will help you understand the aftermath of World War I. It expresses a feeling of disillusionment about the ‘glories of war,’ and it will help you comprehend the culture of Europe as the Nazi regime began to gain power.

• Treaty of Versailles Shopping Spree
• What is Democratic Socialism?
• Totalitarianism
• Adolf Hitler’s Rise to Power (Part 1 – 1889-1921)
• Adolf Hitler’s Rise to Power (Part 2 – 1921-1929)
• Adolf Hitler’s Rise to Power (Part 3 – 1929-1933)

You will go into these concepts in more depth in the future, but for now, this broad overview will help you integrate everything you learn into the story of the 20th century.

Now, start answering questions on Albert.io for Time Period 4. Use what you’ve learned in these videos and in your study before you started this guide.

Day 20

Start today’s study session by opening your Barron’s review book to Chapter 10: The First World War, and the Russian Revolution and USSR Until 1939. Read this chapter and take notes.

When you finish reading, take the chapter’s multiple-choice and long essay quizzes.

Use the rest of the time to review your flashcards, study your notes, and work on finishing the Albert.io section on Time Period 4.

Day 21

Have a wonderful and reinvigorating rest day! There are only nine days left until the end of the month and only four days left until your practice test, but you have made an astonishing amount of progress. You have reviewed most of the material you need to know for the AP® test, and you only have two chapters remaining in the Barron’s review book. Today, try to take a break from the intensity.

Week 4

Day 22

There are only three more days until your practice test! To get ready, open up to Chapter 11: Democracy, Depression, Dictatorship, World War and its Aftermath. Read the entire chapter, taking notes and adding to your deck of flashcards as you go. When you finish the chapter, take the quizzes for Chapter 11.

Go to Albert.io and answer questions from the section on Time Period 4.

Day 23

Today we will finish reading all the material for Time Period 4, and then we will do a short review of the material.

Read Chapter 12: Recovery, Cold War, and Contemporary Europe. When you finish reading, take the multiple-choice and long essay quizzes for the chapter.

Finally, take the practice assessment for Time Period 4. This assessment is found on page 435. Use it to analyze your understanding, and then study what you missed.

Day 24

This is the last day before your practice exam! Try to use your time as productively and efficiently as possible.

First, try to finish all the questions on Albert.io about Time Period 4.

When you complete this section, go back through all the previous sections and start analyzing your performance. Are there any particular areas you haven’t really understood? Are there any sections you have low accuracy on? Use this information to direct your study. If you repeatedly missed questions on a specific topic, go and review this topic.

You have almost certainly fallen behind a little bit in the last couple weeks. Maybe you didn’t review a certain concept enough. Use today to go back and finish what you started. If you didn’t complete one of the review videos, if you didn’t really understand a chapter in the Barron’s book, or if you forgot to make flashcards for a certain topic, go back and complete these tasks.

Here are a few things that you should have done by now. If you haven’t finished them, try to complete them today.

• Complete all of the AP® European History questions on Albert.io.
• Read chapters 1 through 12 of the Barron’s review book.
• Have a full deck of flashcards for all the terms, ideas, dates, names, and concepts in AP® European History.
• Make notes on all the major topics and notes about your progress in understanding the key concepts of AP® European History.

If you have extra time, the best way to use it is to quiz yourself using Albert.io or previous practice quizzes and assessments in your Barron’s book. Try to solidify your knowledge of each era, so you can remember the material for the AP® practice test tomorrow.

Day 25

Today we’ll be focused entirely on finishing a full AP® European History practice exam. Open up your Barron’s review book and go to the section called Model Test 1. This test includes both multiple-choice and free response, and you should complete both sections. The full test should take about three hours to complete.

Find a quiet place where no one will bother you and you can just focus on the test. Time yourself as you work through the exam. Set aside about three hours and fifteen minutes to finish the entire test, including the break. You’ll also need about 20 minutes to grade the test.

After you are finished, take a break for about 15 minutes. Then go back to the exam and check your answers. Review all the answers you got wrong and try to understand why.

Grade your practice test and review all the answers you got wrong. Use the answer explanations, the rest of your Barron’s review book, and the other resources in this study guide to understand why you made these mistakes.

What did you get? How much have you improved in the last two weeks? Use your score to analyze your progress so far. Next week, we’ll take another practice exam.

Day 26

The AP® exam is getting closer and closer, but you have already equipped yourself with nearly everything you need to get the score you want. However, you’re probably starting to lose your grasp of some of the concepts you have reviewed in the last two weeks. We’re going to use all the time we have left in this week to get back up to speed and ensure that your skills are polished enough for the AP® exam.

First of all, we need to make sure that you’ve finished everything on Albert.io. Go back and finish any sections that you haven’t completed yet.

The Albert.io system tracks your progress and determines your accuracy over time. You should see information about your accuracy on each section. Spend your extra time answering questions from sections that you have low accuracy on.

If you have extra time after finishing every question on Albert.io, work on reviewing your flashcards. If you’re using Quizlet or Anki, you can automatically mark flashcards that you aren’t doing well on. If you’re using paper, you should mark flashcards that you consistently get wrong. Make multiple decks of flashcards based on how well you know them. Studying is all about learning from your mistakes.

Finally, review your practice test and try to analyze your mistakes. Find out why you missed each question, and then try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Day 27

Today, we’re going to focus on learning everything you need to know about the Free Response section of the AP® European History test.

Before you answer any AP® European History free response questions, we need to decide on a strategy for completing the free response section.

Here are some basic tips from Albert.io about how to ace the free response section. Use them to create your own individual strategy based on what works best for you.

First, do the easiest question first. It makes you more efficient and ensures that you get at least a few points on the section. If you read a question and you have completely forgotten the material, just skip it. If you don’t know much about the historical event or person in a question, skip that question and move onto one you know better. At the end, you can go back and finish the questions you skipped.

Second, be organized. If you’re disorganized in your answers, it’s hard for graders to give you a good score. Have specific responses to each question. If a question has multiple parts, label all of your answers.

Third, don’t be afraid to name-drop! In your essays, talk about specific people who had huge impacts on the history of Europe. Reference the names of treaties, events, and individuals.

Finally, answer the question directly. This is not a five-paragraph essay, and it has absolutely no specified format. The only restriction on your essay in the AP® European History test is that you have to answer the question in a way that’s clear enough for an AP® grader to understand. Don’t write conclusions, thesis statements, introductions, or transition statements. If you want to ace the free response section, just answer the question and then move on.

Now that you have a strategy, it’s time to test it out against some real free response sections. Start by downloading the AP® European History Free Response questions from 2016. Then, take this entire practice test. Time yourself, and treat it like a real test.

When you finish the exam, download the scoring guidelines for 2016. Try to grade your exam like an AP® grader would. Only give yourself points if you match the grading key.

When you’re done, evaluate your performance. What did you miss? What did you understand? You can go back to AP® Central to look at real sample responses and see statistics about each question.

Day 28

Today is your last rest day before the end of this one-month study guide! Do something enjoyable. Don’t stress about the exam. You’ve already gone through 28 days of intense studying. Your determination over the last few weeks shows that you’re more than ready for the exam. Remember to eat healthily, sleep fully, and exercise frequently.

Week 5

Day 29

Today is the last day of content review in this 30-day guide. After this, you should just be preparing for the AP® exam and reviewing what you’ve learned.

After you finish watching the videos, go back to your flashcards, your notes, and your Albert.io account. Review anything you haven’t studied yet. Re-read parts of the Barron’s review book, and skim over all the chapter summaries. Make sure you have memorized all the vocabulary, artworks, and names you’ll need to know for the AP® European History test. The AP® exam is approaching!

Day 30

You’re finished! In the last 30 days, you have reviewed all of the material you need to succeed in the AP® European History exam. Congratulations!

What Should I do to Prepare for the AP® European History Test Day?

Regardless of how close you are to the AP® European History exam, you should keep reviewing AP® European History lightly to keep it fresh in your mind. However, if you’re within two weeks of the exam, you shouldn’t excessively stress yourself out. It’s important to tone down your intensity at this point. Studying too much can be just as dangerous and harmful as studying too little.

If you are still a week or two away from the AP® exam, spend the remaining time reviewing your notes and flashcards, taking more practice exams, working on Albert.io, and watching review videos on AP® European History.

If you’re less than a week away, just chill out a little bit. Your score isn’t going to change dramatically at this point. Just be confident about your abilities and trust that you have learned the material you need to know.

The day before the exam, don’t try to attempt any serious studying. If you feel like you need to review at least a little, that is absolutely fine. Don’t try to stop yourself. But do not spend more than one hour studying. Don’t try to learn any new material or take any practice tests. This won’t help your score; it will just hurt your confidence. You’ll see all the questions you got wrong and you’ll look at all the material you forgot, and that will make you stressed about the AP® test.

If you’re going to study, do something you like and something that’s fun for you. For example, you could watch videos about European history from the Crash Course or Tom Richey channels on YouTube. These are usually very entertaining and they’re often hilarious. Alternatively, you could go to an art museum and look at historical pieces about Europe. Art analysis actually shows up on the exam occasionally, so this is a great way to prepare.

If you have completed this study guide, you have learned and refined all the essential skills you need to ace the exam. Congratulations on your incredible progress, and good luck on the AP® test.

Final Wrap up: The One Month AP® European History Study Guide

By completing this AP® European History study guide, you have shown tremendous determination, dedication, and aptitude. You have reviewed countless AP® European History multiple-choice questions, and you’ve completed a full AP® European History practice test. You have completed all of Albert.io’s review for AP® European History. You have read Barron’s entire review book for AP® European History, taking notes along the way. You have built up a huge deck of flashcards. You have learned powerful information about the history of Western civilization. Don’t underestimate the usefulness of your understanding of history. Because you understand European history, you are a more informed person who can learn from the mistakes of the past to create the successes of the future.

You have learned everything you need to get a 5 on the AP® test. It’s time to do it!

With whatever time you have after you finish this guide, you should be reviewing your notes and flashcards, solving problems, and answering practice questions. Get plenty of sleep every night, eat a healthy diet, and exercise regularly. Again, don’t worry about the test. After completing this 30-day guide, you should feel super confident.

Let us know what you thought of this AP® European History study guide. What worked for you? What was your favorite event or time period in this course? How did you prepare for the AP® European History exam?

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