A flashcard site such as Are you looking to ace the upcoming AP® Human Geography AP® exam, but still can’t quite tell the main differences between nations, states, and nation-states? Not to worry, we at Albert.io are here to help. We have created a 1-month study guide that not only sharpens your knowledge of the subject-matter, but provides you with many of the test-taking skills and tips that are required for any successful AP® exam. We are here to help you ace the exam and become an efficient and effective studier in the process.
This study plan has been designed to fit the CollegeBoard’s guidelines and expectations for the AP® Human Geography exam, providing you with everything you’ll need to know to get that 5. The rest will be up to you. If you’re looking for that extra jolt to your study habits, stick with this 30-day study plan and we’ll help you learn, retain, and review everything you need to know for a successful test day.
Key Things to Remember While Using this AP® Study Guide
– From The CollegeBoard: “The AP® Human Geography course is equivalent to an introductory college-level course in human geography. The course introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface. Students employ spatial concepts and landscape analysis to examine socioeconomic organization and its environmental consequences. They also learn about the methods and tools geographers use in their research and applications. The curriculum reflects the goals of the National Geography Standards (2012).”
– The exam itself is 2 hours and 15 minutes in length and is broken into two main sections: multiple-choice and free response. The multiple-choice section consists of 75 questions, for which you have 60 minutes to complete. This will make up 50 percent of your exam score. There will be 3 more in-depth questions that will make up the Free Response section of the exam. These three questions must be completed within 75 minutes and account for 50 percent of your overall score.
– This is a guide and it is possible that not every step will work perfectly for you. You know yourself as a student and studier better than we do. It is quite all right to move things around during this study guide. Stick to your tried and true methods, but also, keep an open mind. Either way, make this work for you.
– Not to sound too cheesy, but make studying fun! Don’t get so stuck on your studying that you forget to enjoy yourself. Nothing is worth doing if you hate it. Get your friends involved if you can or study with some energizing and fun music in the background. The more fun you have, the more you will remember.
– On that note, stay healthy! Make sure that you keep a healthy eating and sleeping schedule. A healthy mind remembers things better. And no matter how hard you study, if you don’t get enough rest and eat good meals, you will be doing more harm than good. Also, if you ever feel yourself getting tired following this study plan, get up and do a couple of quick stretches, or go for a short walk. Your brain will appreciate the extra blood flow.
What You Will Need
– Access to Albert.io’s AP® Human Geography homepage. Albert.io has worked on the most useful methods of studying for the AP® Human Geography exam, including tips on how to retain what you’re learning and developing those test-taking skills to ensure more success on test day. .
– A flashcard site such as Quizlet. Or you just use regular notecards. Whether you’re old or new-fashioned, it doesn’t matter, but the AP® Human Geography exam is built around terms and definitions. Since we will be using flashcards more than you’ve ever thought possible over the next 30 days, just choose the one you’re most comfortable with.
– Note-taking materials. These can be done on your computer, tablet, etc. or you can use a physical notepad and pen. It might be a good idea to choose an option that can be carried with you, since ideas may pop up when you are away from your desk.
– The CollegeBoard homepage and practice exam page for AP® Human Geography. Make sure you thoroughly read through the AP® information provided by the CollegeBoard’s website. Just like any other exam, it is necessary to understand the expectations of the people testing you. Read these materials and memorize them if you can.
– Your own AP® Human Geography Textbook or an online source of that will provide you with the same amount of detail. It might be a good idea to create a bookmark folder containing all of the online information you will be gathering as we progress along this study guide. We, in particular, will be using information on both YouTube and National Geographic’s Human Geography So, you may want to start with those…
Optional (but helpful) Stuff:
– Any AP-style workbooks or study guides your teacher provides, or any supplemental material you find helps your study of the main materials. As far as studying for the AP® exams goes, the more the better. So use whatever you can get your hands on.
– Albert.io has some excellent recommendations on the how to approach the AP® Human Geography exam and other great recommendations on readings, study tips, etc. Take a look at everything the site has to offer and make your own decisions on what will work best for you.
– Take a look at this review list for AP® Human Geography books for more information on the best outside sources.
– A dictionary, which can be in print or online. Some Geography concepts get a little tricky, so this might help in the long run.
– Access to a wide variety of maps that relate to human geography. Here is a great place to start.
How to Use the Study Plan
– We have designed this AP® study guide to revolve around the specific expectation laid out by the CollegeBoard for the topic of human geography. The CollegeBoard has laid out seven key themes that you will need to understand before taking the exam:
1. Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives
2. Population and Migration
3. Cultural Patterns and Processes
4. Political Organization of Spaces
5. Agriculture, Food Production, and Rural Land Use
6. Industrialization and Economic Development
7. Cities and Urban Land Use
– You should be spending a minimum of one to two hours studying each day. All AP® exams are known for being difficult. You will need to dedicate a serious couple of hours each day if you want that 5.
– But we can’t have you overload, either. It is important that you stay happy and healthy. Never overexert yourself. Keep on top of your sleep, healthy eating, and physical fitness. This will ensure that the information you are learning will be retained.
– There will be four main components that make up this study guide spread over the span of four and a half weeks. AP® Human Geography requires extensive reviewing, note taking, term memorization, and exam practice. We will be doing a lot of each of these, so be prepared.
– And since we have set this up to revolve around a normal school week, we have allowed for the seventh day of each week to be a day of rest. On these days, make sure that you stay healthy and ready for the beginning of the next week.
Let’s Get Started!
Day 1
– First thing’s first, we are going to start off by taking a look at the AP® Human Geography course Overview that’s on the CollegeBoard’s website. Read this thoroughly and get to know what is expected of you. It also provides a couple of example questions at the end of the read. Go over these to familiarize yourself with how they look, but don’t worry if you can’t answer them yet—we’ve only just begun!
– Read through pages 1 through 4 of the CollegeBoard’s AP® Human Geography Course and Exam Description, paying particular attention to the ways that the CollegeBoard has set up the AP® course and exam process. It’s always a good idea to get to know the test maker’s rules and expectations.
– Get to know Albert.io’s AP® Study Guide pages, getting a feel for how our website works and where all of the information is located.
Now, let’s get into the routine of this study plan:
– For each and every day you are reading material or watching a video, you will want to make somewhere between 10 and 20 flashcards (either with note cards, a folded piece of paper, or online on a site such as Quizlet). Choose a term of importance, writing it down on one side of the card, while putting the definition and a helpful hint down on the other side.
For Example:
(Side A) Epidemic
(Side B) A regional outbreak of a disease.
Helpful Hint: Here’s a question that relates to the term elasticity,
– The recent outbreak of Ebola in Western Africa is an example of an epidemic. Since it did not spread globally and remained within the general region, it is not considered a pandemic.
– Sometimes it helps to leave some room in the significance section, so you can add more info as you learn.
– We cannot emphasize the importance of these flashcards exercises enough. You are going to have to stay on top of these every single day and make them as detailed as possible. Flashcards are useful for every AP® exam but are essential for AP® Human Geography. Term memorization and comprehension will become your life for the next several weeks. Now’s the time to embrace it.
– Now, go ahead and read through these recommendations on How to Learn AP® Human Geography Vocab. Think about the ways that you learn and retain terms and definitions. What works best for you? Do you do well when you test yourself over and over? If so, work this into your study plan.
– The last thing that you will want to keep in mind, in regards to the flashcards, is to make sure that you are making real-life associations to the terms. It will be a good idea to write down a real event that coincides with each term (i.e., Ebola and Western Africa). Or when you quiz yourself on the notecards, give a real-life explanation for each flashcard term. This is practice is going to help you nail both the multiple choice and free response sections of the exam.
– All right, let’s make some flashcards! Spend the next ten or so minutes creating a couple of flashcards. You should have come across a couple of terms already, so add these and their definitions to your flashcard pile. Now is the time to get used to this because you will little pile will very soon turn into a fat stack of AP® Human Geography terms!
– OK, now get some rest and we will begin again tomorrow!
Day 2
– Today we are going to get into the nitty-gritty of this study guide. As we move forward each week, you should become more familiar with the study process and things should become smoother. It’s ok to stumble a little in the beginning. But keep on this 30-day study plan and you’ll be a pro in no time!
– Let’s go ahead and begin today’s study session by reading through this guide on How to Study for the AP® Human Geography Exam. This guide will become your best friend by the time you finish this study guide. So, make sure that it all makes sense.
– Before we move forward, take out your notebook and get to work on creating a list. The list (maybe 5 or so items long) should describe your learning strengths. List how you study best. Do you always kick butt when using flashcards? Then put that as number 1, and so on. Keep this list around so when it comes to review time, you can focus on your strong points. We want to work with you as a learner, not against you.
– As you work on the next several exercises for the day, make sure that as you watch videos or go through any of the readings, you are taking extensive notes. Do this on not only what you think you need to know, but also on those ideas and concepts you might find confusing. This way we can come back to the tough stuff during our review sessions.
– Also, you are going to want to create a minimum of 15 flashcards for every video that you watch and every document that you read.
– Next, go ahead and take a look at this Population Ecology video on YouTube.
– Now let’s take a look at pages 5 through 11 of the CollegeBoard’s AP® Human Geography Course and Exam Description. Don’t forget your notes and flashcards.
– Now’s the time to take on some example questions from Albert.io. We’ll start off slow, just so you get a feeling for how the site works. We just want you to select 20 questions from any category, at random. You don’t need to care about the topic or even if you get the answers correct. We just want you to get a feel for how they are phrased and the kinds of questions that you will be expected to answer.
– One of the most important things to remember is that Albert.io will provide you with helpful tips and places where you can do better. Take note of your weak spots and write them down in your notebook. These are the places you will have to spend more time on as you progress forward in the days ahead.
Day 3
– OK, so we are just going to jump right into our study material from now on. It may be a good idea to keep a quiet study area ready for our daily studies. Keep the equipped with all the goodies of learning: pencils, your notebook, flashcards, etc. so we can just get started immediately every day.
– All right, now that we are ready, we are going to start today off with this video: Human Population Growth.
– Next, go ahead and go to National Geographic’s page on human geography, reading through the UNESCO Keep on top of your flashcard terms and your note taking.
– It would take way too long to provide you with all of the flashcard terms you’ll need for this course but we will try to provide you with some key ones that you’ll definitely want in your flashcard pile. Here are a couple of terms that you need to have:
– Cartography
– Equator
– GIS
– GPS
– Latitude
– Longitude
– Prime Meridian
– Let’s get into your first real set of practice questions. Go ahead and start answering the questions in the Major Concepts and Introduction Since we just got started, notes are ok and don’t feel bad if you got a few wrong. Just keep paying attention to the advice being given.
– Great job thus far. Hopefully, you’re getting into the swing of things!
Day 4
– Now we are going to want to click on these links and watch the video on the Agricultural Revolution. Just a reminder—keep taking good and detailed notes on both what is important and what you do not fully understand.
– As always, flashcards!
– Go ahead and take a look at the Unique Speak It’s a good idea to think about these articles in relation to the flashcard terms you are using. How do these real-life examples apply to the concepts and theories we are learning from the other materials in the course?
– OK, do a quick flashcard quiz. Just randomly select 20 to 30 cards and try to get the definitions correct.
– Let’s do some practice questions for real this time. Today we are going to do the next two chunks of multiple choice questions (25 in all). It’s ok to be peeking at your notes here, but the more we get along in this 30-day study guide, the less you are going to want to rely on these.
– Before we end, take a quick look at the Free Response Questions. Just read through some of them and get a feel for how they are worded and the expectations. No need to answer them yet. That time will come, don’t worry.
Day 5
– Today you’re going to want to take a look at the Ancient Egypt Make sure that you are not relying solely on these videos. These should be viewed alongside a good textbook or another source. Remember, when it comes to the AP® exams, the more the better for study materials.
– It’s time to work on your flashcards again. If you don’t have these yet, make them now:
– Robinson Projection
– Toponym
– Site
– Diffusion
– Hearth
– Globalization
– Since practice makes perfect, let’s do some more practice multiple choice questions. DO those in the Geospatial Technologies.
– We are going to end today’s session with a Free Response Question Exercise. Take a look at the first two FRQs provided by Albert.io. Read through each question carefully and make sure that you fully understand what they are asking. Next, before we jump right into answering them, create an outline for the essay you are planning to write for each FRQ. You can look at notes while you do this, but make sure you have a central argument, clear evidence that backs up your argument, and a solid structure.
– Once you are done with the two outlines, put away your work and get a good night’s sleep, we’re almost through week 1!
Day 6
– Read through pages 12 through 16 of the CollegeBoard’s AP® Human Geography Course and Exam Description. Make sure that you’re still taking your notes.
– Let’s go ahead and get another flashcard test going. Get a friend or family member in on the action too. Have them randomly select cards for you and quiz you on what you remember. Keep going until you get them all correct.
– Now go back to the practice multiple choice questions and let’s finish off the Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives Now is a good time to cut back on the notes. See what you can pull off without them. Also, start keeping your eye on the clock. It’s time to get into the rhythm of the test itself.
– At this point, we want to go back to those outlines that we created yesterday, remember those for first two FRQs? GO ahead and write out your answers in full paragraph form, keeping in mind the arguments and structure built into your outlines.
– Once you have done this, read your essays alongside the outlines. Does one make more sense than the other? If so, why? Outlining may be a great way for you to work on your essays as we [practice, so if you liked this activity, keep doing it as we work on more of the FRQs.
– Before we end this week, go ahead and review all of your notes that you have taken up to this point. Rewatch any videos if you are still stuck on any concepts or ideas.
Day 7
– Today will be a rest day. Try not to think about AP® Human Geography if you can. Just make sure you eat and sleep well, so you’ll be ready to go tomorrow.
– If you absolutely must do something today, review the videos we have matched thus far and glance through your flashcards.
Start your AP® Human Geography Prep today
Day 8
– We are going to start off today by doing a thought exercise. Go ahead and whip out your notebook and answer this question: What is the difference between Human Geography and Physical Geography?
– Now, imagine that you are going to teach a Human Geography course to someone else. Using everything that you have learned up to this point, start working on an outline that explains human geography. What would you start with? Why? What are the most important ideas and concepts? What kinds of assignments would you create and give to your students? Write all of this down and keep it in your notes for later reference.
– Let’s get back to another video. Take a look at the 5 Human Impacts on the Environment
– Now read through National Geographic’s Intriguing Interactions Keep on taking notes and marking down any new or interesting ideas.
– Review all of your flashcards up to this point. Give yourself a little test by randomly selecting 30 cards and see if you can get all of the definitions correct.
– Go ahead and work on the first 28 questions from the Population and Migration
– Now that you’ve completed both outlines and essays for a couple of FRQs, get to work on the Theories and Models. This time, give yourself 5 minutes to create a quick outline before fully answering the questions,
Day 9
– Go to the Crash Course on AP® Human Geography playlist and watch video number 6. Make sure that you are adding at least 15 new flashcards to your growing pile as you are watching these videos.
– On the topic of flashcards, you should have these terms down (Note: these are just terms that you absolutely must know, but don’t limit yourself to just what we recommend):
– Folk culture
– Cultural appropriation
– Placelessness
– Popular Culture
– Assimilation
– Ethnic Cleansing
– Ethnocentrism
– Let’s end the day by completing the remaining questions from the Population and Migration Keep paying special attention to Albert.io’s recommendations and helpful hints. These are going to be the keys to growing as a learner and figuring out how to improve in time for your exam.
– Now go ahead and get to work on the remaining FRQs from the Cities and Urban Land Use You are going to want to start having someone read your work from this point on. Get a friend or parent to look over your responses and ask them for honest feedback. Ask them if the information is not only correct, but also if the essay structure is smooth and flows logically.
Day 10
– OK, video time. Take a look at the Crash Course on AP® Human Geography playlist and watch video number 7.
– After you’ve finished with watching the video and taking any notes you need, read through the Hidden History article from National Geographic.
– As you are taking notes on both the videos and the articles, you need to start making connections between real-life experiences and the theories you are learning. Make sure that you are taking the information in the National Geographic articles and thinking about them in relationship to the flashcards you are making.
– With this in mind, let’s do a little thought exercise in your notebook. Write a short paragraph for both the video and article we just covered that explains how the information given relates to other themes that have been covered in this course. Do this for every video we watch and article we read.
– Now go ahead and complete the Concepts of Culture multiple choice questions. This will be an excellent time to start timing yourself. If you do not have a timer or stopwatch app on your phone/computer, you can access one here: online-stopwach.com. Try to treat this like a real exam, paying close attention to the time you have used up and how much time you have remaining.
– Let’s finish off the day with the first two FRQs in the Cultural Patterns and Processes Start using a stopwatch here as well, making sure you allow time for a quick outline at the beginning of each essay.
Day 11
– If you can get a family member or a friend in on your studying, you should ask them to help you for the beginning of your study session today. If you can, explain to them everything you have covered up to this pint. You can use the course outline that you’ve been working on. Try to treat this as if you were the teacher giving a class to a new student. Encourage them to ask questions ad try your best to answer them.
– After you’ve done this, make additions to the course outline that you’ve been working on. Try to think of Human Geography as a story about people. What are the most important events? Why? How should this story be told? Provide as many examples from the readings and videos as you can.
– Keep on top of your flashcard terms and your note taking. Keep in mind that you need to be adding concepts from the readings and the videos we are watching. You should have these in your growing list by now, as well:
– Ethnicity
– Ghetto
– Lingua Franca
– Gender
– Infanticide
– Hajj
– Polytheism
– It’s time to finish up with the Concepts of Culture set of practice questions. Complete any that remains. Make sure you are reading through Albert.io’s suggestions and taking notes on where you are struggling, so we can strengthen your weaknesses later.
– Go ahead and complete the remaining questions in the Cultural Patterns and Processes Read through your answers this time and check for any spelling or grammatical errors. From now on, you need to make sure you are writing properly—you don’t want to be dinged for sloppy wording.
Day 12
– Take a thorough look at pages 16-22 of the CollegeBoard’s AP® Human Geography Course and Exam Description. Make sure that you’re still taking your notes. After finishing this, is there anything you would add to the course outline that you began on day one? Are there any concepts that you are missing or would choose to focus more time on?
– After you’ve done this, let’s go ahead and jump back into the videos. Go to the Crash Course on AP® Human Geography playlist and watch video number 7.
– After that, have a thorough read through of the Geography Goes to the Movies
– Now, go through and do another flashcard quiz with yourself (or a friend, if you can). Spend a solid thirty minutes going through your cards at random. Make small marks on those that you’re having a hard time with. This may help to spark a reminder to remember the term for later.
– Go ahead and work through the first two set of questions from the Political Organization of Space Keep your eye on the time.
– Do the same for our FRQ questions. Work on the first two contained in the Industrialization and Development set of questions.
Day 13
– Let’s get right into watching a video for today’s study session. Go to your favorites list of links and select the Crash Course on AP® Human Geography playlist and watch video number 8.
– After that, read the next article in your National Geographic
– You’ve watched a few videos and read a number of articles at this point. Ask yourself, which do I like best? Which source has provided the most useful information? Which would you use in the course outline that you are working on?
– Make sure you have these terms in your flashcard pile:
– Religious Fundamentalism
– Secularism
– Taoism
– Theocracy
– Pandemic
– Population Pyramid
– Sex Ratio
– After you’ve added these, complete the Political Organization of Space
– Now, finish off the Industrialization and Development set of questions. Have someone read your essays and ask them for comments on whether or not you answered the question, if the grammar is correct, and if the ideas are flowing well.
Day 14
– Get a good night’s sleep; we begin a new day of this study guide tomorrow.
Start your AP® Human Geography Prep today
Day 15
– We are right in the middle of our 30-day study guide. So, let’s use today as a day for review.
– The first thing you are going to want to do is quickly glance through all of the videos we’ve watched and all of the articles that we’ve read. Don’t read them fully—just a quick glance.
– After this, go over the outline that you’ve been working on and add any information that you think might be missing at this point. This may sound cheesy, but it works. Get a family member or a friend in on your studying. Sit them down and go through the course you’ve created. You can even give them a lesson or two on a certain subject. Ask them if the course outline makes sense. If not, what is missing?
– After you’ve done all of this, go through and quiz yourself once more on all of your flashcards. This should take a while since you’ve probably got a big fat stack at this point. Keep going until you have covered every term.
– Now, go through all of your multiple choice questions that you’ve answered thus far. Catch up on any questions that you may not have finished yet. Once you are all caught up. Work on all of those questions that you may have gotten wrong. Keep in mind all of the notes that you have taken on how to improve. Keep doing this until you are at 100 percent correct.
– Now let’s move onto the FRQs. Read through all of the answers that you have provided. Take a big marker/pen and circle repeating problems. For example, if your thesis or argument is consistently weak, circle them on your paper and make a note of how to improve. Select the three that you did the worst on and retake them. Try to think, in particular, about essay structure and quality of argument as you work on this.
– The last thing that you should do today is go for a little walk. Spend at least thirty to forty minutes walking around your neighborhood generally thinking about everything we have covered to this point. While you’re doing this, think back on the course we’ve been working on since we started. What would you add? Would you leave anything out? Why? What topics would you spend the most time on?
– Enjoy the relaxation of the walk and the mental preparation because we are doing to do some practice exam work for the next two days. Now, go get some rest!
Day 16
– OK, so for the next two days, we are going to do a couple of practice exams and try to recreate the exam itself as best we can. Make sure that you are in a quiet space, where you can focus for the next two or three hours and nobody will disturb you.
– Have your stopwatch or clock ready, so you make sure that you are staying in line with the time limits required by the CollegeBoard. For today and tomorrow, absolutely no notes. Also, have some water or maybe even a small snack, that way you won’t have to get up and break your concentration.
– Reminder, you have 75 minutes to complete the multiple choice section and 60 minutes to complete the FRQs section.
– And now we begin with the multiple choice questions. Go to our AP® Human Geography page and select ten questions from each of the seven sections that on the page. Select these at random. Complete them within the required time limit.
– Once you have done that, it’s time to move on to the FRQs. Complete the questions from the year 2001. These were questions from an actual AP® Human Geography test, so make sure that you are getting a good feel for how these work.
– Whew! Take a breath. Good job on completing your first real practice exam. Before we the rest of the day off and relax, read through all of the answers and recommendations that these sites are offering you.
Day 17
– All right, ready for day two of practice exams. Make sure your learning area is free of distractions and you are ready to go.
– So, we are going to do almost the exact same thing as yesterday. Select 10 multiple-choice questions from each section and complete them as if they are the real deal.
– Once you are done with that, go ahead and try to answer the FRQ from the year 2002 from the CollegeBoard Website.
– When you’ve finished with all of this, go ahead and take the rest of the day off.
Day 18
– Hopefully you got a lot out of those two practice exam days, and are becoming a little bit more comfortable with how they are set up. Now, let’s review everything you covered.
– Spend a minimum of thirty minutes (more if you have time) reading over every answer and response. Compare them to the correct answers. While you’re doing this, take detailed notes of the things that you see yourself struggling with. The more effort you put into this, the better your reviews will be in the future.
– Review your flashcards once more. Make sure you have these terms/concepts:
– Hearth
– Functional Region
– Scale
– Crude Death Rate
– Habit
– Industrial Revolution
– After you’ve added these, complete the first two sections of multiple-choice questions contained under the Agriculture, Food Production, and Rural Land Use
– Now, go ahead and work on the State Shapes
Day 19
– Before we start with any new material today, do a flashcard quiz. Keep highlighting or marking those ideas/terms that you are still struggling with. Keep quizzing yourself on those marked cads until you have them down.
– After you’ve done this, let’s go ahead and jump back into the videos. Go to the Crash Course on AP® Human Geography playlist and watch video number 9.
– After that, have a thorough read through of the Filipino Hip-Hop
– Complete the next 32 questions from the Agriculture, Food Production, and Rural Land Use section of questions.
– Finally, complete the Types of Government If you can, you should start asking your teacher to read over your essays. Ask them to provide you with comments on both content and ways for you to improve. Keep doing this with every FRQ example you complete from now on.
Day 20
– Read through pages 22-50 of the CollegeBoard’s AP® Human Geography Course and Exam Description. While you are taking notes on this, pay special attention to the “Vocabulary” section of the reading.
– It seems as though the video on Capitalism and Socialism is next on our list, so go ahead and watch this now. Write a quick though exercise on the ways that these political ideologies affected human movement and, in particular, how they interacted with altered public affairs throughout the world.
– After that, have a thorough read through of the next National Geographic
– Complete rest of the Agriculture, Food Production, and Rural Land Use section of questions. Keep reading through the recommendations on how to improve, making your own notes along the way.
– Finally, complete the Political Organization of Space
Day 21
– The end of another week!
– Get a good night’s sleep; we begin a new tomorrow.
Start your AP® Human Geography Prep today
Day 22
– Before we begin with any new information for the week, go for a long walk and think about everything we have covered to this point. Spend at least half of an hour working through all of the topics, terms, etc. that have been covered up to this point and try to create stories about them in your head.
– When you get back from your walk, go back to the course outline that you’ve been working on and add all of the information that you just thought up.
– Read through both of the articles that cover the Durand Line from the National Geographic site. Make sure that you are still making connections between these articles and the other, more theoretical stuff that’s being covered.
– Make sure that you’ve taken notes on these concepts:
– Malthus Theory
– Most Populous Country in the World
– Industrialized Countries
– Crop Rotation
– Uniformity of Landscape
– Dependency Ratio
– Work on the FRQs from the year 2003. Keep having others read and critique your work. The more eyes, the better.
Day 23
– It’s time to finish off the CollegeBoard’s AP® Human Geography Course and Exam Description.
– Let’s get back to our YouTube video selection. Click on the Crash Course on AP® Human Geography link and watch video number 11.
– When you’ve finished watching the video, read through the Diversity in New York
– When you have completed these, give your fat flashcard stack a looking through. Instead of just quizzing yourself (which you should be a master at by now, so kudos!), ask yourself a question about each term. These questions should require you to provide an explanation or example. Something like this:
– When you come across the term “Popular Culture,” ask yourself what is the difference between popular culture and folk culture?
– If the term is “migration,” ask: where did migrants to the US in the late 19th century typically come from?
– Once you’ve done this for about 45 minutes, you can complete the first two sets of questions from the Industrial and Economic Development
– Work on the FRQs from the year 2004 and 2005. Are you noticing any patterns on how many of these FRQs are being phrased, or the types of questions they are asking? If so, write these patterns down and remember to study them when you review.
Day 24
– Before we start working on any new ideas, take out your notebook and work on this thought exercise: Explain what Human Geography (and how it is different from Geography) means in no more than four sentences. Highlight what you consider to be the most important concepts and ideas. But make sure you are to the point and short in your answer.
– Click on the Crash Course on AP® Human Geography link and watch video number 12.
– When you’ve finished watching the video, read through the next National Geographic
– Finish off the remaining questions from the Industrial and Economic Development
– Get to work on the FRQ from 2006. Give yourself an extra five minutes in the beginning to create a more detailed outline than you would normally do.
– When you’ve finished the outline and the FRQ, complete a reverse outline in your notes. This work by reading through your essay and creating an outline from the information that’s in the essay. So, write down the evidence that you used in your reverse outline, the arguments, etc. When you’ve done this, compare your outlines from before and after you wrote the essay. Are there differences? They should look pretty similar.
Day 25
– Before we begin with any new material, read through all of your notes. What have you been struggling with the most? Pinpoint your weakest spots and go over them once more.
– Read through the next National Geographic
– Do one last flashcard quiz.
– After you feel good about all of the terms, work on the first half of questions contained in the Cities and Urban Land Use set of questions.
– Now work on the FRQs from the years 2007 and 2008.
– Make sure that you are all caught up on your FRQs and example questions. Now is the time to complete everything you have missed. Also, make sure that you are caught up on all of your reading, online videos, and flashcards.
– Now is also the time to retake all of the example questions that you may have gotten wrong over the last several weeks. Keep taking them until you get the right answer, reading through Albert.io’s recommendations after each attempt. Do this again with each of the FRQs.
Day 26
– Today will be the last day we are going to add any information to that course outline you’ve been working on. Go ahead and update it with all of the information you’ve learned.
– Once you’ve done this, look over your first draft. How different are they? Are you surprised by how much you’ve accomplished and learned over the past thirty days?
– Today is going to be a day of “finishing things off,” so let’s start by finishing off the National Geographic articles we’ve been reading all month long.
– Go ahead and finish off the rest of the Human Geography YouTube playlist we’ve been watching.
– Do the same for the remaining multiple choice example questions for the AP® Human Geography
– GO ahead and FRQs from the years 2009 and 2010. If you have the time, work on the remaining FRQs from the CollegeBoard website. But don’t do the one for the year 2014, save that last one for when we get back from our—much needed, I’m sure—day off at the end of the week.
Day 27
– Today is going to be your final day of review. You should be feeling very confident about your future exam. Now’s the time to work out the final kinks and get you ready for the exam itself.
– If you can get a friend or family member to help you out today, that would be fantastic. If not, just make sure you don’t burn out—you’ve come so close!
– First off, take a look over all of your notes, including all of the outlines you have created, the FRQ answers you have come up with, and all of the responses to the questions that have been posed over the last several weeks. Read your notes thoroughly and double-check your familiarity with all of the concepts and ideas.
– Next, you are going to want to review all of your flashcards and notes. Polish up those final weak spots you see and be proud that you’re getting better at the terms. It may seem repetitive to do this now, but one last time can’t hurt, right?
– Review all of your example question scores from the AP® Human Geography site by Albert.io. If you still have some questions that were answered incorrectly, go back and retake these until you have reached 100 percent correct. Take a look at Albert.io’s notes and recommendation for how to improve and better understand the concepts you might be missing.
– Review all of the FRQ you have answered. Ask yourself: Which ones were the strongest? Weakest? Can you see yourself getting progressively better? Take notes in your notebook on where you need to do better. Be as specific as possible.
Day 28
– This is our last rest day, so use it wisely. Make sure you get your rest today.
– The rest of this 30-day study guide will consist mostly of review, so stay on top of your rest and healthy eating. Don’t slack off now!
– Keep up the good work and see you tomorrow!
Start your AP® Human Geography Prep today
Day 29
– All right, today is going to consist of one last practice exam and one last review. Go ahead and get all your stuff ready for another practice exam.
– So, we are going to do something a little different from last time. Select 60 multiple-choice questions from the topics that you are struggling with the most. So look over your notes and answer those questions that you have struggled with the most.
– Once you are done with that, go ahead and try to answer the FRQ from the year 2014 from the CollegeBoard Website.
– When you’ve finished with all of this, do a once over of all of the material. Skim the readings and the videos, slowing down on those topics you may still be struggling with. Do the same with your flashcards, FRQ answers, etc.
Day 30
– You did it! You made it to the last day. A big KUDOS to you.
– Today is a day that you relax and get everything prepared for the exam. Don’t bother reviewing very much. If you stuck with this study guide, then you will have retained the info for the long term. You’re a pro now!
– Today, you’re really going to want to focus on being prepared for the exam itself. Get your stuff ready. Water? Check. Pen/Pencil? Check. Get everything in order.
– Again, stay healthy! Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and eat healthy foods, so your body is thinking only about the upcoming exam. And especially get a good night’s sleep. This is probably the most important thing you can do.
– You’ve worked really hard to get to this point, so congratulations on staying on top of this 30-day study plan—you’ll do great!
– If you have kept up with this daily study guide, you will have:
– Notes, key terms, and flashcards (which you are probably very tired of seeing your fat stack of Human Geography flashcards) on every section of the course.
– A deep and thorough understanding of how the models and ideas of Human Geography work both in theory and the world we live in today.
– Observed dozens of visual examples of cultural, physical, economic, and political variations of human geography through expansive informational videos and real-life scenarios raised by the texts.
– Completed a broad range of example Free Response Questions and practiced with over a thousand multiple choice questions!
For however much time you still have after completing this AP® study, make sure to periodically review your notes, key terms, flashcards, and timeline. In particular, you are going to want to go over all of the material provided by Albert.io. If there are any themes or questions that you cannot check off confidently, make sure that you review the notes and flashcards you have taken for that particular section of the course. Staying healthy and getting enough rest is the most important thing you can do at this point. You’ve worked so hard over the last month; don’t cancel it out now by staying up too late or eating terrible food that makes you feel non-alert and slow. On the night before the exam itself, eat a healthy dinner and get plenty of sleep. On the day of the exam make sure you have a good breakfast and that you bring snacks for the test itself. Finally, maintain that feeling of confidence. The fact that you completed this comprehensive 30-day study guide shows your dedication and drive. Keep up with the hard work and good luck!
Let us know what has worked for you. What did you like best about this one month study guide? Do you have recommendations of your own on how to study for the AP® Human Geography exam?
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