AP Comparative Government and Politics for EPHS

If you are taking APCP right now, congratulations. You are among the minority of people in the US. APCP is one of the less popular tests (along with Art History and Computer Science), but it is not one of the hardest, don't worry.

As far as class work goes, make sure you watch Hollenbeck's jings if you don't understand what is going on. They are like the most amazing thing ever, just saying. The best part is, you can rewind and re-watch them over and over again until you understand them. Also, make sure you pay attention during the intro unit. I know that learning the stuff is kind of hard at first, and you get new definitions for words you thought you always knew (like "government"), but if you pay attention during the intro unit,  you will be set for the rest of the class. Oh and, don't just blow off the readings. I know it's easy to just either procrastinate reading or just not do it at all, but it's there for a reason. You will be expected to know it in class, but you will also be expected to know it on the AP test.

Tests in APCP are generally not that hard as long as you study and listen in class. I would really recommend that you buy the Ethel Wood AP Comparative Government and Politics sometime either before you take APCP or during the class. Reading it will really help you understand key concepts for in class tests. Reading it through once during the units in class will also help you jog your memory when you read through it again before the AP test (assuming you study that is...)

Quick Tip: Hollenbeck gives you the free-response questions for his tests. If you study them and make sure that you actually know them, you'll for sure pick up like 15 free points on every test!

The AP test is not like all the tests you take in APCP. You need to know how to compare the AP 6 (note: it is called comparative government and politics). It's not about whether you know one fact about one country, but rather it is whether you can remember facts about multiple countries and be able to compare and contrast them.  Also, make sure you know selection methods and term limits. These are easy points to pick up, and when there are only 55 questions, you want to get every point that you can.

Finally, as far as test taking tricks go, make sure that you read the question and answer it as soon as you can. You are only given 45 minutes to answer 55 questions, and face it, if you don't know it after staring at it for a minute, you won't know it after staring at it for five, so save yourself the time and do all the questions you know before you try to tackle the ones you don't know!