The AP US History exam can be daunting. If you’re preparing for it now, you’ve probably been reading, memorizing, and writing about American history all year. At Air Tutors, we’re dedicated to doing all we can to help you succeed in your classes. For the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing articles designed to help you prepare for your upcoming AP US History exam. As the test date comes closer and closer, it’s important to start synthesizing the information you’ve learned so far this year.
Information synthesis is a vital skill for studying, understanding, and writing about history. Synthesizing means joining or merging different ideas together. In terms of AP US History, it means observing patterns and trends in historical facts to build general stories about different themes in the American past. Without synthesizing historical information, each fact can seem random, unimportant, and easy to forget. Good synthesis helps on both the multiple choice and essay portions of the test because it aids in remembering individual facts and in writing good introductions and conclusions in your essays.
Think of synthesis like a suitcase. If you were going on a long trip, it would be ridiculous to try to carry all the clothes you want to bring in your arms. You wouldn’t be able to fit very much, and you’d probably lose lots of important items of clothing. If you prepare for the AP US History exam by trying to jam all the important facts into your mind, you won’t fit very many, and you’ll probably lose a lot of important information. Synthesizing information is like neatly folding your clothes into a suitcase: you can fit a lot more clothing, you won’t lose any, and it’s much easier to carry.
For history, we synthesize by telling general, thematic stories about the past. As you study for the AP History exam, don’t just memorize facts. For each fact you review, ask yourself: what other facts does it relate to? What story does it fit into? What role does it play in that story?
For the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing short study guides that will help you synthesize information to prepare for the AP US History exam. If you want to get a head start, contact one of our AP US History tutors today and set up a time to meet!
