How to Prepare for the AP Exams
AP exams usually occur in early May. Students should study some every day for at least a month prior to the test. Basic information you need to know about the tests:
Each of the 38 exams has its own unique requirements; however, almost all the exams have several things in common:
Most exams are two to three hours long. Be prepared to tackle a challenging exam with limited breaks. Eat a good breakfast and, if you're taking more than one exam on the same day, pack lunch and snacks to keep you going.
The first part of the exam usually consists of multiple-choice questions. You will choose one of four or five answer choices for each question and use a pencil to bubble in your choice on your AP answer sheet. Your total exam score on the multiple-choice section is based only on the number of questions answered correctly. You won’t receive or lose points for incorrect answers or unanswered questions.
The second part of the exam usually consists of free-response questions that require you to generate your own responses. Depending on the exam, your responses could be in the form of an essay, a solution to a problem, or a spoken response. In most cases, you’ll be writing your response in pen in the free-response exam booklet.
Your AP teacher will go over the exam format with you in class. You can get detailed information about each exam at the AP Courses-page. You can view sample questions from actual exams using the Exam Practice links on the Preparing for the Exams page on the Collegeboard website. https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse
