Preparing for the AP exam - Try this!

The content I will post today is about preparing for the May AP Test, which is just about a month away. The AP Test holds the importance of a Standardized Test. I will share tips that can turn the tables at the last minute of such an important AP Test.

Mechanism of AP Scoring Method

• MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) + FRQ (Free Response Questions)

It is composed of MCQ and FRQ, which are subjective. MCQ correct answers X specific number + FRQ subjective answers X specific score = total score

Please note that the specific score that is multiplied varies by subject. Then, let me explain in detail for the case of AP Lit.

Scoring method viewed based on AP Literature MCQ correct answers X1.2272 FRQ correct answers X 3.0556 This is how the scoring method is applied to AP Literature.

For the AP Literature subject Out of 150 points!

108-150 points is a 5 93-107 points is a 4 78-92 points is a 3 54-77 points is a 2 0-53 points is a 1

The score range may vary each year, but it is safe to assume that it is similar to the range written relatively consistently.

I will also show you some other representative subjects.

Score Range - AP Lang/ AP Lit/ AP Cal ab/ AP Cal bc

AP Lang, Lit is out of 150 points, and AP Cal ab/bc is out of 180 points. Please note that the total score for each subject is different. The percentile indicated below the score chart shows what distribution each subject had when they got an AP 5, or 4. In the case of AP Language, Literature, it is 5 points at 73%, 4 points at 64%, whereas, AP Cal ab/bc received 5 points at 61%, 4 points at 50%. AP Physics, Biology, Chemistry also have different total scores, AP Physics is out of 80 points, AP Biology is out of 120 points, AP Chemistry is out of 100 points. The percentile at which each subject receives 5 points also varies slightly,

AP Physics - 77% (5 points) 60%(4 points) AP Biology - 80% (5 points) 66%(4 points) AP Chemistry - 75% (5 points) 60%(4 points)

FRQ Weight by Subject

In the AP exam, MCQ and FRQ are almost 50:50 for each subject, but AP Language / Literature accounts for 55% of the total with FRQ. On the other hand, other subjects have equal MCQ and FRQ at 50%. But there is a point you should be careful about when preparing for the AP Test exam. When studying for the exam, you should not prepare thinking that MCQ and FRQ are equal!

Here is an example of a Physics FRQ question. Most of the FRQ questions are divided into detailed questions below. As you can see above, one question is divided into six detailed questions. If you misunderstand the concept while solving the FRQ question or if it is a question of a part you are weak in, it is a question format that can blow the whole thing. It’s not that the score is slightly deducted for each part being wrong, but it’s easy to get all wrong at once, so the score can be greatly deducted. Most of the students who received 3 points got a few questions right, but they got a lot of deductions from the rest.

 AP Literature Scoring Table FRQ

If you look at the scoring table by subject and assume that you calculate, if you get the concept wrong in Lit and can’t answer that question, it means that you get a deduction of -27.5 from the total score of 150 points. It’s a situation where more than 27 points are minus because you couldn’t solve one FRQ question.

AP Cal BC Scoring Table FRQ

If you get the concept wrong in one FRQ question in the AP Cal BC subject and can’t get the score, you will get a deduction of 9 points per question.

AP Physics Scoring Table FRQ

Getting one FRQ question wrong in the AP Physics subject means losing 6.2 points.

FRQ question, a different dimension from getting one MCQ wrong!

Because the FRQ question makes a big difference from getting one MCQ wrong, you should not study with the same burden thinking that MCQ and FRQ are 50:50, and you should pay much more attention to FRQ.

TIP to raise FRQ score

In the period of less than a month, the tip for preparing for the AP Test is to go all-in on FRQ, not MCQ. Since studying hard for FRQ can dramatically increase the score, please focus on FRQ. Studying past questions is the most effective. It is very effective to use the College Board, which administers the AP exam.

How to Use the College Board

I will show you how to search for past exam questions. Search on Google for “AP XXX(subject name) Free-Response Question and Scoring”. When you find the results and go in, you can find past exam questions or Sample Answers. Scoring Guidelines and Sample Answers are very helpful.

Scoring Guidelines

If I explain using AP Chemistry as an example, it is very detailed, saying that if you solve it this way, you can get 1 point, and if you do it that way, you can get 1 point. Since it is explained very kindly, I recommend that you read it several times and try to write the answer using the words that appear here. High school teachers do the scoring, and if you use the same words or Vocab, they can give you a score without hesitation.

Example Answer

Looking at the Example Answer is also a method, and the College Board kindly posts different answers and explains why student A got this score and why student B got that score. The image above is AP Language, and I recommend that you read carefully the part where the answer example is posted like this and the explanation is detailed.

On the College Board site, it says that the 2019 exam questions are the most recent, but if you put the year number and Google it, you can search for more recent ones. For example, if you want to see the 2021 past exam questions, if you Google the keyword “2021 ap biology answer”, you can see more recent materials. However, in 2020, it was an online test due to the pandemic, so the test questions were not exposed, so please note. I am confident that even if you only read the latest 4 sets, Example Answer, and Scoring Guide, your score will increase significantly. The College Board does not disclose MCQ and only discloses FRQ. If you study the disclosed FRQ faithfully, the MCQ part will be studied automatically, so I hope you focus as much as possible on FRQ!

• For students who have purchased textbooks, Barons, Kaplan, etc. in advance, Instead of solving FRQ, I recommend that you solve MCQ questions mainly and use it to see the answer. This is because the textbooks that are out there have a slightly different perspective from what the College Board has, so the intention of the question may be interpreted a little differently and the question may be made. And the workbook should be solved as a check when you think all the studies are over, and I advise against studying mainly with workbook solutions.

FRQ Problem Solving Tip

Since there are several detailed questions in one FRQ question, I would like to say “Read the problem all the way to the end and then start solving”. After scanning the problem from beginning to end, start writing the answer. Since FRQ questions come out in layers, you should read from beginning to end and have a thought about how much to write for each question and write the answer. If you start writing the answer, if you pour out what you know from the beginning, you will end up writing the answer to the question in duplicate in the latter part of the question, and you will fail in time management. Therefore, I hope you read the problem to the end and then write the answer. Although I am studying hard in my own way, there are many cases where I do not study enough to use the words that come out in the College Board’s questions. As I mentioned above, I hope you will prepare for the AP exam by studying the past 4 years of exam questions and 4 sets carefully and get good grades.

Today, I shared a few tips that can turn the tables at the last minute of the AP Test, which is not far away. If you have any questions or inquiries, please feel free to contact our A-One Institute at any time.

Thank you.