[hellogoodbye765]

so the ap exam is in about 25 days and it just hit me today that i should probably start reviewing since theres 1200 pages worth of material. the problem is.. i really really don't think i have enough time to do everything and our teacher has only covered 35 out of 55 chapters so far.
i just took a practice ap bio test on sparknotes and i got a 5, which is a real self esteem booster, but then again it was only out of 50 questions and it IS sparknotes and NOT the real thing. it also didn't have essays
so i'm not really sure if its a legit version...

so with all that being said
for those of you soompiers that took the test.. can you offer me some guidance?
should i bother learning the rest of the 20ish chapters that we skipped first.. or are those not important enough and i should just go straight to reviewing/looking at essay questions/labs

oh and also i have a barrons review book, but idk if i should get another book or just use the one i have
also do you think i'll do fine if i just know everything in the review book instead of reading the actual book? b/c i'd rather memorize 300 pages than read 1200 pages.. so

yeah any feedback would be great?
thanks guys

[sweetddalki]

It's really up in the air
My AP Bio teacher got through all the chapters with a little more than 2 weeks to spare in the year.
So we just reviewed.
My suggestion would be to use the study guides from princeton review and kaplan
They helped me lots.
Make flashcards and skim the text.
I would also suggest getting old exams and using those.
Make sure you have PLENTY of essay practice as that is half the points.
Don't draw diagrams and not lable.
Basic things like that!

GOOD LUCK :]

Oh and if you're wondering. I scored a 4. I was disappointed cause I knew it was because one of the essays was something I KNEW I should have studied but didn't.

Oh and STUDY THE LABS LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

[litoxshortaii]

im so behind on AP testing.. kind of been preoccupied with deciding what im going to do for the next 4 years of my life.. haha. how many essays are on the AP?

[flyaway]

dont bother reading the book w/the time you have left
IMMEDIATELY go to the book store and grab a CliffsAP BIO prep book...this is basically #1 book for bio
and do ALL the suggested essay topics (last year, one showed up!) and just read it for review
it's still pretty thick but better than a textbook. it's really straightforward

anyway, with this book, about more than half of my class year got 5's and the rest mostly 4's
good luck!

[carol]

Sparknotes is easier. Use the Cliffs AP Biology book. It's really good. Look over any information you can't remember.

Honestly, I didn't even do one full practice test and I didn't cram much (I was busy studying for the Bio SATiis) and received a four.

When I was taking it, I thought I would get a 2 :X

[flyaway]

^lol the curve is pretty big...somethin like around high 60s/low 70s percentage=5's

[hellogoodbye765]

thanks for all the help guys
i'm gonna go get the cliffsnotes book sometime this weekend

oh and one more question,
should i bother studying/drawing pictures on the essays?
b/c our teacher told us pictures are always good.. but then again you only get 20 minutes per essay and pictures are kinda time consuming to do... so are they worth it? or should just stick to the writing

[spark1ing_diamondz]

write as much as you can and then if you have extra time, you can draw pictures, but i don't know if it really makes that much of a difference. I think just having all the info in your essays should be enough. just try to be as thorough as possible.

like other people are saying, go get a Cliffs AP Bio book, it summarizes everything on the test without going overboard like other books. overall, the ap bio test isn't all that difficult. i crammed the weekend before (my teacher wasn't all that great -____-) and was ready. and don't worry about the time limit, there's plenty of time to finish.

[touche`]

I'm taking Ap Bio right now and the two AP classes are actually reviewing right now. I get to do these section review but its very very detail. Like, every chapter has a title but there are mini titles in the chapters also and then there are details. I have to write the notes down myself (sometimes in a group) and study them. Hmm its a five week study with 2 hours of studying each day.

[PINKXDREAMER]

study those plants stuff. my teacher taught us everything EXCEPT those plants stuff. so the test was really hard for me. basically, i finished the test in like 30 minutes. and drew pictures of flowers and clouds and people instead of writing essays (because i had no idea what the questions were asking). oh and i made a little pen person using the ap stickers and my pen.

the cliff notes book is the best. i had like 3 different ones and i found that that one helped the most (not that i really read it ) memorize memorize memorize. i guess that's really all you can do for bio.

[Bamboo]

I hear 5 Steps to a 5 is the best. I didn't use it when I crammed though, lol. I read the Princeton Review book three days before the exam and earned a four. Don't worry. The exam is quite easy.

[yurikah]

^ I'm using 5 Steps to a 5. It's ok and easier to understand than my textbook. I regret taking the class though. It'll be a miracle if I pass the exam. ><