Economics can be a tough subject, but in this video, we're going to go
over seven multiple choice strategies that you can use when it comes to
tackling your AP Macroeeconomics exam.
By the end of this video, you're going to get more confident in how
you approach the multiple choice section of your AP Macro exam.
Before we get started, this video is brought to you by Albert.
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sure to do so by using the link in the video description below.
We provide hundreds of practice questions for AP Macro, as
well as every other AP subject.
So it can be super helpful as you prepare for your AP exam.
Without further ado though, let's jump into the seven tips.
Our first tip when it comes to tackling the AP Macro MCQ section
is to make sure that you are using the process of elimination.
As you read through the answer choices that are presented to you, strike
out the ones that make absolutely no sens in response to the question.
By simply eliminating one or two answer choices, you can significantly increase
your odds of getting that particular multiple choice question correct.
We recommend that you physically take your writing utensil and strike out the
answer choices that are clearly incorrect as you're working through your exam.
By practicing this sort of active test taking approach, you're going
to be more engaged with the content that's being presented to you.
In the case where you're unsure about a particular question, simply
circle it, or leave a question mark, so that you can remind yourself to
come back to it later when you are wrapping up with your first run
through of the multiple choice section.
Tip number two, when it comes to the multiple choice section is to
make sure that you focus on the things that are going to be tested
more frequently than other topics.
When it comes to AP Macroeconomics, there are really two key units that
are tested far more frequently than the other units that you learn in class.
Those units are units three and units five.
Unit three talks about national income and price determination,
and unit five talks about long-term consequences of stabilization policies.
It's really important that you focus your study time on these two units,
because unit three is typically tested 17% to 27% of the time.
Whereas unit five is tested 20% to 30% of the time.
Aside from units three and five, unit four is also super important.
And that covers the financial sector.
Typically this unit takes up 18 to 23% of the multiple choice section.
So knowing units three through five is absolutely vital when
it comes to scoring that four or that five on your AP Macro exam.
Tip number three, when it comes to tackling your AP Macro exam
is to make sure that you are budgeting your time wisely.
Ultimately, you're going to have 60 multiple choice questions that you have
70 minutes to answer, which means that you typically will have a little over a
minute to answer every single question.
When it comes to the multiple choice section, there are going
to be 10 to 20 questions that are more on the easy side of things.
These will take far less than a minute to answer.
Whereas all the remaining questions are typically going to be a little
bit more challenging and require some form of analysis on your part.
If you find yourself stumped on a particular question, circle it and move
on as you're working through the multiple choice section for the first time.
The last thing you want to do is spend way too much time on one particular question
and leave not enough time for answering the rest of the questions in the section.
In the case where you only have a couple minutes left and you have 10
plus questions remaining, we recommend that you just simply throw down a
guess for the remaining questions.
Something to remember when it comes to AP Macro, as well as every other AP exam is
that you don't get penalized for guessing.
So it's better for you to put something down than to put nothing at all.
Before we head into our fourth tip.
If you're finding this video helpful, do us a favor and hit that like button
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Our fourth tip when it comes to tackling your AP Macro multiple choice section
is to create a study journal of the important AP Macroeconomics formulas.
Knowing all of the basic formulas to AP macro economics can make
a big difference when it comes to saving you time on testing.
So what we recommend you do is you get a spiral notebook and you label
it as "AP Macroeconomics Formulas."
And then over the course of the school year, as your instructor is
teaching you on your formula and its applications, write that formula down
and everything that is gone over at that time regarding that formula.
This means that regardless of whether it's a basic GDP formula or a more
complex banking formula that it's making its way to your study sheet
over the course of the school year.
As you make your way through your AP Macro exam prep, you'll find that
having the study journal of formulas will be incredibly helpful in saving
you time in refreshing your memory on the different things that you learned
over the course of the school year.
By keeping the study journal, you're going to cut down on the amount of
review time that you need in order to remember everything that you learned when
this formula was first taught to you.
Tip number five when it comes to tackling your AP Macroeconomics multiple
choice section is to keep all the standard multiple choice section tips
and tricks in mind as you're taking it.
This means that you're doing things like answering every single question,
setting your mind on what letter you're going to guess in the case
where you don't have enough time, but you want to stay consistent in which
answer choice you're guessing with.
Using the process of elimination, which we went over earlier in this video, or
even just thinking about how you could use different pieces of information that
were given to you in another question and apply it to help you in answering a later
question on the multiple choice section.
You may also find it helpful to make sure that you're watching out for keywords,
like accept or not, and also make sure that you are actively marking up your
test as you work through the section.
Don't be afraid to circle things, underline things, or just leave markings
on the side that make it easy for you to understand what happened in that question
the first time that you answered it.
In terms of general multiple choice tips, it's also helpful if
you try to think about the answer before you read the answer choices.
This way in your mind, you can map back to the concepts that they are asking you
on and try to think like the test maker before you go through the answer choices.
Tip number six is to work your way through all the past chief reader
reports for the AP Macroeconomics exam.
Even though these chief reader reports are geared more towards the free response
section, what you'll find in these reports is a breakdown of common mistakes and
misunderstandings that students have when it comes to tackling AP Macro.
Here are five of the most common mistakes that students made in the 2019 exam.
Mistake number one was students often confused a change in demand
and a change in quantity demanded.
Mistake number two was that students often mislabeled or misread graphs.
So, in the case where you're given a graph in the multiple choice section,
you're going to want to make careful note as to, to what's going on in the
title of the graph, the axes, as well as the data that's being presented to you.
The third mistake that students made was that students often
confused, real versus nominal.
Real signifies adjustment for inflation whereas nominal includes inflation.
Mistake four was that students typically mixed up demand pull
inflation with cost push inflation.
And the fifth mistake that students often made on the 2019 free response
section was that they commonly misinterpreted a Phillips curve.
They often thought that a decrease in inflation led to a
decrease in unemployment when it's actually the other way around.
So, simply by reading these Chief Reader reports for the free response
section, we can learn little tidbits of misunderstandings that students commonly
make and not make those same mistakes when it comes to our own free response section,
as well as our mutliple choice section.
And our last AP Macroeconomics multiple choice tip is to make sure that
you're using the information that's been presented to you throughout the
course of the multiple choice exam.
For example, you might be presented with a question earlier in your exam that asks
you to examine the growth in the aggregate demand, aggregate supply model, and to
analyze some sort of trend in a graph.
And then later on in that exam, you might see a question that
relates back to the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model.
And even though AD-AS models aren't necessarily your strong suit, you
can use the information from the earlier question and potentially
apply it to this later question.
By thinking about how you can piece everything together, you can
potentially get some points back that you may not have gotten otherwise.
There you have it.
Seven multiple choice tips to help you in tackling your AP Macroeconomics exam.
If you found this video helpful, do us a favor and hit that like button below.
By doing so you're going to help more AP Macro students find this video.
And also, feel free to check out the accompanying blog post, which provides a
ton more AP Macro study tips for free in the link in the video description below.
Now it's your turn.
Tell us in the comments below what your favorite AP Macroeconomics tip is when
it comes to the multiple choice section.
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By doing so, you're going to get access to tons of practice questions
with detailed explanations to help you prepare for your AP Macro exam.
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In our next video, we're going to tackle nine free response tips
that you can use when it comes to tackling your AP Macro exam.
In the meantime, though, check out these videos that YouTube thinks you might like.