5 Steps To A 5: AP Human Geography, by Carol Ann Gilsepie

While I did take a fair amount of AP and IB classes when I was in high school, the AP Human Geography exam has only been offered since 2003, and by then it was too late for me to take courses before going to college. Human Geography is one of the two categories of geography, the other being physical geography, and it involves the relationships between human beings and space. For example, included among this discipline are questions of the space occupied by people of various languages or religions, the spatial organization of cities in different parts of the world, or issues that affect human beings like demographics or the environment. One can easily imagine how these subjects are of great importance–and considerable conflict–in our contemporary world, and while the AP course was not available for me to take, I have always been deeply interested in human geography, at least particular aspects of it. This book is one I would have enjoyed as a high school student and I would quite possibly have saved up money to try to take this exam myself as a self-study student had it been available for me at the time. In short, this is a book that I consider to be potentially useful for a subject I am very interested in.

In terms of its contents, this book provides what it offers, and that is 5 steps for a self-studying or class-studying student of human geography to get a 5 on the AP exam and to ensure college credit in the course. The book begins with a preface, acknowledgments, information about the author (who instructs this course), as well as an introduction into the five-step program. The first step is setting up one’s study program, a necessary task for any self-study student of any subject . This step includes two chapters, namely what one needs to know about the AP Human Geography exam (1) as well as how to plan one’s time based on whether one has a year, a semester, or six weeks to prepare for it (2). The second step is determining one’s test readiness (3), which is a discussion of and an example of a diagnostic exam, which includes two sections, multiple choice as well as free response questions, as well as an answer key and explanations for the two sections. The third step is developing strategies for success, which includes two chapters, one on tips for taking the multiple-choice section (4) and the other for tips on taking the free-response section (5). The fourth step of the book is reviewing the knowledge you need to score high on the exam. This includes seven chapters on the material that is included in the AP Human Geography course as well as the exam, including thinking geographically and understanding core concepts (6), population and migration patterns and processes (7), cultural patterns and processes (8), political patterns and processes (9), agricultural and rural land-use patterns and processes (10), cities and urban land-use patterns and processes (11), and industrial and economic development patterns and processes (12). The fifth step is building one’s test-taking confidence, which includes three practice exams, with instructions on how to take the test, as well as the two sections for multiple choice and free response questions, answer keys, and explanations for both sections. The book then ends with appendices that include a glossary, key geographic models and their creators, recommended reading, useful websites, and credits, for a total of just under 250 pages of material.

While admittedly this book was not a riveting work in the sense of providing narrative, it does not aim at that goal. It is a very educational book, and a very practical and worthwhile resource for those studying or teaching Human Geography. It is not likely that people will be reading this book for mere enjoyment, or that many people take the AP Human Geography course, especially in the United States, where geographical knowledge in general and geographical education is quite poor. Still, for those who do want to take this exam, this book is certainly a worthwhile component in one’s efforts to succeed at the exam. To increase the enjoyment level of this book, I would pair it with a book that is more focused on material and allow this book’s comparative focus on the test itself to be a worthwhile supplement and not the only source of one’s instruction in the subject.