Morgan M. answered • 07/14/21
Trained academic art historian
Hello!
The AP Art History exam is a tough one (I took it years ago and achieved a 4 Score) but one that can be prepared thoroughly for with effective time management.
The toughest aspect of this exam, and art historical exams in general, is it requires intense memorization. The most effective way to prepare for this is to spend your time wisely. Create flashcards either through Quizlet or using PowerPoint or Google Slides where you can test yourself every day. I also suggest sitting down and using a notebook that you do not care about to write over and over the artwork details (title, artist, date, medium, dimensions, location) as this will aid you in retaining the information in your long-term memory. For any flashcard that you miss a detail on or guess incorrectly, physically write out the details of that piece over and over by hand a minimum of seven times. Combining these methods of testing yourself and writing down will help commit the information to your memory. Art history is visual so make sure that as you do this you are looking at the piece in question!
Some wonderful resources are smarthistory.org and freerice.com (a site that gives back the more tests you take!). I suggest using smarthistory.org or even looking through YouTube for short videos or even museum lectures for general topics and concepts. Art21 is also an excellent series to follow.
Another effective way to study is to rewrite your notes from class. If you write your notes by hand, transcribe them into a digital form. If you type them, do the reverse and write them into a notebook. This process will help you with memorization.
Best of luck!
