If you’re reading this, then you are already aware of how difficult and stressful the AP® examination process can be. Whether you’re taking one or ten exams this year, you know that studying is going to be your key to success. And the rule of thumb for studying for AP® exams is definitely, the more the better—you can never study too hard, especially when it comes to AP® Macroeconomics.  But where do you start? How do you know what to what concepts to focus on the most? Don’t worry, we’re here to help you with that.

This AP® study guide is designed to give you everything you need to review, learn, and retain for the AP® Macroeconomics Exam. We can’t guarantee you a perfect 5 on your exam, but we can give you all of the tools necessary for a successful test day. Follow this daily to-do list and your knowledge of finance and trade will sharpen and let us help you become a Macroeconomics pro at the end of this 1-month study guide!

Key Things to Remember While Using this AP® Study Guide

– From The CollegeBoard: “The AP® Macroeconomics course provides students with a thorough understanding of the principles of economics and how economists use those principles to examine aggregate economic behavior. Students learn how the measures of economic performance, such as gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, and unemployment are constructed and how to apply them to evaluate the macroeconomic conditions of an economy. The course recognizes the global nature of economics and provides ample opportunities to examine the impact of international trade and finance on national economies. Various economic schools of thought are introduced as students consider solutions to economic problems.”

– The exam itself consists of 60 multiple choice questions, for which you have 70 minutes to complete. This will make up 66 percent of your exam score. There will also be a single long response question and two shorter response questions that will make up the Free Response section of the exam. These three questions must be completed within 60 minutes and account for 33 percent of your overall score.

– This is a guide, you don’t have to follow every step if it’s not working for you. We cannot know every single learning style for all of our readers. But we have created a comprehensive list of daily activities and study guides that will help you along your path to that 5 score. That said, feel free to move these recommendations around as you see fit. If one of our ideas just isn’t clicking with you, replace it with a study habit you know works for you. Make this study plan work for you and your individual abilities.

– This may seem like an impossible statement, but make studying fun! Try not to get too stressed out when studying for the exam. Sure, the more, the better, when it comes to AP® exam help, but don’t stress yourself out either. You will be doing a lot of work over the next 30 days, but stress and freaking out never helped anyone ace a test. Nothing is so important that it should make you miserable, so enjoy and feel pride in each of your accomplishments as we move forward. We’re rooting for you too!

– On that note, stay healthy! Maintain a healthy eating and sleeping schedule. You can study all you want, but if you don’t take care of your body, you will not be doing yourself any favors on test day. A healthy mind remembers things better. Also, if you ever feel yourself getting tired following this study plan, get up and do a couple of quick stretches, or go for a short walk. Your brain will appreciate the extra blood flow.

What You Will Need

– Access to Albert.io’s AP® Macroeconomics homepage. The best way to study for the Macroeconomics exam is to practice, practice, and practice. And Albert.io has the questions you need. You will be getting very familiar with these practice questions over the next month.

– A flashcard site such as Quizlet. Or you just use regular notecards. It doesn’t really matter which one you choose, as long as you stay on top of making your flashcards. Since we will be using flashcards quite a bit, just choose the one you’re most comfortable with.

– Note-taking materials. These can be done on your computer, tablet, etc. or you can use a physical notepad and pen. Just like the flashcards, you’re going to be taking a lot of notes, so make sure that you’re comfortable using whichever version you choose.

– The CollegeBoard homepage and practice exam page for AP® Macroeconomics. Make sure you thoroughly read the AP® Macroeconomics information provided by the CollegeBoard’s website. Just like any other exam, it is necessary to understand the expectations of the people testing you. Read these materials and memorize them if you can.

– Your own AP® US Macroeconomics Textbook or an online source of that will provide you with the same amount of detail. Even if you are taking your AP® Macroeconomics course through your local high school and already have a textbook or reading source, it never hurts to have a backup study guide just in case you are stuck on a topic.

Optional (but helpful) Stuff:

– Any AP-style workbooks or study guides your teacher provides, or any supplemental material you find helps your study of the main materials. As we’ve stated before, the more the merrier when it comes to studying for the AP® exams.

– Albert.io has some excellent recommendations on the how to approach the AP® Macroeconomics exam and other great recommendations on readings, study tips, etc. Take a look at everything the site has to offer and make your own decisions on what will work best for you.

– A dictionary, which can be in print or online. Some Macroeconomics concepts get a little tricky, so this might help in the long run.

– A basic calculator might also be useful for small equations. You can find a free on online here.

How to Use the Study Plan

– We have designed this AP® study guide to revolve around the specific expectation laid out by the CollegeBoard for the topic of macroeconomics. The CollegeBoard has laid out seven key themes that you will need to understand before taking the exam:

1. Basic Economic Concepts

2. Measurement of Economic Performance

3. National Income and Price Determination

4. Financial Sector

5. Stabilization Policies

6. Economic Growth

7. Open Economy: International Trade and Finance

– You should be spending a minimum of one to two hours studying each day. All AP® exams are known for being difficult. You will need to dedicate a serious couple of hours each day if you want that 5.

– But we can’t have you overload, either. It is important that you stay happy and healthy. Never overexert yourself. Keep on top of your sleep, healthy eating, and physical fitness. This will ensure that the information you are learning will be retained.

– We have also worked in a study break every once in a while. This will help to ensure that your brain doesn’t get too cluttered when sorting out all of this information in such a short period of time.

– This 30-day study guide has been designed to follow a typical 7-day week schedule. This will fit perfectly into your weekly schedule with school. The study breaks have been worked into the last day of the weekend, so you can be prepared and rested for school and a new study week by Monday.

Let’s Get Started!

Day 1

– First thing’s first, we are going to start off by taking a look at the AP® Macroeconomics course Overview that’s on the CollegeBoard’s website. Read this thoroughly and get to know what is expected of you. One of the most important keys to successfully passing exams is to understand the expectations of those giving the exam.

– Read through pages 1 through 3 of the CollegeBoard’s AP® Macroeconomics Course and Exam Description, paying particular attention to the ways that the CollegeBoard has set up the AP® course and exam process.

– Familiarize yourself with Albert.io’s AP® Study Guide pages, getting a feel for how our website works and where all of the information is located.

Now, let’s get into the routine of this study plan:

– For each and every day you are reading the material or watching a video, you will want to make somewhere between 10 and 20 flashcards (either with note cards, a folded piece of paper, or online on a site such as Quizlet). Choose a term of importance, writing it down on one side of the card, while putting the definition and a helpful hint down on the other side.

For Example:

(Side A) GDP

(Side B) Gross Domestic Product.

For a region, the GDP is “the market value of all the goods and services produced by labor and property located in” the region, usually a country. It equals GNP minus the net inflow of labor and property incomes from abroad.

Helpful Hint: Here are some questions that relate to the term elasticity,

– Expenditures approach: GDP = C + Ig + G + Xn

– C = personal consumption expenditures (durable consumer goods, non-durable consumer goods, consumer expenditures for services)

– Ig = gross private domestic investment (all final purchases of capital by businesses, all construction, changes in inventories)

– G = government purchases (government spending on products and resources)

– Xn = net exports (exports – imports)

– Sometimes it helps to leave some room in the significance section, so you can add more info as you learn.

– Now is going to be a good time to read through the How to Study for Macroeconomics page that Albert.io has set up. This article contains some very helpful tips on how to become an excellent test-taker, especially for the AP® exams.

– For this 1-month study guide, we are going to pay particular attention to the recommendation that you “Set up a Study Plan.” So, as a reflection practice, try to think of how you would organize a course on Macroeconomics. It’s ok if you don’t fully know where to go from here since you just started. We can’t expect you to be an expert yet! But we do want you to think about what you, at this point, imagine Macroeconomics to be about. If you were designing an AP® course, what would you focus on? Why?

– Make sure that you hold onto this reflection on your expectations for this course because we will be taking a look at it again later.

– OK, now get some rest and we will begin again tomorrow!

Day 2

– It is going to be absolutely important that you take notes on the information you are gathering not only today, but in the weeks that follow. Your notepad should become your best friend and really should never leave your side as you study with us. Make sure that you’re taking notes on key concepts, ideas that you might find confusing and need to come back to later, and tips on how to become a better studier.

– Take a look at this “What is Economics?” video on YouTube. Don’t forget to take notes on all of the key concepts that Solomon is covering. Use these notes to create flashcards. Also, make sure to write down what you find. When you’re done with that do the same for this video on “Diminishing Marginal Utility.”

– Now let’s take a look at pages 6 through 11 of the CollegeBoard’s AP® Macroeconomics Course and Exam Description,

– Now’s the time to take on some example questions from Albert.io. We’ll start off slow, just so you get a feeling for how the site works. We just want you to select 20 questions from any category, at random. You don’t need to care about the topic or even if you get the answers correct. We just want you to get a feel for how they are phrased and the kinds of questions that you will be expected to answer.

– One of the most important things to remember is that Albert.io will provide you with helpful tips and places where you can do better. Take note of your weak spots and write them down in your notebook. These are the places you will have to spend more time on as you progress forward in the days ahead.

Day 3

– Since we are already familiar with the basics, we are going to dive right into the material today. The more and more we go through this stuff, the more the schedule should become a routine. It is essential that you stay on top of this study plan and if you start having trouble finding the desire to continue, get a friend in on the action. You can both keep each other in line and keep the study plan going.

– We are going to start today off with these videos: “Agents and Utility” and “Marginal Analysis.”

– Keep on top of your flashcard terms and your note taking. Make sure that you have these concepts, in particular:

– Economic Growth

– Macroeconomics

– Full Employment

– Economic Freedom

– Economic Security

– Balance of Trade

– Let get into your first real set of practice questions. Go ahead and start answering the questions in the Demands and Supply Equilibrium Try not to look at any notes and treat this as if you were taking the real test itself. But it’s also early on in the study guide, so don’t sweat it if you need to look at some notes at this point.

– Don’t worry if you did poorly on the example questions, this is only Day 3! We can’t expect you to be pros yet. If you’re already doing really well, great job! But you can always improve, stay on top of this 30-day routine no matter what level you are at.

– Great job thus far. Hopefully, you’re getting into the swing of things!

Day 4

– Now we are going to want to click on these links and watch the videos “Scarcity and Opportunity Cost” and “Good Times or Good Grade.” Just a reminder—you need to be watching these alongside the textbook or other online resource that you have picked up for this course. Remember the mantra, when studying for the AP® exams, the more the better.

– Keep on top of your flashcard terms and your note taking.

– Now’s that time again—let’s do some practice questions. Today we are going to do those titled Scarcity, Choice and Opportunity Cost and Production Possibilities.  Again, notes are all right, but don’t rely on them.

– Ok, you need a little break. Take a long walk, maybe an hour or so. On the walk go over everything you covered this week. Let the ideas flow. Try to remember what you can in your own words. Also, bring your notebook and a pen, so if you get stuck on an idea or can’t remember the definition of a term, write it down. You can revisit these tomorrow.

Day 5

– Today you’re going to want to take a look at the first half of the videos on Macroeconomics Modules (that would be videos (1-20). It is essential that you take good notes with these videos. I might also recommend reviewing these again if you’re got the time.

– It’s time to work on your flashcard terms. Make sure that you have these terms filled out:

– GDP

– GNP

– Incomes Approach

– Expenditures Approach

– Nominal GDP

– Real GDP

– If you can, try to get a family member or a friend in on this action. Have them quiz you on all of the flashcard terms that you have come up with thus far. Most importantly, don’t just define the concepts; provide examples of how they work in our world today. Ask them if your explanations were clear. Also, have them ask you questions of their own. This will help you understand the concepts in your own way.

– We are going to end today’s session with a Free Response Question. Choose the first option from the Macroeconomics FRQ page and get started. It’s ok if things are a little rough going here. We mostly want you to get used to how these are set up. You’ll be a pro soon enough!

– Get a good night’s sleep, we’re almost through week 1!

Day 6

– Read through pages 4-22 of the CollegeBoard’s AP® Macroeconomics Course and Exam Description. Make sure that you’re taking notes on what you need to study further in your notepad.

– Let’s go ahead and finish the rest of the videos from the Macroeconomics Modules playlist on YouTube.

– Keep on top of your flashcard terms and your note taking. Don’t start slacking now, keep up with these and take notes on where you think you’re struggling.

– Let’s go ahead and finish up the Basic Economic Concepts Section. Finish the final two sections: “Comparative Advantage” and “Macroeconomic Issues.” Since this these are the final questions of the first section of the course, you shouldn’t really be relying on notes anymore. You need to start treating these practice tests more like the real deal from this point forward.

– Before we end this week, you are going to want to go back over that course outline you created on the first day. Now that you have a better idea what this course, you should redo that exercise once more. Ask yourself, how would you design a Macroeconomics course? What topics would you focus on? Would you do it differently than your current teacher or the way that the textbook is discussing the topic?

Day 7

– Take it easy, catch up on your rest and we’ll begin again tomorrow.

– If you absolutely must do something today, review the videos we have matched thus far and glance through your flashcards.

Start your AP® Macroeconomics Prep today

Day 8

– We are going to start off today by looking at a Checklist for what we have covered. Go over this and check everything that applies. If there’s a topic that you haven’t quite got down yet, but we have covered, review your notes.

– Review all of your flashcards up to this point. Give yourself a little test by randomly selecting 30 cards and see if you can get all of the definitions correct.

– Go ahead and click on the “GDP Basics of Expenditure Approach” video link and watch the video. We have watched several videos now, which ones do you like the best? Why?

– Now that you’ve gotten the hang of how this works, we are going to go ahead and do all of the questions contained in the Measurements of Economic Performance. Take your time on these and think about how and why you are answering them the way that you are.

– After you’ve done this, review your notes and textbook on any areas you got wrong, and try to figure out why you answered the question wrong. You’re going to want to do this every time we do practice questions. Try to find your weaknesses and study those points harder.

Day 9

– Go to the “Measuring National Economic Performance” playlist and watch all four videos. When you’ve watched all of these, you’re going write down a minimum of six key words or concepts from each video. Make sure you put these and their definitions into your growing flashcard pile.

– Make sure that you are creating notecards every day. You should have these terms down (Note: these are just terms that you absolutely must know, but don’t limit yourself to just what we recommend. You need to keep adding a minimum of ten terms or ideas a day to your notes and flashcards):

– National Income

– Personal Income

– DI

– CPI

– Inflation

– Cost-Push

– Wage-Price Spiral

– Let’s end the day by completing the two section contained in the Stabilization Policies part of the practice questions. Keep paying special attention to Albert.io’s recommendations and helpful hints. These are going to be the keys to growing as a learner and figuring out how to improve in time for your exam.

Day 10

– We are going to start off with another video. Yay! Go ahead and watch the clip entitled “An Introduction to Aggregate Demand.”

– Back to practice question time. Today we start the Economic Growth section. Go ahead and start with the first set, called Definitions of Economic Growth. Now will be an excellent time to start timing yourself. If you do not have a timer or stopwatch app on your phone/computer, you can access one here: online-stopwach.com. Try to treat this like a real exam, paying close attention to the time you have used up and how much time you have remaining.

– After watching the videos, go ahead and look over your checklist once more. Like before, it is ok if you don’t have all the concepts down here, we are just on day 10 after all. But if there is a topic that we have covered that you don’t feel fully comfortable with, make sure you review your notes on that topic until you are certain.

– Finally, we are going to end with a little study break, combined with a physical activity that should jog your memory as well. Take a long walk, hopefully for at least an hour—if you have the time. On the walk go over everything up to this point. This does not have to be too structured. Try to remember what you can in your own words.

– Also, bring your notebook and a pen, so if you get stuck on an idea or can’t remember the definition of a term, write it down.

– When you get back from your walk, look up any ideas or concepts that you don’t have a complete grasp on.

Day 11

– If you can get a family member or a friend in on your studying, you should ask them to help you for the beginning of your study session today. If you can, explain to them everything you have covered up to this pint. You can use the course outline that you’ve been working on. Try to treat this as if you were the econ teacher giving a class to a new student. Encourage them to ask questions ad try your best to answer them.

– Watch the second video of the Aggregate Series, the one entitled “An Introduction to Aggregate Supply.”

– Keep on top of your flashcard terms and your note taking. Keep in mind that you need to be adding concepts from the readings and the videos we are watching. You should have these in your growing list by now, as well:

– Rule of 70

– Real Values

– Nominal Values

– Full Employment

– GDP Gap

– Okun’s Law

– MPS

– MPC

– It’s time to finish up with the Economic Growth set of practice questions. Complete any that remains. Take notes on which questions you are struggling with and make sure to review these topics from the videos and other readings we have been going over.

Day 12

– Take a thorough look at pages 22-25 of the CollegeBoard’s AP® Macroeconomics Course and Exam Description. After finishing this, is there anything you would add to the course outline that you began on day one? Are there any concepts that you are missing or would choose to focus more time on?

– OK, so for the next two days, we are going to do a couple of practice exams and try to recreate the exam itself as best we can. Make sure that you are in a quiet space, where you can focus for the next two or three hours and nobody will disturb you.

– Have your stopwatch or clock ready, so you make sure that you are staying in line with the time limits required by the CollegeBoard. For today and tomorrow, absolutely no notes. Also, have some water or maybe even a small snack, that way you won’t have to get up and break your concentration.

– Reminder, you have 70 minutes to complete the multiple choice section and 60 minutes to complete the FRQs section.

– And now we begin with the multiple choice questions. Go to our AP® Macroeconomics page and select ten questions from each of the seven sections that on the page. Select these at random. Complete them within the required time limit.

– Once you have done that, it’s time to move on to the FRQs. Complete the questions from the year 1999. These were questions from an actual AP® Macroeconomics test, so make sure that you are getting a good feel for how these work.

– Whew! Take a breath. Good job on completing your first real practice exam. Before we the rest of the day off and relax, read through all of the answers and recommendations that these sites are offering you.

Day 13

– Today, we are going to be focusing more on the FRQ section of the AP® exam.

– So, the first thing we are going to do is work through the remaining FRQs that Albert.io has come up with for us. Just like yesterday, you want to keep timing in mind. Also, you want to make sure that your writing is at a college level. Watch for errors in spelling and punctuation. Keep good writing habits.

– Once you are done with that, go ahead and try to answer the FRQs from the years 2000, 2001, and 2002 from the CollegeBoard Website.

– Before we get into our rest day, review everything you have done over the last two days. Go over all of the answers and recommendations. Ask yourself: What types of questions did I do the best on? Where do I need to focus my studies? How can I improve?

Day 14

– Get a good night’s sleep; we begin a new day of this study guide tomorrow.

Start your AP® Macroeconomics Prep today

Day 15

– Now that you’re feeling refreshed and ready to take on our studies again, go over any notes that you made two days ago. Pay attention to where you think you need to improve. These are the things we are going to want to focus on this week, so keep them in mind all week long.

– Today, you are going to work on the FRQs from the 2003, 2004, and 2005 exams. Give yourself a five-minute breather in between each question. After you’ve completed these, look through the notes provided by the CollegeBoard site and see how you compared.

– Let’s get back on track with our videos, shall we? Take a look at the first 5 videos that ACDCLeadership has posted on their Macroeconomics YouTube playlist. While you are watching, make sure that you are taking notes on key concepts and adding to your flashcard pile.

– Select 30 flashcards at random and quiz yourself. Better yet, if you’ve got a friend or family member around, have them quiz you.

– Since you are right around the halfway mark, now is a good time to go over everything we have covered up to this point. Go over the notes that you’ve taken and make sure you are grasping everything. In particular, review the notes that Albert.io has provided from your test scores. Find your weakest points and work on making them stronger.

Day 16

– Before we begin, you should go for a walk and try to think on everything we have covered to this point. While you’re doing this, think back on the course we’ve been working on since we started. What would you add? Would you leave anything out? Why? What topics would you spend the most time on?

– Keep on top of your flashcard terms and your note taking. It may be a good time to review those that you have made up to this point as well. Here are some key terms:

– Multiplier Effect

– Balanced Budget Multiplier

– Required Service Ratio

– Money Multiplier

– Federal Reserve Bank

– Discount Rate

– Open Market

– Today, we are going to finish the first half of questions under the International Trade and Finance. Also, make sure that you’re all caught up with these example questions. Now would be a good time to complete any you have not finished.

– Select and work on the FRQs from 2006. You are going to want to have someone else take a look at what you’ve written. Begin with a friend or family member and ask them to take a look at your response. Ask them to proofread and to give recommendations on how you could improve. Take their comments to heart, since you are writing for more than yourself. It’s always a good idea to have others read your work.

Day 17

– Now is going to be a great time to revisit your course outline notes that you started on day 1. Go ahead and update your imagined course with all of the information that you have learned up to this point. Again, if you can, get a friend or family member in on this action. And encourage them to ask questions!

– Review your flashcards once more. Make sure you have these terms/concepts:

– M1

– M2

– M3

– Assets

– Stagflation

– Net Export Effect

– We are going to keep going with our example questions and finish up with the rest of the section entitled International Trade and Finance. Keep looking at your time and make sure you look over the notes and recommendations that are provided to you.

– Since we have already completed a number of example FRQs, now would be a good time to review those you have already completed. Read over all of the answers that you have provided thus far. How would you answer them differently? If you were grading the exam as a member of the CollegeBoard, what grade would you give yourself?

Day 18

– Before we get rolling today, go over your checklist one more time. What do you need to work on? What have you missed? Spend the next ten minutes going over anything else you might need a refresher on.

– Take a look at the next five videos that ACDCLeadership has made for Macroeconomics students just like you. Keep up with your flashcard making as you watch these.

– Now, you are going to want to work on the first chunk of questions in the National Income and Price Determination section, the one called Aggregate Demand.

– Choose the FRQ from the years 2007 and 2008. Answer them to your best ability. Now you should have your teachers reading through your responses. Ask them for specific feedback on how to write a better response. Get them to guide you on how to improve as both a writer and someone who is studying the AP® exams.

Day 19

– Glance over your notebook, dedicating, at least, twenty minutes to the areas that you are having the most trouble.

– Flashcard terms:

– Philips curve

– Supply-Side Economics

– “Old” Classical Theory

– “New” Classical Theory

– Rational Expectations Theory

– Monetarism

– Go for another long walk (or whatever healthy activity that helps you relax) and afterwards, sit a friend or family member down and tell them everything you’ve learned this week. Encourage them to ask questions. The more the better. The more you are able to explain these concepts with your own thoughts and without notes, the better grasp you’ll have. And then have them tell you ways that you might improve your ideas and arguments.

– Select, at random, thirty example questions provided by Albert.io. You will have already completed these questions, but you should do so one more time. If you find yourself stumbling on any of these, make sure you review your notes and textbook in order to help you understand what you are doing wrong.

Day 20

– Since we are getting towards the end of the new material covered in this Macroeconomics Overview, go through the course outline that you’ve been working day 1. Add the information that we have covered since last time. As you read over your earlier notes, are you surprised by anything? How would you think about ending the course? What recommendations would you give your students on how to study for their AP® exam?

– Let’s finish off the remaining videos from ACDCLeadership’s Macroeconomics playlist page. How has this video series compared to the others we’ve watched?

– Don’t slack on your flashcards and note taking now. You’ve come so far!

– Complete the final two sections from the National Income and Price Determination example questions. Are you still struggling with any particular topics? If so, work on your reviews of those specific sections of the course. Keep in mind that Albert.io has all sorts of recommendation on where to move forward as well.

– Work on the FRQ from the year 2009. Make sure you are keeping on track with the timing on these questions.

Day 21

– The end of another week!

– Get a good night’s sleep; we begin anew tomorrow.

Start your AP® Macroeconomics Prep today

Day 22

– Now is an excellent time to finish the first two sections of The Financial Sector chunk of questions.

– Work on the FRQs from the years 2010 and 2011. Review your notes and textbook on any areas you got wrong, and try to figure out why you answered the question wrong. Are you missing an important piece of knowledge about the course material, or did you just get tripped up on the wording of the question?

– Make sure that you’ve taken notes on these concepts:

– Appreciation

– Depreciation

– Fiscal Policy

– Monetary Policy

– Favorable Trade Balances

– Unfavorable Trade Balances

– After you’ve got these down, review all of your flashcards up to this point. Give yourself a little test by randomly selecting 30 cards and see if you can get all of the definitions correct. If you can get a friend to help out, that would be great.

Day 23

– It’s time to watch our final video. Go ahead and click on the link Fiscal Policy. In your notes, you should try to outline the key concepts of this video. What is its purpose? What central questions is it raising and answering? How does it connect to the concepts we have covered up until this point in our study plan?

– Review your flashcards and notes. Here are some terms:

– Sticky Prices

– Great Depression

– John Maynard Keynes

– Transfer Payments

– Nondurable Goods

– Indirect Taxes

– Finish off every last question that you might have not answered from The Financial Sector and any other section you may not have completed in its entirety. It is absolutely important that you’ve pinpointed your weakest spots at this point. Anything that remains unclear should be reviewed once more.

– The last thing you want to do today is look back over the checklist. At this point, you should be feeling confident at nearly every check-mark spot. If you find yourself struggling with some of the ideas, you are definitely going to want and review that material before you check it off.

Day 24

– Today, you are going to finish reading the rest of the CollegeBoard’s AP® Macroeconomics Course and Exam Description. Take notes on what you think is most important.

– After completing this reading, take out your notepad and go back over the course you’ve been working on throughout this study plan. How have you organized the course? What topics have you highlighted as important concepts to teach? Does your version of the course differ from the ways that your textbooks or other sources deal with the material? What else would you add to help your students out?

– Get to work on the FRQs from the years 2012 and 2013. After you have finished with these, write and explanation of how you came to the answers. How would you explain the answer itself to the person grading the exam? Or, maybe, how would you teach the answer to someone just starting to study Macroeconomics?

Day 25

– Before we start working on some example FRQs, take out your notebook and work on this thought exercise: Explain what Macroeconomics means in no more than four sentences. Highlight what you consider to be the most important concepts and ideas. But make sure you are to the point and short in your answer.

– When you have completed this exercise, go ahead and get back on the CollegeBoard’s Macroeconomics site and start working on the FRQs from the years 2014 and 2015. Make sure that you are reading the recommendations on how to answer these questions after you’ve completed them. These notes will help you better understand the CollegeBoard’s expectations.

– Keep on top of your flashcard terms and your note taking. Here are some concepts you should be adding to your growing collection at this point:

– Net Factor Payments

– Underground Economy

– GNI

– Frictional Unemployment

– CPI

– Natural Rise of Unemployment

– Producer Price Index

– Make sure that you are all caught up on your FRQs and example questions. Now is the time to complete everything you have missed. Also, make sure that you are caught up on all of your reading, online videos, and flashcards.

Day 26

– Before we begin with any new material, read through all of your notes. What have you been struggling with the most? Pinpoint your weakest spots and go over them once more. If you are having trouble with a specific concept, try to explain it to a friend. Have them ask questions until you’ve got the solutions.

– After you have done this, go over your checklist one last time. You should be able to knock everything off this list with confidence. If you are still struggling with ideas, go back and review your notes and the videos.

– Review your flashcards once again. If you can, have a friend quiz you on as many as you can handle at this point. Make sure that you have these in the pile:

– Paradox of Thrift

– Fiat Money

– Structural Deficit

– FOMC

– Cost Shock

– Supply Shock

– Bond

– Stock

– Now is the time to retake all of the example questions that you may have gotten wrong over the last several weeks. Keep taking them until you get the right answer, reading through Albert.io’s recommendations after each attempt. Do this again with each of the FRQs.

Day 27

– Read over your notes on the FRQs. You should create the top three that you feel the least comfortable with. This second time around should be much easier. If you can, keep having as many other people as possible read your answers.

– Don’t slack now, keep up with your note taking. Like the other suggestions, we have provided you with, make sure that you have these in your notes:

– Tariff

– Dumping

– GATT

– NAFTA

– Balance of Payments

– Balance of Trades

– Smoot-Hawley Tariff

– Laffer Curve

– Make sure that you have completed any remaining FRQs or practice questions from Albert.io that you may have missed. It is essential that you take as many examples questions as possible. After you have done this, select another 30 example questions at random. You may be answering some of these questions more than once, but that’s good, you should know the answers by heart at this point!

– Before we take a break tomorrow, you are going to want to write a complete outline of everything that the Macroeconomics course has covered. Make sure that you create a new one—don’t use your course outline. Do this one off the top of your head.

– Once you’ve done this, compare this outline with the one you’ve been working on all month. Are they similar? Different? Why do you think this might be?

Day 28

– This is our last rest day, so use it wisely. Make sure you get your rest today.

– You may be getting tired by this point, but don’t worry; there are only two days left of this 30-day study plan.

– Keep up the good work and see you tomorrow!

Start your AP® Macroeconomics Prep today

Day 29

– Today is going to be your final day of review. You should be feeling very confident about your future exam. Now’s the time to work out the final kinks and get you read for the exam itself.

– If you can get a friend or family member to help you out today, that would be fantastic. If not, just make sure you don’t burn out—you’ve come so close!

– First off, take a look over all of your notes, including all of the outlines you have created, the FRQ answers you have come up with, and all of the responses to the questions that have been posed over the last several weeks. Read your notes thoroughly and double-check your familiarity with all of the concepts and ideas.

– Next, you are going to want to review all of your flashcards and notes. Polish up those final weak spots you see and be proud that you’re getting better at the terms. It may seem repetitive to do this now, but one last time can’t hurt, right?

– Review all of your example question scores from the AP® Macroeconomics site by Albert.io. If you still have some questions that were answered incorrectly, go back and retake these until you have reached 100 percent correct. Take a look at Albert.io’s notes and recommendation for how to improve and better understand the concepts you might be missing.

– Review all of the FRQ you have answered. Ask yourself: Which ones were the strongest? Weakest? Can you see yourself getting progressively better? Take notes in your notebook on where you need to do better. Be as specific as possible.

Day 30

– You did it! You made it to the last day: congratulations.

– Today is a day that you mentally prepare for your exams. You can try going for a walk, or whatever has helped you relax and prepare over the last month.

– No matter what you decide, try not to focus on the exam itself too much. Instead, you’re going to want to focus on being prepared for the exam itself. Get your stuff ready. Water? Check. Pen/Pencil? Check. Get everything in order.

– Again, stay healthy! Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and eat healthy foods, so your body is thinking only about the upcoming exam. And especially get a good night’s sleep. This is probably the most important thing you can do.

– You’ve worked really hard to get to this point, so congratulations on staying on top of this 30-day study plan – you’ll do great!

– If you have kept up with this daily study guide, you will have:

– Notes, key terms, and flashcards on every section of the course.

– A deep and thorough understanding of how the models and ideas of macroeconomics work both in theory and the world we live in today.

– Observed dozens of visual examples of economic processes work through expansive informational videos and hypothetical scenarios raised by the texts.

– Completed a broad range of example Free Response Questions and practiced with over a thousand multiple choice questions!

For however much time you still have after completing this AP® study, make sure to periodically review your notes, key terms, flashcards, and timeline. In particular, you are going to want to go over all of the material provided by Albert.io. If there are any themes or questions that you cannot check off confidently, make sure that you review the notes and flashcards you have taken for that particular section of the course. Staying healthy and getting enough rest is the most important thing you can do at this point. You’ve worked so hard over the last month; don’t cancel it out now by staying up too late or eating terrible food that makes you feel non-alert and slow. On the night before the exam itself, eat a healthy dinner and get plenty of sleep. On the day of the exam make sure you have a good breakfast and that you bring snacks for the test itself. Finally, maintain that feeling of confidence. The fact that you completed this comprehensive 30-day study guide shows your dedication and drive. Keep up with the hard work and good luck!

Let us know what has worked for you. What did you like best about this one month study guide? Do you have recommendations of your own on how to study for the AP® Macroeconomics exam?

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