CliffsNotes AP Biology: 4th Edition

I bought this about 5 days before the exam, and I jumped straight to the practice tests, which were pretty informative. It gave me some perspective on what I should study. I didn't use the book to its full potential, but seriously, get some highlighters too, they help. The after chapter questions are also extremely helpful because they allow you to test your memory on the chapter subject. I suggest also getting an AP Stats book as well, if you haven't taken the class. A lot of the kids who didn't take the class this year missed a couple of questions and statistics wasn't really covered in our class. So just kind of brush up a little bit on the mathematics part, you'll get a four function though so don't worry too much! The book itself is divided into broad sections and just gives you the basics and the important in-depth info, so it really works as either a long-term study guide and a cram course! Good luck guys!

I took the AP test this year and is happy with my results. As someone who haven't studied more than 10 minutes each week on AP Bio and has never read a single page of my next book, I wasn't even sure if I was even going to pass this thing. I crammed only the night before, and received a 4 on the test just like a bunch of my friends who prepped intensely and studied their butts off for this course over the whole year. This book has a comprehensive review on everything that was tested. It is a useful tool in which students can figure out which topic the lack the knowledge of. Keep in mind this is the first year of this new format so all the publishers were just doing their best predictions on this test. There were a lot of detailed information that we did not know about, but overall it gave me the big picture.

I used this book to study about 2 weeks before the exam, and got a 5. I am not quite sure if it is completely due to this book, but if you pay attention in class and use it as a REVIEW book, which is what it is, it's a great supplement to your studies. It is rather wordy, though, making it harder to find the most important points that you need to know, but is very comprehensive and covers most of the concepts in the course. If you get through the entire book, it'll definitely help you remember a lot of things from the beginning of the year and really reinforce them. It even has all the labs in detail (be aware that they may be somewhat different from what you do in class...I only reviewed a section of two labs, however, so I may be wrong). One thing you should keep in mind is that the review questions are quite different from the exam. The new 2013 format requires more reading and thus analysis of those readings, so the questions you get will be more like paragraphs than single sentences. Of course, this is the first year the exam has been administered, so the creators have a weaker grasp of its format and content, but it still serves its purpose in helping you to review concepts that you may have forgotten or had trouble understanding. I didn't do many of the FRQs supplied in this book, but from the few that I did do, I can probably say that the format is pretty similar. The FRQs on the test, however, aren't as vague(?) and do give you a little bit of direction.

While this book may be painful to read at times because of the length and depth of each chapter, the material is very detailed and clear and can be understood by anyone I'm sure if you take the time to study it. This has helped me soooo much in preparing for the exam and has probably saved me from getting a 3 instead of a 4 or 5. Other review books may be more appealing, but this book guarantees that 'if it's on the test, it's in this book' so I highly recommend it!

This book IS indeed updated to reflect the 2013 test, but don't take this as too much of a good thing. The author is extremely talented and knowledgeable in this field, but without an actual released test to base this book, its contributions are essentially "best guesses" of how the exam will turn out (excluding format). It's still helpful, but what I think people should focus on when choosing a book is the content. The Cliffnotes 4th edition content is nearly exactly the SAME as the 3rd edition. I have both. You'll get the same information, which raises the question of whether or not this book adequately covers all the material. Simple answer: Yes. It does. In fact, it probably has more content than all the other books. However, it is NOT reader-friendly. You'll go pages without any diagrams or pictures. No folks, I am NOT one of those people who learn best with pictures and note-cards and the such, but when you're talking about the endocrine system and the respiratory system, it's probably a good idea to have a diagram. Where there are diagrams, like for cellular respiration, it is so convoluted that you can't discern what it's trying to say. The pages are massive clutters of text - remember that 11 font Times New Roman with minimal margins paper that your teacher gave you that you were turned off by? This is it, except in hundreds of pages. The content is still great, don't get me wrong, but it is NOT presented in as clear a manner nor as visually appealing a manner as the Princeton Review's book, which I have also used and find its content to be not nearly as comprehensive. However, that book DOES successfully get you to understand every concept it covers no doubt. This book, you'll need the internet to supplement. So the question is, do you want to get massive chunks of text thrown at you that is useful albeit convulated, or do you want to opt for a book that offers less content but clear and easily understandable explanations. You choose. A little more about me: an A-grade AP bio student with above a 4.0 overall GPA.

I love this book, great summaries of the topics covered with superb questions and examples of answers provided.

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