Sept. 1, 2009

I want to buy manuals on how to study for Advanced Placement (AP) exams. I am offering $2,000 per manual. You can get published and get paid. If you are trying to upgrade your resumé, this is a good way to do it.

If you are a high school student studying for an AP exam, keep a daily diary on your study strategy. If you get a 4 or a 5 on an AP exam, you're ready to write your manual. It should not take a lot of extra work.

The authors must have received a 4 or a 5. The whole point of the manuals is to persuade students that they can pass the exams. They don't need a book by a a Ph.D. on how to do it. They need to hear it from a student who has done well on it.

A professor must create the illusion that a student must master the material through painstaking, detailed effort. But a student is looking for ways to beat the test by cramming intelligently. A fellow student who has passed the exam can tell another student how to do this.

I am after a series of cramming guides. The idea is to pass the text honestly, not master the subject matter. In short, it's just like a lower division class college, only at $15 per semester credit hour, not $500.

Here is what I assume a manual will cover.

1. How to buy a used college textbook on Amazon or eBay for about $20

2. How to use a conventional "how-to" book on passing the AP exam in question

3. How to cram for the items most likely to be on the exam

4. How to increase your odds on multiple-choice questions

5. How to pace yourself on the exam: easy questions fast

6. How to figure out what the question-writer wants to hear

7. How to review the day before the exam

8. How to take practice exams

The manual should be aimed at high school students who are taking the high school-level class. The students can spend an extra 20 minutes a day studying for the AP. This helps them do better in the course.

If you think you can write such a manual, and you got a 4 or a 5 on the exam, contact me. Tell me which exam you are interested in dealing with. See if I have already bought a manual from someone else.

Send the letter to garynorth@garynorth.com. Put AP Manual in the subject box.