AP Macroeconomics study plan
AP Macroeconomics · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Define economic principles and models & Explain given economic outcomes
Define scarcity, opportunity cost, and the production possibilities curve in your own words
Distinguish between normative and positive economic statements using fresh examples
Sketch and label a circular flow diagram and a PPC, then explain each shift factor aloud
Explain how comparative advantage generates gains from trade in a two-good, two-country example
Your checkpoint
A one-page glossary of 15 core definitions plus two hand-drawn labeled models (PPC and circular flow) with written shift-factor notes
Define economic principles and models & Explain given economic outcomes
Derive equilibrium price and quantity from given supply and demand schedules
Predict the direction of price and quantity changes from stated demand or supply shifters
Explain how price ceilings and floors create shortages or surpluses
Describe how elasticity affects total revenue when price changes
Your checkpoint
Five worked supply-and-demand scenarios, each with a labeled graph and a written prediction of price, quantity, and surplus/shortage effects
Define economic principles and models & Explain given economic outcomes & Determine the outcomes of specific economic situations
Define the components of GDP using the expenditure approach
Distinguish real from nominal values and identify which is used for growth
Explain how frictional, structural, and cyclical unemployment differ
Determine the effect of a spending change on real GDP using a stated multiplier
Your checkpoint
A table classifying 10 scenarios as included or excluded from GDP and as a type of unemployment, with one-line justifications
Determine the outcomes of specific economic situations & Perform numerical analysis and calculations
Calculate GDP, NDP, and the unemployment rate from given data sets
Compute the labor force participation rate and the inflation rate from CPI values
Determine real interest rates from nominal rates and inflation
Solve for the spending multiplier and apply it to a change in autonomous spending
Your checkpoint
A timed 10-question calculation set (no calculator beyond basic arithmetic) scored and corrected, with error notes
Determine the outcomes of specific economic situations & Make assertions about economic concepts, principles, models, outcomes, and/or effects
Explain how the money supply expands through the deposit multiplier
Determine the effect of central bank open market operations on interest rates and output
Assert the short-run and long-run effects of an increase in aggregate demand using the AD-AS model
Distinguish demand-pull from cost-push inflation with stated causes
Your checkpoint
A written response explaining one monetary policy action through the money market, loanable funds, and AD-AS models in sequence
Make assertions about economic concepts, principles, models, outcomes, and/or effects & Create graphs or visual representations
Draw a correctly labeled money market graph and show a policy-induced shift
Draw a loanable funds graph and show the effect of a change in government borrowing
Draw short-run and long-run Phillips curves and label a movement between them
Construct a foreign exchange market graph and show currency appreciation or depreciation
Your checkpoint
A graph portfolio of six fully labeled models (money market, loanable funds, AD-AS, Phillips curve, FX market, PPC) each with a shift scenario annotated
Perform numerical analysis and calculations & Create graphs or visual representations
Calculate the money multiplier and the change in the money supply from an open market purchase
Compute the effect of a government spending change on equilibrium output using the tax and spending multipliers
Determine the change in the exchange rate and net exports from a stated interest rate change
Interpret a graph to identify equilibrium and disequilibrium points quantitatively
Your checkpoint
A mixed calculation-and-graph set of 8 problems, each answered with both a number and a supporting labeled sketch
Define economic principles and models & Explain given economic outcomes & Determine the outcomes of specific economic situations & Make assertions about economic concepts, principles, models, outcomes, and/or effects & Perform numerical analysis and calculations & Create graphs or visual representations
Synthesize all six domains into full-length free-response practice under time constraints
Identify your three weakest sub-skills from prior deliverables and re-drill them
Explain every model from memory without notes
Self-score free responses against a rubric you write from the domain descriptions
Your checkpoint
Two complete timed free-response sets, self-scored, plus a one-page personal error log naming the three weakest sub-skills and the drill used to fix each
Milestones
Week 2: Can define all core terms and draw PPC, circular flow, and supply-and-demand graphs from memory without notes
Week 4: Scores at least 80% on the timed calculation set and can compute GDP, unemployment, inflation, and multipliers without formula sheets
Week 6: Produces six correctly labeled models from memory and states the shift factor for each without prompting
Week 8: Completes two timed free-response sets with self-scores at or above your target and a written error log with three prioritized weak sub-skills