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The Complete Guide to the AP World History Exam

Advanced Placement (AP)

Before you start studying for the AP World History exam, you should get the inside scoop on its format and content. The types of questions you'll see might differ from your expectations. It's especially smart to practice writing essay outlines based on past questions before you're faced with fresh prompts on test day.

In this article, we'll go through the structure, content, and question types on the AP World History exam and provide some helpful tips for acing it !

How Is the AP World History Exam Structured?

The AP World History exam is three hours and 15 minutes and consists of two sections, each of which contains a Part A and a Part B. Here's a basic overview of these sections before we get into the nitty-gritty below:

• Section 1, Part A: Multiple Choice
• Section 1, Part B: Short Answer
• Section 2, Part A: Document-Based Question (DBQ)
• Section 2, Part B: Long Essay

It should be noted that the AP World History exam has undergone some big changes for the 2019-20 school year . Instead of covering thousands of years of human history and development, now it will cover only the years 1200 to the present ; as a result, the exam has been renamed AP World History: Modern (an AP World History: Ancient course and exam are in the works).

Section 1 Format

Section 1 on the AP World History exam lasts a total of 95 minutes and consists of two parts:

• Part A: Multiple Choice
• Part B: Short Answer

This chart shows what you can expect for each part of Section 1 on the World History exam:

Part A lasts 55 minutes and counts for 40% of your total AP World History score. Each question on this part comes with four possible answer choices (labeled A-D). Since there are no penalties for wrong answers, it's in your best interest to fill in an answer for every question.

Most multiple-choice questions come in sets of three to four questions and require you to analyze primary and secondary sources as well as data in the form of graphs, charts, maps, etc.

Part B lasts 40 minutes and counts for 20% of your final AP score. For this section, you must write three short answers (you'll get four prompts in total, but you choose one of two prompts to write on for your third essay). You'll have different sources, or stimuli, for each short-answer prompt:

• Short Answer 1: Includes one secondary source
• Short Answer 2: Includes one primary source
• Short Answer 3/4 (choose one prompt): No stimulus for either option; prompt 3 focuses on the years 1200-1750, while prompt 4 focuses on the years 1750-2001

Section 2 Format

Section 2 on the AP World History test lasts 100 minutes and, like Section 1, consists of two parts:

• Part A: Document-Based Question (DBQ)
• Part B: Long Essay

Here's a brief overview of the format of Section 2 of the World History exam:

Part A in Section 2 lasts one hour and counts for 25% of your total score. For the Document-Based Question, or DBQ, you'll get seven documents offering different viewpoints on a certain historical development. You must write an essay with an argument supported by this historical evidence.

Part B, which is the Long Essay, lasts for just 40 minutes and counts for 15% of your AP score. This part of the test requires you to write a full-fledged essay in response to one of three prompts (you choose which one you want to write on). Unlike the DBQ, you're not given any direct historical evidence to use in your essay; you must come up with it yourself to support your argument.

Here are the three types of prompts you can choose from for the Long Essay:

• Prompt 1: Focuses on the years 1200-1750
• Prompt 2: Focuses on the years 1450-1900
• Prompt 3: Focuses on the years 1750-2001

What Kind of Content Is Covered in AP World History?

Content on the AP World History exam is divided into six overarching themes and nine distinct units . Knowing these categorizations can help you get a better sense of what kinds of historical trends you will be asked to examine (this is especially helpful when writing free-response essays!). The units are roughly divided up into overlapping periods of time.

Below, we introduce the current themes and units, as described in the 2019-20 AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description .

The 6 Themes in AP World History

Let's start by looking closely at the six major themes covered on the AP World History exam.

Theme 1: Humans and the Environment

The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change, these populations in turn shape their environments.

Key points:

• Demography and disease
• Patterns of settlement

Theme 2: Cultural Developments and Interactions

The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have political, social, and cultural implications.

• Religions and cultures
• Belief systems, philosophies, and ideologies
• Science and technology
• The arts and architecture

Theme 3: Governance

A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for different purposes.

• Political structures and forms of governance
• Nations and nationalism
• Revolts and revolutions
• Regional, transregional, and global structures and organizations

Theme 4: Economic Systems

As societies develop, they affect and are affected by the ways that they produce, exchange, and consume goods and services.

• Agricultural and pastoral production
• Trade and commerce
• Labor systems
• Industrialization
• Capitalism and socialism

Theme 5: Social Interactions and Organization

The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern the interactions between these groups and between individuals influence political, economic, and cultural institutions and organization.

• Gender roles and relations
• Family and kinship
• Racial and ethnic constructions
• Social and economic classes
• Slavery and abolition

Theme 6: Technology and Innovation

Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased efficiency, comfort, and security, and technological advances have shaped human development and interactions with both intended and unintended consequences.

• Intellectual innovation
• Transportation technologies and trade
• Modes of production and machinery
• Communication

The 9 Units in AP World History

Here, we'll go over the nine units of the AP World History course and exam. But before we describe each one in depth, here's a quick overview of how these units are tested:

Source: AP World History Course and Exam Description, 2019-20

Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200-1450)

• Developments in East Asia from c. 1200 to c. 1450
• Developments in Dar al-Islam from c. 1200 to c. 1450
• Developments in South and Southeast Asia from c. 1200 to c. 1450
• State Building in the Americas
• State Building in Africa
• Developments in Europe from c. 1200 to c. 1450
• Comparison in the period from c. 1200 to c. 1450

Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (1200-1450)

• The Silk Roads
• The Mongol Empire and the making of the modern world
• Exchange in the Indian Ocean
• Trans-Saharan trade routes
• Cultural consequences of connectivity
• Environmental consequences of connectivity
• Comparison of economic exchange

Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (1450-1750)

• Empires expand
• Empires: administration
• Empires: belief systems
• Comparison in land-based empires

Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections (1450-1750)

• Technological innovations from 1450 to 1750
• Exploration: causes and events from 1450 to 1750
• Columbian exchange
• Maritime empires established
• Maritime empires maintained and developed
• Internal and external challenges to state power from 1450 to 1750
• Changing social hierarchies from 1450 to 1750
• Continuity and change from 1450 to 1750

Unit 5: Revolutions (1750-1900)

• The Enlightenment
• Nationalism and revolutions in the period from 1750 to 1900
• Industrial Revolution begins
• Industrialization spreads in the period from 1750 to 1900
• Technology of the Industrial Age
• Industrialization: government's role from 1750 to 1900
• Economic developments and innovations in the Industrial Age
• Reactions to the industrial economy from 1750 to 1900
• Society and the Industrial Age
• Continuity and change in the Industrial Age

Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (1750-1900)

• Rationales for imperialism from 1750 to 1900
• State expansion from 1750 to 1900
• Indigenous responses to state expansion from 1750 to 1900
• Global economic development from 1750 to 1900
• Economic imperialism from 1750 to 1900
• Causes of migration in an interconnected world
• Effects of migration
• Causation in the Imperial Age

Unit 7: Global Conflict (1900-Present)

• Shifting power after 1900
• Causes of World War I
• Conducting World War I
• The economy in the interwar period
• Unresolved tensions after World War I
• Causes of World War II
• Conducting World War II
• Mass atrocities after 1900
• Causation in global conflict

Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (1900-Present)

• Setting the stage for the Cold War and decolonization
• The Cold War
• Effects of the Cold War
• Spread of communism after 1900
• Decolonization after 1900
• Newly independent states
• Global resistance to established order after 1900
• End of the Cold War
• Causation in the age of the Cold War and decolonization

Unit 9: Globalization (1900-Present)

• Advances in technology and exchange after 1900
• Technological advances and limitations after 1900: disease
• Technological advances: debates about the environment after 1900
• Economics in the Global Age
• Calls for reform and responses after 1900
• Globalized culture after 1900
• Resistance to globalization after 1900
• Institutions developing in a globalized world
• Continuity and change in a globalized world

Sample AP World History Test Questions

Let's go through examples of each of the four types of questions you'll see on the AP World History exam. All sample questions come from the 2019-20 World History Course and Exam Description .

Multiple-Choice Question Example

Most multiple-choice questions come in sets of three to four questions that ask you to respond to a particular source, or stimulus, such as a primary source, a secondary source, or data in the form of a map, chart, or table.

In this sample question, you're being asked to read and interpret two separate passages . You must have background knowledge of economic trends in the late 20th century to be able to select the correct answer here (which is answer choice C ).

Short-Answer Question Example

This short-answer question is accompanied by a secondary source. In each short-answer question on the test, each part (A-C) should only require a one- to two-sentence answer . You'll then get 1 point per correct response (so the max you can earn on one short-answer question is 3 points).

Here's how you could earn full credit for this question, per the official scoring guidelines .

(A) Sample Answers

• Hakuseki's argument was influenced by Confucianism.
• Hakuseki's argument that sovereign is Heaven to the subjects and the father is Heaven to the child was influenced by Confucian beliefs.
• Hakuseki's argument that only the emperor is supposed to serve the Lord of Heaven reflects the beliefs of Confucianism.

(B) Sample Answers

• One important difference is that most Christian missionaries and Muslim Sufis traveled across the world and spread their religion without being banned by other governments.
• One important difference between the circumstances of the religious encounter in eighteenth century Japan and other religious encounters in the period 1450–1750 is that religious interactions in this period more frequently led to the development of syncretic belief systems such as Vodou or Santería than the outright banning of the preaching of a religion.
• One important difference between the Tokugawa shogunate banning the preaching of Christianity and most other religious interactions in the period 1450–1750 is that some governments, such as the Mughal Empire under Akbar, encouraged religious tolerance and interaction.

(C) Sample Answers

• The Mughal emperors of India and the African kings of Kongo attempted to restrict European merchants to certain towns and trading posts.
• The Ming and Qing emperors of China confined the Portuguese merchants to Macao and placed legal restrictions on converting to Christianity.
• Although the Safavid Empire allowed European merchants to settle in some cities and even serve as advisors at court, preaching Christianity was strictly forbidden.

Document-Based Question Example

You'll get seven documents with your DBQ (not shown in the sample above), and you must use at least six of these as evidence in your response. The DBQ is worth up to 7 points .

Here's what you'd need to do to earn full credit for this sample DBQ, per the scoring guidelines .

Long Essay Question Example

For the Long Essay, you'll get three possible prompts to choose from. This question is an example of an Option 2 prompt with a focus on the years 1450-1900 —in this case, the 19th century. You can earn up to 6 points for your essay.

Here's what you'd need to do to earn full credit for this sample, per the official scoring guidelines :

How Is the AP World History Exam Scored?

Now that you've seen what questions look like on the AP World History test, let's quickly go over exactly how the exam is scored. Like all other AP tests, you will get a final scaled score for AP World History on a scale of 1-5 . This is a cumulative score that combines your raw scores from each of the four parts of the test (Multiple Choice, Short Answer, DBQ, and Long Essay).

Keep reading to see how each part of the AP World History test is scored.

Multiple Choice

Raw scoring for the multiple-choice section is simple: you earn 1 point for each multiple-choice question you answer correctly . Since there are 55 questions, the max number of points you can earn here is 55. Remember that this part counts for 40% of your total score .

No points are taken off for incorrect answers, so be sure to fill in every answer bubble!

Short Answer

Each short-answer question is worth 3 points—one for each task (labeled A-C) you must complete. Because there are three short-answer questions, this means you can earn a total of 9 raw points for all your responses. The short-answer portion counts for 20% of your final AP score .

Document-Based Question

The DBQ is worth 25% of your final score and is graded on a 7-point rubric , as shown below:

The Long Essay is worth just 15% of your overall score and is graded on a 6-point rubric :

The Best Way to Prep for the AP World History Exam: 3 Tips

Here are a few of the most important prep tips for AP World History. If you want more advice, take a look at our article on the best study strategies for this exam .

Tip 1: Make Connections to Themes (and Memorize Examples)

World History is a course that covers a ton of information, so much so that it can be hard to think of specific examples that relate to your arguments in essay questions. You should be able to elaborate on one or two concrete events from each period that relate to each theme of the course.

As long as you can preserve this bank of information in your mind, you'll be able to support your answers to any essay questions the test throws at you.

Tip 2: Use Outside Information Selectively

Providing specific historical examples in your essay lets you show your mastery of the material, but you need to be cautious. This test is less about how much you know and more about how well you understand the connections and underlying themes that connect historical facts.

Each fact you mention must have a specific purpose and should tie directly into what the question is asking and what you've stated in your argument.

Tip 3: Learn to Read Multiple-Choice Questions Carefully

You can get into some trouble if you don't understand exactly what the multiple-choice questions are asking on this exam. You'll only find the correct answer if you stick to the specifics of the question. Otherwise, you could get tripped up by choices that are accurate statements about history but inaccurate answers to the question being asked.

Practice your skills in selecting answers that directly pertain to the evidence presented in the question.

Summary: What to Know About the AP World History Exam

The AP World History exam is a three-hour and 15-minute test that consists of 55 multiple-choice questions, three short answers, one DBQ, and one essay.

Questions address six major historical themes and nine units, with periods stretching back to the year 1200 CE. While this is undoubtedly a lot of information to study, it's important to realize that long-term trends are more important than small details.

You can do extremely well on the World History test, as long as you master the major events of each period and understand their essential causes and effects .

What's Next?

Looking for some practice materials for the World History exam? Then check out this detailed guide to all the AP World History practice tests available online .

It's a smart idea to practice your writing skills on DBQs before any AP history test. Learn about the best places to find DBQ examples and how you can write an excellent response .

Which AP classes should you take in high school besides World History? Our expert guide will help you decide based on your goals, academic interests, and schedule.

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Breaking Down Different AP Essays

Most AP exams involve a multiple choice section, so being able to answer these questions quickly and accurately is key to success! In most AP classes, your teacher will administer practice multiple choice questions to you in class to get you prepared for the test, and there are always plethoras of practice questions that can be found online.

However, there is more to an AP exam than the Multiple Choice section: AP exams have a free-response component. This can include short-answer questions, document-based questions, long-essay questions, and more.

This can be daunting to some people, but once you take the time to understand what types of questions are asked, you are bound to feel much more confident! This Simple Studies article is here to detail some of the different types of essays you may see on your exams!

The essay types included in this article are the Document-Based Question, the Long-Essay Question, the Synthesis essay, the Rhetorical Analysis, the Argumentative essay, Poetry essays, Prose Passage essays, and Thematic Analysis essays.

1. Document-Based Question

If you talk to someone that has taken a History AP class (APUSH, World History, European History) they most likely will mention the DBQ as part of their experience in that class. That is because the history DBQ is a crucial part of the exams, and it definitely takes time to master.

You are asked to analyze a certain historical issue with the assistance of some historical documents. Usually, there are 9 documents, but in 2020, the altered exams yielded only 5 documents.

Nonetheless, you must quickly analyze the documents to form a coherent argument that can be proven given the information in the documents. This essay is quite difficult because some of the documents can be difficult to decipher, but it also helps to have sources to base your arguments on! In normal years, you are given a 15 minute reading period for the documents and 45 minutes to create your essay.

2. Long-Essay Question

The LEQ is another one of the essays found on AP History exams. In comparison to the DBQ, the LEQ does not provide you with any documents or resources. Therefore, it tests your ability to recall information learned throughout the year, and your ability to mold those events into a strong essay .

You traditionally are given a prompt and must come up with a thesis with specific examples that you’ll be arguing in your essay. Also, for AP History exams, you are given different prompts to choose from, in comparison to the DBQ, where you must write a response to the given prompt and use the given documents. You have 35 minutes to complete the essay.

3. The Synthesis Essay

This is one of the essays you will be writing if you take the AP Language and Composition exam. You are given a variety of sources that relate to a given topic, and you must create an argument that synthesizes at least three of the sources to support your thesis . You are allotted a 15-minute reading period, and a 40-minute writing period.

4. The Rhetorical Analysis

This is another one of the essays written during the AP Language and Composition exam. You will read one non-fiction text and you must analyze how that author’s rhetorical strategies and language choices impact the purpose of the text and the intended meaning .

Just to throw out some examples of rhetorical devices: alliterations, allusions, and metaphors are some common ones. You may have been studying these in all of your English classes, and this essay gives you the opportunity to showcase what you’ve learned and to apply them to a non-fiction work. It is recommended to spend about 25 minutes writing the essay.

5. The Argumentative Essay

For this AP Lang essay, you will be expected to read and understand a quote or a passage in order to form an evidence-based response. An example may be reading a quote from a historical person, and writing an essay that argues the “extent to which” that person’s ideas are valid. Being able to write a very convincing response is key. The suggested time is 40 minutes.

6. The Poetry Essay

This is one of the essays that are part of the AP Literature and Composition exam. For this assignment, you are given a poem and must analyze it on the spot. This can be difficult at first as you don’t have a very long time to dissect the poem and think for an extended period of time as to what the meaning is. In your response to the poem, you must incorporate references to themes, literary devices, persona, and diction. The suggested time is 40 minutes.

7. The Prose Passage Essay

This is the second AP Lit essay. It is somewhat similar to the poetry essay, but instead of a poem, you are given a prose passage to analyze . Some things that can make your argument very strong is paying attention to themes, literary devices, characters/persona, and diction. The suggested time is also 40 minutes.

8. The Thematic Analysis Essay

This is the third and final AP Literature essay type. This essay gives the student a bit more freedom in comparison to the prose and poetry essays because what you write about is more so your choice! For this essay, you will analyze a specific concept, issue, or element in a “work of literary merit”. The suggested writing time is 40 minutes as well.

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Enter your email to unlock an extra $25 off an sat or act program, by submitting my email address. i certify that i am 13 years of age or older, agree to recieve marketing email messages from the princeton review, and agree to terms of use., guide to the ap world history exam.

The AP ®  World History: Modern exam covers historical developments from c 1200 to the present. It will test topics and skills discussed in your Advanced Placement World History: Modern course.  If you score high enough, your AP score could earn you college credit !

Check out our AP World History Guide for what you need to know about the exam:

• AP World History: Modern Exam Overview
• AP World History: Modern Question Types
• AP World History: Modern Scoring
• How to Prepare

AP World History Exam Overview

The AP World History: Modern exam takes 3 hours and 15 minutes to complete and is composed of: a multiple-choice, short answer, and free response section.

AP World History Question Types

Multiple-choice.

AP World History: Modern multiple-choice questions are grouped into sets of usually 3-4 questions. They are based on primary or secondary sources, including excerpts from historical documents or writings, images, graphs, and maps. This section will test your ability to analyze and engage with the source materials while recalling what you already know about world history.

Short Answer

The AP World History: Modern short answer questions require you to respond to a secondary source for Question 1 and a primary source for Question 2, both focusing on historical developments between 1200 and 2001. Students will choose between two options (Questions 3 or 4) for the final required short-answer question, each one focusing on a different time periods of 1200 to 1750 and 1750 to 2001.

For all short answer questions, you’ll be asked to:

• Analyze the provided sources
• Analyze historical developments and processes described in the sources
• Put those historical developments and processes in context
• Make connections between those historical developments and processes

Document-Based Question (DBQ)

The AP World History: Modern DBQ presents a prompt and seven historical documents that are intended to show the complexity of a particular historical issue between the years 1450 and 2001. You will need to develop an argument that responds to the prompt and support that argument with evidence from both the documents and your own knowledge of world history. To earn the best score, you should incorporate outside knowledge and be able to relate the issues discussed in the documents to a larger theme, issue, or time period.

Long Essay Question

The AP World History: Modern Long Essay Question presents three questions and you have to choose one to answer.    All questions will test the same skills but will focus on different historical periods (i.e., from c. 1200–1750, from c. 1450–1900, or from c. 1750–2001). Similar to the DBQ, you will need to develop and support an answer to the question you picked based on historical evidence to earn the best score possible.

For a comprehensive content review, check out our book,  AP World History Prep

AP World History Review

The College Board is very detailed in what they require your AP teacher to cover in his or her AP World History course. They explain that you should be familiar with world history events from the following nine units that fall within four major time periods from 1200 to the present.

Read More: Review for the exam with our AP World History Cram Courses

AP scores are reported from 1 to 5. Here’s how students scored on  AP World History exam in May 2020:

Source: College Board

How can I prepare?

AP classes are great, but for many students they’re not enough! For a thorough review of AP World History: Modern content and strategy, pick the AP prep option that works best for your goals and learning style.  You can also check out our AP World History: Modern test prep book here .

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Hey guys, I'm taking AP World History this year and I'm trying to get ahead on studying for the upcoming exam. Can anyone share their experience with the essay prompts or give me any advice on how to tackle them? Thanks!

Hello! It's great that you're preparing for the AP World History exam ahead of time. In the AP World History exam, there are two types of essays you'll need to write: the Long Essay Question (LEQ) and the Document-Based Question (DBQ).

For the LEQ, you'll be given a choice of three prompts, each asking you to develop an argument focused on a specific historical development, comparison, or continuity/change over time. To tackle the LEQ, follow these steps:

1. Carefully read and understand the prompt.

2. Brainstorm and outline your argument, organize your main points and supporting evidence.

3. Use relevant examples and evidence from the World History course to support your argument.

4. Make sure you address all parts of the prompt and present a clear and coherent argument.

For the DBQ, you'll be given a prompt and a set of documents to analyze. Your goal is to use the documents as evidence to support your argument in response to the prompt. Here's how to approach the DBQ:

1. Analyze the prompt: Understand what it's asking and identify the key elements you need to address.

2. Read and analyze the documents: Identify the author, the main point, and any bias or perspective present in each document.

3. Group the documents: Organize the documents by theme or topic, which will help you build a clear argument.

4. Develop your thesis: Form a clear and concise argument to answer the prompt, using the documents as evidence.

5. Write your essay: Include an introduction with your thesis, body paragraphs that discuss the documents and provide analysis, and a solid conclusion.

When practicing LEQ and DBQ essays, you can improve your skills by reviewing past prompts from the College Board website, adequately timing yourself, and seeking feedback from your teacher or peers. Remember that practice makes perfect, so the more you work on essay writing, the better prepared you'll be for the exam. Good luck!

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This article was co-authored by Carrie Adkins, PhD . Carrie Adkins is the cofounder of NursingClio, an open access, peer-reviewed, collaborative blog that connects historical scholarship to current issues in gender and medicine. She completed her PhD in American History at the University of Oregon in 2013. While completing her PhD, she earned numerous competitive research grants, teaching fellowships, and writing awards. This article has been viewed 41,838 times.

AP World History is an exciting course to take. You can learn about how civilizations have grown and interacted with one another from the time of 600 B.C.E. to the present day. For your course and AP exam, you will need to write three kinds of essays: document-based, continuity and change-over-time, and comparative. [1] X Research source Each has a slightly different format so be aware of the differences.

Writing a Document-Based Essay

• Making historical arguments from evidence and practicing historical argumentation
• Chronological reasoning, determining causation, continuity, and change-over-time
• Comparison and contextualization
• Historical interpretation and synthesis [2] X Research source

• Look for commonalities or contrasts in the documents’ tone, authorship, purpose or intent, and dating. [4] X Research source
• Draw a table that lists your group headings, e.g. "gender" or "trade pacts." List the numbers of the documents that fit in each group. For each group, make sure you have minimally two documents. [5] X Research source
• Themes might include a particular time period like World War II, technological movements like the Industrial Revolution, or social movements like civil rights.

• You must use all or all but one of the documents. [7] X Research source For this essay, rely on the evidence in front of you first. Then, if you have any examples that will help your point, you can incorporate them into your argument.
• You might be asked what other documents could be beneficial to your grouping or argument. Think about what could make your arguments stronger. Try to mention an additional needed document at the end of every body paragraph. [8] X Research source
• For tips on writing an essay, see Write an Essay.
• For advice on developing your thesis statement, see Focus an Essay. Your thesis statement should mention evidence you gathered from the documents. It should clearly and concisely answer the prompt. Do not take on a thesis that you cannot prove in the allotted time. A framework for a thesis could be: "Docs. 1-3 demonstrate how due to the invention of the water mill, landowners with water rights were able to extract income from a basic natural resource. This widened the income gap between landowners and farmers."

• For examples of sample questions and documents for this essay and the other types of essays, see http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap-world-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf

Penning a Change-Over-Time Essay

• How did environmental conditions shift, for example, during the Industrial Revolution? What were the connections to technological development? Look for changes over time and things that remained the same or were continuous.
• Include dates when relevant. [11] X Research source
• When forming your thesis statement, make sure it answers the prompt and mentions both change and continuity. For example, "Although Christianity spread through colonialism, its impact in China was relatively small in comparison to other countries (e.g. X, Y, Z). In China, Buddhism remained as a mainstay because of missionaries' inability to connect with the local people in (location M, N, etc.)."

• For example, if you are writing about the Crusades, drawing parallels to the Mongols and spirituality's influence on their wars is an interesting side-point. Unless you were asked to compare the role of religion in war, however, the point is probably not necessary to mention!

• Good essays tie change and continuity together. For example, an important agricultural change could lead to a technological innovation that becomes a continuity.

Mastering a Comparative Essay

• You might be able to choose from a number of examples for analysis. [13] X Research source

• Assess or evaluate
• Describe [14] X Research source

• For example, if the prompt asks you to compare the role of religion in war between two societies, you could pick the Ancient Hebrews and early Muslims. If, however, you know more about the Christian Crusaders and the spiritualist Mongols, go for that comparison. As long as you can support your points with thorough examples and your examples answer the question at hand, use what you know best.

• Can develop a solid thesis
• Answer every part of the question
• Provide evidence to back up your thesis
• Make minimally one (preferably more) direct comparisons between regions or societies
• Examine one reason for the difference between regions

Expert Q&A

• Use an active voice (versus passive) and simple past verbs. [15] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you have time, always review your essay after you’ve written it. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• To ensure good essay writing, be sure to study enough beforehand. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap-world-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf
• ↑ http://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0024122010/899891/AP_World_History_Essay_Writers_HB.pdf
• ↑ http://faculty.chass.ncsu.edu/slatta/hi216/write.htm

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How to Approach AP World History: Modern Long Essay Questions

The second part of Section II of the AP World History exam contains three long essay questions—you must respond to one. The long essay question assesses your ability to apply knowledge of history in a complex, analytical manner. In other words, you are expected to treat history and historical questions as a historian would. This process is called historiography—the skills and strategies historians use to analyze and interpret historical evidence to reach a conclusion. Thus, when writing an effective essay, you must be able to write a strong, clearly developed thesis and supply a substantial amount of relevant evidence to support your thesis and develop a complex argument.

The College Board’s characteristics of a high-scoring long essay question response are listed below. Note that the requirements are very similar to those of the DBQ; the primary difference is that any requirements related to use of the documents are removed from the scoring requirements for the LEQ.

• Thesis: Make a thesis or claim that responds to the prompt. The thesis or claim must be historically defensible and establish a line of reasoning.
• Context: Provide context relevant to the prompt by describing a broader historical development or process.
• Evidence: Use specific and relevant examples as evidence to support an argument in response to the prompt.
• Historical Skill: Use a historical reasoning skill (causation, comparison, or continuity and change) to develop an argument in response to the prompt.
• Complex Understanding: Demonstrate a complex understanding of an argument that responds to the prompt by using evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify the argument.

AP World History: Modern Long Essay Question Strategy

During step 1: analyze the prompt.

• Each long essay question begins with a general statement that provides context about the tested time period, and then the second sentence identifies your task, which will always entail developing an evaluative argument. Make sure to read all three prompts carefully. Think of the evidence you could use and the argument you could develop in response to each one, then choose the question you feel most confident about.
• Begin crafting your thesis statement. You must have a thesis that takes a stand, answers the entire question, and shows the reader the path you will take in your essay answer. It is not enough to merely restate the task as your thesis. One of the most important things to do is to take a position. Don’t be afraid of taking a strong stand for or against a prompt as long as you can provide proper and relevant evidence to support your assertions. Each prompt will lend itself to building a thesis that employs a historical skill , such as causation, continuity and change, or comparison.
• Part of developing your thesis should be considering how your essay’s argument will demonstrate a complex understanding . As for the DBQ, your argument should address the complexity of the historical development or process—perhaps by including multiple variables, by considering both causes and effects, or by making an insightful connection to another time period. See the DBQ section of this chapter for a complete list of ways to demonstrate complex understanding.

During Step 2: Plan Your Response

• Make short notes that outline each paragraph of your essay, including the points you will make and the evidence you will use to support your points.
• The first paragraph of your essay will likely contain your thesis statement; the thesis may also appear in the conclusion, but placing it in the introduction will make it easier for your readers to follow your essay.
• Consider how you will provide context for the essay topic. The context you provide must be more detailed than a brief reference and should situate the topic of the prompt in relation to developments before, during, or after the time period from the prompt. The introduction paragraph or first body paragraph may be good places to include contextualization.
• In general, each body paragraph should address one part of your claim or one category of evidence you are providing in support of your thesis. Organizing your essay according to the historical skill being tested is an easy and effective way to structure your essay; each paragraph of an essay responding to a prompt about causation could address one cause, for instance. Jot down the evidence you will include in each body paragraph. To earn the maximum points for use of evidence, you must use examples that support your overall argument—merely listing relevant examples but not explaining how they support your claim will only earn 1 instead of 2 possible points for evidence.
• Confirm that your plan addresses all the essay requirements before moving into the writing step.

During Step 3: Action! Write Your Response

• There is no “standard” number of paragraphs you must have. AP readers look for quality, not quantity.
• The first paragraph of your essay should include your thesis and any other organizational cues you can give your reader. There is no need to spend time creating a “hook” or flashy statement for your first sentence or using rhetorical questions. AP graders are reading for the items that are listed in the rubric. You will notice that creativity in language is not a listed item. However, a well-written and developed argument is a desired item.
• Your body paragraphs should follow the “road map” you set in your introduction and thesis. Don’t stray from your plan, or you will find yourself straying from the prompt. You have taken the time to make a plan, so follow it! Do not merely list facts and events in a “laundry list” fashion. You must have some element of analysis between each set of evidence you provide. Using transition words, such as however, therefore, and thus, to show shifts in thought can make creating analytical sentences quick and easy. You should practice stringing facts and thoughts together using these “qualifying transitions” in your sentences.
• Beware of telling a story rather than answering the question. Readers are looking for analysis, not a revised version of your textbook. Do not attempt to shower the reader with extra factoids and showy language; focus on developing a well-crafted argument.
• Because this is a formal essay, you should avoid using personal pronouns, such as you, I, or we, and slang words. Because your essay is about history, write your essay in the past tense.
• You should end each body paragraph with a mini-conclusion that ties the paragraph back to the thesis. It can serve as a transition sentence into the next paragraph or stand alone. In either case, the reader should be able to tell easily that you are shifting gears into another part of the essay.
• Lastly, write your conclusion. Restate your thesis, but in a new way. Instead of rewriting your thesis word for word, explain why your thesis is significant to the question. Do not introduce new evidence in your conclusion. The conclusion should tie all of the mini-conclusion sentences together and leave the reader with a sense of completion. If you are running out of time when you reach the conclusion, you may leave it off without incurring a specific penalty. However, the conclusion can help solidify your entire argument in the minds of your readers, so practice writing timed essays so you can learn the proper timing it takes to write a complete essay (conclusion included).

During Step 4: Proofread

• Neatly correct any obvious errors.

For more help prepping for the AP World History: Modern exam, check out our AP World History: Modern Prep Plus Book.

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