The AP World History exam can be challenging, but with the right strategic mindset, you can get yourself on track for earning the 4 or 5 that you need to qualify for college credit or advanced placement. Before diving into strategies specific to the exam, let’s review some general strategies that will aid you on any standardized test.
These points are generally valid for standardized tests, but they are broad in scope. The rest of this section will discuss how these general ideas can be modified to apply specifically to the AP World History exam. These specific strategies and the factual information reviewed in this book’s content chapters are the potent combination that will help you succeed on the exam.
The AP World History multiple-choice section consists of 55 questions, each with four answer choices, to be completed in 55 minutes. There is no penalty for incorrect answers, so guessing is encouraged. A primary or secondary document is provided for each question set, which will contain two to five questions. Question sets come from all six periods and can deal with specific countries and regions, global situations, or a single topic, such as the basic knowledge of a religion. Question sets are often comparative both within and across time frames.
The questions range from easy and medium to difficult with no distinct pattern to their appearance. A basic strategy for scoring well on this exam is to NOT do it linearly; in other words, do not take each question set one at a time, answering each one in order. The best strategy is to do the following:
Here are some more tips for doing well on the multiple-choice section:
On the AP World History exam, you have 40 minutes to answer three short-answer questions, each of which will have two to three parts. Aim to spend about 10 to 12 minutes on each question depending on how many parts it contains. Apply any extra time you have at the end of the section to reread your responses, looking for quick errors to fix (such as missing punctuation or wording).
Use the first minute to identify all of the parts of the question. Then, before you begin writing your answer, create a plan of which historical examples you will be using for each part. Your responses to each part should be between three and six sentences long.
You will have plenty of opportunities to practice writing responses to short-answer questions in the practice exams, so be sure to complete those sections to the best of your ability for the most exam-like experience.
According to the College Board, a high-scoring response to a short-answer question will accomplish all tasks outlined in the question. You must answer each part of the question with complete sentences and provide specific historical examples in order to receive full credit. Make sure you go beyond simply quoting or paraphrasing historical evidence and really explain its meaning or significance.
Depending on the question, a high-scoring short-answer response may:
The first part of Section II is the document-based question (DBQ). This essay asks you to think like a historian; it will ask a specific question and present 7 related documents. Essentially, you are the historian who will take these sources and draw conclusions based on your analytical skills. The DBQ evaluates historical understanding at its purest: the task is not to remember facts but to organize information in an analytical manner.
If the DBQ prompt and accompanying documents cover something well outside the mainstream, don’t panic! The exam writers do this on purpose. The other essay on the exam—the long essay question—will evaluate your knowledge of history, but the DBQ evaluates your ability to work with historical material, even material with which you’re less familiar. Writing the DBQ is a skill that can be learned much like any other skill, and this book will help you hone that skill.
The 100 minutes for Section II of the exam is divided into two parts: the first 15 minutes is the suggested reading and organizing time, and the last 85 minutes is the suggested essay writing time. The proctor will make timing announcements, and it is recommended that you spend 45 minutes writing the document-based question, and 40 minutes writing the long essay question. However, you will not be forced to move from reading to writing, or from the DBQ to the long essay, if you’re not yet ready.
You will want to spend the first 10 minutes of the suggested reading period on the DBQ since this essay requires the most preparation time. Use the remaining five minutes to read and prep for the long essay question.
First, read the DBQ prompt. Underline the words that are most relevant to your task. Let’s look at a sample question:
Using the following documents, analyze how the Ottoman government viewed ethnic and religious groups within its empire for the period 1876–1908. Identify an additional document and explain how it would help you analyze the views of the Ottoman government.
All of the documents that follow will relate to the time period and the place, so you do not need to underline 1876–1908 or Ottoman government. You are being asked how the Ottoman government viewed ethnic and religious groups within its empire. An essay that dealt with how the groups viewed the Ottoman Empire would miss the point.
Second, read the documents. Most of the first 10 minutes of the suggested reading period will be used to review the documents and organize them into groups for analysis. Each of the documents will have a number above a box. Inside the box will be information about the source of the document, which is very important as you will see later, and the document itself.
Documents can be of many different sorts. They can be pictures, photographs, maps, charts, graphs, or text. Written documents are usually excerpts of much longer pieces that have been edited specifically for the exam. They could be from personal letters, private journals, official decrees, public speeches, or propaganda posters. Obviously, the nature of the source should guide you in how you analyze the document. Often, students have a harder time analyzing the visual and graphic sources than the written sources. Even so, use all of the documents in your essay, treating the non-written sources with the same attention as the written ones.
All of the essay questions will be presented in a booklet. Feel free to write notes in this booklet as you read the documents and to underline important words in both the source line and the document itself. Nothing in the booklet is read as part of the essay scoring. Use the generous margins for notes that will help you group the documents together and discuss their points of view.
Jot down notes about the background of the authors in the margins. Information about the authors’ social class, education, occupation, and gender may be important in the essay. At the bottom of the document, write a short phrase that summarizes the basic meaning of the document, its purpose (why it was written), and a missing piece of evidence that could relate to the document. If the document is a speech, the missing evidence could be the perception of those listening to the speech. If the document is a government declaration, the missing evidence could be information about how effectively the declaration was carried out.
It is also helpful to pause after reading all of the documents to consider evidence that would provide a more complete understanding of the issue. Then you can suggest an additional document.
Once you have finished reading and have made short notes of all of the documents, reread the question. Again, note what the question asks. If you have not done so already, mark which documents address the different issues that the question includes. Group the documents by their similarities. At this point, you should be able to draw enough conclusions to organize a strong, analytical thesis.
At the end of the 15 minutes, the proctor will announce that the time is up for the suggested reading period. If you have not yet finished reading and organizing your essays, take a few more minutes to finish up. A few students might be ready to write before the end of the reading period, but most find that the given time is just about right.
According to the College Board, a high-scoring DBQ response will:
To effectively prepare for the DBQ, it is important to understand what components are needed for a high-scoring response. The AP World History exam readers will be looking for proficiency in four reporting categories: Thesis/Claim, Contextualization, Evidence, and Analyzing and Reasoning. The readers use a rubric similar to the following to determine your raw score, which can range from 0-7.
| Reporting Category | Scoring Criteria | Decision Rules |
| Thesis/Claim (0–1 pt) | Responds to the prompt with a
historically defensible thesis/claim that
establishes a line of reasoning. (1 pt) |
To earn this point, the thesis must make a claim that responds to the prompt rather than restating or rephrasing the prompt. The thesis must consist of one or more sentences located in one place, either in the introduction or the conclusion. |
| Contextualization (0–1 pt) |
Describes a broader historical context
relevant to the prompt. (1 pt) |
To earn this point, the response must relate the topic of
the prompt to broader historical events, developments,
or processes that occur before, during, or continue after
the time frame of the question. This point is not awarded
for merely a phrase or reference. |
| Evidence (0–3 pts) |
Evidence from the Documents: Uses the content of at least three documents to address the topic of the prompt. (1 pt) OR Supports an argument in response to the prompt using at least six documents. (2 pts) |
To earn one point, the response must accurately
describe — rather than simply quote — the content
from at least three of the documents.
To earn two points, the response must accurately describe — rather than simply quote — the content from at least six documents. In addition, the response must use the content of the documents to support an argument in response to the prompt. |
| Evidence Beyond the Documents: Uses at least one additional piece of the specific historical evidence (beyond that found in the documents) relevant to an argument about the prompt. (1 pt) |
To earn this point, the response must describe
the evidence and must use more than a phrase or
reference. This additional piece of evidence must be
different from the evidence used to earn the point for
contextualization. |
|
| Analysis and Reasoning (0–2 pts) |
For at least three documents, explains
how or why the document’s point of
view, purpose, historical situation, and/or
audience is relevant to an argument. (1 pt) |
To earn this point, the response must explain how or
why (rather than simply identifying) the document’s
point of view, purpose, historical situation, or audience
is relevant to an argument about the prompt for each of
the three documents sourced. |
|
Demonstrates a complex
understanding of the historical
development that is the focus of the
prompt, using evidence to corroborate,
qualify, or modify an argument that
addresses the question. (1 pt) |
A response may demonstrate a complex
understanding in a variety of ways, such as:
This understanding must be part of the argument, not merely a phrase or reference. |
Let’s look at an example of a DBQ before learning how to earn the highest score possible.
Using the following documents, analyze how the Ottoman government viewed ethnic and religious groups within its empire for the period 1876–1908. Identify an additional document and explain how it would help you analyze the views of the Ottoman Empire.
You have one chance to make a good first impression. Usually, an AP reader can tell within the first few sentences whether or not an essay is going to be strong. A few essays can recover after a poor start, but first impressions matter. Consequently, nothing is more important in the first paragraph than the clear statement of an analytical thesis.
Different kinds of writings demand different types of opening paragraphs. In English class, you may learn a style of essay writing that asks for general background information in a first paragraph. On a DBQ, however, you do not have much time. The reader is most interested in seeing a strong thesis as soon as possible.
Your thesis can be more than just one sentence. With the compound questions often asked by the DBQ, two sentences might be needed to complete the idea. To score well, the thesis needs to include specific information that responds to the question. Many students think they have written a thesis when, in actuality, they have not; their opening paragraphs are just too general and unspecific.
The thesis is that part of your essay that 1) specifically addresses the terms of the question and 2) sets up the structure for the rest of your essay.
Let’s take a look at thesis statement samples based on the prompt from earlier in the chapter.
“For the period 1876–1908, analyze how the Ottoman government viewed ethnic and religious groups within its empire.”
The following statement is not an acceptable thesis; it is far too vague. It says very little about how the essay is structured.
The next statement paraphrases the historical background and does not address the question. It would not receive credit for being a thesis.
This next sentence gets the question backward: you are being asked for the government’s view of religious and ethnic groups, not the groups’ view of the government. Though the point-of-view issue is very important, this statement would not receive POV credit.
The following paragraph says a great deal about history, but it does not address the substance of the question. It would not receive credit because of its irrelevancy.
Now we turn to thesis statements that do work. These two sentences address both the religious and ethnic aspects of the question. They describe how these groups were viewed.
This statement answers the question in a different way but is equally successful.
The readers award credit based on what the essays accomplish. They do not remove points if an essay is off-task, written poorly, or wrong. There is one exception, however. In the DBQ, you must demonstrate that you understand the documents being used. If your essay makes more than one major misinterpretation, credit cannot be earned.
A major misinterpretation is one that misses the basic intent of the document. If you wrote that the Proclamation of the Young Turks (document 7) was a movement away from ethnic and religious equality, that misinterpretation would be a major error.
If, instead, you wrote that the Ottoman Empire survived for decades after the Proclamation of the Young Turks in 1908, the statement would be wrong (the Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I) but would not be a misinterpretation of the document. All of the documents could still count as being understood properly. Be careful—especially with visual and graphic documents. Students tend to misinterpret these non-written documents more than they misinterpret traditional written documents.
Your ability to use the documents provided to answer the question is the focus of the essay. Use the documents to analyze, and you will earn credit for doing so.
If the essay supports the thesis with appropriate evidence from all, or all but one, of the documents, then the essay earns full credit. If it uses evidence from all but two of the documents, then partial credit is earned.
As you are writing your essay, check off each document in your booklet as you use it. When writing under the pressure of time, you may forget to mention one or two. Remember to include the documents that are in graphic or visual formats. Students often forget to analyze these to the same degree that they do written sources.
To receive full credit, the documents need to be used as part of the analysis. In other words, do you mention something about a document that helps to answer the question? If a document is mentioned only in a list, it will not count. For example, “The Ottoman Empire looked down on ethnic and religious minorities, as seen in documents 3, 4, and 5.” If documents 3, 4, and 5 were not analyzed further, this essay would not receive full credit for supporting the thesis with appropriate evidence.
How should essays refer to the documents? Any of the following ways could count for supporting your thesis with evidence. Your essay could:
Merely summarizing the documents is the easiest way to miss out on scoring well. You must link the document to the question, not just repeat what the document says. For example, the following paragraph might not count as evidence in support of the thesis:
This summary does not provide any analysis. It states simply what the documents say; it does not describe how the documents show government views toward ethnic and religious groups. The task of the essay is to answer the question by analyzing.
The following paragraph would help earn full credit for evidence in support of the thesis:
Another easy way to miss out on scoring well is by not having a strong thesis. How can you use document evidence to support the thesis if the thesis itself is weak? Your essay should be organized enough so that the reader can see how each document fits into the analysis presented in the thesis. Using the same terms that are mentioned in the thesis is a good way to make the links between the evidence and the thesis more apparent.
Properly discussing the point of view (POV) of the documents is another important, and sometimes difficult, task. It separates the mediocre essays from those that score very well. Your essay will need to mention aspects of POV for at least two documents in order to receive POV credit.
So what is point of view? Essentially, POV is the analysis of why a certain person composed the material for the document. What is the author’s (or the document’s) “angle”? Comments in your essay that explore the motivations for the documents often count as POV. In addition, comments relating to the reliability of a source relate to that source’s POV.
You cannot just say that an author is biased or prejudiced to receive the point for POV. You must state why or indicate an impact or desired effect of the document.
Ask these questions in order to earn the full credit for POV:
Merely attributing the document’s source by repeating the source material from the document is not enough to earn the POV point. The source material, however, gives you clues as to what you could say relating to POV.
Using our sample DBQ on the Ottoman government’s view of ethnic and religious groups, let’s examine different examples of POV. You may want to go back to review the documents in the sample DBQ. The following statements may all count for point of view:
For document 1:
For document 2:
For document 3:
For document 4:
For document 5:
For document 6:
For document 7:
Some of the statements seem more sophisticated than others, and some of the statements may actually contradict each other. Even so, describing point of view is a skill that must be demonstrated for at least two documents.
Essays that use POV in a sophisticated manner and use it consistently are rewarded with very high scores, as long as every other basic component has been addressed.
Historians analyze material by pulling together similar pieces of evidence, and, in writing your DBQ, so should you. The documents naturally come together into groups for analysis. Within each of your body paragraphs, group the documents. Essays that successfully have two or three groupings, depending on the question, often earn high scores.
Do not work with documents in isolation since a group cannot have just one document. A common mistake is for students to describe each document in order by paraphrasing what it says. This “listing” format is deadly to good performance on the DBQ.
Two earlier paragraphs served as examples of how to use and how not to use evidence to support your thesis. Let’s look at these paragraphs again to see how effectively they group documents.
In the first example, the documents are discussed independently. In the second example, they are discussed together, which creates a stronger paragraph.
How you group documents is a matter of personal opinion. Typical groupings include:
For example, you could group the documents in the following ways:
By document type and intended audience:
By attitudes toward ethnic and religious minorities:
By focus on types of groups:
You can group documents in a variety of ways. A single document can even be used in more than one group within an essay. You are encouraged to group documents in as many appropriate ways as possible.
A straightforward way to organize your grouping is to indicate why you are grouping documents together in your topic sentence. For example: “The Ottoman Constitution of 1876 (document 2) and the Proclamation of the Young Turks (document 6) both indicate that the Ottoman rulers wanted to ensure that all of their subjects understood that they were equal before the law. In the Ottoman Constitution, subjects are , while in the Proclamation of the Young Turks, subjects are .”
Make sure to address each document when you list two or more documents in a grouping sentence. If you forget to actually use the document, it will cost you points for not using all of the listed documents.
When doing research, historians continuously ask themselves where else they could find valuable information on a topic. Historians are in constant search of new areas of inquiry and new sources to explain the past. Since the DBQ is the essay that asks you to be a historian, your essay needs to provide suggestions for additional documents that could be useful in answering the question. These suggestions should not be types of documents that are already present in the DBQ, but rather the “missing voice” not already included in the list of documents.
For this task, you do not need to be very specific; you do not even need to mention a specific document. All you need to do is mention a type of document that could be useful in answering the question asked. The readers of the AP essay do not expect that high-school students would have knowledge of hidden documents in some archive that might shed light on this topic. General statements involving hypothetical types of documents would be fine even if they do not really exist.
Just as important as mentioning a potentially useful type of document is describing why it would be useful. To earn credit, you need to include both: mention of an additional document and an explanation about why it would be useful in analyzing the question. Unfortunately, students frequently mention a type of additional document without describing why.
For our sample DBQ, examples of additional documents could be:
Any of these responses, or any combination of these, would receive credit as additional document(s). Other potential responses would also be counted if their importance could be explained.
Be careful: mentioning a type of document that you have already been given disqualifies the statement. For our sample DBQ, mentioning a document from a person outside of the Ottoman Empire would not count because document 3 is written from a British perspective. Nor would mentioning a document from an ethnic or religious minority within the Ottoman Empire count because document 4 is written by an Armenian in Istanbul. To make sure that you earn credit, you may want to mention two or three different types of additional documents and why each would be useful.
Students often mention an additional document at the end of the essay. However, discussion of the additional document can take place anywhere in the essay, and the most sophisticated essays will place this discussion of the additional documents as part of the body of the essay.
Your goal for the DBQ is to earn the highest score possible. To earn a stellar score, several indicators of excellence may be considered. A high-scoring essay will likely:
Do:
Don’t:
The long essay question on the AP World History exam 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.
According to the College Board, a high-scoring long essay question response will:
The AP World History exam readers will be looking for proficiency in the same four reporting categories they use to assess your DBQ response: Thesis/Claim, Contextualization, Evidence, and Analyzing and Reasoning. The readers use a rubric similar to the following to determine your raw score, which can range from 0-6.
| Reporting Category | Scoring Criteria | Decision Rules |
| Thesis/Claim (0–1 pt) | Responds to the prompt with a
historically defensible thesis/claim that
establishes a line of reasoning. (1 pt) |
To earn this point, the thesis must make a claim that responds to the prompt rather than restating or rephrasing the prompt. The thesis must consist of one or more sentences located in one place, either in the introduction or the conclusion. |
| Contextualization (0–1 pt) |
Describes a broader historical context
relevant to the prompt. (1 pt) |
To earn this point, the response must relate the topic of
the prompt to broader historical events, developments,
or processes that occur before, during, or continue after
the time frame of the question. This point is not awarded
for merely a phrase or reference. |
| Evidence (0–2 pts) |
Provides specific
examples of
evidence relevant
to the topic of the
prompt. (1 pt) OR Supports an argument in response to the prompt using specific and relevant examples of evidence. (2 pts) |
To earn one point, the response must identify
specific historical examples of evidence relevant
to the topic of the prompt.
To earn two points the response must use specific historical evidence to support an argument in response to the prompt. |
| Analysis and Reasoning (0–2 pts) |
Uses historical
reasoning (e.g.
comparison,
causation,
continuity and change over time) to frame
or structure an
argument that
addresses the
prompt. (1 pt) OR Demonstrates a complex understanding of the historical development that is the focus of the prompt, using evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument that addresses the question. (2 pts) |
To earn the first point, the response must
demonstrate the use of historical reasoning to
frame or structure an argument, although the
reasoning might be uneven or imbalanced.
To earn the second point, the response must demonstrate a complex understanding. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, such as:
This understanding must be part of the argument, not merely a phrase or reference. |
Success on the long essay section of the exam starts with breaking down the task of essay writing into specific steps.
Always keep in mind that the AP World History exam is written to be challenging and rigorous. Thus, the questions will require you to identify specific and important information prior to constructing a response. When given an essay prompt, first take some of your time to slow down and understand exactly what the question is asking you to do. The key here is to understand how to answer all parts of the question. Circle directive words, such as analyze, compare, contrast, or assess the extent to which. Commonly, prompts will ask you to validate or refute a statement or to explain the impact of one event on another or the degree of impact. List these directives as pieces of the puzzle that you will attempt to put together with your history knowledge.
A major area of concern each year for the AP exam readers is that students do not take the time to understand all parts of the question and plan their responses. We have already dissected the question; now it is time to plan a thesis. The thesis is your way of telling the reader why he or she should care about reading your essay. If you have a weak thesis, the reader will not be convinced that you understand the question. He or she will not trust that you have the depth of knowledge necessary to answer the question. Therefore, 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 question 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.
Think of your thesis as the “road map” to your essay. It will provide the reader with the stops along the way to the final destination—the conclusion. Only through a thorough study of world history can you construct a strong thesis.
Now that you have a “road map,” you need to brainstorm all of the relevant evidence you can recall that relates to the question. There are several ways to do this: a cluster or web diagram, a bulleted list, or a quick outline. Whatever you prefer, this is a step you cannot skip! Students who do not take the time to plan their evidence often find themselves scratching out irrelevant information during the exam, thus wasting valuable time. Also, you must learn to brainstorm efficiently—you should use only about five minutes to complete the first three steps of essay writing. Use abbreviations, pictures, or other cues that are efficient for you.
Once you have a list, you can move to the next (and most important) step—writing!
As you practice writing essays using the strategies in this chapter, you will have the luxury of taking time to write topic sentences, list evidence, and construct “mini-conclusions” for each prompt. However, on the AP exam, time is of the essence! You will have 40 minutes to construct a coherent essay response for the LEQ if you use 60 minutes (including the 15-minute reading period) for the DBQ. If you practice the prewriting strategies from the previously outlined steps 1 through 3, you will find it easy to write a developed paper in a short time.
There is no “standard” number of paragraphs you must have. A good rule to keep in mind is one body paragraph for each portion of the essay prompt. Some AP World History exam questions will be structured to fit a five-paragraph essay, while others may need more and others less. You will not be penalized for writing a strong four-paragraph response. Likewise, you will not be rewarded for constructing a weak six-paragraph response. AP readers look for quality, not quantity.
Your first paragraph should always introduce your essay. Your thesis from step 2 is only part of your introduction. The first paragraph of your essay should include your thesis and any other organizational cues you can give your reader. Ask yourself, “Could a complete stranger understand where my essay is going from just my first paragraph?” If your answer is no, then you must rework the introduction. Do not spend time creating a “hook” or flashy statement for your first sentence. Do not use rhetorical questions. AP graders are reading for the items that are listed on the scoring guide. You will notice that creativity in language and structure 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 question. You have taken the time to 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 a shift 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. Say what you need to say cleanly and simply. Readers will be impressed with your ability to write clearly and concisely in a way that showcases your historical knowledge, rather than your ability to write creatively.
Because this is a formal essay, you should avoid using personal pronouns, such as you, I, or we. Also, avoid the use of terms that could be “loaded” unless you intend on explaining them to the reader. For instance, you would not want to use the term liberal to describe Thomas Jefferson unless you were prepared to explain your use of the word liberal in the historical context. Do not use slang in any part of your essay. Because your essay is about history, write your essay in the past tense. Do not write about Franklin D. Roosevelt as if he were still alive today.
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. Many students have learned that they should simply restate their thesis in the conclusion; these students may recopy what they wrote in the introduction word for word. This is incorrect. Yes, you should restate your thesis, but in a new way. Instead of rewriting it 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 on the scoring guide. However, if you practice writing timed essays, you will learn the proper timing it takes to write a complete essay (conclusion included).