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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 They are based on primary or secondary sources, including excerpts from historical documents or writings, images, graphs, and maps.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The AP World History: Modern DBQ presents a prompt and seven historical documents that are intended to show the complexity of a particular historical issue between the years 1450 and 2001.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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Score Higher on AP World History 2024: Tips for LEQs

1 min read • march 22, 2024

Exam simulation mode

Prep for the AP exam with questions that mimic the test!

This guide organizes advice from past students who got 4s and 5s on their exams. We hope it gives you some new ideas and tools for your study sessions. But remember, everyone's different—what works for one student might not work for you. If you've got a study method that's working, stick with it. Think of this as extra help, not a must-do overhaul.

📌  Overview

• Students are asked to pick one topic out of 3 and write a historical essay supporting an argument
• 15% of Exam Score
• Spend about 40 min
• Thesis/Claim (1)

Contextualization (1)

• Uses 2x specific evidence (2)
• Analysis & Complexity (2)

💭 General Advice

Tips on mindset, strategy, structure, time management, and any other high-level things to know

• Do practice tests. These will help you understand the format and pace of the AP exams and are an excellent study tool.
• Just write. Think about what you want to say for the rubric points, but just write for the rest of the essay. You wouldn’t have made it this far if your writing wasn’t good! Trust yourself.
• The LEQ is not as scary as some teachers may make it seem. Be confident in yourself and your knowledge.
• Spend at least 30 minutes studying every day in the month leading up to the exam. It may feel excessive, but studying is vital to success on this exam.
• The DBQ and LEQ are done together in 1 hour and 40 minutes. Remember to pace yourselves; you have 50/50 for each composition. Don’t make the same mistake students make of spending too much on one section and not the other. The proctor will not tell you to move to the next portion, so make sure you keep your own pace and write.
• Don’t stress about the LEQ! The name may sound scary, but it really is just an extended version of the SAQs. Don’t stress; it is simple if you read the question a couple of times.
• Remember that the people grading the tests wish to give you as many points as possible, so try to do your best!
• You will be given the guidelines for points on the same page that your prompt will be on. Throughout the essay, look back and ensure you follow those guidelines.
• It’s ok to take 15-20 minutes to write out your intro paragraph. It helps you set up the rest of your essay, the points for your body paragraphs, and even a counterargument that may help you reach the complexity point and extend your argument.
• It essentially uses the information you probably already know, and as you write, more and more will come to you and help you write a cohesive essay (so long as studied!).
• Knowing the general information is key, and piecing it together while writing will happen more naturally than you think.
• If your mind blanks out during this section, just start writing something. You will be surprised at how much you remember (of course if you studied a bit or paid attention in class!).
• Writing something is better than writing nothing. You don’t get points off for incorrect information. In the worst case scenario where you don’t know something, you could happen to write the correct information if you just write down anything you know.
• Put extra effort on prep work because if you have a solid preparation and somewhat organized thought then you can do great on the essays.

🕐 Before you Write

What should a student do in the first few minutes before they start writing?

• First of all, take a deep breath! Take a few seconds to relax and collect your thoughts.
• After picking your topic, consider how you want to organize your essay. How will you hit all of the rubric points? What historical events should you discuss?
• Have a loose guideline written out to remember the connections and points you want to cover in the essay.
• Write a plan for the essay and anything you remember about the topic before writing the actual essay. This will help your mind narrow down to the main things you should write about instead of going on a tangent.
• When stating points you’ll make in the essay, remember to add why it’s essential to know that to answer the question and address that in your essay.
• When you write your claim out in your planning time, make sure to address a counterargument that can be made to refute it
• Don’t stress too much about the time. Many students tend to have extra time after writing their LEQ, so you have more time than you think.
• You are okay! Remember that you are fantastic and highly clever; you wouldn’t still be in AP if you weren’t.
• This is a rough drat, so you won’t get points deducted for spelling and grammar.
• Before you start writing your essay, plan out your intro paragraph. Write your thesis and figure out the topic for your context and the time period you want to begin in. If it asks about political, economic, or social aspects of WHAP, jot down what you remember from the periods before, during, and after. This will help you establish and extend your argument.
• Circle all keywords from the prompt and brainstorm ideas while doing that. Remember what the question is asking and what time period it’s asking from.

💡  Tips for Earning Each Point

Claim/thesis (1).

• One at the start of your writing (this will help you organize your writing based on your main ideas. Think of this thesis as a “draft”)
• Your final thesis after your writing is completed (this thesis is more specific to your writing and will be more specific than the first thesis.)
• Keep it simple. A wordy thesis statement is more complicated and unnecessary to write.
• A claim/thesis always needs to be argued. Restate the question in the LEQ, but please remember to include a claim that can be argued. If you write a thesis that is stated as a fact without formulating an argument, you need to prepare a defense.
• Only restate the question if you can add an arguable claim to it. It might be helpful if you try adding three topics that support your claim.
• Your thesis can go anywhere in the essay, but a lot of students tend to place it in the last sentence of their intro paragraph.
• LEQ: In the late twentieth century, the spread of free-market economic ideas led to numerous changes worldwide. Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which the spread of free-market ideas led to economic change during this period.
• ⇒ Thesis: In the late twentieth century, the spread of free-market economic ideas led to numerous changes worldwide, including but not limited to a more significant division between classes based on wealth and the new arrival of the middle class.
• LEQ: To what extent did American foreign policy change after the Spanish-American war?
• ⇒ Thesis: Although the war brought new foreign territories, American policy has not changed as would be suggested by some historians due to the disinterest in controlling Cuba, the maintained isolationism, and the release of gained territories.
• Your thesis doesn’t always have to be “high extent” or “low extent”, sometimes using “however this also occurred” or “medium extent” is acceptable as long as you’re able to support it.
• This section should be about 2-4 sentences and should cover as much information as possible about the historical background of your topic. Don’t get carried away with specifics.
• Think about what events led up to your topic. Dynasties, political parties, and other organizations are very important to note, as they say a lot about the region and time period you will be covering.
• Always focus on the W’s (who, what, where, when, why) and the H(how) of the given topic. Be as direct as possible. Always cover the history behind the topic, essential figures, where it took place, its cause, etc. The College Board bases its grading on how much you remember, the effects, and your understanding of the topic. You’re also being graded based on how you can establish a link between the topic at hand and evaluating or comparing its long-term effects and also what caused it.
• The use of transition words is of the utmost importance to establish links, make comparisons, or show the effects of something. In order to use transition words correctly, you have to know what the question is asking.
• Address significant eras or time periods like the Industrial Revolution, Renaissance Era, the Age of Exploration, etc. Also, remember to explain the zeitgeist of the time.
• Do not go more than 100 years back in time, and keep events in factual order.
• Be sure to establish a strong link between the contextualization and the prompt or your thesis, as this sets the stage for your argument and positions your writing effectively.

Specific Evidence Usage (2)

• Always attribute your sources, even when paraphrasing. Start your sentence with “According to ________, the Mongols ________.”
• Use transition words to connect the outside source with your topic.
• Quality of evidence matters more than quantity, so it’s better to have one good fact rather than a bunch of unnecessary and irrelevant information.
• Avoid using statistics, primarily because you may put in the wrong number when you’re on a time crunch.
• Contextualize your outside evidence within its time period to provide a deeper understanding. Consider global events and their relevance to your topic.
• Explore the long-term impacts of your topic by asking yourself: What were the lasting effects of your topic? These can also be explained in your evidence, especially if the impact was global (i.e., Industrial Revolution).
• Think through if there were other significant events in the same geographical region during the same time period. If so, write about it, tying it back to your topic.
• Explicitly state the significance of the evidence and how it relates to your topic.
• If you don’t remember time period make sure to be extremely detailed with the event and give approximate time periods, such as “after WWI” or “during the 20th century” to provide context.

Complexity (2)

• Remember to connect your topic to an event in a different time period throughout your essay. Putting one sentence will not earn you the complexity point. Remember, history always repeats itself. For example, if you’re discussing Spanish colonization of the Americas, you can connect that to British imperialism in India, or vice versa.
• You could also write a paragraph at the end comparing and contrasting the events or acknowledging different sides of your argument and refuting them.
• Acknowledge both sides of the argument, even the side you disagree with! This is probably the hardest to do, but you can start with a nuanced thesis: Although ______ is ______ because ______, this is (more/less) _______ because ______. Then, at the end, address both perspectives in depth.
• For compare/contrast, make sure to show distinct things that make the two sides different and what makes the two events unique. By specifying the nuances that make them the same/ different, it will allow you to earn the point.
• For continuity/change, show how a specific event changed what was considered the norm before (speak about before and about how it changed), and show how it continued a thought process or behavior that is apparent before and after the event.
• For causation, speak about what were the causes of the event, and specify what happened as a result from that event happening.

🤔 Choosing Which Question to Answer

• Choose a topic that you feel the most comfortable writing about. It doesn’t have to be your favorite or most exciting topic, but it should be the one you know the most about.
• The LEQs on the exam may be similar to practice LEQs you’ve done in the past. If you see something familiar you’ve written about before, it would be wise to consider it.
• If all the topics are outside your knowledge, pick the one you remember the most out of the four and start writing. You’ll feel the knowledge come back to you as you write what you remember, and you can achieve the points for the rubric.
• There are four questions in the LEQ, each about a distance time period spanning 1200-1450, 1450-1750, 1750-1900, and 1900-present. You're more likely to get the point if you choose a question based on a time period that you know from the bottom of your heart.
• If you remember the W’s(who, what, where, when, why) and the H's ( how) of a topic related to that question, choose it. The College Board is not only testing your memory but also your understanding of the context and themes that go farther than just memory.
• Most of the LEQ questions are pretty general. You don’t need to know everything about, say, 1700-1800, but knowing a major event like the Industrial Revolution can lead you to different ideas, such as changing work cultures, families, unions, etc., that are all obviously tied with the event.
• Choose a topic you can give specifics about. Everyone remembers the Mongols, but can you elaborate on how their vast empire affected and was dependent on the Silk Road? Pick whatever question you can more thoroughly explain.
• If you’re planning to do the more recent time period remember that it is expected to be more specific and you’re expected to know more about it. However, ultimately, choose a topic you feel the most confident in. Brainstorm ideas for each prompt, and choose the one for which you can provide the most compelling response.

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What Happens Next for Kendrick Lamar and Drake? Let’s Discuss.

After a week of bitter diss tracks, a conversation about how the rap battle played out for the chart-topping rappers and how their personas and careers might be affected.

By Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli

It’s gotten ugly between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.

Over the weekend, the two generation-defining rappers turned a decade of competitive tension into increasingly personal attacks delivered on a barrage of diss tracks filled with taunts, insults, accusations of abuse, alleged inside information and threats.

With Lamar’s songs, including “ Euphoria” and “ Not Like Us ,” dominating the online conversation and streaming charts, the battle seemed to cool on Sunday evening, after a resigned-sounding second response this weekend from Drake, who denied some of the most serious claims against him, including pedophilia, even as he doubled down on his allegations against Lamar. Then, on Tuesday, a security guard was shot and hospitalized in serious condition outside Drake’s Toronto home; the authorities said they did not yet have a motive and the investigation was ongoing.

As the musical volleys paused, at least for now, the New York Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica and the Times music reporter Joe Coscarelli surveyed the songs, the strategy, the reputational wreckage and where each rapper stands now for an episode of the video podcast Popcast (Deluxe) . These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

JOE COSCARELLI I don’t think we need to jump in right away to definitively say who we think won this beef, because the fight seems to have been decided by popular vote. Nobody’s really calling this for Drake, right?

JON CARAMANICA I think even Drake is not calling this for Drake, because of the tone of what he put out last, “ The Heart Part 6. ” In the big picture, though, everyone won and nobody won. Thinking about fandom in the stan era , you’re either on one side or the other. But what I’ve realized in the wake of these songs is that Drake fandom comes with different levels of fickleness. His fans are willing to entertain, “Maybe he’s not the person that I thought he was.” Whereas most Kendrick fans are not willing to entertain that idea, despite Drake’s allegations in “ Family Matters ” that Kendrick at some point hired a crisis management team to cover up that he abused his fiancée, which are quite serious.

COSCARELLI You frame this in terms of fandom, but I actually think of it more in terms of hate. After 10-plus years of uber-popularity, I think Drake gets more hate than any artist at his level, maybe ever, with the exception of Michael Jackson, whose legacy has interestingly been a great lyrical through line in this beef and the subject of some of the best rapping from both guys.

The distaste for Drake is extremely personal to people. It’s not enough for him to be a run-of-the-mill misogynist, he has to be a serial predator. It’s not enough for him to be corny or appropriative, he has to be an active ruiner of other people’s sounds and careers.

I think what Kendrick did most effectively in all of these songs was to take these existing emotional narratives — pressure points — about Drake and express them in a way that only Kendrick Lamar could: with very intricate rhymes, very intense storytelling. Kendrick was able to hit the notes that people wanted to hear, and played to the crowd perfectly.

And there’s this sense, true or not, that Kendrick saw the whole field and moved accordingly.

CARAMANICA It’s not simply that he did that, it’s that no one expected him, the only rapper to win a Pulitzer Prize , to do that. People didn’t think Kendrick was a gamer in this way. He might be like, “I’m the best rapper,” but “I’ve been collecting dirt on you for weeks and weeks and weeks, potentially months, potentially years, in order to absolutely ether you in your own house”? That’s different. No one expected that of Kendrick. So he gets a tremendous amount of credit for the chasm between what people thought he would do and what he actually did.

COSCARELLI Whereas Drake basically lived up to exactly what you expected.

CARAMANICA Drake did Drake. And if anything, Kendrick also did Drake.

COSCARELLI He went back-to-back after “Euphoria,” releasing “6:16 in LA” before Drake could respond. He also made hits, which we’ll get to.

CARAMANICA I will say, this beef was fun until it wasn’t fun. One of two things is true about Drake’s “Family Matters”: Either what he’s saying is accurate, and he’s just done irreparable damage to a man’s reputation and his family, or Drake is lying and talking about abuse in such a casual way so as to minimize the actual conversation around abuse.

This beef started with “I’m the best rapper.” It’s Kendrick saying, “It’s not the Big Three, it’s just big me.” And with his responses, Kendrick is saying, essentially: “I’m the best rapper, and I’m using those skills not to say that you’re the worst rapper, but that you’re the worst person. Not only can I beat you with bars, but I can use those bars to beat you with condescension, disgust and distaste.”

COSCARELLI Despite my complaints about Kendrick’s “ Meet the Grahams ” as a song — the theatricality of the creative writing exercise, the condescension and the faux-enlightenment — that’s totally trumped by it as a strategic move. This song, released less than 30 minutes after Drake’s “Family Matters” on Friday, is why Kendrick Lamar won. This is the knockout.

CARAMANICA You have to understand what could come if the pachinko ball goes into the least likely corner. And I think in Drake’s mind, the least likely corner is that Kendrick makes an actual hit — a truly popping record — that’s also narratively painful. And that’s what Kendrick did with “Not Like Us,” which followed on Saturday. It’s a danceable, quote-unquote pop record that I don’t think Drake anticipated. Maybe it’s not the most vicious kill shot in this back and forth, or the most specifically damaging. But it exists because of all those other kill shots.

COSCARELLI And I would even argue that, in fact, it might be the most damaging to Drake because it takes an anti-Drake meme and serious accusation from the last five years — that Drake likes underage girls, a claim he’s already been bothered enough by to mention on an album — and it makes it funny, it makes it a playground insult. You can sing along to it.

CARAMANICA Again, that’s Kendrick using a Drake tactic and skill against Drake. And you can sense it took a toll. Drake’s response, his final song (at least for now), “The Heart Part 6,” is not as artful as most Drake records. Drake is a king of structure. And when you listen to this, it isn’t as tight as it should be. It feels rushed, rambling, poorly edited.

COSCARELLI I actually thought Drake might go in a different direction. I thought “Not Like Us” put the fight back on Drake’s turf by making it fun again after “Meet the Grahams.” I thought Drake would come back with punchlines, just jokes, over a fun beat. It might have been closer if he had. But he once again went grave to claim, “I’m not a predator.”

CARAMANICA Where does this competition leave Kendrick and Drake? Drake is 37. Kendrick is 36. These are ultimately mid-to-late career rappers relitigating stuff that they’ve been litigating in some form or another, on record or off, for more than a decade.

COSCARELLI My main takeaway is that both of these guys are going to put out absolutely massive next albums, maybe as soon as this summer. These diss tracks are going to be streamed a combined 250 million times in their first week, according to estimates , more than any album by any artist besides Taylor Swift. No matter what they do next, it’s going to be huge. It has extended their careers.

For the Drake detractors, maybe their jokes are louder. But one of the many things people complain about Drake at this point in his career is that his subject matter is stale. I think this gives him a new round of material.

CARAMANICA When you are in a 20 vs. 1 and you are the one, even if you take an “L,” you’re still the one. I don’t think anything’s happened that makes Drake not the one.

Kendrick’s always been more ambivalent about the spotlight than Drake. His last album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” deliberately undermined the preexisting Kendrick narrative on a musical level, and also on a word-for-word level. It was like, “I’m not perfect. Please don’t put me on a pedestal anymore. If anything, it’s alienating and it makes it hard for me to be my actual self.” He’s been saying that and people have been ignoring him.

That said, it’s worth noting that Drake made a point of rebutting Kendrick’s specific accusations, but Kendrick didn’t do the same. It’s hard not to wonder why.

COSCARELLI And yet despite that, and despite the unverified accusations made against him in these songs, which he has not addressed, Kendrick’s approval rating after this beef feels near 100 percent.

CARAMANICA The spotlight is now Kendrick’s, whether he wants it or not. If this battle never happened, would the biggest years of Drake’s and Kendrick’s careers be in front of them?

COSCARELLI Definitely not.

CARAMANICA But now it’s possible.

Jon Caramanica is a pop music critic for The Times and the host of the “Popcast” podcast. He also writes the men's Critical Shopper column for Styles. He previously worked for Vibe magazine, and has written for the Village Voice, Spin, XXL and more. More about Jon Caramanica

Joe Coscarelli is a culture reporter with a focus on popular music, and the author of “Rap Capital: An Atlanta Story.” More about Joe Coscarelli

Explore the World of Hip-Hop

The long-building and increasingly testy rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake  has exploded into full-bore acrimony .

As their influence and success continue to grow, artists including Sexyy Red and Cardi B are destigmatizing motherhood for hip-hop performers .

ValTown, an account on X and other social media platforms, spotlights gangs and drug kingpins of the 1980s and 1990s , illustrating how they have driven the aesthetics and the narratives of hip-hop.

Three new books cataloging objects central to rap’s physical history  demonstrate the importance of celebrating these relics before they vanish.

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the best ap world history notes to study with.

Advanced Placement (AP)

AP World History is a fascinating survey of the evolution of human civilization from 1200 CE to the present. Because it spans almost 1,000 years and covers massive changes in power, culture, and technology across the globe, it might seem like an overwhelming amount of info to remember for one test.

This article will help you organize your studying by providing links to online AP World History notes and advice on how to use these notes to structure and execute a successful study plan.

How to Use These AP World History Notes

The notes in this article will help you review all the information you need to know for the AP World History exam. If you are missing any notes from class or just looking for a more organized run-through of the curriculum, you can use this guide as a reference.

During your first semester of AP World History, study the content in the notes that your class has already covered. I'd recommend conducting a holistic review of everything you've learned so far about once a month so that you don't start to forget information from the beginning of the course.

In the second semester, after you've made it through most of the course, you should use these notes in conjunction with practice tests . Taking (realistically timed) practice tests will help verify that you've absorbed the information.

After each test, assess your mistakes and take note of where you came up short. Then, focus your studying on the notes that are most relevant to your weak content areas . Once you feel more confident, take and score another practice test to see whether you've improved. You can repeat this process until you're satisfied with your scores!

Background: AP World History Themes and Units

Before we dive into the content of the AP World History test, it's important to note that the exam underwent some significant changes in the 2019-20 school year . From now on, the test will focus on the modern era (1200 CE to the present) , covering a much smaller period of time. As such, its name has been changed to AP World History: Modern (a World History: Ancient course and exam are currently in development).

Other than this major content change, the format of the exam will remain the same (since 2018).

Now then, what exactly is tested on AP World History? Both the course and exam are divided into six themes and nine units.

Here are the current World History themes:

• Theme 1: Humans and the Environment
• Theme 2: Cultural Developments and Interactions
• Theme 3: Governance
• Theme 4: Economic Systems
• Theme 5: Social Interactions and Organization
• Theme 6: Technology and Innovation

And here are the units as well as how much of the test they make up, percentage-wise:

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

You should examine all content through the lens of these themes and units. AP World History is mostly about identifying large trends that occur over long periods of time. In the next section, I'll go through the different time periods covered in the curriculum, with links to online notes.

AP World History Notes

The following AP World History notes are organized by unit. There are both overall notes for each unit as well as notes focusing on almost all of the individual subunits.

Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200 to 1450)

Overall Notes

Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (1200-1450)

Unit 3: land-based empires (1450-1750), unit 4: transoceanic interconnections (1450-1750), unit 5: revolutions (1750-1900), unit 6: consequences of industrialization (1750-1900), unit 7: global conflict (1900-present), unit 8: cold war and decolonization (1900-present), unit 9: globalization (1900-present).

AP World History Exam: 4 Essential Study Tips

Here are a few study tips that will help you prepare strategically for the AP World History exam. In addition to these tidbits of advice, you can check out this article with a longer list of the best study tips for this class .

#1: We All Scream for Historical Themes

I'm sure you've been screaming with delight throughout your entire reading of this article because the themes are so thrilling. Seriously, though, they're super important for doing well on the final exam. Knowledge of specific facts about different empires and regions throughout history will be of little use on the test if you can't weave that information together to construct a larger narrative.

As you look through the notes, think carefully about how everything connects back to the six major themes of the course .

For example, if you're reading about the expansion of long-distance trade networks in the early modern period, you might start to think about how these new exchanges impacted the natural environment (theme 1). If you get into this mode of thinking early, you'll have an easier time writing high-quality essays on the final exam.

#2: Practice Outlining Essays (Especially the DBQ)

It's critical to write well-organized, coherent essays on the World History test , but statistics indicate that a large majority of students struggle with this aspect of the exam.

In 2021, results from the DBQ scoring looked like this:

• 79% of students earned the thesis point
• 30% of students earned the contextualization point
• Evidence: 11% of students earned all 3 evidence points; 41% earned 2 points; 40% earned 1 point; 8% earned 0 points
• Analysis & Reasoning: 2% earned 2 points; 15% earned 1 point; 83% earned 0 points

So clearly, it can be tough to do well on the DBQ. However, I guarantee you can score well on the DBQ and other essay questions if you consistently practice writing outlines that follow the instructions and stay focused on the main topic. Try to become a pro at planning out your ideas by the time the exam rolls around.

#3: Know Your Chronology

You don't need to memorize a ton of exact dates, but you do need to be aware of the basic order in which major events happened in each region of the world . If someone tells you the name of an empire or dynasty, you should know which centuries it was active and what caused its rise and fall.

Pay attention to the overall developments that occurred in world history during each period designated by the course. What types of contact were made between different regions? Where were trading networks established? What were the dominant powers?

Multiple-choice and essay questions will ask you to focus on certain time periods and regions, so you should know the gist of what was going on at any given juncture.

#4: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

It's not necessary to know the names of every single region in a particular empire and the exact dates when they were conquered. You're not expected to have a photographic memory. AP World History is mostly about broad themes.

You should still include a few specific details in your essays to back up your main points, but that's not nearly as important as showing a deep understanding of the progression of human history on a larger scale.

Conclusion: How to Study With AP World History Notes

A well-organized set of notes can help ground your studying for AP World History. With so much content to cover, it's best to selectively revisit different portions of the course based on where you find the largest gaps in your knowledge . You can decide what you need to study based on which content areas cause you the most trouble on practice tests.

Here are some tips to keep in mind while studying the above AP World History notes:

• Connect facts back to the themes
• Practice writing essay outlines
• Know the basic chronology of events
• Don't worry too much about small details

If you meticulously comb through your mistakes and regularly practice your essay-writing skills, you'll be on the right track to a great AP World History score!

What's Next?

What's a document-based question? How do you write a good response? Read this article to learn more about the most challenging question on the AP World History test .

If you're taking AP World History during your freshman or sophomore year, check out this article for some advice on which history classes you should take for the rest of your time in high school.

How many AP classes should you take in high school? We'll help you figure out how many AP classes you should take based on your goals and the course offerings at your school.

Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.

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