A Comprehensive Guide On The AP World History Exam
It only costs you all of your sanity! The AP World History Test is a test that spans over multiple hours, consisting of numerous parts. The total exam time is 3 hours and 15 minutes as each painful, soul-sucking second passes. There are four separate parts, and two sections of the test. Normally, the exam takes place in mid-May following a year of the AP World History class, but since our school has no understanding of the human memory, that, at least in my case, has turned into half a year at the beginning, leaving my brain empty and forgotten of the valuable knowledge that will be needed in order to pass. Hence my title, and now we rest, because now, we rest not knowing what is to follow and if my studying process will properly place my journey to a 4 or 5 on the AP Exam. How will things end? Only time will tell. But, studying is no stranger of mine, and as of the following, I will add valuable information, and will get a true grasp of the AP World Exam.
Multiple Choice
The first part of the AP World History exam consists of 55 multiple questions. Students are given 55 minutes to answer all of them, and it accounts for 40% of one's score on the exam. The questions are usually presented in sets of 3-4, and paired with a passage of text for one to analyze.
Short Answer
The next part of the AP World Exam are the short answer questions, or SAQs. For the SAQ section, there will be 3 questions and 40 minutes to answer them all. It is worth 20% of the overall exam. The first two questions will have text to go alongside them, whereas the final one requires outside knowledge.
DBQs
This section of the AP World Exam officially stands as the start of Section II. For the Document Based Questions that are worth 25%, there will be a guiding question, a packet with 6-7 documents, and the expectation for a fuor to five paragraph essay to be written within the next hour. Usually, the third body paragraph in the essay will be what adds the complex understanding.
Long Essay
And now, we have reached the beginning of the end: The Long Essay, or LEQ. There is a 40 minute time limit, and it is worth 15% of the entire exam. For the LEQ, one is expected to analyze a significant issue within world history, whether it be through comparisonm, causation, coninuity, or change.
An Example of Part 1 Would Be As Follows...
Questions 1-3 Refer to the Following Passage:
"And if you, my vassal, disobey or break this treaty, may the god Adad, the canal inspector of heaven and earth, put an end to all vegetation in your land. May his waters hit your land with a severe destructive downpour. May locusts devour your crops. May there be no sound of grinding stone in your houses. May the wild animals eat your bread, and may your spirit have no one to take care of it and pour offerings of wine for it."
The particular consequences invoked in the ritual curse in the treaty most strongly support which of the following statements about ancient Mesopotamia?
a) States' legitimacy was based on claims to secular authority.
b) Ongoing environmental degradation occurred as a byproduct of the spread of
pastoralism.
c) Maintaining and expanding agricultural production was seen as a core task of
governments.
d) The domestication of plants occurred before the domestication of animals.
Whenever I am faced with these types of questions, oftentimes I don't begin with the text, and instead look to the page sourcing first. Within the sourcing, valuable information can be discovered, and it adds a new layer of contextualization to make the text easier to comprehend. Unfortunately, the sourcing appears to be cut off in this example, but this is still a useful technique whenever presented with these sorts of problems. After that, I usually read the question to know what I am looking for in the passage. Then, I actually read the passage, and figure out the correct answer.
Short Answer Questions
An example of the text for an SAQ question would be:
Americans today, and perhaps to a greater extent than ever before, who live within the Spanish system occupy a position in society no better than that of serfs destined for labor, or at best they have no more status than that of mere consumers. Yet even this status is surrounded by galling restrictions, such as being forbidden to grow European crops or to store products which are royal monopolies, or to establish factories of a type the Peninsula itself does not possess. To this add the exclusive trading privileges, even in articles of prime necessity, and the barriers between American provinces, designed to prevent all exchange of trade, traffic, and understanding. In short, do you wish to know what our future held? - Simply the cultivation of the fields of indigo, grain, coffee, sugar cane, cacao, and cotton; cattle raising on the broad plains; hunting wild game in the jungles; digging in the earth to mine its gold-but even these limitations could never satisfy the greed of Spain. - Simon Bolivar, "Letter from Jamaica," 1815
A) Describe economic conditions for European settlers living in Latin American colonies at the time of this letter.
B) Identify ONE historical development that might have contributed to Bolivar's decision to write this letter.
C) Explain how Bolivar's point of view as an educated Creole might have affected the writing of this letter.
Using the text provided and knowledge from my brain, I can answer these questions by making connections from outside and within the text. Considering this is the short anwer question section, I usually start by reading the sourcing, skimming over the questions, and then analyzing the text. Once I finish, I always come back to my answers to edit them if necessary.
DBQs
A DBQ isn't like an english essay, nor are most pieces of writing within world history. The format of a DBQ tends to be looser, things like a concluding paragraph aren't always necessary, and the number of body paragraphs fluctuate. That being said, DBQs still follow a format, opening with an introduction that describes the broader historical context and a thesis statement. As for the body paragraphs, they have a topic sentence, evidence (though this is usually paraphrased), outside evidence, a complex understanding, alongside sourcing statements.
Long Essay
The Long Essay Question, or LEQ, is essentially an essay written entirely from one's prior knowledge to explore a subject with nuance and complexity. It reminds me a bit of the third body paragraph within a DBQ that is written for complex understanding, though truthfully, this is the part of the test I have the least practice and knowledge of. With the AP Exam rapidly approaching, I hope that all will go well and I will be able to get a proper understanding of all of the topics necessary. Hopefully, this website will help!