ap world history essay questions

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 They are based on primary or secondary sources, including excerpts from historical documents or writings, images, graphs, and maps.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The AP World History: Modern DBQ presents a prompt and seven historical documents that are intended to show the complexity of a particular historical issue between the years 1450 and 2001.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

AP World History is a challenging class, and in order to get credit for it you’ll have to take an equally challenging exam. And one of the toughest parts of the test is the AP World History document-based question, or AP World DBQ. This question asks you to read and analyze documents on the fly, then write an argumentative essay…all in one hour. 

It can be hard to know what–and how–to study for the AP World History DBQ, especially when you don’t know which documents you’ll receive on test day. But don’t worry: we’ll break down everything you need to know about the AP World History DBQ so you can ace it on test day. (We’ll even give you AP World History DBQ example questions and an AP World History DBQ rubric example!) 

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• An explanation of what the AP World History DBQ is 
• A look at how the DBQ works on the AP World History exam
• A step-by-step process for tackling the AP World History DBQ
• A guide to studying for and answering the AP World History DBQ

Let’s get going!

What Is an AP World History DBQ? 

The document-based question (DBQ) is a question on the AP World History exam in which you are given a selection of seven documents and are asked to write an essay that incorporates information from at least six of them in a coherent argument based on a given prompt.

In other words: you’ll be writing an essay on a topic and incorporating resources that you’re given on the day of the exam! 

The DBQ tests over a wide range of skills , like writing, organizing thoughts, making arguments, making connections between different perspectives, and having a knowledge of world history. Yeah, the DBQs are definitely tough! That’s why it’s important to understand what the DBQ APWH is and how to best tackle it. 

How DBQs Work on the AP World History Exam

The DBQ format AP World History uses consists of a single open-ended prompt , and will focus on the time period of 1450-2001 .

Of the two free response questions, one is a long essay (worth 15%) and one is a DBQ. This means that the sole DBQ is, by itself, worth 25% of your total grade, making it the single most heavily-weighted question on the AP World History exam.  

Here are some actual AP World History DBQ examples from previous years’ AP World History exams:

• “Evaluate the extent to which economic factors led to the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920).” ( 2021 )
• “Evaluate the extent to which the Portuguese transformed maritime trade in the Indian Ocean in the sixteenth century.” ( 2019 )
• “Evaluate the extent to which railroads affected the process of empire-building in Afro-Eurasia between 1860 and 1918.” ( 2018 )

Of course, one of the things that makes AP DBQ questions unique is that you’ll be given seven documents to analyze as part of your essay response. Not only will you have to read and analyze these documents on exam day, you’ll have to include them as evidence in your essay to prove your argument! 

The seven documents you’ll receive will be a mixture of: 

• Primary texts : texts that were actually written in the time period you’re being asked about 
• Secondary texts : texts written by later historians that explain or interpret the time period 
• Images: usually either political cartoons or artwork from the time period 

How many of each type of document you get varies by year, so you’ll need to be comfortable using all three types to support an essay-based argument. 

To answer the AP World History DBQ, you’ll have to read through all seven documents and write an argumentative essay that answers the prompt. So not only will you have to come up with an arguable point, you’ll have to prove that thesis using evidence contained in at least three of the seven documents. If you want to earn full credit for your DBQ, you’ll actually have to use six of the seven documents to support your position! 

Just like in a sport, understanding how to score points on your DBQ is key to doing well on your exam. 

Understand the AP World DBQ Rubric

First, y ou need to understand what the expectations are and how your answer will be graded. Doing this will help you figure out what you need to study and which skills you need to brush up on. It’ll also ensure that you know exactly what a great DBQ response requires so that you earn as many points as possible! 

The good news is that the College Board has provided the AP World History DBQ rubric 2021 as part of their 2021 AP World History: Modern Sample Student Responses and Scoring Commentary document. The AP World History DBQ rubric contains all the information you need to know about how your response will be scored. 

Here’s how the rubric breaks down:

Thesis (1 Point) 

First you’ll need to create a thesis that “responds to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis/claim that establishes a line of reasoning.” In order to get this point you’ll need to make an arguable claim based on the documents that answers the question of the prompt.  

Contextualization (1 Point) 

In order to get a point for contextualization you’ll need to “accurately describe a context relevant” to the time period covered by the prompt. What this means is that you’ll have to describe the political, social, or economic events and trends that contributed to the topic you’re writing about. 

Some of this you’ll know from the provided documents, but some of it you will also be expected to know based on what you’ve studied in AP World History class. You’ll also need to relate your knowledge to “broader historical events, developments, or processes that occur before, during, or continue after the time frame of the question.” In other words, you’ll have to show how the events of this time period are relevant now or how they are similar to some other historical situation.

Evidence (3 Points) 

This category assigns points based on how well you use the documents provided to you on the test. 

For this category, you get one of the potential three points solely for if you incorporate specific evidence that does not come from the provided documents in a way that is relevant to your thesis. 

However, in order to earn the other two points, you must support your argument by using even more evidence from the documents provided . If you use three to five documents, you’ll earn an additional point. If you integrate six or more documents in your response, you can earn up to two points…and full credit for this category!  

Just remember: You can’t just randomly throw information from the documents into your essay, though, you have to use it in a way that supports your argument and accurately represents what the documents are saying . 

Analysis and Reasoning (2 Points) 

For the analysis and reasoning section, you get one point for explaining “how or why the document’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience is relevant to an argument,” and you get one point for “complexity,” showing that you understand the time period that the prompt covers and use evidence to prove your understanding and back up your argument . 

Here’s what that means: you’ll have to prove how the documents are relevant to your argument, and your argument has to show that you understand the period you’re writing about. Additionally, you’ll need to write an essay that proves your argument in a way that shows you understand that there are a variety of possible perspectives about that time period or issue, and that not everyone in that period had the same experiences. 

If all that sounds like a lot...that's because it is! But don't worry. We'll walk you through the steps you can take to get prepared for your DBQ.

5 Steps for Tackling an AP World History DBQ

The AP World History DBQ is a complicated question that tests you over several different skills, so there isn’t a simple technique to ace it. However, if you master each of the individual skills it takes to do well on the DBQ examples, you’ll set yourself up to write a successful DBQ! response! 

Here are five steps you can follow to prepare for–and tackle!--the AP World History DBQ. 

Step 1: Use Past AP World DBQ Prompts to Practice

Taking practice exams is a great way to prepare for any standardized test–including the AP World exam. Not only do you get a chance to test your knowledge, practice tests also give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the test format…which is really important when it comes to AP World DBQs.

There’s good news when it comes to AP World DBQ prompts, though. College Board’s website has the actual AP World DBQ prompts from 2002-2020 available to download. This means you can take almost 20 practice AP World History exams, as well as access AP World History DBQ example responses and AP World History DBQ rubrics, for free!  

It’s good to take one practice test before you start studying intensely for it because that will let you know where your skills are now (and it’ll let you track your progress). However, the nature of a free response means that it won’t be easy for you to grade by yourself. When it comes to assessing your response, use the AP World History DBQ rubric and honestly assess whether or not you incorporated the information thoroughly and accurately. If that doesn’t work for you, you can always ask a family member, tutor, or teacher to give you feedback on your response as well! 

Don’t be afraid to use multiple AP World DBQ prompts as part of your test prep strategy. The more DBQs you do, the better prepared you’ll be on test day! 

Step 2: Practice Creating a Thesis

A thesis statement is a sentence or two, located in your essay’s introduction, that explains what your essay will be about. In this case, your thesis will outline the argument you make in your AP World DBQ. 

The most important aspect of your thesis is that it has to make a claim that is both arguable and relevant to the prompt you’re given. However, you don’t want to just restate the prompt in your thesis! 

Here’s what we mean. Say you’re given the following prompt:

“Evaluate the extent to which economic factors led to the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920).” 

You don’t want your thesis to be “Economic factors led to the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution,” since that just restates the prompt without adding in your own argument. To write a great DBQ, you want to make a specific claim about how and why economic factors led to the Mexican Revolution, and you want to be able to use the AP World History DBQ documents provided to prove it!

Here are two AP World History DBQ examples that College Board considers acceptable theses for this prompt:

• “Mexico’s inability to resist the political dominance of the United States and European powers was the most significant factor in leading to the revolution because foreign dominance prevented the Mexican government from enacting economic reforms.”
• “Ethnic tensions were just as important in leading to the Mexican Revolution as economic factors because much of the economic exploitation that was occurring in Mexico affected poor indigenous communities.”

See how these two examples both make specific claims? The first argues that foreign influences prevented the Mexican government from enacting economic reforms. This is a claim that the author can prove by showing how foreign governments interfered with the Mexican government, and how that action led to reforms being stalled. 

The second AP World History DBQ example thesis addresses something more complex: how ethnic tensions led to economic exploitation. The author can then use the provided documents as evidence that poor indigenous communities were exploited, and can argue that those actions led to the Mexican Revolution.

Outlines take a little time, but they'll keep your DBQ from derailing. (Staying on topic is key!)

Step 3: Practice Creating an Outline

Remember the AP World History DBQ is timed, and you’ll only have one hour to complete it! To keep your writing organized and on track, it’s a good idea for you to create a quick outline before you jump into writing your essay. 

Having said that, you’ll need to be careful not to spend too much time on your outline so you have enough time to write your DBQ. That’s why we recommend spending 15 minutes reading documents, 5 minutes outlining your essay, and 40 minutes writing your response. 

The most important things that your outline will need are an introduction and conclusion ! Your introduction sets up your thesis while your conclusion restates your thesis and explains how it’s relevant to the reader in some way–perhaps by showing that a similar claim could be made about another time period, or that the effects of the thesis are still being felt today. 

Apart from your intro and conclusion, you’ll need body paragraphs. Since you only have about 45 minutes to write this essay, you don’t want too many of them. Three or four body paragraphs will be enough to make your argument. The most important thing about your body paragraphs is that each of them supports your argument and incorporates information from the documents!

To help you out, here is an example of a usable outline for the AP World History DBQ:

• Set up your argument and include your thesis.
• You can break down your thesis into several steps, which will then become the topics of each body paragraph
• Tell the reader what they need to know about the historical situation. 
• Include any information you might already know from outside the provided documents.
• Make the first point you mentioned in your introduction.
• Use information from the documents to illustrate and prove your point.
• Include two or three documents that support your point 
• Just like the previous paragraph, use two or three different documents to prove the second point of your thesis
• If you make a third point in your thesis, explain it here using one or two different documents as evidence 
• Restate your thesis and summarize the main points you’ve made.
• Show how it’s relevant to the reader.

Your outline doesn’t need to be anything fancy–it just needs to give you an idea of how to structure your DBQ. Trust us: outlining might seem like a waste of time, but having a guide will make writing go much faster. 

Step 4: Practice Incorporating Quotes and References

As you write your essay, you’ll need to use examples from the documents provided–and each time you do, you’ll need to indicate which documents you pulled the information from . You’ll do this whether you are quoting your source or just paraphrasing it. 

Here are two attribution examples that College Board considers acceptable for the AP World History DBQ:

• (Document 1): “The finance minister tells strikers that unemployment is the result of supply and demand and is out of the government’s hands, a position which probably increased people’s discontent with the government because they were unwilling to help.”
• (Document 2): “The newspaper cartoon shows that the government was willing to use violence to put down popular protests against a rigged election system. Such oppressive government policies may have contributed to increased support for the eventual revolution.”

Note that both of these connect the contents of the document to the argument the author is trying to make. They don’t just paraphrase or quote the contents of the document for the sake of using them– you should use documents to support your argument!

Keep in mind that the College Board is pretty specific about how they want you to use AP World history DBQ documents. In the 2021 AP World History Scoring Guidelines rubric, College Board makes the point that you should “ describe and explain ” the contents of the document: By “describe'' they mean you should point out to your reader what about the document is relevant and illustrate it as if the reader did not have the document in front of them. 

From there, you’ll need to explain the document. That means you should use the document to show the reader why changes or situations in history have happened or why there is a relationship between two factors you’re writing about. 

Step 5: Understand Time Management

One of the most important skills you can acquire by taking multiple attempts at the AP World DBQ practice test will be time management. 

When you’re in the actual test environment, you won’t be able to use your phone to set a timer or alarm, so it’ll be difficult to keep track of how much time you’re spending on reading and re-reading the documents, brainstorming, and outlining. You want to leave yourself the majority of the time allowed (which will be one hour) for writing. 

College Board’s AP World History DBQ rubric recommends that you spend 15 minutes reading the documents and 45 minutes writing the essay . When you write your practice DBQs, be sure to use this format so you can get a feel for how much time you do (or don’t!) have for the question. Practicing with a timer is a great way to make sure you’re using your time wisely on test day! 

4 Tips for Studying for and Answering the AP World History DBQs

Now that you’ve read our step-by-step process for tackling the AP World History DBQ and have seen several AP World History DBQ examples, here are some expert tips on doing well on the AP World History DBQ . We’ve developed these tips based on the AP World History rubric to make sure you earn as many points as possible! 

Tip 1: Know Your Rubric

Go through the AP World History DBQ rubric 2021 and notice that it tells you exactly how to earn points in each category . Most categories are worth multiple points, so you need to know how to earn all the points possible. 

For example, the rubric is clear about how to earn points for your thesis statement. You’ll have to make sure that you have a thesis that states outright what argument you are trying to make if you want to earn credit for that category of the rubric! 

The scoring for the DBQ is pretty objective, and knowing exactly what the scorers are looking for will help you earn the most points possible.

Tip 2: Your Essay Can Contain Errors

In an AP World History DBQ, you’ll be able to make tiny errors and still be able to earn full credit for your response. 

Before you get too excited, there are big (and we mean big!) limits to this rule. For instance, you can’t misrepresent a document by saying an author makes one claim when they clearly aren’t. You also can’t write something that is obviously wrong, like that America continues under British rule because the revolution was unsuccessful! 

But you can make minor errors that don’t detract from your argument as long as you are demonstrating a knowledge of the time period and the ability to incorporate evidence to make an argument. So for example, you can make the mistake of saying that President Nixon’s impeachment hearings began in July 1974 (instead of May, when they actually began), and still earn full credit as long as you aren’t making an argument that depends on the accuracy of those dates.  

Tip 3: Write for Clarity 

One thing to keep in mind is that you’re graded on the quality of your argument and how well you prove it– you don’t get graded on how beautifully or fluently you write ! 

So, while you’ll want to use correct grammar and write as clearly as you can, don’t spend too much time making your writing beautiful. Instead, focus on clearly explaining your ideas! 

To this end, you won’t have points taken away for grammatical errors unless they make it difficult for the graders to see how you’ve used the evidence to make an argument. So while you want your writing to be as error-free as possible, it’s more important that you’re making your argument as clearly–and as persuasively–as possible. 

Tip 4: Write for Relevance

As you’re outlining and writing your AP World DBQ, ask yourself, why is this relevant to today’s readers? To earn a perfect score, you’ll have to tie your argument to another time period or historical situation. 

This is your chance to show that while the period you’re writing about may have been long in the past, the events are still relevant to us today ! This is why we read, write, and study history in the first place. So as you outline and write your DBQ, make sure you’re doing your best to show your reader why this historical moment or event is still important.

What’s Next? 

No matter what AP course you’re taking, you’ll want to have a study plan in place when it comes to exam time. This blog article can help you put together a prep strategy that works.

Not sure what a “good” AP test score is for AP World History? This list of the average AP test scores for every exam will help you understand how your scores stack up. 

Perfect test scores are great, but do you really need a perfect AP World History score? Our experts will explain the pros and cons of getting perfect 5s on your AP exams. 

Looking for help studying for your AP exam?

Our one-on-one online AP tutoring services can help you prepare for your AP exams. Get matched with a top tutor who got a high score on the exam you're studying for!

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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AP® World History

Ap® world history faq: everything you need to know for 2024.

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: February 6, 2024

For the 2024 AP® World History exam, you should follow the AP® FAQs listed below!

What We Review

Is AP® World History: Modern easy? What can make it hard?

AP® World History is considered to be a fairly difficult course. Compared to other AP® courses, AP® World History is considered harder than many other AP® exams (but it’s not the hardest).

In 2023, 350,353 students took the AP® World History exam, making it the third most popular AP® exam. Of these students, 64.7% scored a 3 or better on this exam . The mean score for the AP® World History exam in 2023 was 3.04.

To make sure you are one of the students to pass the AP® World History exam, you will want to maximize your study time by focusing on the units that carry the most weight on the exam. The AP® World History exam covers 9 units. Most of the units are weighted at 8% – 10% of the exam, but Unit 3 through Unit 6 are weighted at 12%-15% of the exam.

Going into the AP® World History exam, it might be helpful for you to know how many questions you need to answer correctly in order to pass with a 3 or higher. Albert’s AP® World History: Modern score calculator shows that you need to answer 28 of the 55 multiple choice questions currently and receive at least 29 points on the free response questions.

Return to the Table of Contents

Is AP® World History: Modern worth it?

Students taking the AP® World History exam for college credit typically feel it is worth it. AP® courses like AP® World History provide students with a useful introduction to the rigors of college-level classes. Students who take AP® courses arrive at college better prepared and more confident than students who never took AP® courses in high school .

Students who are applying to colleges will also be happy to know that AP® courses can assist in the acceptance process. When admissions counselors see AP® courses on a high school transcript, it signals to them that the student is serious about their education and that they are prepared for college.  According to College Board research , “ students who receive a score of 3 or higher on AP® Exams typically experience greater academic success in college and have higher graduation rates than their non-AP® peers.”

Financially, AP® courses provide another important benefit to students. When AP® courses are used for college credit, students and their families often see significant college savings as a result. The chart below outlines a few colleges that accept the AP® World History exam for college credit and the potential savings the student can realize.

It is clear to see when you combine the academic and financial benefits of taking the AP® World History exam, many students feel that this exam is worth their time and effort.

When is the 2024 AP® World History: Modern exam?

The 2024 AP® World History: Modern exam will take place on:

Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at 8am local time

Curious about when other AP® exams are happening in 202 4? View or download the complete AP® exam schedule here .

Is the 2024 AP® World History exam a digital test?

Schools can take the 2024 AP® World History exam as a traditional paper-and-pencil test or as an in-school digital exam on computers. More information on the digital option is available here .

You should check with your teacher and AP® Coordinator to know if you’ll take a paper-and-pencil or digital version.

When do AP® World History: Modern scores typically come out?

According to the latest update from the College Board exam season timeline , students will receive their AP® scores in July 2024. Historically, the College Board typically releases AP® scores early in the month of July.

You’ll be able to access your AP® scores online with your College Board account username and password

How is AP® World History: Modern scored? What’s the weighting of different questions?

In the multiple-choice portion of the AP® World History exam, you will be required to answer 55 questions in 55 minutes. The questions are grouped into three or four questions covering the same subject. The questions will typically ask you to analyze and interpret historical texts and evidence using provided primary and secondary sources. 

For the short answer portion, you must answer three questions out of four options. The first two questions are required. One includes a secondary source, and one includes a primary source. Both focus on the time period of 1200 to 2001. 

You can choose between question 3 and question 4 for your final question in this section. One covers the time period of 1200 to 1750, and the other covers 1750 to 2001. Neither question includes any outside sources.

Section 2A is the document-based question. You will have 15 minutes of reading time and 45 minutes to answer this question. In this question, you must read 7 documents that approach a historical event from various perspectives. You will be required to assess these sources and develop an argument that uses the sources to support your view. The time period covered for this question is 1450-2001.

The final AP® World History exam question is the long essay question. You will have 40 minutes to answer this question. The essay question requires you to analyze a significant world history event and argue a point that is supported by the evidence. For this question, you can choose from three time periods: 1200-1750, 1450-1900, or 1750-2001.

It’s useful to know that the rubrics for the LEQ and DBQ have been slightly changed for the 2024 exam. The basic instructions remain the same, but the instructions for earning the evidence and complexity points have been simplified. The most noticeable changes are in the DBQ, where the number of documents that need to be used and the number of times POV has to be analyzed to earn full credit has been reduced. You can find the full rubrics in the College Board’s Course and Exam Description .

Pro tip: Chronology and periodization are useful concepts that you should spend extra time on in preparation for the AP® World History exam. One helpful exercise is to create a master timeline so that you can conceptually understand the way the time periods flow together.

The AP® World History course units are represented in the exam in the weights outlined below. To see how these weights translate to an overall score, check out Albert’s AP® World History score calculator . The units below are relatively evenly weighted, so you’ll want to be generally prepared for this exam.

What happens if you fail AP® World History: Modern Exam?

You can retake the AP® World History exam as many times as necessary to pass with the score you want. The exam is given each May. You will be responsible for the exam fees for every time you sit for the exam. 

If you are worried about how failing the AP® World History exam will impact your high school GPA, you will be happy to know that it should not have any effect on your GPA. Most high schools base your course grade on the coursework and exams leading up to the AP® exam, rather than on the AP® exam itself. 

As far as the college admissions process goes, failing the AP® World History will affect your ability to use that exam to gain college credit. A score of lower than 3 will typically not be recognized by most colleges as worthy of college credit.

It is important to remember that you are in control of where your AP® scores are sent. You have the ability to choose not to send a low score to colleges. If you do end up sending a low score to a college and then score higher on your re-take, you can cancel your lower score and send the higher score in its place.

When do students typically take AP® World History: Modern? When is best?

Many students take the AP® World History course during their sophomore year in high school. The typical timeline in the AP® History and Social Sciences category is to take AP® Human Geography or AP® US History first, then AP® World History . This is not a hard and fast rule, but it is the typical pattern we have found in our research.

Since AP® World History is typically taken in the 10th grade, it is considered more of an entry-level AP® course. The timeline mentioned above would allow you to become familiar with the AP® course requirements in AP® Human Geography, then apply those in a more reading and writing-intensive AP® World History. Later in your high school career, you would take AP® US History, which would build on the skills you learned in the previous two AP® courses. 

Of course, a variety of factors should influence when you take the AP® World History exam. Your school may require certain prerequisite courses requiring you to take AP® World History later than your sophomore year. 

When to take AP® World History will also depend on the other AP® exams you want to take in your high school career and what the best timing and combination of these courses look like for you. AP® World History is a reading and writing intensive course, so if you plan on taking two AP® courses at the same time, you may want to pair it with an AP® course that is less text-based.

The decision of when to take AP® World History is, in the end, a personal decision that will look different for every student. You should consult with your parents, guidance counselor and teachers to determine the best time for you to take AP® World History.

Where can I find past AP® World History: Modern exams?

The College Board has provided past AP® World History exam questions on their AP® Central Website .

In addition to past exam questions, the College Board website also includes access to practice tests for the last several years. Reviewing these practice tests will get you familiar with the kinds of questions to expect on this year’s exam and see what kinds of answers received full credit in the past. You can also use these practice tests to get an idea of the academic rigor of the questions and prepare accordingly.

You can find links to practice tests for recent AP® World History exams below:

• 2023 AP® World History: Modern Free-Response Questions
• 2022 AP® World History: Modern Free-Response Questions
• 2021 AP® World History: Modern Free-Response Questions
• 2019 AP® World History: Modern Free-Response Questions
• 2018 AP® World History: Modern Free-Response Questions
• 2017 AP® World History: Modern Free-Response Questions
• 2016 AP® World History: Modern Free-Response Questions
• 2015 AP® World History: Modern Free-Response Questions

In addition to reviewing the free-response questions, you will also want to spend some time preparing for the multiple-choice portion of the exam. The College Board has provided a limited number of practice multiple choice questions on the AP® World History Course and Exam Description . Since there are only a few practice questions in the guide, this won’t be an exhaustive preview, but it will get you started.

For additional practice on the multiple choice portion of the AP® World History exam, Albert provides hundreds of AP® World History multiple choice questions. The questions have been crafted to align with the learning objectives of the AP® World History course.

To fully prepare for the AP® World History exam, you should explore all of the information that the AP® Central website has to offer. These resources can make the difference between a well prepared student and an under-prepared student.

• AP® World History Scoring Guidelines: 2023 / 2022 / 2021 / 2019 / 2018 / 2017 / 2016
• AP® World History Chief Reader Reports: 2023 / 2022 / 2021 /2019 / 2018 / 2017 / 2016
• AP® World History Scoring Reports: 2023 / 2022 / 2021 / 2019 / 2018 / 2017 / 2016

You will want to review the scoring guidelines before you begin studying for the AP® World History exam. This report shows how past questions were graded and what elements must be present to gain full points for each question. Knowing this information in advance can really help you maximize your exam score.

The Chief Reader report also provides useful information from someone who has actually graded these responses in the past. This report analyzes the responses to each past free response question and provides feedback on where students did well and where they missed the mark. Knowing how students did in the past can help you identify overall concepts and skills that are important to review prior to the exam.

For example, the 2019 Chief Reader Report showed that students struggled with periodization, or the ability to place events and people within their proper time period. Students should spend more time reviewing chronology and periodization rather than studying dates. This will provide you with a better understanding of the “flow” of history, which will be helpful in answering the free response questions. 

The scoring statistics for AP® World History can also be useful in determining which questions on past exams received the lowest and highest scores overall. For example, question 3 on exam section II has a mean score of 1.36 out of a possible 6 points. According to the Chief Reader Report, students who answered this question had difficulty creating a timeline of events that spread across several different periods of history. 

To fully prepare for the AP® World History exam, you should also review the sample responses for the past free-response exam questions. These responses provide examples of answers to past questions, one that received full credit and two that received fewer points. The responses are analyzed for what they included and did not include that impacted their score. 

With all of the focus on the free-response questions, it is easy to forget that 40% of your exam score comes from the multiple-choice questions. You can find hundreds of multiple-choice practice questions on Albert. These questions have been crafted to align with the learning objectives of the AP® World History exam. Each question also includes a detailed explanation of each correct answer to help build your knowledge base before the exam.

You can learn more about Albert here

Who should take AP® World History: Modern? What sort of students may like it more than others?

Compared to some of the science and math AP® courses, AP® World History is considered to have content that is more accessible for students. If you enjoy history and placing events into specific eras and timelines, AP® World History would be a good choice for you. The course overview can give you more information on whether this course is a good fit.

Taking AP® World History will give you a good insight into the AP® process for future courses, but it is not required. If you feel that the subject matter is not a fit for your skills, you should choose another AP® course that is better suited to your interests.

It is important to remember that the AP® World History exam has a relatively low passing rate as compared to other AP® exams in the History and Social Sciences category. If you aim to achieve all 5s on your AP® exams, you’ll need to work extra hard studying for this exam. In 2019, only 8.6% of students who took this exam scored a 5. This is the lowest number of 5s awarded for any exam in the History and Social Sciences category.

Your chances of getting a perfect score on the AP® World History exam might be difficult, but it is not impossible. If this course speaks well to your interests and strengths, you should consider taking it. Don’t let the low number of perfect scores deter you from attempting it.

In the end, the only person who can decide whether taking the AP® World History exam makes sense for you is you. You should seek advice from parents, teachers and guidance counselors, but the final choice is yours.

How do students typically score on AP® World History: Modern? What’s the score distribution?

On average, about half of the students who take this exam pass it with at least a score of 3. Past data can be useful to see how past test groups have fared when taking the AP® World History exam. Of course, past data should only be used as a guide. Your score will be a reflection of how well you have prepared for this exam as well as your aptitude for the subject. 

The score breakdown for the AP® World History exam in recent years is outlined in the chart below:

Over the last few years, the passing rate for the AP® World History exam has been above 50%. Of those who took the exam, however, only around 28% received a 4 or better, and typically less than 10% of test takers received a 5. In 2023, there was a higher number of students earning a 5 than usual.

In 2023, the mean score for the AP® World History exam was 3.04 , based on a total of 350,353 students who took this exam. 

Need help preparing for your AP® World History: Modern exam?

Albert has hundreds of AP® World History: Modern practice multiple-choice questions, free-response questions, and full-length practice tests to try out.

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