Get Started with AP World History

AP World History is an extremely content-heavy course that follows the years circa 1200 to the present. It has a 13.2% 5 rate on the exam. Recalling dates and time periods is extremely important as the course covers a whole 800 years of history through 9 units. It is a memorization game and flashcard are always useful. If you are enrolled in the AP Classroom for your class, make the most of the practice resources and videos provided for you there. Here is an in-depth overview of AP World History plus the resources, notes, and videos I used to get a 5.

Units and Weighting

As you can see from the table, Units 3-6 are the units with the most weight (most amount of questions) on the AP exam. However, AP World History has a relatively even distribution of weight among its units, meaning it is important to master all of them to get the score you want on the AP exam in May.

Furthermore, pay attention to time periods: Units 1-2 focus on circa 1200-1450, Units 3-4 on circa 1450-1750, Units 5-6 on circa 1750-1900, and units 7-9 on circa 1900 to the present. Arrange your studying based on time period to help retain information.

AP World Unit Notes

AP World Notes PDF

Here are the notes that I personally made while studying for the AP World History exam. These are extremely comprehensive and have a lot of information recorded in them, down to the smallest details. This comes in handy when looking for case studies and thinking of things to refer to in the LEQs and DBQs.

Lecture Videos & Other Resources

If you're self-studying AP World or just need that extra help in concepts or units you don't quite understand, video lectures can be the fix for you. There are always the AP Classroom videos, but if you don't find those to your taste, here are the ones I used to help clarify and review for the exam.

Heimler's History

Heimler's History is an incredibly comprehensive channel dedicated to the AP History courses. He has entire unit reviews with videos for each chapter, which I binged the night before the exam. He also has helpful videos on how to write DBQs and LEQs. Highly recommend.

Ult. Reveiw Pack

The Ultimate Review Packet for AP World History: Modern is a $25 investment, however, it is an extremely helpful guide by Heimler's History and Ben Freeman with unit review videos, practice questions, and realistic practice exams. Some may argue it is better than the test prep books.

Fiveable

Fiveable is one of my favorite resources. I use the study guides and take notes from them. If you don't have a textbook, Fiveable's study guides for each unit and chapter will serve the purpose just as well. They also have a variety of videos, FRQ examples, and cheatsheets.

Exam Format

Section I, Part A: Multiple Choice

55 Questions | 55 Minutes | 40% of Exam Score

Questions usually appear in sets of 3–4 questions.
Students analyze historical texts, interpretations, and evidence.
Primary and secondary sources, images, graphs, and maps are included.

Section I, Part B: Short Answer

3 Questions | 40 Minutes | 20% of Exam Score

Students analyze historians’ interpretations, historical sources, and propositions about history.
Questions provide opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know best.
Some questions include texts, images, graphs, or maps.
Students choose between 2 options for the final required short-answer question, each one focusing on a different time period:
- Question 1 is required, includes 1 secondary source, and focuses on historical developments or processes between the years 1200 and 2001.
- Question 2 is required, includes 1 primary source, and focuses on historical developments or processes between the years 1200 and 2001.
- Students choose between Question 3 (which focuses on historical developments or between the years 1200 and 1750) and Question 4 (which focuses on historical developments or processes between the years 1750 and 2001) for the last question. No sources are included for either Question 3 or Question 4.

Section II: Document-Based Question and Long Essay

2 questions | 1 Hour, 40 minutes | 40% of Exam Score

Document-Based Question (DBQ)
Recommended time: 1 Hour (includes 15-minute reading period) | 25% of Exam Score

Students are presented with 7 documents offering various perspectives on a historical development or process.
Students assess these written, quantitative, or visual materials as historical evidence.
Students develop an argument supported by an analysis of historical evidence.
The document-based question focuses on topics from 1450 to 2001.

Long Essay
Recommended time: 40 Minutes | 15% of Exam Score

Students explain and analyze significant issues in world history.
Students develop an argument supported by an analysis of historical evidence.
The question choices focus on the same skills and the same reasoning process (e.g., comparison, causation, or continuity and change), but students choose from 3 options, each focusing primarily on historical developments and processes in different time periods—either 1200–1750 (option 1), 1450–1900 (option 2), or 1750–2001 (option 3).