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Advanced Placement World History – Exam Format and Writing Guide
EXAM FORMAT
What does the AP World History exam look like?
Exam date: Thursday, May 11th at 8:00 am
 55 multiple choice questions (55 minutes, 40%)
 Four short-answer questions (50 minutes, 20%)
 One document-based question (55 minutes, 25%)
 One long essay question (35 minutes, 15%)
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
All test questions will be STIMULUS BASED with 3-5 questions per stimulus. These questions are inference-based and in order
to select the correct choice, the student will need to apply their knowledge of history.
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Stimulus may include: primary or secondary source excepts, quotes, images, graphs, charts, photographs
Questions may ask the students to: compare contrasting opinions, evaluate evidence, assess perspective/point of
view, draw conclusions, and/or place the event in a broader time period.
SAMPLE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS WITH STIMULUS
Sample Stimulus
Sample MC Questions
“We know that the prosperity of the Netherlands and
the welfare of their inhabitants depends principally on
navigation and trade, and we find by experience that
without the common help, assistance, and interposition
of a General Company, Dutch merchants cannot be
profitably protected and maintained in their great risk
from pirates, extortion, and otherwise, which will
happen in so very long a voyage. We have found it good
that navigation, trade, and commerce in the West Indies
and Africa should not henceforth be carried on any
otherwise than by the common united strength of the
merchants and inhabitants of the Netherlands. And for
that end there shall be erected one General Company.
The risks mentioned in the first paragraph are best understood in
the context of which of the following historical developments?
(A) Competition with African states for the profits from the
slave trade
(B) Competition with Catholic European states to convert
Amerindian peoples
(C) Competition with European states for the profits of global
trade
(D) Competition with Asian empires for the profits of the spice
trade
Moreover, we furnish the General Company with a
proper charter and with the following privileges and
exemptions, namely that for 24 years none of the
natives or inhabitants of the Netherlands who are not
affiliated with the General Company shall be permitted
to sail to the Americas or the West Indies.”
Charter of the Dutch West India Company, 1621
Organizations of the type created by the charter most directly
contributed to which of the following developments in the period
1450-1750 C.E?
(A) An increase in peasant revolts
(B) The emergence of new economic and political elites
(C) The implementation of restrictions on religious freedom
(D) The spread of Chinese and Indian technologies
The economic activities referenced in the charter most directly
contributed to which of the following in the period 1450-1750 C.E.?
(A) A decrease in the publication of travel narratives
(B) Increased funding for the visual and performing arts
(C) Decreased spending on the construction of religious
centers
(D) Dutch becoming the predominant language for commercial
transactions
SHORT ANSWER QUESTION (SAQ)
Short Answer Questions (SAQ) are designed to address one or more of the thematic learning objectives of the course.
Students will be presented with a series of three questions (A, B, & C). All questions will ask the students to identify and
analyze examples of historical evidence relevant to the source question. Some questions may be based on a stimulus prompt
(a graph, map, quote, primary or secondary source excerpt, etc) others may not. Students must respond to each of the
questions in the set clearly and precisely.
Each part of an SAQ should be answered with a minimum of 3 sentences. Be sure to focus on the EXPLAIN part of the
prompt—it is not enough to simply answer the prompt. Always explain your response!
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A – Answer: Directly answer the question by identifying your claim.
C – Cite: Briefly define/describe your claim.
E—Expand: Connect your claim through historical context.
SAMPLE SAQ
Use the map below and your knowledge of world history to
answer all parts of the question that follows.
A) Identify and explain TWO factors
before 1450 C.E. that account for all the
pattern of the caravanserai shown on
the map.
B) Identify and explain ONE reason that
the caravanserai shown on the map
declined in significance in the period
1450-1750 C.E.
LONG ESSAY QUESTION (LEQ)
Students will be given the choice between two LEQ options on the AP Exam. The Long Essay Question (LEQ) can be one of four
types of question, all based on the historical thinking skills emphasized by the AP World History curriculum:
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Changes and Continuity over Time (CCOT) – What Changed? What Stayed the Same?
Causation – Cause & Effect
Comparison – Similarities & Differences
Periodization—Turning Points in History
SAMPLE LEQ
Option 1: Evaluate the extent to which the emergence of Buddhism in the fifth century B.C.E. can be considered a turning
point in world history. (Historical thinking skill: Periodization)
Option 2: Evaluate the extent to which the emergence of Islam in the seventh century C.E. can be considered a turning point
in world history. (Historical thinking skill: Periodization)