How to Prepare for the AP World History Examination

Many high school students choose to take AP World History as a chance to learn in-depth about world history while earning college credits. In order to qualify for college credit in AP World History, students must pass the AP exam at the end of the school year. The AP World History examination spans the time from 6000 B.C.E. through present day, across all cultures and civilizations.

Familiarize yourself with the format of the AP World History exam. The test allows 55 minutes to answer multiple-choice questions and 130 minutes to write three essay responses. The essay questions include one document-based question, one question on continuity and change and one comparative essay. More information about all parts of the test can be found on the College Board website.

Begin studying at least two months before the AP World History test. This will be much more effective than trying to review all the information during the busy days preceding the examination.

Review one chapter of your textbook at a time, spending at least one day on each chapter. Read your class notes and any other study tools you created while learning that chapter, flip through your textbook and pay attention to key terms. Making time lines of what happened in different areas of the world at each point in history can help you to see the big picture of the world's history.

Test your learning by trying some practice questions on that chapter. Many textbooks have example questions at the end of each chapter or in their online study tools.

Review the outlines of each time period provided on the College Board website, especially the "Major Comparisons and Snapshots" and "Examples of What You Need to Know" sections on each outline. Although these outlines are not guaranteed to include all the material that will be on the AP test, they are a good way to ensure that your studying is covering the major components that are likely to appear on the AP test. If you find anything on these outlines that you do not know enough about to write an essay, go back to your textbook and review the topic.

Look over the free response questions and sample answers from previous AP World History examinations, all provided on the College Board website. When you take the test, you should spend about five minutes thinking about and outlining your essay and 35 minutes writing. The first question also includes 10 minutes to read the included primary source documents, and you should reference each of the documents in your essay. Practice creating outlines of essays for the sample questions, making sure to not only include facts about world history, but to synthesize them in order to answer the specific question asked on the test. You should end up with a thesis statement that is fully supported by historical evidence you learned in your AP World History class.

Take a practice AP World History test that includes both multiple-choice and free response questions at least a week before the real test. This will help you to identify problem areas that require further study.