How To Use These Ap World History Practice Resources
On the most basic level, you’ll use the following AP World History resources to get familiar with the format and feel of the test and to ensure you know the content necessary to succeed on the exam.
There are two main categories of practice resources available for World History:
- Official College Board practice resources
- Unofficial practice resources
Official resources are the most similar to the actual AP exam . You’ll primarily use these to ensure you’re comfortable with the test format and question style.
Unofficial resources, however, are much more plentiful. The multiple-choice questions we link to come from two main places: textbook websites and study websites. While these resources are high quality, they won’t be exactly like the AP test. Some questions are easier, and some are a lot harder. Some sections have true/false questions mixed in with multiple choice, even though the AP test has only multiple-choice questions.
Unofficial resources can be very helpful for studying, particularly for learning content, but official resources will ultimately give you the most accurate feel for what the AP World History test will actually be like.
Below, we’ll go over official College Board resources for the AP World History exam and how to use them. After, we’ll present some of the best unofficial resources out there.
Ap World History Exam Tips
So AP World History is a pretty challenging test, both in terms of length, breadth of content, and the rigor of the questions. That being said, once you figure out its formulas, the exam can also be quite straightforward and forgiving.
Here are 6 tips for acing AP World History exam:
Section Ib: Short Answer
3 questions 40mins 20% of Score
In the short-answer section, youll write answers to questions in your test booklet. Some questions include texts, images, graphs, or maps.
- Question 1is required, includes 1 or 2 secondary sources, and focuses on historical developments or processes between the years 1200 and 2001.
- Question 2is required, includes 1 primary source, and focuses on historical developments or processes between the years 1200 and 2001.
- You can choose betweenQuestion 3 andQuestion 4 for the last question. No sources are included for eitherQuestion 3orQuestion 4.
You’ll be asked to:
- 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
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Freeap World Historypractice Tests
What is theAP World Historytest?
The AP World History exam tests students understanding of world history from approximately 8000 B.C.E. to the present covering significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in six historical periods.
Themes include interaction between humans and the environment development and interaction of cultures state building, expansion, and conflict creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems development and transformation of social structures across the five major geographical regions of the globe: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
Who gives it?College Board
The AP World History test is given by The College Board which is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity.
Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the worlds leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education.
Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators and schools.
Who can take it?
When and where can I take it?
What happens when I pass?
Additional information
How Do I Prepare For Ap World History Exam

One way you can prepare for the AP world history exam is to make or find flashcards covering the important topics on the test. Make sure you have access to them wherever you go so you can study in all your free time.
The second way you can study for the exam is to take practice tests. On top of using them to learn what you need to study more, you can also become a more efficient test taker by studying the answer explanations for the AP world multiple choice questions.
The questions that appear on an AP world practice test are ones that appeared on previous versions of AP world history exams. By familiarizing yourself with question wordings on old exams, you can be better equipped to know what the questions are asking when you take the real test.
Your teacher may also give you a study or review guide filled with useful information to study before the exam. You can even do this with a peer or use it to create your flashcards mentioned above.
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Is The Ap World History Exam Hard
AP World History is one of the more difficult AP exams, both on account of how much content one needs to learn, as well as the highly analytical and writing-based nature of the questions. It is also one of the most popular, which means that it can be hard to know whether the data is skewed or not, as many students may be taking the exam without sufficient preparation. But this is what the numbers tell us:
- The 2021 pass rate for AP World History was 52.2%. Thats pretty low.
- The average DBQ score in 2021 was 2.21 out of 7 points.
Overview Of The Ap World History Exam
The AP World History Exam tests a high school students understanding of modern global historical events and processes ranging from c. 1200 CE to the present. Lasting about three hours, it consists of a multiple choice section worth 40% of ones score and a writing section split up into multiple sub-sections that consists of the other 60%. Like other AP exams, the AP World History Exam is typically offered in May and graded on a 1-5 scale, with 1 representing No Recommendation and a 5 appraised as Extremely well qualified.
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Ap World History Quizzes From Study Websites
Without further delay, here are some links to various free study resources for AP World History. First, we’ll introduce you to some of the best quizzes from study websites.
Soft Schools
These quizzes are super handy because they are categorized by theme and time period and are not limited to just one geographic area. This is an especially great resource for preparing for the multiple-choice section, which will jump between geographic areas and time periods.
Don’t forget to skip quizzes that focus solely on years before 1200 CE as these are no longer tested on the AP World History: Modern exam.
Albert
Albert offers a fully updated collection of AP World History: Modern quizzes organized by all the current exam themes. The site also rates questions as easy, moderate, and difficult to give you a sense of how deeply you understand the World History curriculum. You need a paid membership to access some of the questions, especially those that are a higher-level of difficulty.
CrackAP
Crack AP has over 40 short AP World quizzes, as well as two full-length exams. The quizzes are only about five multiple-choice questions each, and they aren’t a perfect match for what actual AP World questions are like, but they cover a lot of content and are updated for the newest version of the exam. They can be a good option for someone earlier in the process of studying, when you’re focused more on assessing your knowledge of general world history content.
Global Studies Review Page
How To Prepare For The Ap World History Exam
When preparing for the AP World History exam, many students get stressed out trying to memorize every single date and name in their textbooks. This is not the way to go. The World History exam is actually pretty forgiving, and is not going to test you on the exact place and time someone did something. Instead, its going to ask you questions about long-term historical trends and patterns, and whether you can connect specific events to larger overarching themes.
The best way to study for the World History exam is to first take a practice test. The exam was recently changed: originally it covered the entirety of human history, but since 2019 its been changed to only cover the modern era, starting in the year 1200. So make sure to find a practice test for the AP World History: Modern exam.
Once youve taken the test, review which areas you did well in and which areas youre less familiar with. Is there a certain time period, region, or historical theme youre tripping up on? This will help you focus where to put your energy.
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Important Note On The Recent Ap World History Revision
Since the AP World History exam has undergone extensive revisions in recent years, most notably for the 2019-2020 school year , there unfortunately are not many updated practice resourcesofficial or unofficialavailable for it.
Other than the scope of content tested on it, however, the format of the exam itself has remained relatively stable since 2018. So all you’ll really need to do is avoid questions that ask about periods before the year 1200 CE. With this new, tighter focus for the AP World History course, we can only hope that the test will be a lot easier than it’s been in past years!
We’ve flagged everything you need to know about using practice resources in light of the revisions to the test.
Unofficial Resources For The Ap World History Exam
The unofficial resources we found are from two broad categories: study websites and textbook websites. Many of the quizzes from study websites are organized by AP World History theme and time period and contain mixed geographic areas, so these would be good unit review resources throughout the year and will also be helpful as you ramp up your studying for the exam in the spring.
Most of the quizzes from textbooks are organized by time period, so these can be used to check your mastery of certain historical eras as you learn about them in class. But don’t, for example, take every single test on a particular subject when you first learn about it in August/Septembersave some for when you study in March and April so you can review .
For all multiple-choice questions, remember to practice the process of elimination . Especially if you use the textbook websites, the questions could have a high level of specificity, and you’ll have to break them down by eliminating wrong answers.
This is a key skill to build for the actual AP exam since the test questions will be slightly different from your teacher’s tests and your textbook’s quizzes. You will need to be prepared to break them down using your existing knowledge base.
Often the wrong way is much easier to spot than the right way.
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How To Study For The Ap World History Exam
The AP World History exam is one of the longest APs , and requires a large breadth of knowledge. Although the exam covers historical events around the globe from the years 1200 to 2001, World History is less focused on the memorization of specific details than on the understanding of broad historical patterns, such as environmental changes, social movements, and technological advancements. With preparation, tenacity, and the right kind of practice, students can easily overcome the challenges presented by the AP World History exam, and learn valuable writing and critical thinking skills in the process!
The AP World History exam is one of the longest APs , and requires a large breadth of knowledge. Although the exam covers historical events around the globe from the years 1200 to 2001, World History is less focused on the memorization of specific details than on the understanding of broad historical patterns, such as environmental changes, social movements, and technological advancements.
With preparation, tenacity, and the right kind of practice, students can easily overcome the challenges presented by the AP World History exam, and learn valuable writing and critical thinking skills in the process!
About Ap World History Test Questions

There are a total of sixty questions that you will be required to answer on the AP world history exam. However, unlike other AP exams, the world history test allows you to choose some of your free-response questions from a list of two or three.
You will answer fifty-five multiple-choice questions in fifty-five minutes. This means that you are allotted one minute for every question in the multiple-choice section. Do not fret. There will likely be questions that you immediately know the answer so you can have more time for questions you require thinking.
In the second section, you are required to answer three short-answer questions. The first two questions will be pulled from a source and you have to answer them. Then, you get the option to choose between questions three or four, so be sure to choose the one that you have a stronger argument for.
The final section of the test is the most unique portion of an AP test. There are only two required questions in this section. The first is a document-based question that asks you to assess numerous documents before answering. The second is a choice between three different long-answer questions.
You will be given forty minutes to complete the second section and an hour and forty minutes to complete the third. Make sure your arguments are well-thought but also be sure to utilize time wisely to be the most efficient AP world history exam-taker.
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Key Takeaways: The Best Ap World History Practice Tests
Because AP World History was recently revised in the 2019-20 school year and now focuses exclusively on the modern era , there aren’t that many up-to-date resources available. This primarily affects the content, not the format, of the overall exam .
There are both official College Board resources available to help you become familiar with the test format and feel, and unofficial resources to help you learn test content. You’ll need to use a mix of both resource types to succeed on the AP World History: Modern exam!
Just be sure to save most of the official resources for sometime in March or April when you know most of the material so that you don’t waste your limited official resources. Good luck!
Ap World History: Modern
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What’s Inside Shmoop’s Online Ap World History: Modern Test Prep
Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our Test Prep resources will help you prepare for exams with fun, engaging, and relatable materials that bring the test to life.
In Shmoop’s AP World History: Modern guide, you’ll find
- a diagnostic exam to figure out where you’re struggling before you even begin.
- a full-length practice exam that mimics the look and feel of the real thing.
- answer explanations to figure out where you went wrongor right.
- loads of practice drills.
- review of a millennium’s worth of economic systems, state-building, social structures, and more.
- test-taking tips and strategies.
AP® is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.
- Practice questions: 51
What Is On The Ap World History Exam
The AP World History exam contains multiple choice and short answer questions, one document based question, and one long essay. Here’s the breakdown:
Multiple Choice
55 mins/55 questions
Multiple choice questions usually come in sets of 3-4 based on the same source. Youll be asked to analyze the provided sources and answer relevant questions.
Short Answer
40 mins/3 questions
The short answer section basically asks you to write a mini-essay. The first two questions are both based on primary+secondary sources between the years 1200 and 2001. You have an option to choose between two prompts for the last short answer, with one option focusing on the period between 1750 – 2001. Youll be asked to analyze the provided sources or prompts, and then put them in historical context.
Document Based Question
60 mins /1 question
For the DBQ, youll be provided with seven sources. Youll then develop and support a historical argument citing these sources as well as your own knowledge. The sources will be from between 1450-2001.
Long Essay
40 mins/1 question
For the long essay, youll be provided with three prompts from different time periods between 1200 and 2001. Youll pick one, then develop and support a historical argument based on your own knowledge.
In terms of historical themes, the exam will test you on:
- Unit 1: The Global Tapestry
- Unit 2: Networks of Exchange
- Unit 3: Land-Based Empires
- Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization
The exam will not test you on:
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