AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description Study Guide

Overview of College Board and AP Equity Policies

College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization founded in $1900$ dedicated to connecting students to college success and opportunity.
The membership association is comprised of over $6,000$ educational institutions.
Each year, the organization assists more than $7,000,000$ students through college readiness programs like the SAT® and the Advanced Placement® Program (AP®).
AP Equity and Access Policy Statement: College Board encourages the elimination of barriers restricting access to AP for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented.
Schools are urged to establish AP classes that reflect the diversity of their broader student population.
Designers: The document was designed by Sonny Mui and Bill Tully.
Acknowledgments: The following committee members contributed to the development of the course: - Greg Ahlquist (Webster Thomas High School) - Rachel Jean-Baptiste (University of California, Davis) - Tim Keirn (California State University, Long Beach) - Amie La Porte-Lewis (Holy Innocents' Episcopal School) - Christina Shively (Cypress Ranch High School) - Eren Tasar (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) - Richard Warner (Wabash College) - Deborah Wing-Leonard (Clear Lake High School) - Kevin Witte (Kearney High School)
College Board Staff: Cheryl Harmon, Chad Hoge, Daniel McDonough, Allison Milverton, Kelly Stromberg, and Allison Thurber.
Special Thanks: John R. Williamson.

The Advanced Placement® Program (AP®)

Enables high school students to pursue college-level studies and potentially earn college credit or advanced placement.
Offered in $38$ subjects, each concluding with a standardized exam.
Research indicates students scoring a $3$ or higher on an AP Exam typically experience greater academic success and higher graduation rates in college.
Enrollment is open to all willing and academically prepared students.
AP Course Audit: A process where college faculty review teacher syllabi to ensure they meet or exceed standard expectations for college-level courses. Schools must fulfill curricular and resource requirements to label a course "AP."
Exam Scoring: Multiple-choice questions are machine-scored. Free-response questions are scored by college faculty and expert AP teachers at the annual AP Reading.
Criterion-Referencing: AP Exams are not graded on a curve. Every student meeting specific criteria for a score of $2$ , $3$ , $4$ , or $5$ receives that score.

AP Score Credit Recommendations

Score $5$ : Extremely well qualified (College Grade Equivalent: A).
Score $4$ : Well qualified (College Grade Equivalent: A-, B+, B).
Score $3$ : Qualified (College Grade Equivalent: B-, C+, C).
Score $2$ : Possibly qualified (n/a).
Score $1$ : No recommendation (n/a).
Most public and private institutions worldwide ( $3,300+$ ) accept AP scores for credit or placement.

AP Resources and Digital Activation

AP Classroom: A dedicated online platform providing year-long support resources.
Unit Guides: Planning guides outlining required course content and skills organized into topics.
Personal Progress Checks: Formative assessments for every unit providing student feedback. - Multiple-choice questions include rationales for correct and incorrect answers. - Results cannot be used for teacher evaluation or final grades.
Progress Dashboard: Allows teachers to track class trends and individual student struggles.
AP Question Bank: Online library of real AP Exam questions indexed by topic and skill for classroom use.
Digital Activation: Teachers and students must sign in to My AP to access resources. - Students join class sections using a "join code." - Replaces traditional pre-administration sessions and reduces answer sheet bubbling time. - Provides personalized AP ID registration labels for students.

Course Framework: Themes and Units

The AP World History: Modern course focuses on the period from $1200$ to the present.
The Six Course Themes: 1. Theme 1: Humans and the Environment (ENV): Focuses on how human populations change and shape their environments. 2. Theme 2: Cultural Developments and Interactions (CDI): Focuses on ideas, beliefs, and religions. 3. Theme 3: Governance (GOV): Focuses on state formation, expansion, and administrative institutions. 4. Theme 4: Economic Systems (ECN): Focuses on production, exchange, and consumption. 5. Theme 5: Social Interactions and Organization (SIO): Focuses on social norms, hierarchies, and individual/group interactions. 6. Theme 6: Technology and Innovation (TEC): Focuses on efficiency, comfort, and security through adaptation.

Course Unit Weights

Unit 1: The Global Tapestry ( $\text{c. } 1200$ to $\text{c. } 1450$ ); Weight: $8-10\, \%$ .
Unit 2: Networks of Exchange ( $\text{c. } 1200$ to $\text{c. } 1450$ ); Weight: $8-10\, \%$ .
Unit 3: Land-Based Empires ( $\text{c. } 1450$ to $\text{c. } 1750$ ); Weight: $12-15\, \%$ .
Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections ( $\text{c. } 1450$ to $\text{c. } 1750$ ); Weight: $12-15\, \%$ .
Unit 5: Revolutions ( $\text{c. } 1750$ to $\text{c. } 1900$ ); Weight: $12-15\, \%$ .
Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization ( $\text{c. } 1750$ to $\text{c. } 1900$ ); Weight: $12-15\, \%$ .
Unit 7: Global Conflict ( $\text{c. } 1900$ to the present); Weight: $8-10\, \%$ .
Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization ( $\text{c. } 1900$ to the present); Weight: $8-10\, \%$ .
Unit 9: Globalization ( $\text{c. } 1900$ to the present); Weight: $8-10\, \%$ .

Historical Thinking Skills and Reasoning Processes

The Six Historical Thinking Skills: 1. Developments and Processes: Identify and explain historical concepts ( $1.A$ , $1.B$ ). 2. Sourcing and Situation: Analyze point of view, purpose, historical situation, and audience ( $2.A$ , $2.B$ , $2.C$ ). 3. Claims and Evidence in Sources: Analyze arguments, identify evidence, and compare ideas ( $3.A$ , $3.B$ , $3.C$ , $3.D$ ). 4. Contextualization: Analyze broader context and situated developments ( $4.A$ , $4.B$ ). 5. Making Connections: Use historical reasoning to analyze patterns between developments ( $5.A$ , $5.B$ ). 6. Argumentation: Create historically defensible claims and complex arguments using diverse evidence ( $6.A$ , $6.B$ , $6.C$ , $6.D$ ).
The Three Reasoning Processes: - Comparison: Describe and explain similarities/differences and their relative significance ( $1.i$ , $1.ii$ , $1.iii$ ). - Causation: Describe and explain causes/effects, relationships, and relative significance ( $2.i$ , $2.ii$ , $2.iii$ , $2.v$ ). - Continuity and Change: Describe and explain patterns and relative significance relative to larger temporal patterns ( $3.i$ , $3.ii$ , $3.iii$ ).

Detailed Unit Topics and Learning Objectives

Unit 1: The Global Tapestry

Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia: Explains the Song Dynasty's use of Confucianism and bureaucracy ( $KC-3.2.I.A$ ). Influence of Neo-Confucianism, Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan), and innovations like Champa rice ( $KC-3.1.III.D.i, KC-3.1.I.D$ ).
Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam: Fragmentation of the Abbasid Caliphate and emergence of new Islamic entities like the Seljuk Empire, Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, and Delhi Sultanates ( $KC-3.2.I$ ). Intellectual innovations: House of Wisdom and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ( $KC-3.2.II.A.i$ ).
Topic 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia: Focuses on belief systems (Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism) and state formation in empires like Vijayanagara and Majapahit ( $KC-3.1.III.D.iv, KC-3.2.I.B.i$ ).
Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas: Explains developments in Maya city-states, Mexica, Inca, and Cahokia ( $KC-3.2.I.D.i$ ).
Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa: Focuses on systems like Great Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Hausa kingdoms ( $KC-3.2.I.D.ii$ ).
Topic 1.6 Developments in Europe: Explains political decentralization (feudalism, manorialism) and social hierarchies centered on serfdom and agricultural labor ( $KC-3.2.I.B.ii, KC-3.3.III.C$ ).

Unit 2: Networks of Exchange

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads: Growth of luxury trade cities (Kashgar, Samarkand) and credit innovations (bills of exchange, banking houses) ( $KC-3.1.I.A.i$ ).
Topic 2.2 The Mongol Empire: Collapse of empires and creation of Mongol khanates, leading to cultural transfers (Gupta-Islamic medical knowledge, Uyghur script) ( $KC-3.2.I.B.iii, KC-3.2.II.A.ii$ ).
Topic 2.3 Indian Ocean Exchange: Development of state systems (Swahili city-states, Sultanate of Malacca) and innovations (astrolabe, larger ships, monsoon wind knowledge) ( $KC-3.1.I.C.ii, KC-3.1.II.A.i$ ).
Topic 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes: Use of camels and caravans in Mali to facilitate trade and communicate wealth ( $KC-3.1.I.E.ii$ ).
Topic 2.5 Cultural Consequences of Connectivity: Diffusion of literary (Buddhism in East Asia), scientific, and artistic traditions, accompanied by travelers (Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo) ( $KC-3.1.III.D, KC-3.1.III.C$ ).
Topic 2.6 Environmental Consequences of Connectivity: Diffusion of diseases (bubonic plague) and crops (bananas in Africa, citrus in Mediterranean) ( $KC-3.1.IV$ ).

Unit 3: Land-Based Empires

Topic 3.1 Empires Expand: Use of gunpowder and cannons by empires (Manchu, Mughal, Ottoman, Safavid) ( $KC-4.3.II$ ).
Topic 3.2 Empires Administration: Consolidation of power through bureaucratic elites (Ottoman Devshirme, salaried Samurai) and monumental architecture (Taj Mahal, Versailles) ( $KC-4.3.I.C, KC-4.3.I.A$ ).
Topic 3.3 Empires Belief Systems: Breaking with Christian tradition (Protestant Reformation) and split within Islam (Sunni/Shi’a) ( $KC-4.1.VI.i, KC-4.1.VI.ii$ ).

Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections

Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations: Diffusion of tools (astronomical charts, magnetic compass) and ship designs (fluyt, caravel, carrack) ( $KC-4.1.II.A$ ).
Topic 4.2 Exploration: Role of states in Portuguese maritime technology and Spanish-sponsored voyages of Columbus ( $KC-4.1.III.A, KC-4.1.III.B$ ).
Topic 4.3 Columbian Exchange: Transfer of diseases (smallpox) reduce indigenous populations while American foods (potatoes, maize) became global staples ( $KC-4.1.V.A, KC-4.1.V.B$ ).
Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established: Restriction of European trade by Asian states (Ming China, Tokugawa Japan). Use of Incan mita and chattel slavery ( $KC-4.3.II.A.i, KC-4.2.II.D$ ).
Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained: Mercantilist joint-stock companies. Global flow of silver from Spanish colonies ( $KC-4.1.IV.C, KC-4.1.IV$ ).
Topic 4.6 Challenges to State Power: Internal resistance (Pueblo Revolts, Cossack revolts) and slave resistance (Maroon societies) ( $KC-4.3.III.iii, KC-5.3.III.C$ ).
Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies: Acceptance vs. expulsion of Jews (Ottoman vs. Spanish policies). Rise of Casta system in Americas ( $KC-4.3.I.B, KC-4.2.III.A$ ).

Unit 5: Revolutions

Topic 5.1 The Enlightenment: Rationalism applied to human relationships. Emergent feminism (Mary Wollstonecraft, Seneca Falls) ( $KC-5.3.I.A, KC-5.3.IV.B$ ).
Topic 5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions: Independent states across the Americas (Haitian Revolution, American Revolution). Unification of Germany and Italy ( $KC-5.3.III.B, KC-5.3.II.iii$ ).
Topic 5.3 Industrial Revolution Begins: Factors including urbanization, coal access, and accumulation of capital in Great Britain ( $KC-5.1.I.A$ ).
Topic 5.4 Industrialization Spreads: Second Industrial Revolution innovations in steel, chemicals, and electricity ( $KC-5.1.I.E$ ).
Topic 5.7 Economic Developments: Transition from mercantilism to laissez-faire capitalism (Adam Smith). Rise of transnational businesses (HSBC, Unilever) ( $KC-5.1.III.A, KC-5.1.III.B$ ).
Topic 5.8 Reactions to Industrialization: Organized labor unions and socialist/communist ideologies (Karl Marx) ( $KC-5.1.V.A, KC-5.3.IV.A.ii$ ).

Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization

Topic 6.1 Rationales for Imperialism: Beliefs in Social Darwinism, nationalism, and civilizing missions used to justify colonial expansion ( $KC-5.2.III$ ).
Topic 6.2 State Expansion: Shift from private company control to direct state control (King Leopold II and the Belgian Congo, Dutch East Indies) ( $KC-5.2.I.A$ ).
Topic 6.3 Indigenous Responses: Anticolonial movements like Túpac Amaru II (Peru), 1857 Rebellion (India), and Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement (South Africa) ( $KC-5.3.III.D, KC-5.2.II.C$ ).
Topic 6.4 Global Economic Development: Growing demand for raw materials leads to export economies (rubber in Congo, palm oil in West Africa, guano in Peru) ( $KC-5.1.II.A$ ).
Topic 6.6 Causes of Migration: Need for labor leads to coerced/semicoerced labor systems (Chinese/Indian indentured servitude, convict labor) ( $KC-5.4.II.B$ ).
Topic 6.7 Effects of Migration: Creation of ethnic enclaves (Chinatowns) and racial exclusion acts (Chinese Exclusion Act, White Australia Policy) ( $KC-5.4.III.B, KC-5.4.III.C$ ).

Unit 7: Global Conflict

Topic 7.1 Shifting Power After 1900: Collapse of Ottoman, Russian, and Qing empires. Mexican Revolution political crisis ( $KC-6.2.I.A, KC-6.2.II.D$ ).
Topic 7.2 Causes of WWI: Imperial competition, alliance systems, and intense nationalism ( $KC-6.2.IV.B.i$ ).
Topic 7.3 Conducting WWI: First "total war" using propaganda, art, and media for population mobilization ( $KC-6.2.IV.A.i$ ).
Topic 7.4 Economy in Interwar Period: Government intervention like Soviet Five-Year Plans and the U.S. New Deal ( $KC-6.3.I.B, KC-6.3.I.A.i$ ).
Topic 7.6 Causes of WWII: Rise of fascist regimes and Hitler's aggressive militarism ( $KC-6.2.IV.B.ii$ ).
Topic 7.8 Mass Atrocities: Nazi killing of Jews in the Holocaust. Ethnic violence in Rwanda, Cambodia, and Armenia ( $KC-6.2.III.C$ ).

Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization

Topic 8.2 The Cold War: Ideological conflict between U.S. capitalism and Soviet communism. Rise of the Non-Aligned Movement ( $KC-6.2.IV.C.ii, KC-6.2.V.B$ ).
Topic 8.3 Effects of Cold War: Military alliances (NATO/Warsaw Pact), proxy wars (Korean War, Angolan Civil War, Sandinista-Contras conflict), nuclear proliferation ( $KC-6.2.IV.D$ ).
Topic 8.4 Spread of Communism: Great Leap Forward in China. Land redistribution in Ethiopia and Kerala ( $KC-6.3.I.A.ii, KC-6.2.II.D.i$ ).
Topic 8.5 Decolonization: Negotiated independence (India, Ghana) vs. armed struggle (Algeria, Vietnam, Angola) ( $KC-6.2.I.C$ ).
Topic 8.6 Newly Independent States: Conflict from redrawing boundaries (Partition of India, creation of Israel). Migration to metropoles (South Asians to Britain) ( $KC-6.2.III.A.ii, KC-6.2.III.B$ ).
Topic 8.7 Global Resistance: Nonviolence advocates (Gandhi, MLK Jr., Mandela). Violent movements (Al-Qaeda) ( $KC-6.2.V.A, KC-6.2.V.D$ ).
Topic 8.8 End of Cold War: Failed invasion of Afghanistan, U.S. technological advances, and public discontent in communist states ( $KC-6.2.IV.E$ ).

Unit 9: Globalization

Topic 9.1 Advances in Tech: Internet, radio, cellular communication reduce geographic distance ( $KC-6.1.I.A$ ). Productivity increased by petroleum and nuclear power ( $KC-6.1.I.D$ ). Green Revolution and commercial agriculture ( $KC-6.1.I.B$ ). Vaccines/antibiotics extend longevity ( $KC-6.1.I.C$ ).
Topic 9.2 Limitations After 1900: Persistent diseases of poverty (malaria, cholera) and emergent epidemics (HIV/AIDS, Ebola, 1918 influenza) ( $KC-6.1.III, KC-6.1.III.A$ ).
Topic 9.3 Environment After 1900: Greenhouse gas release and competition for fresh water, alongside debates about climate change ( $KC-6.1.II.A, KC-6.1.II.B$ ).
Topic 9.4 Economics in Global Age: Promotion of free-market policies (Reagan, Thatcher, Deng Xiaoping). Emergence of knowledge economies (Japan, U.S.) ( $KC-6.3.I.D, KC-6.3.I.E$ ). Global trade agreements (WTO, NAFTA, ASEAN) and multinational corporations (Nestlé, Nissan) ( $KC-6.3.II.B$ ).
Topic 9.5 Reform Movements: Rights-based discourse including the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights and global feminism ( $KC-6.3.III.i$ ). Protest movements like Greenpeace ( $KC-6.3.II.C.i$ ).
Topic 9.6 Globalized Culture: Global culture and consumerism (Reggae, Bollywood, Facebook, World Cup soccer, Coca-Cola) ( $KC-6.3.IV.ii, KC-6.3.IV.iii$ ).
Topic 9.8 International Organizations: United Nations formed to facilitate world peace and cooperation ( $KC-6.3.II.A$ ).

Instructional Approaches

Textbooks: Must be college-level and address the six themes through to the $21st$ century.
Primary Sources: Should include written documents, photographs, cartoons, and artwork.
Secondary Sources: Includes data sets, maps, and scholar-written accounts (historians, economists, sociologists).
Instructional Strategies: - Close Reading: Analyzing text word-for-word to develop comprehensive understanding. - Debate: Formal/informal defense of claims using evidence. - Jigsaw: Students become "experts" on a text and teach others. - Match Claims and Evidence: Identifying valid supporting statements for specific arguments. - Socratic Seminar: Discussions probing perspective, point of view, and evidence to arrive at new understandings. - Critique Reasoning: Collaboratively questioning perspectives and evidence. - Shared Inquiry: Interpretive questions with no single right answers based on provocative texts.

AP World History Exam Structure

Duration: $3\, \text{hours}$ and $15\, \text{minutes}$ .
Section I, Part A: Multiple-Choice: $55\, \text{questions}$ ; $40\, \%$ , Weight; $55\, \text{minutes}$ . Organized in sets of $3-4$ questions with stimuli.
Section I, Part B: Short-Answer (SAQ): $3\, \text{questions}$ ; $20\, \%$ , Weight; $40\, \text{minutes}$ . - Question 1: Secondary source (Years $1200-2001$ ). - Question 2: Primary source (Years $1200-2001$ ). - Question 3 (Choice): No stimulus (Years $1200-1750$ ). - Question 4 (Choice): No stimulus (Years $1750-2001$ ).
Section II, Part A: Document-Based Question (DBQ): $1\, \text{question}$ ; $25\, \%$ , Weight; $60\, \text{minutes}$ ( $15\, \text{min}$ reading period included). Topics from $1450-2001$ .
Section II, Part B: Long Essay Question (LEQ): $1\, \text{question}$ (choice of $3$ ); $15\, \%$ , Weight; $40\, \text{minutes}$ . - Option 1 (Years $1200-1750$ ). - Option 2 (Years $1450-1900$ ). - Option 3 (Years $1750-2001$ ).

AP History Rubrics

DBQ Scoring ( $7\, \text{points total}$ ): - Thesis/Claim: Historically defensible and establishes a line of reasoning ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ). - Contextualization: Relates to broader historical events/processes ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ). - Evidence from Documents: Uses content of $3+$ documents ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ) or supports an argument with $6+$ documents ( $2\, \text{pts}$ ). - Evidence beyond Documents: One additional specific piece of evidence ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ). - Analysis/Sourcing: Explains why POV, purpose, or audience for $3+$ documents is relevant ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ). - Complexity: Corroborates, qualifies, or modifies an argument ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ).
LEQ Scoring ( $6\, \text{points total}$ ): - Thesis/Claim: ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ). - Contextualization: ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ). - Evidence: Identifies relevant examples ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ); supports an argument ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ). - Analysis/Reasoning: Uses historical reasoning process ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ); demonstrates complex understanding ( $1\, \text{pt}$ ).