thesis formula ap world

Document-Based Question (DBQ)

What is a dbq, how to read the documents:, written documents, how to answer the prompt:, compare & contrast, cause & effect, change & continuity over time, how to earn all 7 points:.

Contextualization

Analysis & Sourcing

How to start writing the dbq, how to write a dbq:.

Attached below is a worksheet with an outline organizer for your DBQ. When practicing for your DBQ, feel free to download & print this to use:

7 documents

You are given 7 documents, and you are given a prompt, similar to an LEQ prompt. You need to write an essay, responding to the prompt, using evidence from the documents. ​You have 60 minutes in total, but of those 15 minutes are recommended for reading. The sections below describe the types of documents, types of prompts, and the rubric and how to earn each point. 

You are given 7 documents. The different types are described below:

Excerpt / Written Document

Graphic, Diagram, Map, Cartoon

General Tips

Look at the sourcing before you read each doc to get an idea of what the doc might say

Write a quick summary (~3 bullet points) to summarize the content of each doc

Write a note of how each doc fits in with the prompt

Does it support or refute your thesis?

Which side of the prompt does it cover?

Which aspect (which body paragraph) of your prompt / thesis does it cover?

Any document with written paragraphs

Newspaper, letter, speech, historian's interpretation, constitution, religious text, etc.​

Special tips:

Before you read, read the sourcing & title and try to get an idea of what the doc might say

Take your time to understand the content of the doc; no need to rush​​

Write a few notes summarizing the doc

Figure out how the doc relates to the prompt

Does it argue one side or another?

Does it provide evidence for a specific geographical region?

Does it refute your thesis?

Which sub-category of the prompt does it answer?

Any document that is a photo

Any photo that a photographer might take, or an artist's depiction of a historical event

NOT a diagram, map, or something manmade or designed by historians

Read the sourcing & title to try to figure out what the photo might depict

Look at all aspects of the photo, get an idea of what it depicts

Does it represent a historical development?​

Does it represent an artistic movement?

Look for all signs of bias in the photo

Is it depicting a specific point of view?

Does it portray a certain culture as superior?

Does it portray a certain culture as inferior?​

Does it represent a military victory?​​​

This would mean one side is better than the other​

Does it portray something as bigger or exaggerated?

Means that the exaggerated thing is depicted as superior

Does it portray something as smaller?

Means that the thing that's depicted smaller is portrayed as inferior

Based on the point of view (bias) and the content, figure out how it relates to the prompt

Does it support / refute your thesis?

What aspect of the prompt does it answer?​

Any document that is a man-made photo

Graphic, diagram, political cartoon, map, etc.

Before you read, read the sourcing & title and try to get an idea of what the doc might depict

Look at the doc and try to figure out what it represents, or what topic it depicts

Think about the bias or point of view of the doc:

Does it represent the views of one side or another?

Is it depicting one side as exaggerated or superior to another?

Cartoons are generally biased

If it's a map, what is it representing?

Is it representing the map of industrial factories, trade routes, westward expansion, deciphered wind patterns, etc.?​

Once you figure this out, understand the historical context of the map

If it's a graphic or a diagram, what information does it detail?

If it's a population growth map, what allowed for population growth?​

Think of what the diagram depicts, and what allowed for that, and what's the historical context of that historical development?

Involves comparing & contrasting 2 different things

Most important thing is the argument: Not what the differences/similarities were, but HOW THEY WERE SIGNIFICANT

How to use the documents:

Some docs might explain the features of one of the comparand (the thing you compare), other docs may explain the other comparand

Some docs might cover both comparands

Figure out what the docs are saying for each comparand, and write your thesis based on that

What are they saying are similar & different about the 2?​

Involves examining what a certain historical development, and what were its causes & effects

What's more important is examining the significance of the causes, or how one cause/effect was more important than other causes/effects

Generally, 2 causes and 1 or 2 effects

Some docs might explain the event

Some docs might explain the causes, others might explain the effects

Draft a thesis based on the info about the causes & effects mentioned in the docs

Try to mention which causes were more significant than other causes

Involves examining what changed & what remained the same as a result of one event​

Some docs might explain the catalyst (the event that caused the changes/continuities) you write about

Some docs might describe the changes

Some docs might describe the continuities

Draft a thesis based on what the docs say about the changes & continuities

How to Earn all 7  Points:

Contextualization (1 point).

Examine the historical context of the story

Kind of like a "recap" or a "flashback"

Like at the beginning of a TV show, it shows a recap of the previous episode

How to write one

Always include the time period & possibly the location​

"In Europe in the period 1450 - 1750, ..."

Provide a brief 3-5 sentence recap of how the world arrived at the situation you are writing about in your essay

The contextualization should finish with how the world arrived at the historical development you write about in your thesis, so that there is a smooth transition from contextualization to the thesis

Sample Contextualizations

Topic: Related to the industrial revolution​

Before the 1750s, people were performing manual labor, making items by hand, which was very inefficient. From 1750-1900, Europe and the rest of the world underwent an economic transformation called the Industrial Revolution. Starting in Britain due to its abundance of raw materials & strong financial support, industrial capitalists built factories powered by waterwheels or coal that artificially produced goods such as textiles, eliminating the need to make them by hand. This brought a lot more people from the countryside to the cities, where they worked in factories for low wages. From Britain, the industrial revolution spread throughout Europe as well as to US, Egypt, Russia, and Japan. [Insert Thesis Here]

Topic: Related to imperialism​

In the period 1750-1900, Europe underwent an economic transformation known as the industrial revolution, where people would use artificial power to cheaply & efficiently manufacture goods in commercial factories in the cities, rather than making goods by hand at home. In order for these factories to produce goods, they needed raw materials, which is why they had to look to other nations like those in Africa and Asia to supply raw materials to them. Thi​s led to European imperialism, a development where Europeans started colonizing other nations throughout the world, especially in Africa and Asia, to establish export-oriented economies to get raw materials to supply to their factories. [Insert Thesis Here]

Thesis (1 point)

This is your argument

Must be something that can be opposed​

Someone else has to be able to write an essay whose thesis is the opposite of yours

Must contain an argument, and generally 2-3 examples (topics for body paragraphs)

Better to have a concession

Useful for complexity point

Format of Thesis & Examples

Color Key: 

Concession / Counterargument*

Similarities / Continuities / Causes

Difference for Comparand 1 / Changes / Effects

Differences for Comparand 2

*Concession is always optional. Described in the analysis section, it can be used to get the extra complexity point

Prompt: Compare & Contrast

Although some may believe [counterargument]* , w hile [comparand 1] and [comparand 2] both [insert similarities] , [comparand 1] was [insert difference for comparand 1], and [comparand 2] was [insert difference for comparand 2], which [is why / allowed for] [insert argument]. 

Although the Delhi Sultanate had very strict religious authority, while the Delhi Sultanate and the Chola Kingdom both used religion to maintain stability , the Delhi Sultanate was attempting to impose Islam on a Hindu-majority population , and the Chola Kingdom imposed Hindu on a Hindu population , which allowed for the Chola Kingdom to be more successful than the Delhi Sultanate. 

Prompt: Change & Continuity over Time

Although some may believe [counterargument]* , as a result of [catalyst],  while [continuity] stayed the same , [change] changed,   which [is why / allowed for] [insert argument]. 

Although some may believe the Catholic church actually became more powerful, as a result of the Protestant Reformation, while women still maintained strictly subordinate roles , there were more religious wars, and more monarchs were able to consolidate more power for themselves , which caused the Catholic church to decline in power.  

Prompt: Cause & Effect

Although some may believe [counterargument]* are the most important causes of [event] ,  [causes] were the main causes** , which caused [effects].  

Although some may believe that the desire to spread Christianity was the main cause of European imperialism , the desire to get raw materials and the need for more markets were the main causes , which led to a more integrated global economy and the development of technological infrastructure in the colonies. 

**Here, the argument is that the causes you described in the blue section are more important than the causes in the yellow section. There is no need for an extra argument at the end

Evidence (3 points)

This is where you put examples / pieces of evidence to support your thesis​

To get 1 point : Use evidence from 3 of the docs

To get 2 points : Use evidence from 6 of the docs, and put an extra analysis to connect it to the thesis

It's always better to use all 7 docs in case you use one incorrectly

To get 3 points : Use an extra piece of evidence (from your own knowledge, not from the docs), and put an extra analysis to connect it to the thesis

Examples of How to Write your Evidence

How to earn the first point:

To earn the 1st point, you need to describe / state evidence from 3 docs without connecting it to the thesis

According to document 3, the Chola Empire used Hinduism as the state religion. 

According to document 7, there were more factories in Britain than in France. 

How to earn the second point:

To earn the 2nd point, you need evidence from 6* docs, and you also need to connect it to the thesis

According to document 3, the Chola Empire used Hinduism as the state religion. Because the population was also mostly Hindu, the Chola Empire was able to maintain stability by using a common belief in Hinduism to stabilize its rule. 

According to document 7, there were more factories in Britain than in France. Thus, Britain had a larger industrial output than France, which is why it was able to manufacture more weapons during World War 1 and why France relied on Britain for support. 

*Always use all 7 docs to in case you use one doc incorrectly

How to earn the third point:

To earn the third point, you need to include one piece of evidence that is not in the documents and is from your own knowledge. 

Think of what evidence or what viewpoint is missing

If it's a compare & contrast: is there any other similarity or difference? Do you have any other evidence to support the topics of your thesis?

If it's a change & continuity over time: Is there any other evidence to support one of your changes or continuities?

If it's a cause & effect: Is there any other evidence or historical content that can support your causes or effects?

Analysis (2 points)

This is the hardest part

For 1 point, you need to explain how the source of 3 documents affects either your argument or what the document has to say

There are 4 parts of sourcing, and you ONLY NEED TO CHOOSE ONE

Explained in more detail below​

For the 2nd point, you need to use complex analysis in your argument

This is the most confusing

The easiest way is to weave a counterargument through your essay, which the concession already sets you up for

The best way is to not think about it too much and just put a bit more complex arguments into your essay rather than sticking to a strict format

Historical Context

Point of View

You need to choose ONE of the above and follow the instructions below. Each of the sections below has information about each aspect of sourcing. 

You need to do this for THREE different sources to earn full points (we recommend you do 4 in case one is wrong)

Historical Context:

Explain how the historical context of any document affects what the document argues

This document was written after WW1 when everyone was feeling depressed and economically poor, which explains why the priest is talking about a revival of religion and cheerful spirits. 

This document was written in a time after the Protestant Reformation when there were a lot of religious wars, which is why the document argues that Lutheranism is better than Calvinism. 

Explain how the intended audience of any document affects what the document argues

This document was written for the Armenians of the Ottoman empire, a Christian minority that was believed to conspire with the Allies, which is why the document is very aggressive toward them in asserting Ottoman dominance. 

This speech was written to the American people to gain support for the Treaty of Versailles, which is why it intends to boost nationalist sentiment and promote American power. 

Explain how the purpose of any document affects what the document argues

This speech was written by the Republic party with the purpose of convincing its audience to vote for them, which is why it argues that Free Silver, a democratic idea, is bad. 

This speech was written by John of Montecorvino, the Archbishop of Khanbaliq who sought to convert the Mongol boys to Christianity, which is why he emphasizes how Christianity allows one to achieve salvation. 

Point of View:

Explain how the point of view of any document affects what the document argues

This speech was written from the point of view of an Indian cotton farmer, which is why he writes that the British completely destroyed the Indian handmade textile industry. 

This document was written from the point of view of Grover Cleveland, an anti-imperialist president, which is why he writes about the harms of annexing Hawaii. 

The Complexity Point

The final point is the complexity point. This is given if you have a complex argument, and it is hard to achieve. The best way to think about this is do more than the prompt asks, and add a bit of extra analysis into the essay. 

The easiest way to do this is weave a counterargument through the essay. In our thesis samples above, we already set you up for this with our concession clause. 

How to Start Writing the DBQ:

First step is to outline your essay. Follow the steps below:

Read through each document, write a brief summary, and figure out how it relates to the prompt (which side/aspect does it argue?)​

Write your thesis. Write each aspect of the thesis (concession/counterargument, evidence 1, evidence 2, argument), and combine them

Write the outline for your body paragraphs. Write the topic for each body paragraph, and which docs you'll use in each. Also, denote where you'll use your outside evidence

Write an outline for your sourcing. Choose 4 different documents, and write the sourcing sentence following the guidelines in the sourcing section above

Start writing. Good luck!

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Welcome to the AP World History subreddit. It is meant to be an open forum for all-things-AP-World. Teachers and students are encouraged to post links, information, and questions that may help others as the attempt to conquer the AP World History Exam.

How to write a Document-Based Question (DBQ)

Document-Based Questions (DBQ)

You have 45 minutes to read documents and a 5 minute window for you to submit your answer


What you need to do:

Step 1. Read and understand the question 


Stop yourself and read it carefully


What is the historical thinking skill embedded in the question?


Is it asking you to compare two things?


Is it asking you to talk about change over time?


Write it down, highlight it, underline it


2. What kind of categories?


Ex. “Political change”


3. What is the time period given?


Make sure your essays deal with issues within that time period


Step 2. Read through the documents quickly


Try to spend at least 10 minutes (no more) reading and analyzing the document 


When reading each document quickly, you need to look for:


What is the source of this document?


Who is speaking to who?


2. Summarize the main idea


Referencing to the prompt


The documents are used as evidence and supposed to help you answer the question


“If I only had this document, how would it answer the question?”


3. Group your documents into two groups


Ex. If documents are giving economic reasons and others are giving religious reasons, group them like that


Grouping your documents by category is  higher level and shows that you’ve made connections between the documents 


10-point skip


Thesis: 0-1 Point


Important because it organizes your argument


Rubric -- You need to write one or two sentences which are historically defensible and establishes a line of reasoning 


Specific historical evidence


Thesis should be packed, should be your argument in miniature 


Thesis Formula -- Although X, because A and B, therefore Y.


X: Counterargument


A and B: Specific Evidence


Y: Your argument


Ex. DBQ Prompt: “Evaluate the extent to which the Portuguese transformed maritime trade in the Indian Ocean in the sixteenth century.”


Thesis: “Although the arrival of the Portuguese was a very important change in indian ocean maritime trade in the sixteenth century (X), because the Portugese never extended their control beyond a few ports (A) and had to compete with Indian merchants and regional states such as the Ottoman Empire (B), it did not completely transform the trade (Y) .”


Contextualization: 0-1 Point


Your argument in a larger historical context


Rubric -- Explain the historical context before during or after the time period of your prompt 


The most intuitive way is explaining the events that occured before the given time period 


Good idea to talk about specific maritime technology during that period 


Your contextualization (3-4 sentences) needs to relate to the prompt


Content -- 2-3 Vocabulary Words


Specific things that occurred during the periods


Explain the terms 


Connect them to your arguments


Evidence: 0-5 Points


1 Point: Successfully describing the contents of 2 documents 


2 Points: Successfully supporting your argument with 2 documents


3 Points: Supporting your argument with at least 4 documents


Recommend using all 5 documents because if you get an interpretation wrong, you could still get 3 points


2 Points: Writing about evidence related to your prompt that is not mentioned in the documents (One point each time)


Don’t quote from the documents


Difference in describing and arguing the documents 


Argue with your evidence


Evidence from the documents: 3 points 


Grouping documents


Topic sentences for body paragraphs


Ex. Grouping documents by “economics”


Start by writing a topic sentence for the paragraph that explained why economics was the cause of ----- 


In the paragraph, use documents to demonstrate why that is true 


Evidence beyond the documents: 0-2 Points


Connect specific evidence to arguments


Must not be mentioned in documents


Name a piece of evidence, explain it, and connect it 


Analysis and Reasoning: 0-3 Points


Sourcing documents (2 points) 


To source a document means to show how that documents historical situation audience purpose or point of view is relevant 


Historical Situation: 


Place document in larger historical context


Audience: 


To whom was this written? 


What was this document intended to do?


Point of View:


Why do they say what they say, in the way that they say it? 


You don’t have to do “H.A.P.P.” on all the documents


Choose one that makes the most sense out of that document


You just have to successfully source 2 documents


Try to source at least 3, in case you get one wrong


Analysis & Reasoning Complexity: 0-1 Point


Very Rare*


Is your essay nuanced? Does it analyze multiple variables? DOes it explain the complexity of the topic at hand with skill and with beauty? 
 How to Write a DBQ - Heimler’s History

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How to Write a DBQ Essay: Key Strategies and Tips

Advanced Placement (AP)

The DBQ, or document-based-question, is a somewhat unusually-formatted timed essay on the AP History Exams: AP US History, AP European History, and AP World History. Because of its unfamiliarity, many students are at a loss as to how to even prepare, let alone how to write a successful DBQ essay on test day.

Never fear! I, the DBQ wizard and master, have a wealth of preparation strategies for you, as well as advice on how to cram everything you need to cover into your limited DBQ writing time on exam day. When you're done reading this guide, you'll know exactly how to write a DBQ.

For a general overview of the DBQ—what it is, its purpose, its format, etc.—see my article "What is a DBQ?"

Table of Contents

What Should My Study Timeline Be?

Preparing for the DBQ

Establish a Baseline

Foundational Skills

Rubric Breakdown

Take Another Practice DBQ

How Can I Succeed on Test Day?

Reading the Question and Documents

Planning Your Essay

Writing Your Essay

Key Takeaways

What Should My DBQ Study Timeline Be?

Your AP exam study timeline depends on a few things. First, how much time you have to study per week, and how many hours you want to study in total? If you don't have much time per week, start a little earlier; if you will be able to devote a substantial amount of time per week (10-15 hours) to prep, you can wait until later in the year.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the earlier you start studying for your AP test, the less material you will have covered in class. Make sure you continually review older material as the school year goes on to keep things fresh in your mind, but in terms of DBQ prep it probably doesn't make sense to start before February or January at the absolute earliest.

Another factor is how much you need to work on. I recommend you complete a baseline DBQ around early February to see where you need to focus your efforts.

If, for example, you got a six out of seven and missed one point for doing further document analysis, you won't need to spend too much time studying how to write a DBQ. Maybe just do a document analysis exercise every few weeks and check in a couple months later with another timed practice DBQ to make sure you've got it.

However, if you got a two or three out of seven, you'll know you have more work to do, and you'll probably want to devote at least an hour or two every week to honing your skills.

The general flow of your preparation should be: take a practice DBQ, do focused skills practice, take another practice DBQ, do focused skills practice, take another practice DBQ, and so on. How often you take the practice DBQs and how many times you repeat the cycle really depends on how much preparation you need, and how often you want to check your progress. Take practice DBQs often enough that the format stays familiar, but not so much that you've done barely any skills practice in between.

He's ready to start studying!

The general preparation process is to diagnose, practice, test, and repeat. First, you'll figure out what you need to work on by establishing a baseline level for your DBQ skills. Then, you'll practice building skills. Finally, you'll take another DBQ to see how you've improved and what you still need to work on.

In this next section, I'll go over the whole process. First, I'll give guidance on how to establish a baseline. Then I'll go over some basic, foundational essay-writing skills and how to build them. After that I'll break down the DBQ rubric. You'll be acing practice DBQs before you know it!

#1: Establish a Baseline

The first thing you need to do is to establish a baseline— figure out where you are at with respect to your DBQ skills. This will let you know where you need to focus your preparation efforts.

To do this, you will take a timed, practice DBQ and have a trusted teacher or advisor grade it according to the appropriate rubric.

AP US History

For the AP US History DBQ, you'll be given a 15-minute reading period and 45 minutes of writing time.

A selection of practice questions from the exam can be found online at the College Board, including a DBQ. (Go to page 136 in the linked document for the practice prompt.)

If you've already seen this practice question, perhaps in class, you might use the 2015 DBQ question .

Other available College Board DBQs are going to be in the old format (find them in the "Free-Response Questions" documents). This is fine if you need to use them, but be sure to use the new rubric (which is out of seven points, rather than nine) to grade.

I advise you to save all these links , or even download all the Free Response Questions and the Scoring Guides, for reference because you will be using them again and again for practice.

AP European History

The College Board has provided practice questions for the exam , including a DBQ (see page 200 in the linked document).

If you've already seen this question, the only other questions available through the College Board are in the old format, because the 2016 DBQ is in a new, seven-point format identical to the AP US History exam. Just be sure to use the new DBQ rubric if you want to use any of the old prompts provided by the College Board . (DBQs are in the documents titled "Free-Response Questions.")

I advise you to save all these links (or even download all the Free Response Questions and the Scoring Guides) for reference, because you will be using them again and again for practice.

Who knows—maybe this will be one of your documents!

AP World History

For this exam, you'll be given a 15-minute reading period and 45 minutes of writing time . As for the other two history exams, the College Board has provided practice questions . See page 166 for the DBQ.

If you've already seen this question, the only other questions available through the College Board are in the old format, because the 2017 World History DBQ is in a new, seven-point format identical to the AP US History and AP European History exams. So be sure to use the new DBQ rubric if you want to use any of the old prompts provided by the College Board . (DBQs are in the documents titled "Free-Response Questions.")

Finding a Trusted Advisor to Look at Your Papers

A history teacher would be a great resource, but if they are not available to you in this capacity, here are some other ideas:

• An English teacher.
• Ask a librarian at your school or public library! If they can't help you, they may be able to direct you to resources who can.
• You could also ask a school guidance counselor to direct you to in-school resources you could use.
• A tutor. This is especially helpful if they are familiar with the test, although even if they aren't, they can still advise—the DBQ is mostly testing academic writing skills under pressure.
• Your parent(s)! Again, ideally your trusted advisor will be familiar with the AP, but if you have used your parents for writing help in the past they can also assist here.
• You might try an older friend who has already taken the exam and did well...although bear in mind that some people are better at doing than scoring and/or explaining!

Can I Prepare For My Baseline?

If you know nothing about the DBQ and you'd like to do a little basic familiarization before you establish your baseline, that's completely fine. There's no point in taking a practice exam if you are going to panic and muddle your way through it; it won't give a useful picture of your skills.

For a basic orientation, check out my article for a basic introduction to the DBQ including DBQ format.

If you want to look at one or two sample essays, see my article for a list of DBQ example essay resources . Keep in mind that you should use a fresh prompt you haven't seen to establish your baseline, though, so if you do look at samples don't use those prompts to set your baseline.

I would also check out this page about the various "task" words associated with AP essay questions . This page was created primarily for the AP European History Long Essay question, but the definitions are still useful for the DBQ on all the history exams, particularly since these are the definitions provided by the College Board.

Once you feel oriented, take your practice exam!

Don't worry if you don't do well on your first practice! That's what studying is for. The point of establishing a baseline is not to make you feel bad, but to empower you to focus your efforts on the areas you need to work on. Even if you need to work on all the areas, that is completely fine and doable! Every skill you need for the DBQ can be built .

In the following section, we'll go over these skills and how to build them for each exam.

You need a stronger foundation than this sand castle.

#2: Develop Foundational Skills

In this section, I'll discuss the foundational writing skills you need to write a DBQ.

I'll start with some general information on crafting an effective thesis , since this is a skill you will need for any DBQ exam (and for your entire academic life). Then, I'll go over outlining essays, with some sample outline ideas for the DBQ. After I'll touch on time management. Finally, I'll briefly discuss how to non-awkwardly integrate information from your documents into your writing.

It sounds like a lot, but not only are these skills vital to your academic career in general, you probably already have the basic building blocks to master them in your arsenal!

Writing An Effective Thesis

Writing a good thesis is a skill you will need to develop for all your DBQs, and for any essay you write, on the AP or otherwise.

Here are some general rules as to what makes a good thesis:

A good thesis does more than just restate the prompt.

Let's say our class prompt is: "Analyze the primary factors that led to the French Revolution."

Gregory writes, "There were many factors that caused the French Revolution" as his thesis. This is not an effective thesis. All it does is vaguely restate the prompt.

A good thesis makes a plausible claim that you can defend in an essay-length piece of writing.

Maybe Karen writes, "Marie Antoinette caused the French Revolution when she said ‘Let them eat cake' because it made people mad."

This is not an effective thesis, either. For one thing, Marie Antoinette never said that. More importantly, how are you going to write an entire essay on how one offhand comment by Marie Antoinette caused the entire Revolution? This is both implausible and overly simplistic.

A good thesis answers the question .

If LaToya writes, "The Reign of Terror led to the ultimate demise of the French Revolution and ultimately paved the way for Napoleon Bonaparte to seize control of France," she may be making a reasonable, defensible claim, but it doesn't answer the question, which is not about what happened after the Revolution, but what caused it!

A good thesis makes it clear where you are going in your essay.

Let's say Juan writes, "The French Revolution, while caused by a variety of political, social, and economic factors, was primarily incited by the emergence of the highly educated Bourgeois class." This thesis provides a mini-roadmap for the entire essay, laying out that Juan is going to discuss the political, social, and economic factors that led to the Revolution, in that order, and that he will argue that the members of the Bourgeois class were the ultimate inciters of the Revolution.

This is a great thesis! It answers the question, makes an overarching point, and provides a clear idea of what the writer is going to discuss in the essay.

To review: a good thesis makes a claim, responds to the prompt, and lays out what you will discuss in your essay.

If you feel like you have trouble telling the difference between a good thesis and a not-so-good one, here are a few resources you can consult:

This site from SUNY Empire has an exercise in choosing the best thesis from several options. It's meant for research papers, but the general rules as to what makes a good thesis apply.

About.com has another exercise in choosing thesis statements specifically for short essays. Note, however, that most of the correct answers here would be "good" thesis statements as opposed to "super" thesis statements.

• This guide from the University of Iowa provides some really helpful tips on writing a thesis for a history paper.

So how do you practice your thesis statement skills for the DBQ?

While you should definitely practice looking at DBQ questions and documents and writing a thesis in response to those, you may also find it useful to write some practice thesis statements in response to the Free-Response Questions. While you won't be taking any documents into account in your argument for the Free-Response Questions, it's good practice on how to construct an effective thesis in general.

You could even try writing multiple thesis statements in response to the same prompt! It is a great exercise to see how you could approach the prompt from different angles. Time yourself for 5-10 minutes to mimic the time pressure of the AP exam.

If possible, have a trusted advisor or friend look over your practice statements and give you feedback. Barring that, looking over the scoring guidelines for old prompts (accessible from the same page on the College Board where past free-response questions can be found) will provide you with useful tips on what might make a good thesis in response to a given prompt.

Once you can write a thesis, you need to be able to support it—that's where outlining comes in!

This is not a good outline.

Outlining and Formatting Your Essay

You may be the greatest document analyst and thesis-writer in the world, but if you don't know how to put it all together in a DBQ essay outline, you won't be able to write a cohesive, high-scoring essay on test day.

A good outline will clearly lay out your thesis and how you are going to support that thesis in your body paragraphs. It will keep your writing organized and prevent you from forgetting anything you want to mention!

For some general tips on writing outlines, this page from Roane State has some useful information. While the general principles of outlining an essay hold, the DBQ format is going to have its own unique outlining considerations.To that end, I've provided some brief sample outlines that will help you hit all the important points.

Sample DBQ Outline

• Introduction
• Thesis. The most important part of your intro!
• Body 1 - contextual information
• Any outside historical/contextual information
• Body 2 - First point
• Documents & analysis that support the first point
• If three body paragraphs: use about three documents, do deeper analysis on two
• Body 3 - Second point
• Documents & analysis that support the second point
• Use about three documents, do deeper analysis on two
• Be sure to mention your outside example if you have not done so yet!
• Body 4 (optional) - Third point
• Documents and analysis that support third point
• Re-state thesis
• Draw a comparison to another time period or situation (synthesis)

Depending on your number of body paragraphs and your main points, you may include different numbers of documents in each paragraph, or switch around where you place your contextual information, your outside example, or your synthesis.

There's no one right way to outline, just so long as each of your body paragraphs has a clear point that you support with documents, and you remember to do a deeper analysis on four documents, bring in outside historical information, and make a comparison to another historical situation or time (you will see these last points further explained in the rubric breakdown).

Of course, all the organizational skills in the world won't help you if you can't write your entire essay in the time allotted. The next section will cover time management skills.

You can be as organized as this library!

Time Management Skills for Essay Writing

Do you know all of your essay-writing skills, but just can't get a DBQ essay together in a 15-minute planning period and 40 minutes of writing?

There could be a few things at play here:

Do you find yourself spending a lot of time staring at a blank paper?

If you feel like you don't know where to start, spend one-two minutes brainstorming as soon as you read the question and the documents. Write anything here—don't censor yourself. No one will look at those notes but you!

After you've brainstormed for a bit, try to organize those thoughts into a thesis, and then into body paragraphs. It's better to start working and change things around than to waste time agonizing that you don't know the perfect thing to say.

Are you too anxious to start writing, or does anxiety distract you in the middle of your writing time? Do you just feel overwhelmed?

Sounds like test anxiety. Lots of people have this. (Including me! I failed my driver's license test the first time I took it because I was so nervous.)

You might talk to a guidance counselor about your anxiety. They will be able to provide advice and direct you to resources you can use.

There are also some valuable test anxiety resources online: try our guide to mindfulness (it's focused on the SAT, but the same concepts apply on any high-pressure test) and check out tips from Minnesota State University , these strategies from TeensHealth , or this plan for reducing anxiety from West Virginia University.

Are you only two thirds of the way through your essay when 40 minutes have passed?

You are probably spending too long on your outline, biting off more than you can chew, or both.

If you find yourself spending 20+ minutes outlining, you need to practice bringing down your outline time. Remember, an outline is just a guide for your essay—it is fine to switch things around as you are writing. It doesn't need to be perfect. To cut down on your outline time, practice just outlining for shorter and shorter time intervals. When you can write one in 20 minutes, bring it down to 18, then down to 16.

You may also be trying to cover too much in your paper. If you have five body paragraphs, you need to scale things back to three. If you are spending twenty minutes writing two paragraphs of contextual information, you need to trim it down to a few relevant sentences. Be mindful of where you are spending a lot of time, and target those areas.

You don't know the problem —you just can't get it done!

If you can't exactly pinpoint what's taking you so long, I advise you to simply practice writing DBQs in less and less time. Start with 20 minutes for your outline and 50 for your essay, (or longer, if you need). Then when you can do it in 20 and 50, move back to 18 minutes and 45 for writing, then to 15 and 40.

You absolutely can learn to manage your time effectively so that you can write a great DBQ in the time allotted. On to the next skill!

Integrating Citations

The final skill that isn't explicitly covered in the rubric, but will make a big difference in your essay quality, is integrating document citations into your essay. In other words, how do you reference the information in the documents in a clear, non-awkward way?

It is usually better to use the author or title of the document to identify a document instead of writing "Document A." So instead of writing "Document A describes the riot as...," you might say, "In Sven Svenson's description of the riot…"

When you quote a document directly without otherwise identifying it, you may want to include a parenthetical citation. For example, you might write, "The strikers were described as ‘valiant and true' by the working class citizens of the city (Document E)."

Now that we've reviewed the essential, foundational skills of the DBQ, I'll move into the rubric breakdowns. We'll discuss each skill the AP graders will be looking for when they score your exam. All of the history exams share a DBQ rubric, so the guidelines are identical.

Don't worry, you won't need a magnifying glass to examine the rubric.

#3: Learn the DBQ Rubric

The DBQ rubric has four sections for a total of seven points.

Part A: Thesis - 2 Points

One point is for having a thesis that works and is historically defensible. This just means that your thesis can be reasonably supported by the documents and historical fact. So please don't make the main point of your essay that JFK was a member of the Illuminati or that Pope Urban II was an alien.

Per the College Board, your thesis needs to be located in your introduction or your conclusion. You've probably been taught to place your thesis in your intro, so stick with what you're used to. Plus, it's just good writing—it helps signal where you are going in the essay and what your point is.

You can receive another point for having a super thesis.

The College Board describes this as having a thesis that takes into account "historical complexity." Historical complexity is really just the idea that historical evidence does not always agree about everything, and that there are reasons for agreement, disagreement, etc.

How will you know whether the historical evidence agrees or disagrees? The documents! Suppose you are responding to a prompt about women's suffrage (suffrage is the right to vote, for those of you who haven't gotten to that unit in class yet):

"Analyze the responses to the women's suffrage movement in the United States."

Included among your documents, you have a letter from a suffragette passionately explaining why she feels women should have the vote, a copy of a suffragette's speech at a women's meeting, a letter from one congressman to another debating the pros and cons of suffrage, and a political cartoon displaying the death of society and the end of the ‘natural' order at the hands of female voters.

A simple but effective thesis might be something like,

"Though ultimately successful, the women's suffrage movement sharply divided the country between those who believed women's suffrage was unnatural and those who believed it was an inherent right of women."

This is good: it answers the question and clearly states the two responses to suffrage that are going to be analyzed in the essay.

A super thesis , however, would take the relationships between the documents (and the people behind the documents!) into account.

It might be something like,

"The dramatic contrast between those who responded in favor of women's suffrage and those who fought against it revealed a fundamental rift in American society centered on the role of women—whether women were ‘naturally' meant to be socially and civilly subordinate to men, or whether they were in fact equals."

This is a "super" thesis because it gets into the specifics of the relationship between historical factors and shows the broader picture —that is, what responses to women's suffrage revealed about the role of women in the United States overall.

It goes beyond just analyzing the specific issues to a "so what"? It doesn't just take a position about history, it tells the reader why they should care . In this case, our super thesis tells us that the reader should care about women's suffrage because the issue reveals a fundamental conflict in America over the position of women in society.

Part B: Document Analysis - 2 Points

One point for using six or seven of the documents in your essay to support your argument. Easy-peasy! However, make sure you aren't just summarizing documents in a list, but are tying them back to the main points of your paragraphs.

It's best to avoid writing things like, "Document A says X, and Document B says Y, and Document C says Z." Instead, you might write something like, "The anonymous author of Document C expresses his support and admiration for the suffragettes but also expresses fear that giving women the right to vote will lead to conflict in the home, highlighting the common fear that women's suffrage would lead to upheaval in women's traditional role in society."

Any summarizing should be connected a point. Essentially, any explanation of what a document says needs to be tied to a "so what?" If it's not clear to you why what you are writing about a document is related to your main point, it's not going to be clear to the AP grader.

You can get an additional point here for doing further analysis on 4 of the documents. This further analysis could be in any of these 4 areas:

Author's point of view - Why does the author think the way that they do? What is their position in society and how does this influence what they are saying?

Author's purpose - Why is the author writing what they are writing? What are they trying to convince their audience of?

Historical context - What broader historical facts are relevant to this document?

Audience - Who is the intended audience for this document? Who is the author addressing or trying to convince?

Be sure to tie any further analysis back to your main argument! And remember, you only have to do this for four documents for full credit, but it's fine to do it for more if you can.

Practicing Document Analysis

So how do you practice document analysis? By analyzing documents!

Luckily for AP test takers everywhere, New York State has an exam called the Regents Exam that has its own DBQ section. Before they write the essay, however, New York students have to answer short answer questions about the documents.

Answering Regents exam DBQ short-answer questions is good practice for basic document analysis. While most of the questions are pretty basic, it's a good warm-up in terms of thinking more deeply about the documents and how to use them. This set of Regent-style DBQs from the Teacher's Project are mostly about US History, but the practice could be good for other tests too.

This prompt from the Morningside center also has some good document comprehensions questions about a US-History based prompt.

Note: While the document short-answer questions are useful for thinking about basic document analysis, I wouldn't advise completing entire Regents exam DBQ essay prompts for practice, because the format and rubric are both somewhat different from the AP.

Your AP history textbook may also have documents with questions that you can use to practice. Flip around in there!

This otter is ready to swim in the waters of the DBQ.

When you want to do a deeper dive on the documents, you can also pull out those old College Board DBQ prompts.

Read the documents carefully. Write down everything that comes to your attention. Do further analysis—author's point of view, purpose, audience, and historical context—on all the documents for practice, even though you will only need to do additional analysis on four on test day. Of course, you might not be able to do all kinds of further analysis on things like maps and graphs, which is fine.

You might also try thinking about how you would arrange those observations in an argument, or even try writing a practice outline! This exercise would combine your thesis and document-analysis skills practice.

When you've analyzed everything you can possibly think of for all the documents, pull up the Scoring Guide for that prompt. It helpfully has an entire list of analysis points for each document.

Consider what they identified that you missed.

Do you seem way off-base in your interpretation? If so, how did it happen?

Part C: Using Evidence Beyond the Documents - 2 Points

Don't be freaked out by the fact that this is two points!

One point is just for context—if you can locate the issue within its broader historical situation. You do need to write several sentences to a paragraph about it, but don't stress; all you really need to know to be able to get this point is information about major historical trends over time, and you will need to know this anyways for the multiple choice section. If the question is about the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression, for example, be sure to include some of the general information you know about the Great Depression! Boom. Contextualized.

The other point is for naming a specific, relevant example in your essay that does not appear in the documents.

To practice your outside information skills, pull up your College Board prompts!

Read through the prompt and documents and then write down all of the contextualizing facts and as many specific examples as you can think of.

I advise timing yourself—maybe 5-10 minutes to read the documents and prompt and list your outside knowledge—to imitate the time pressure of the DBQ.

When you've exhausted your knowledge, make sure to fact-check your examples and your contextual information! You don't want to use incorrect information on test day.

If you can't remember any examples or contextual information about that topic, look some up! This will help fill in holes in your knowledge.

Part D: Synthesis - 1 Point

All you need to do for synthesis is relate your argument about this specific time period to a different time period, geographical area, historical movement, etc. It is probably easiest to do this in the conclusion of the essay. If your essay is about the Great Depression, you might relate it to the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

You do need to do more than just mention your synthesis connection. You need to make it meaningful. How are the two things you are comparing similar? What does one reveal about the other? Is there a key difference that highlights something important?

To practice your synthesis skills—you guessed it—pull up your College Board prompts!

• Read through the prompt and documents and then identify what historical connections you could make for your synthesis point. Be sure to write a few words on why the connection is significant!
• A great way to make sure that your synthesis connection makes sense is to explain it to someone else. If you explain what you think the connection is and they get it, you're probably on the right track.
• You can also look at sample responses and the scoring guide for the old prompts to see what other connections students and AP graders made.

That's a wrap on the rubric! Let's move on to skill-building strategy.

I know you're tired, but you can do it!

#5: Take Another Practice DBQ

So, you established a baseline, identified the skills you need to work on, and practiced writing a thesis statement and analyzing documents for hours. What now?

Take another timed, practice DBQ from a prompt you haven't seen before to check how you've improved. Recruit your same trusted advisor to grade your exam and give feedback. After, work on any skills that still need to be honed.

Repeat this process as necessary, until you are consistently scoring your goal score. Then you just need to make sure you maintain your skills until test day by doing an occasional practice DBQ.

Eventually, test day will come—read on for my DBQ-test-taking tips.

How Can I Succeed On DBQ Test Day?

Once you've prepped your brains out, you still have to take the test! I know, I know. But I've got some advice on how to make sure all of your hard work pays off on test day—both some general tips and some specific advice on how to write a DBQ.

#1: General Test-Taking Tips

Most of these are probably tips you've heard before, but they bear repeating:

Get a good night's sleep for the two nights preceding the exam. This will keep your memory sharp!

Eat a good breakfast (and lunch, if the exam is in the afternoon) before the exam with protein and whole grains. This will keep your blood sugar from crashing and making you tired during the exam.

Don't study the night before the exam if you can help it. Instead, do something relaxing. You've been preparing, and you will have an easier time on exam day if you aren't stressed from trying to cram the night before.

This dude knows he needs to get a good night's rest!

#2: DBQ Plan and Strategies

Below I've laid out how to use your time during the DBQ exam. I'll provide tips on reading the question and docs, planning your essay, and writing!

Be sure to keep an eye on the clock throughout so you can track your general progress.

Reading the Question and the Documents: 5-6 min

First thing's first: r ead the question carefully , two or even three times. You may want to circle the task words ("analyze," "describe," "evaluate," "compare") to make sure they stand out.

You could also quickly jot down some contextual information you already know before moving on to the documents, but if you can't remember any right then, move on to the docs and let them jog your memory.

It's fine to have a general idea of a thesis after you read the question, but if you don't, move on to the docs and let them guide you in the right direction.

Next, move on to the documents. Mark them as you read—circle things that seem important, jot thoughts and notes in the margins.

After you've passed over the documents once, you should choose the four documents you are going to analyze more deeply and read them again. You probably won't be analyzing the author's purpose for sources like maps and charts. Good choices are documents in which the author's social or political position and stake in the issue at hand are clear.

Get ready to go down the document rabbit hole.

Planning Your Essay: 9-11 min

Once you've read the question and you have preliminary notes on the documents, it's time to start working on a thesis. If you still aren't sure what to talk about, spend a minute or so brainstorming. Write down themes and concepts that seem important and create a thesis from those. Remember, your thesis needs to answer the question and make a claim!

When you've got a thesis, it's time to work on an outline . Once you've got some appropriate topics for your body paragraphs, use your notes on the documents to populate your outline. Which documents support which ideas? You don't need to use every little thought you had about the document when you read it, but you should be sure to use every document.

Here's three things to make sure of:

Make sure your outline notes where you are going to include your contextual information (often placed in the first body paragraph, but this is up to you), your specific example (likely in one of the body paragraphs), and your synthesis (the conclusion is a good place for this).

Make sure you've also integrated the four documents you are going to further analyze and how to analyze them.

Make sure you use all the documents! I can't stress this enough. Take a quick pass over your outline and the docs and make sure all of the docs appear in your outline.

If you go over the planning time a couple of minutes, it's not the end of the world. This probably just means you have a really thorough outline! But be ready to write pretty fast.

Writing the Essay - 45 min

If you have a good outline, the hard part is out of the way! You just need to make sure you get all of your great ideas down in the test booklet.

Don't get too bogged down in writing a super-exciting introduction. You won't get points for it, so trying to be fancy will just waste time. Spend maybe one or two sentences introducing the issue, then get right to your thesis.

For your body paragraphs, make sure your topic sentences clearly state the point of the paragraph . Then you can get right into your evidence and your document analysis.

As you write, make sure to keep an eye on the time. You want to be a little more than halfway through at the 20-minute mark of the writing period, so you have a couple minutes to go back and edit your essay at the end.

Keep in mind that it's more important to clearly lay out your argument than to use flowery language. Sentences that are shorter and to the point are completely fine.

If you are short on time, the conclusion is the least important part of your essay . Even just one sentence to wrap things up is fine just so long as you've hit all the points you need to (i.e. don't skip your conclusion if you still need to put in your synthesis example).

When you are done, make one last past through your essay. Make sure you included everything that was in your outline and hit all the rubric skills! Then take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back.

You did it!! Have a cupcake to celebrate.

Key Tips for How to Write a DBQ

I realize I've bombarded you with information, so here are the key points to take away:

Remember the drill for prep: establish a baseline, build skills, take another practice DBQ, repeat skill-building as necessary.

Make sure that you know the rubric inside and out so you will remember to hit all the necessary points on test day! It's easy to lose points just for forgetting something like your synthesis point.

On test day, keep yourself on track time-wise !

This may seem like a lot, but you can learn how to ace your DBQ! With a combination of preparation and good test-taking strategy, you will get the score you're aiming for. The more you practice, the more natural it will seem, until every DBQ is a breeze.

What's Next?

If you want more information about the DBQ, see my introductory guide to the DBQ .

Haven't registered for your AP test yet? See our article for help registering for AP exams .

For more on studying for the AP US History exam, check out the best AP US History notes to study with .

Studying for World History? See these AP World History study tips from one of our experts.

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Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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AP® World History

How to answer ap® world history saqs, dbqs, and leqs.

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

If you’re taking AP® World History, you probably already know just how important the free response section can be for making or breaking your AP® score. This post will help give you the best tips and tricks for answering AP® World History free response questions including but not limited to short-answer questions, document-based questions, and long essays. 

We’ll go over things like must-know tips for how to write perfect score SAQs, DBQs, and LEQs, mistakes students often make on the AP® World exam, and how to use past AP® free response questions to start practicing for your upcoming exam. 

Read on to get the scoop on everything you need to make the most of your AP® World History: Modern exam review. 

What We Review

5 Steps on How to Write Effective AP® World History: Modern Free Responses

Regardless of whether you’re answering a SAQ, DBQ, or LEQ, there are a few key steps when it comes to putting your best foot forward in your AP® World free response section.

1. Knowing what you’re being asked and answering that specific question.

All too often, students enter the AP® World History: Modern exam suffering from two key weaknesses in their exam prep: not understanding the rubric or not answering the question asked. 

You need to know exactly how you earn your points. This way, you can write your response to directly address what you’re being asked. 

Here is a link for AP® World History past released exams

These past exams include scoring guidelines PDFs which outline how points were distributed for each respective question. 

Here’s a screenshot from the second question of the 2019 released exam:

Source: College Board

You can gather a lot from these scoring guidelines. In the example above, you can see that points are distributed based on the student’s ability to answer the prompt. One point was given for identification from data in a chart, another from identifying a similarity, and a final point for explaining how longer life expectations impacted society on a political, economic, or social level. 

There are commonly used directive words to be wary of when reviewing past AP® World History free response questions. We’ll cover what some of those are later. 

When it comes to the AP® World History DBQ, know where each of your points will come from. Most importantly, keep in mind how to use the documents to advance your argument and don’t just rehash what is already known from the documents provided. This means knowing for example that you’ll receive one point for successfully connecting documents to the prompt, knowing you have to argue with the documents to earn more points, or using at least six (if not seven) documents to support your thesis.

For now, just make sure you go over at least two years worth of released exam scoring guidelines so you understand how everything is weighted and distributed.

2. Flag every directive word or key phrase in the question prompt. 

Now that you know how points are earned, you need to start to develop a habit for mentally confirming you’re getting all of the points possible in each question. 

Let’s take a look at the first SAQ from the 2019 AP® World History exam:

What you can tell here is that oftentimes for SAQs, you will be asked to identify in part A (and sometimes B, as is the case here), followed by explain in part B and/or C. 

To properly identify , you must provide 1-2 sentences where you directly answer the question, within the proper time period.

When asked to explain , these responses often will be three sentences. One sentence to answer the question, and then two sentences to provide specific facts that support your answer. Teachers often refer to these questions as ones where you want to “show the why”. 

Take note of what we highlighted above. We not only flag for ourselves what the key directive word is, but we also mark how many things we need to identify or explain and the time period being asked of us. 

Students often make the mistake of bringing in historical examples that are outside the scope of the time period asked. If you do this, you will miss out on valuable AP® World History SAQ points. 

Here’s how we might flag the DBQ from that same 2019 AP® World History free response section:

When you’re flagging the key directives or phrases, the things to keep in mind are: 

• Typically when it comes to the DBQs or LEQs, you’ll be asked to compare, explore causes, discuss change or continuity over time.
• What’s the time period? 

To answer the first question, you must understand that AP® World History: Modern develops students to have these six historical thinking skills: 

The four core historical reasoning skills from the College Board are:

3. Plan out your response BEFORE you start writing.

Taking just a few minutes to map out your response to each AP® World History free response question can make a big difference in the cohesion of your responses. 

Too often, students jump right into answering questions and as a result either simply regurgitate what was already given to them, or fail to answer the question they’re being asked directly. 

To serve as a “compass”, always remember:

• What’s the historical reasoning skill being asked of me?
• What’s the time period? What do I know about this time period?

Then, when it comes to specifics to the DBQ, ask yourself questions such as:

• What type of DBQ is this? Is it asking me a social, political, or economic question? 
• How can the documents I’ve been provided be grouped together? 
• What is the sourcing of the document? 
• What’s my thesis? Can it be agreed with or disagreed with and have I put everything into historical context? 
• Have I planned to use at least six documents? 
• Is my intended outside evidence specific and relevant to the question and time period?
• Have I planned how I’ll introduce complexity? (We’ll give you tips on this final point later)

For the AP® World LEQ, be sure to ask:

• Do I have a defensible thesis? Is there a clear line of reasoning? 
• Is it clear how I’ll place things into historical context?
• Do I have specific evidence that is relevant to the question and time period?
• Have I planned how I’ll introduce complexity?

The College Board uses the free response section to test your ability to connect the dots between historical time periods and to be able to fluidly navigate historical time periods with accuracy. 

This means planning is essential. Really think hard on what the question is asking you and if you’re giving a direct answer to that question. 

AP® Readers often express frustration with not being able to give students points because students simply got distracted by a catch phrase from the text, or wrote about something not relevant to the question of the prompt.

4. Double check you’ve made explicit references to connections in your writing.

One of the common pitfalls of student responses for AP® World History: Modern FRQs is not using documents or evidence to advance an argument. 

It isn’t enough in your response to simply demonstrate you understand what the document is. You have to also show how that document serves as evidence to support your thesis. 

In the past, Chief Readers of the exam have expressed that students often understand historical content, but aren’t able to present the evidence in a way that will earn points for the response. 

The easiest way to check yourself here is to remember the word “therefore”. Make your argument, describe your evidence from what’s provided (or what you know), and then say “therefore” followed by the argument you are trying to make. 

In other AP® subjects, teachers tell their students that this is the equivalent of “showing the why” or “closing the loop”. 

Closing the loop in AP® World History can be made into more of a habit using words like “because” or “therefore” to help bridge two concepts together and solve for the “why” this matters. 

5. Practice, practice, and then practice some more

When you really think about what are the keys to AP® free response success, it boils down to mastering the rubrics and crafting responses to fit those rubrics. 

It’s not uncommon for students to walk into the exam and to have never seen an AP® World History: Modern SAQ, DBQ, or LEQ rubric. Don’t be that student. 

The College Board provides a plethora of past released exams to help you navigate the preparation process, so use them! 

Try one of the past released exams and then have a friend grade your responses with the scoring guidelines. See how you might have done without any deliberate practice. Then, review your mistakes, log them in a study journal, and keep working through the other prior years. 

After a while, you’ll develop your own internal checklist of questions for yourself such as:

• Do I have a thesis? Does it include evidence and a clear line of reasoning?
• Have I explained what happened before this time period to earn the contextualization point?
• Is the evidence I’ve used supporting my thesis? Have I included bridge words like “therefore” or “because” to demonstrate this alignment? Have I used at least six of the documents?
• Have I discussed sourcing? Is it clear who the documents were written for and how that might impact the author’s point of view? 
• Is there an attempt at earning the complexity point and evidence to support my complexity?

Return to the Table of Contents

37 AP® World History and Politics FRQ Tips to Scoring a 4 or 5

Alright! Now that we’ve reviewed a 5-step process for writing grade ‘A’ worthy AP® World History: Modern free responses, we can review some test taking tips and strategies to keep in mind. 

We recommend you read through a few of these every time you start and end your AP® World FRQ practice. Then, in the days leading up to your exam, read the entire list so they stay fresh in your mind. 

11 AP® World History SAQ Tips and Test Taking Strategies

• Be smart about how you review your textbook for your FRQs. There is so much content that it can often be more practical to look over your outlines and notes from when you were in class, or to find online teacher notes that are free to build notes on top of. 
• Prioritize chronology and periodization over dates. You should have a strong sense of the overall timelines but not have to rely on specific dates to position your responses. Students often force specific dates to memory without more broadly understanding what happened during that time period. 
• Focus on understanding how the AP® World History themes intersect with one another. This directly relates to the ability to discuss and explain continuity and change over time. 
• Answer the question.
• Cite your supporting evidence.
• Explain how your evidence proves your point. 
• Familiarize yourself with the common categories of analysis: economic, demographic, political, cultural, and social developments are commonly assessed not just in the SAQ, but in all the AP® World FRQs. 
• Readers have often mentioned that students struggle with periodization. As a result, they make mistakes mentioning things that are outside the scope of the time period given. 
• Student struggles with periodization are often exacerbated when the test asks you about two different time periods. Be prepared for this scenario — it happened as recently as 2019 and led to many students writing outside the specified time period. 
• Be wary of what the College Board calls “catch phrases” in the text. These are popular terms like “checks and balances” or “serial murderers”. These phrases have led students to write about topics not relevant to the question in the past such as the death penalty, school shootings, or the criminal justice system. 
• Practice your ability to link secondary sources to course content. This is a skill that students often struggle with and the premise of doing well on a number of the SAQs.
• Focus much of your prep time on the E in ACE . Students often are not effective at earning the point for explaining because they simply restate a fact and fail to show how that fact supports comparison, causation, or continuity and change over time. 
• To help you score points in demonstrating your historical reasoning skills, use words like whereas, in contrast to, or likewise when drawing comparisons. 

22 AP® World History DBQ Tips and Test Taking Strategies

• Before you start planning out your DBQ, double check the time period. 20th century means anything that happened between 1901 and 2000, 18th century means anything between 1701 and 1800, etc. You’d be surprised that students sometimes write about the wrong time period just due to test day stress. 
• For the AP® World History DBQ, understand that you’ll only earn a point for your thesis if there is a historically defensible thesis that establishes a line of reasoning. In other words, you cannot just restate or reword the prompt.
• X is your counterargument or counterpoint
• ABC are your strongest supporting points for your argument.
• And Y is your argument. 
• If you don’t like the above formula, another common way to form a thesis is to remember to include the word “because” — the claims you make after you state “because” will be your argument. 
• Gut check your thesis by asking yourself, “Is this something someone can or cannot agree to? If so, then it’s a good enough thesis because it needs to be defended.
• Some AP® World History teachers recommend placing context in your opening paragraph. This way you don’t forget about it later. 
• Historical Context
• Point of View
• Remember that you only get one point to describe how at least three documents from the documents provided relate to the prompt. Don’t spend your entire DBQ simply describing documents. 
• The other points when it comes to the evidence section of the DBQ come from arguing with the documents. In other words, remember to use the documents as evidence to support your thesis. 
• If you use six documents to support the argument of your thesis, you can earn the second point for the evidence section. If you’re unsure about how you interpreted one document, try to use all seven to give yourself a backup. Past Chief Readers of the exams have even given this tip as a good tip for responding to DBQs. 
• XYZ, therefore ABC
• XYZ is the description of the document
• ABC is the implication and support of how what you described relates to your thesis. 
• To earn the final point for evidence, the contextualization point, you need to bring in at least one piece of specific historical evidence from what you know that is relevant to the prompt and your thesis . The last part is very important. 
• An easy way to earn your contextualization point is to explain what happened immediately before the time period being tested. 
• In document 1, XYZ
• In document 2, XYZ
• Refer to the authors of the documents and not just the document numbers — this can serve as a helpful reminder to remember the HAPP acronym. 
• Make sure your DBQ supporting paragraphs have topic sentences. Doing so helps build a cohesive argument instead of just jumping your reader from one document or one group of documents to the next.
• To earn the sourcing point in analysis and reasoning, ask yourself, “Who was this document written for? What’s their intent or what might this document have accomplished? Why did the writer say what he said in the way he said it?” Then, link what you’ve considered to your thesis. 
• You must demonstrate sourcing for at least three documents to earn the point. Try to do more than the minimum of three.
• Do not ask for additional documents. This is an outdated tip that AP® World History teachers have continued sharing with students over the years that no longer is applicable. As recently as 2018, 15-20% of essays requested more documents when this hasn’t been part of the rubric. 
• The College Board rubric describes this as “explaining relevant and insightful connections within and across periods” 
• The College Board describes this as “explaining both similarity and difference”
• If you’re writing about causation, discuss the effects. 
• If you want another way to earn this point, you can earn it by applying your argument to another time period and drawing a connection. If you do this, keep in mind you must apply your entire argument to another time period. 
• When aiming to score your complexity point, remember it needs to be integrated into your argument and not just a brief phrase or reference. Always explain why you’re including something in your response. 
• A series of possible stems to signal to your grader you are attempting complexity is to say use one of the following phrases: another time, another view, or another way.

4 AP® World History LEQ Tips and Test Taking Strategies

• Understand and be comfortable with all forms of the LEQ: causation, comparison, or change and continuity over time questions.
• One point comes from having a historically defensible thesis or claim that establishes a line of reasoning (see above tips for how to make sure this is covered).
• One point is awarded for contextualization. The easiest way to do this is to start with specificity on what was happening two to five decades before the time period you’re writing about. Be specific as you do not earn points for just citing a phrase or reference.
• Two points are given for evidence. One is earned for just naming two pieces of evidence that are relevant to the prompt. The second is given when you use those pieces of evidence to support your argument in response to the prompt. 
• Finally, two points are given for analysis and reasoning. One point is given for doing what is asked in the prompt (i.e. comparing, evaluating causation, exploring change and continuity over time). The second point is earned by having complexity in your response. See the above tip #31 from the DBQ section for the easiest ways to earn this point. 
• When practicing your LEQs, try writing your response. Then, give yourself a dedicated time to reference your class notes and resources and add in specific facts that could have helped support your LEQ. This will help you gain confidence in being specific in your supporting evidence. 
• If you’re often forgetting to bring in contextualization, try going through the last five years of LEQs and just answering how you would have tried to earn the contextualization point. 

Wrapping Things Up: How to Write AP® World History and Politics FRQs

We’ve reviewed so much in this AP® World History study guide. At this point, you should feel pretty confident when it comes to answering either your short answer questions, document-based questions, or long-essay questions. 

As we wrap up, here are a few things to remember:

• Good AP® World History free response scores are only achieved when you know how you’re being assessed. Understand the point breakdowns for the SAQ, DBQ, and LEQs.
• Form a mental checklist for yourself for each type of AP® World FRQ — for example, for SAQs, remember ACE: answer the question, cite your evidence, and explain how your evidence proves your point. 
• Always take note of what time period is being asked of you. Students miss so many points by simply writing about something outside of the time period asked. 
• Be specific in your responses. It is not enough to simply describe what’s going on in documents for example. You need to use the documents to support your thesis. Close the loop or “show the why” to your reader. 
• Focus the bulk of your time on commonly tested AP® World History time periods. See the curriculum and exam description for the period breakdowns. Units 3-6 are typically weighted more than other time periods (12-15% respectively).  
• Make sure your thesis includes a clear line of reasoning. Remember the model: Although X, ABC, therefore Y.
• Put an attempt at contextualization in your introduction and then another when wrapping up your evidence to support your thesis. Explain what happened immediately before the time period being tested. 
• Make sure to source at least three documents in your DBQ. Address HAPP (historical context, audience, purpose and point of view).
• The easiest way to earn complexity is to do the opposite historical reasoning skill of what’s being asked of you. See tip #31 for how to do this. 

We hope you’ve taken away a lot from this AP® World review guide.

If you’re looking for more free response questions or multiple choice questions, check out our website! Albert has tons of original standards-aligned practice questions for you with detailed explanations to help you learn by doing and score that 4 or 5.

If you found this post helpful, you may also like our AP® World History tips here or our AP® World History score calculator here .

We also have an AP® World History review guide here .

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How to Approach AP World History: Modern Long Essay Questions

The second part of Section II of the AP World History exam contains three long essay questions—you must respond to one. The long essay question assesses your ability to apply knowledge of history in a complex, analytical manner. In other words, you are expected to treat history and historical questions as a historian would. This process is called historiography—the skills and strategies historians use to analyze and interpret historical evidence to reach a conclusion. Thus, when writing an effective essay, you must be able to write a strong, clearly developed thesis and supply a substantial amount of relevant evidence to support your thesis and develop a complex argument.

The College Board’s characteristics of a high-scoring long essay question response are listed below. Note that the requirements are very similar to those of the DBQ; the primary difference is that any requirements related to use of the documents are removed from the scoring requirements for the LEQ.

• Thesis: Make a thesis or claim that responds to the prompt. The thesis or claim must be historically defensible and establish a line of reasoning.
• Context: Provide context relevant to the prompt by describing a broader historical development or process.
• Evidence: Use specific and relevant examples as evidence to support an argument in response to the prompt.
• Historical Skill: Use a historical reasoning skill (causation, comparison, or continuity and change) to develop an argument in response to the prompt.
• Complex Understanding: Demonstrate a complex understanding of an argument that responds to the prompt by using evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify the argument.

AP World History: Modern Long Essay Question Strategy

During step 1: analyze the prompt.

• Each long essay question begins with a general statement that provides context about the tested time period, and then the second sentence identifies your task, which will always entail developing an evaluative argument. Make sure to read all three prompts carefully. Think of the evidence you could use and the argument you could develop in response to each one, then choose the question you feel most confident about.
• Begin crafting your thesis statement. You must have a thesis that takes a stand, answers the entire question, and shows the reader the path you will take in your essay answer. It is not enough to merely restate the task as your thesis. One of the most important things to do is to take a position. Don’t be afraid of taking a strong stand for or against a prompt as long as you can provide proper and relevant evidence to support your assertions. Each prompt will lend itself to building a thesis that employs a historical skill , such as causation, continuity and change, or comparison.
• Part of developing your thesis should be considering how your essay’s argument will demonstrate a complex understanding . As for the DBQ, your argument should address the complexity of the historical development or process—perhaps by including multiple variables, by considering both causes and effects, or by making an insightful connection to another time period. See the DBQ section of this chapter for a complete list of ways to demonstrate complex understanding.

During Step 2: Plan Your Response

• Make short notes that outline each paragraph of your essay, including the points you will make and the evidence you will use to support your points.
• The first paragraph of your essay will likely contain your thesis statement; the thesis may also appear in the conclusion, but placing it in the introduction will make it easier for your readers to follow your essay.
• Consider how you will provide context for the essay topic. The context you provide must be more detailed than a brief reference and should situate the topic of the prompt in relation to developments before, during, or after the time period from the prompt. The introduction paragraph or first body paragraph may be good places to include contextualization.
• In general, each body paragraph should address one part of your claim or one category of evidence you are providing in support of your thesis. Organizing your essay according to the historical skill being tested is an easy and effective way to structure your essay; each paragraph of an essay responding to a prompt about causation could address one cause, for instance. Jot down the evidence you will include in each body paragraph. To earn the maximum points for use of evidence, you must use examples that support your overall argument—merely listing relevant examples but not explaining how they support your claim will only earn 1 instead of 2 possible points for evidence.
• Confirm that your plan addresses all the essay requirements before moving into the writing step.

During Step 3: Action! Write Your Response

• There is no “standard” number of paragraphs you must have. AP readers look for quality, not quantity.
• The first paragraph of your essay should include your thesis and any other organizational cues you can give your reader. There is no need to spend time creating a “hook” or flashy statement for your first sentence or using rhetorical questions. AP graders are reading for the items that are listed in the rubric. You will notice that creativity in language is not a listed item. However, a well-written and developed argument is a desired item.
• Your body paragraphs should follow the “road map” you set in your introduction and thesis. Don’t stray from your plan, or you will find yourself straying from the prompt. You have taken the time to make a plan, so follow it! Do not merely list facts and events in a “laundry list” fashion. You must have some element of analysis between each set of evidence you provide. Using transition words, such as however, therefore, and thus, to show shifts in thought can make creating analytical sentences quick and easy. You should practice stringing facts and thoughts together using these “qualifying transitions” in your sentences.
• Beware of telling a story rather than answering the question. Readers are looking for analysis, not a revised version of your textbook. Do not attempt to shower the reader with extra factoids and showy language; focus on developing a well-crafted argument.
• Because this is a formal essay, you should avoid using personal pronouns, such as you, I, or we, and slang words. Because your essay is about history, write your essay in the past tense.
• You should end each body paragraph with a mini-conclusion that ties the paragraph back to the thesis. It can serve as a transition sentence into the next paragraph or stand alone. In either case, the reader should be able to tell easily that you are shifting gears into another part of the essay.
• Lastly, write your conclusion. Restate your thesis, but in a new way. Instead of rewriting your thesis word for word, explain why your thesis is significant to the question. Do not introduce new evidence in your conclusion. The conclusion should tie all of the mini-conclusion sentences together and leave the reader with a sense of completion. If you are running out of time when you reach the conclusion, you may leave it off without incurring a specific penalty. However, the conclusion can help solidify your entire argument in the minds of your readers, so practice writing timed essays so you can learn the proper timing it takes to write a complete essay (conclusion included).

During Step 4: Proofread

• Neatly correct any obvious errors.

For more help prepping for the AP World History: Modern exam, check out our AP World History: Modern Prep Plus Book.

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Red Bull denies appeal of employee who accused F1 boss Christian Horner of misconduct

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner watches during the qualifying ahead of Sunday’s Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix auto race, at the Hungaroring racetrack in Mogyorod, near Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, July 20, 2024. (Martin Divisek/Pool via AP)

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Red Bull dismissed on Thursday the appeal of an employee who accused Christian Horner, head of the company’s Formula 1 team, of inappropriate conduct.

The complaint was found to be without merit when initially investigated earlier this year, but the employee had the right to appeal. Red Bull said the initial complaint was “dealt with through the company’s grievance procedure” by an independent counsel who dismissed the grievance.

The employee had the right to appeal, and that investigation was conducted by a second independent counsel.

“All stages of the appeal process have now been concluded,” said Red Bull, “with the final outcome that the appeal is not upheld.”

The employee was suspended in March with pay. The announcement did not address the person’s current status.

A day after the initial complaint against Horner was dismissed in March, a file alleged to contain evidence against Horner was emailed to nearly 200 people in the F1 paddock, including Liberty Media, F1, the FIA, the other nine team principals and multiple media outlets. That occurred during practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The authenticity of the files has never been verified; the file came from a generic email account.

Horner has remained in charge of the F1 team throughout the entire process, and appears to have avoided any repercussions. Three-time world champion Max Verstappen has won seven races and is the F1 points leader as the series is in its annual summer break.

The rift remains, though, between Horner and Verstappen’s father, who have lobbed accusations and denials at each other in media interviews over Jos Verstappen’s perceived involvement in the employee seeking damages.

The details of the allegations have never been made public, but the investigation had consumed F1 and was a major talking point early in the season. The complaint against Horner was dismissed less than 24 hours before the first practice session of the season, and the saga largely faded into the background aside from tension between Horner and Verstappen’s father.

The season resumes Aug. 25 with the Dutch Grand Prix, Max Verstappen’s home race.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing