Studying for the AP® World History exam can be quite the massive undertaking. There’s thousands of years of history to trace, countless historical figures to remember, and so many key places and events to keep track of. Even thinking about the enormity ahead might make your head spin. But not to worry, you’re not alone. AP® World History students take the exam head on every year. Many of those students will earn a 5 on their exams and you can too!
We’ve created 7 Simple AP® World History Review Strategies to help you sift through those mountains of information you’ve been studying all year long. These simple tips will help you organize all of your thoughts and notes, while giving you important insights on how to best approach your upcoming AP® World History exam.
1. Get to Know the AP® World History Course and Exam
This one may seem like a bit of a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how helpful it can be to get to know the AP® World History course and exam.
First, you are going to want to thoroughly go through the CollegeBoard Website. There’s a ton of good information on their website, including tips on how to prepare for the exam and providing you with the core themes that the course is built around. Most important, though, are the practice exams. These are going to become your best friend as you continue on your studies. But more on practice exams later.
Second, give the AP® World History Course and Exam Description a solid looking through. The CollegeBoard has set up the AP® World History exam to test your knowledge on more than just dates and names. There are central themes and critical thinking skills that they are looking out for. And you should be too. Reading through this will let you in on all the insights that the examiners themselves are looking for.
Third, take notes on these two sources. Make sure you have created a list of must-knows. That way, when you are reaching the end of your studies, you can go and check off everything you need to know on that list. Taking notes like this early on will help to guarantee that you won’t be scrambling to study at the last minute.
2. Use AP® World History Categories
After you’ve read through all of the CollegeBoard materials, you’ve probably come to the realization that the AP® World History course has been set up around 6 central historical periods:
| Technological and Environmental Transformations | c. 8000 B.C.E. to c. 600 B.C.E. | 5% |
| Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies | c. 600 B.C.E. – c. 600 C.E. | 15% |
| Regional and Transregional Interactions | c. 600 – c. 1450 C.E. | 20% |
| Global Interactions | c. 1450 – c. 1750 C.E | 20% |
| Industrialization and Global Integration | c. 1750 – c. 1900 C.E. | 20% |
| Accelerating Global Change and Realignments | c. 1900–Present | 20% |
The percentages that are placed next to each period show the amount each era will be represented on the test. In other words, if the CollegeBoard is thinking this way, you should be too.
Break up your studies according to these time periods and these percentages. Doing this will make your study efforts much more manageable. It will also guarantee that you don’t over or understudy a particular era.
3. Create AP® World History Outlines
Outlining during your studies can also help you organize your thoughts. It’s also an excellent practice to get into for when it comes time to take those much dreaded Document-Based Essay Questions, or any essay question for that matter.
Once you have gone through an important time period/event/era (like the Renaissance or the Qing Dynasty, for example) it would be a good idea to create an outline of everything you’ve learned. You’ll want to include basic information like when the even occurred or who the important figures were. But the most important part will be to highlight the central themes. For example, you’ll want to make sure that you show the ways that ideas about liberalism, freedom, and rationalism took over the Enlightenment Era.
Doing this will help you connect the dots to the other eras you’ve studies as well, which is a perfect example of how the CollegeBoard emphasizes critical thinking and analysis.
4. Create a Fat Flashcard Stack
Even if you hate doing them, you really should amass a fat stack of flashcards. Or if you prefer a fat digital stack, you can use a website like Quizlet, but the choice is ultimately up to you.
Like we keep saying, don’t just include the most important dates and names, but work on putting major themes and concepts into your list as well. For example, you do want to know that Mesopotamia dated back to 10,000 BCE but you’ll also want to note how the region was the birthplace of writing, the city-state, agricultural production, and the center for diverse technologies, religions, and societies. Its significance lies in the fact that it was the “Cradle of Civilization” more so than the fact that it followed the Neolithic Era.
5. Use the Buddy System
What’s better than one person studying for the AP® World History exam? Two people studying for the AP® World History exam.
Get your friends or family in on the action whenever you’re going through your reviews. That way, you can bounce ideas off of one another and use the opportunity to discipline each other whenever you get that itch to move onto something a little more fun.
A good activity to do with someone else would be to pretend that you are a teacher, teaching AP® World History to a classroom (that is, your study-buddy). Try to create a narrative about any give topic, explaining to your “student” when the whos, whats, whens, and hows but also its significance and how it might connect to other topics you’ve studied up to that point. You’d be surprised at how well this can work.
It will also help to make sure you’re enjoying yourself in the process.
6. Practice Makes Perfect for AP® World History
When it comes to the AP® World History exam, the phrase, practice makes perfect, should be on your mind at all times. Like we mentioned above, there is so much information to go through that the exam can seem daunting. But the more you do practice exams, the more you are going to get comfortable with the process and the expectations.
Make sure that you’ve set aside enough time each week to include some practice questions. The more you do this, the more comfortable you will get. Each week, you should increase the amount of questions you are answering until you are able to take an entire AP® World History exam as a practice exam.
Use the practice exams from both the CollegeBoard Website and the AP® World History Course and Exam Description to prepare yourself during your studies. Using resources like these are not only going to help you get the information you need to succeed, but you are also going to get better at time management—a key to any successful exam. You can never take too many AP® World History practice tests.
7. Prepare Mind and Body
Our last piece of advice is to take care of yourself. With all that studying you’ve been doing, you may have forgotten to eat well or get enough sleep. Don’t worry. It happens to all of us. But don’t let those late study nights take over your good health.
What would be the point of all that hard work if you crashed right before your exam? Making sure that you are getting at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep will guarantee that you’re not too tired to store all of that info you’ve been cramming into that head of yours. And eating a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner will likewise make sure your body is up to the task.
This is especially important for the week leading up to your AP® World History exam. Feel good about all the work you’ve done, try to relax, and feel confident. It’s surprising how much this kind of attitude can affect your test-taking.
Take care of your body and your mind will follow suit.
Now, it’s time for you to take over the world! The AP® World History exam, that is. Make sure you follow these 7 AP® World History Review Strategies and you will be on your way to earning that 5 on your upcoming AP® World History exam.
Looking for AP® World History practice?
Check out our other articles on AP® World History. We go over frequently asked questions about AP® World History here.
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