Are you ready to explore one of the newest and most thought-provoking AP® courses? Firstly, AP® African American Studies is a groundbreaking Advanced Placement® course that explores the rich history, culture, and contributions of African Americans. Additionally, this course examines topics from precolonial Africa to contemporary issues, providing a multidimensional understanding of African American experiences. The course challenges students to think critically and engage in meaningful discussions about race, identity, and society.
Above all, if you’re passionate about history, culture, or social justice, this course offers new perspectives and essential academic skills. In this blog, we’ll cover the course structure, prerequisites, and what makes it unique.
What We Review
Here’s What You Should Know Going into AP® African American Studies
About the Course
Indeed, AP® African American Studies is an interdisciplinary course that examines the history, politics, literature, art, and culture of African Americans. Additionally, it highlights historical and contemporary contributions, fostering an appreciation for African American resilience and innovation. Moreover, the course encourages critical thinking, discussions, and analysis of primary sources, making it an intellectually engaging experience.
Therefore, through its comprehensive curriculum, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how African American history intersects with broader global narratives and how it continues to shape our world today.
Prerequisites
First, while there are no strict prerequisites for AP® African American Studies, preparation can enhance your experience. Here’s what will help:
- Foundational Knowledge in U.S. History: Understanding key topics like slavery, Reconstruction, and the Civil Rights Movement provides valuable context.
- Critical Reading Skills: Comfort with analyzing complex texts, like speeches and academic articles, is essential.
- Writing Proficiency: Clear and persuasive essay-writing skills are essential for success.
- Interest in Multidisciplinary Learning: Curiosity about history, literature, sociology, and political science keeps the course engaging.
Course Framework
The AP® African American Studies course is organized around four units, covering a wide range of themes and topics:
- Origins of the African Diaspora: Discover the roots of African civilizations, the transatlantic slave trade, and the formation of African diasporic communities.
- Freedom, Enslavement, and Resistance: Study slavery, abolitionist movements, and acts of resistance in African American history.
- The Practice of Freedom: Explore cultural contributions in music, literature, and art and their impact on society.
- Movements and Debates: Analyze modern movements like Black Lives Matter and their ties to historical civil rights struggles.
So, each unit builds on the previous one, helping students link historical events to current issues and deepen their understanding of African American experiences.
Is AP® African American Studies Hard?
AP® African American Studies is a thought-provoking course that challenges students to explore new ideas and connect history to contemporary issues. While it offers an enriching academic experience, its interdisciplinary approach, critical thinking requirements, and fast pace can make it demanding. Whether the course feels challenging or manageable depends largely on your preparation, study habits, and interest in the subject. Let’s break down the key factors that influence the difficulty of AP® African American Studies.
New Concepts
AP® African American Studies introduces students to topics that may not be covered in traditional history classes, such as African diasporic communities, the Harlem Renaissance, and modern movements like Black Lives Matter. Altogether, these new and often interdisciplinary concepts challenge students to approach history and culture from fresh perspectives, blending analysis of historical events with literature, art, and social science.
Critical Thinking and Analysis
Additionally, the course emphasizes critical thinking and analysis, requiring students to engage deeply with primary sources, historical documents, and cultural texts. So, you’ll be asked to evaluate diverse viewpoints, draw connections between historical and contemporary issues, and craft thoughtful arguments supported by evidence.
Workload and Pace
Like other AP® courses, AP® African American Studies follows a rigorous pace. You’ll need to keep up with regular assignments, essays, and readings while participating in class discussions. The workload may feel demanding, but staying organized and proactive will help you manage it effectively.
Preparation for the AP® African American Studies Exam
First, a key component of the course is preparing for the AP® African American Studies exam. In short, this includes understanding the exam format, practicing free-response and multiple-choice questions, and mastering key themes and concepts from the curriculum. The preparation process will require consistent effort, but it’s a great way to build confidence in your knowledge and skills.
Study Habits
Second, success in AP® African American Studies depends heavily on strong study habits. Regularly reviewing class materials, engaging with assigned readings, and seeking help when needed will go a long way. Collaborative study groups can also enhance your understanding by exposing you to different interpretations and insights.
Interests and Attitudes
Finally, your interest in the subject matter and your attitude toward learning will play a significant role in how hard you find the course. If you’re curious about history, culture, and social justice, you’ll likely find AP® African American Studies both enriching and engaging. So, embracing the opportunity to explore new ideas and engage in meaningful discussions will make the challenges of the course worthwhile.
AP® African American Studies Curriculum
The AP® African American Studies curriculum is generally structured into key thematic units that explore African American experiences across history and culture. Below is an outline of the units and topics covered:
- Unit 1: Origins of the African Diaspora (~900 BCE–16th century)
- African civilizations and their global influence
- The transatlantic slave trade and its impact
- Establishment of African diasporic communities
- 20–25% of the exam
- Unit 2: Freedom, Enslavement, and Resistance (16th century–1865)
- The institution of slavery in the Americas
- Abolitionist movements and resistance efforts
- The Civil War and Reconstruction
- 30–35% of the exam
- Unit 3: The Practice of Freedom (1865–1940s)
- Literary, artistic, and musical contributions
- African American influence on global culture
- Key figures and movements of the Harlem Renaissance
- 20–25% of the exam
- Unit 4: Movements and Debates (1940s–2000s)
- The Civil Rights Movement and its legacy
- Modern movements such as Black Lives Matter
- Current challenges and triumphs in African American communities
- 20–25% of the exam
In summary, each unit is designed to provide a multidisciplinary perspective, encouraging students to connect historical events to modern societal dynamics. The course also incorporates a variety of primary and secondary sources, fostering a deeper understanding of African American culture and history.
Format of the AP® African American Studies Exam
The AP® African American Studies exam is your opportunity to showcase your understanding of the rich and complex themes covered throughout the course. Therefore, this exam is carefully designed to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, combining history, culture, and social studies into a comprehensive assessment. It includes a variety of question types, such as multiple-choice and free-response questions, to evaluate your critical thinking skills, analytical abilities, and depth of knowledge. Each section is weighted to emphasize key skills, and understanding the structure of the exam is essential for effective preparation. Let’s break down the format, question types, and scoring to help you feel confident and ready to succeed!
| Section | Type of Question | Number of Questions | Exam Weighting | Time |
| I | Multiple Choice | 60 | 60% | 70 minutes |
| IB Individual Student Project (ISP) | ISP: Exam Day Validation Question | 1 | 1.5% | 10 minutes |
| II | Short Answer Questions | 3 | 18% | 40 minutes (suggested) |
| II | Document-Based Question | 1 | 12% | 45 minutes (suggested) |
| Individual Student Project (ISP) | ISP: Teacher-Scored Component | 1 | 8.5% | Separate from exam day |
What do the AP® African American Studies questions look like?
Multiple Choice Questions
Firstly, the AP® African American Studies Exam starts with 60 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) organized into sets of three to four questions. Each set is based on one or two sources, with up to half of the sources drawn directly from the course framework and the rest related to course content. Therefore, this section assesses familiarity with required materials and the ability to analyze unfamiliar sources, testing critical thinking and interdisciplinary connections.
Stimulus materials include:
- Historical and literary texts
- Secondary texts
- Data representations like maps, charts, tables, and graphs
- Artistic and architectural images
- Historical photographs or maps
Some sets feature paired sources, such as two texts or a combination of text and image. Questions evaluate three primary skills:
- Applying Disciplinary Knowledge: Explaining course concepts, patterns, and processes, as well as their connections to African American Studies.
- Source Analysis: Interpreting written and visual sources, identifying claims, evidence, and context, and drawing conclusions from patterns and data.
- Argumentation: Identifying and supporting claims with relevant evidence.
As a result, this format ensures a comprehensive assessment of student’s ability to engage deeply with course content and demonstrate critical analysis.
Free-Response Questions
Secondly, the AP® African American Studies Exam evaluates students’ skills through three short-answer questions, one document-based question (DBQ), and one project exam day validation question. This section emphasizes critical analysis, argumentation, and the application of disciplinary knowledge across diverse prompts and source materials.
Short Answer Questions (SAQ)
There are three Short Answer Questions on the exam. Two of these questions are source-based, focusing on a text, and the other on a visual. Each question includes three to four parts and evaluates both direct source analysis and broader course connections, such as thematic or chronological links.
The third short-answer question does not include a source but asks students to address a broad thematic concept. For example, this may involve explaining causes, context, comparisons, continuities or changes, or significance and requires specific examples from the course.
Document-Based Questions (DBQ)
Initially, the DBQ presents five documents offering varied perspectives on a historical development or process. Students must craft a defensible thesis supported by evidence, including at least three sources and one additional piece of outside evidence. Responses require evaluating the perspective, purpose, context, or audience of at least two sources and making broader historical connections. Citations of sources are expected, whether by document letter, title, or author.
In conclusion, the exam’s Free-Response section tests three core skills: applying disciplinary knowledge, analyzing sources, and constructing evidence-based arguments. It challenges students to integrate course content with critical thinking, ensuring a thorough assessment of their understanding and analytical abilities.
Task verbs that are found in FRQs:
Task words like “analyze,” “compare,” and “explain” guide your responses on AP® African American Studies free-response questions. Knowing these words helps you focus on the required skills and craft clear, effective answers.
Cite: Provide information about a source, such as source type, title, date, and/or author. For DBQ, the citation of the source letter is sufficient.
Compare: Provide a description or explanation of similarities and/or differences.
Define a research question: Identify a topic of interest, guiding questions about that topic, and relevant sources for analysis to deepen understanding of the identified topic.
Describe: Provide the relevant characteristics of a specified topic.
Develop an argument: Formulate a claim and support it with evidence.
Draw a conclusion: Use available information to formulate an accurate statement that demonstrates understanding based on evidence.
Evaluate: Judge or determine the significance or importance of information or the quality or accuracy of a claim.
Explain: Provide information about how or why a relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome occurs, using evidence and/or reasoning. “Explain how” typically requires analyzing the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome, whereas “Explain why” typically requires analysis of motivations or reasons for the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome.
Identify: Indicate or provide information about a specified topic without elaboration or explanation.
Support an argument: Provide specific examples and explain how they support a claim.
Synthesize: Combine different perspectives from sources to develop or support a coherent position.
Example Questions:
Curious about the types of questions you’ll see on the AP® African American Studies Exam? With this in mind, the following section offers a sneak peek into the style and focus of exam questions, highlighting the mix of critical thinking, source analysis, and argumentation skills you’ll need to succeed.
The multiple-choice and free-response questions come from the AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description.
Section I
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
The passage shows how enslaved people left loved ones behind when escaping. Tubman describes her sisters being taken in a chain gang, highlighting this painful reality. The passage doesn’t mention returning to the South, economic struggles in the North, or social mobility, so C is correct.
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
Tubman’s fear of “being carried away” reflects the domestic slave trade, where enslaved people were forcibly sold and relocated. She describes her sisters being taken in a chain gang, showing the trauma of family separations. The passage doesn’t support the other options, so D is correct.
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
Tubman’s testimony exposed slavery’s harsh realities and supported abolition. She described fear, family separation, and brutal conditions to highlight enslaved people’s experiences. The passage doesn’t address segregation, Black Codes, or integration, making C the correct answer.
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
Lawrence’s painting depicts African Americans migrating to cities like Chicago, New York, and St. Louis. As the chart shows, this aligns with the Great Migration, with 1.45 million migrants in the 1940s. The other options don’t fit the historical context, so A is correct.
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
The chart shows a rise in African American migration in the 1920s and 1940s, driven by factory jobs in northern cities, especially during WWII. The painting reinforces this by showing migration to key cities. The other options aren’t supported, so B is correct.
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
The chart and painting reflect the Great Migration when African Americans fled racial violence in the Jim Crow South. Lynching, discrimination, and inequality pushed many to northern cities like Chicago and New York. The other options aren’t primary factors, so B is correct.
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
The Great Migration transformed cities in the North, Midwest, and West. The painting shows migration to urban centers, and the chart highlights rising migration in the 1920s and 1940s. This infused Black southern culture into these cities. The other options aren’t supported, so C is correct.
Section II
Short Answer Questions
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
Source: AP® African American Studies Course and Exam Description
Summary: AP® African American Studies Overview
In conclusion, we explored the essential details of the AP® African American Studies course and exam. We covered the course structure, key themes, and exam format while providing insights into the types of questions students can expect. This AP® African American Studies overview is designed to give you the confidence and knowledge needed to succeed in this groundbreaking course for the 2024-2025 school year.
