More About AP World History...

AP World History Course Home Page World History Practice Exam, Effective Fall 2011

Exam Information

The AP World History Exam is 3 hours and 5 minutes long and includes both a 55-minute multiple-choice section and a 130-minute free-response section. The multiple-choice section of the examination accounts for half of the student's exam score, and the free-response section for the other half.

Question Type Number of Questions Timing
Multiple-choice 70 questions 55 minutes
Document-based question 1 question 50 minutes
(includes a 10-minute reading period)
Continuity and change-over-time essay 1 question 40 minutes
Comparative essay 1 question 40 minutes

Multiple-Choice Section
Section I consists of 70 multiple-choice questions designed to measure the student's knowledge of world history from Period 1 to the present. This section follows the percentages listed below; questions will draw from individual or multiple periods:

Periods Period Weights
1 Technological and Environmental Transformations to c. 600.B.C.E. 5%
2 Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies c. 600.B.C.E. to c. 600 C.E. 15%
3 Regional and Transregional Interactions c. 600 C.E. to c.1450 20%
4 Global Interactions c. 1450 to c. 1750 20%
5 Industrialization and Global Integration c. 1750 to c. 1900 20%
6 Accelerating Global Change and Realignments c. 1900 to Present 20%

Multiple-choice questions will also measure various geographical regions, with no more than 20 percent of multiple-choice questions focusing solely on Europe.

Free-Response Section
In Section II, the free-response section of the exam, Part A begins with a mandatory 10-minute reading period for the document-based question. Students should answer the document-based question in approximately 40 minutes. In Part B students are asked to