AP Modern World History - Study Guides, Flashcards, AP-style Practice & Mock Exams
This complete course offers thorough AP Modern World History exam prep, guiding you through all units and topics from 1200 to the present. Utilize our extensive collection of practice materials and detailed explanations to sharpen your historical thinking skills and approach the exam with a strategic advantage.
Course Overview
This course covers modern world history from c. 1200 to the present, organized by a distinct periodization. Students will develop foundational historical thinking skills, including analyzing causation, comparison, and continuity and change over time (CCOT). A central focus is on historical argumentation, which requires effective sourcing of primary and secondary sources and the contextualization of events. These analytical abilities are directly assessed in the exam’s free-response sections: the Short-Answer Questions (SAQ), the Long Essay Question (LEQ), and the Document-Based Question (DBQ). Mastery of the specific rubric language for each question type is essential for demonstrating college-level historical analysis.
Effective preparation involves a structured approach to the course material. Students should progress sequentially through the 9 units, mastering each of the 71 topics. After each topic, take the corresponding AP-style quiz to check for understanding. At the conclusion of a unit, a comprehensive Unit Exam will test cumulative knowledge and skills. This cycle of study and assessment provides regular progress checks, enabling targeted review of challenging areas. This methodical preparation builds the stamina and content mastery needed to successfully complete the full-length mock exam, which simulates the official testing environment.
Units & Topics
Unit 1: The Global Tapestry
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We will use historical comparison to analyze how diverse states built power and how major belief systems influenced societies across the world from 1200–1450.
- 1.0Unit Overview
- 1.1Developments in East Asia
- 1.2Developments in Dar al-Islam
- 1.3Developments in South and Southeast Asia
- 1.4State Building in the Americas
- 1.5State Building in Africa
- 1.6Developments in Europe
- 1.7Comparison in the Period 1200-1450
- 1.8Unit Exam
Unit 2: Networks of Exchange
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This unit requires a comparison of expanding Afro-Eurasian networks of exchange, analyzing the Mongol Empire’s impact and the resulting cultural and environmental consequences.
- 2.0Unit Overview
- 2.1The Silk Roads
- 2.2The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World
- 2.3Exchange in the Indian Ocean
- 2.4Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
- 2.5Cultural Consequences of Connectivity
- 2.6Environmental Consequences of Connectivity
- 2.7Comparison of Economic Exchange
- 2.8Unit Exam
Unit 3: Land-Based Empires
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A global comparison of land-based empires reveals diverse methods of territorial growth, bureaucratic administration, and the use of belief systems to legitimize their power.
- 3.0Unit Overview
- 3.1Empires Expand
- 3.2Empires: Administration
- 3.3Empires: Belief Systems
- 3.4Comparison in Land-Based Empires
- 3.5Unit Exam
Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections
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We will analyze the causation behind new transoceanic voyages, which established global maritime empires, reshaped social structures, and created new worldwide economic networks.
- 4.0Unit Overview
- 4.1Technological Innovations
- 4.2Exploration: Causes and Events
- 4.3Columbian Exchange
- 4.4Maritime Empires Established
- 4.5Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed
- 4.6Challenges to State Power
- 4.7Changing Social Hierarchies
- 4.8Continuity and Change from 1450 to 1750
- 4.9Unit Exam
Unit 5: Revolutions
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We will analyze the causation linking new political philosophies to revolutions and the subsequent industrial age that fundamentally reshaped societies, economies, and governments worldwide.
- 5.0Unit Overview
- 5.1The Enlightenment
- 5.2Nationalism and Revolutions
- 5.3Industrial Revolution Begins
- 5.4Industrialization Spreads
- 5.5Technology of the Industrial Age
- 5.6Industrialization: Government's Role
- 5.7Economic Developments and Innovations
- 5.8Reactions to the Industrial Economy
- 5.9Society and the Industrial Age
- 5.10Continuity and Change in the Industrial Age
- 5.11Unit Exam
Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization
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This unit examines the complex causation behind industrial state expansion, from its economic justifications and global impacts to indigenous resistance and mass human migrations.
- 6.0Unit Overview
- 6.1Rationales for Imperialism
- 6.2State Expansion
- 6.3Indigenous Responses to State Expansion
- 6.4Global Economic Development
- 6.5Economic Imperialism
- 6.6Causes of Migration
- 6.7Effects of Migration
- 6.8Causation in the Imperial Age
- 6.9Unit Exam
Unit 7: Global Conflict
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This unit examines the complex chain of causation linking two world wars, global economic collapse, and unprecedented mass atrocities in the early twentieth century.
- 7.0Unit Overview
- 7.1Shifting Power After 1900
- 7.2Causes of World War I
- 7.3Conducting World War I
- 7.4Economy in the Interwar Period
- 7.5Unresolved Tensions After World War I
- 7.6Causes of World War II
- 7.7Conducting World War II
- 7.8Mass Atrocities After 1900
- 7.9Causation in Global Conflict
- 7.10Unit Exam
Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization
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We will analyze the causation of a new global order defined by superpower ideological conflict, the collapse of empires, and widespread resistance movements.
- 8.0Unit Overview
- 8.1Setting the Stage for the Cold War and Decolonization
- 8.2The Cold War
- 8.3Effects of the Cold War
- 8.4Spread of Communism After 1900
- 8.5Decolonization After 1900
- 8.6Newly Independent States
- 8.7Global Resistance to Established Power Structures
- 8.8End of the Cold War
- 8.9Causation in the Age of the Cold War and Decolonization
- 8.10Unit Exam
Unit 9: Globalization
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This unit explores continuity and change (CCOT) as new technologies and global institutions reshaped economies and cultures, prompting debates over the environment, human rights, and integration.
- 9.0Unit Overview
- 9.1Advances in Technology and Exchange
- 9.2Technological Advances and Limitations: Disease
- 9.3Technological Advances: Debates About the Environment
- 9.4Economics in the Global Age
- 9.5Calls for Reform and Responses
- 9.6Globalized Culture
- 9.7Resistance to Globalization
- 9.8Institutions Developing in a Globalized World
- 9.9Continuity and Change in a Globalized World
- 9.10Unit Exam
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the format of the AP World History: Modern exam?
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The exam has two sections: a multiple-choice/short-answer section and a free-response section. You will have 3 hours and 15 minutes to complete 55 MCQs, three Short Answer Questions (SAQs), one Document-Based Question (DBQ), and one Long Essay Question (LEQ).
How should I structure my studying on this platform?
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We recommend a sequential approach to master the material. Work through the units and topics, test your knowledge with quizzes, and then apply your skills on the full-length 1 mock exam. This structured path ensures you build foundational knowledge before tackling complex, timed practice.
What are the key historical thinking skills I need for this course?
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You will need to master several key historical thinking skills. The course emphasizes developing arguments using skills like causation, comparison, and analyzing continuity and change over time (CCOT). These skills are essential for success on all parts of the exam.
What is a Document-Based Question (DBQ)?
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The DBQ is an essay question that requires you to develop a historical argument using a set of seven provided documents. You must use the documents as evidence, establish historical contextualization for your topic, and practice effective sourcing to earn a high score.
What does it mean to "source" a document?
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Sourcing a document means explaining how its features are relevant to your argument, whether it's a primary or secondary source. For at least three documents in the DBQ, you must analyze the author's point of view, purpose, historical situation, or intended audience.
How is the Long Essay Question (LEQ) different from the DBQ?
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The LEQ requires a similar argumentative essay, but you are not given any documents. You must generate your own historical evidence, drawn from your knowledge of the course content across the 9 units, to support your thesis. You will choose one prompt from three options.
What's the best way to answer a Short Answer Question (SAQ)?
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The best strategy is to be direct and concise, as each part requires a brief response. Answer the prompt directly in the first sentence, then provide a specific piece of historical evidence and a brief explanation to support your answer for each task.
How are the free-response essays (DBQ and LEQ) scored?
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The essays are scored using detailed rubrics that award points for specific tasks. To score well, you must master the rubric language, ensuring you include a defensible thesis, provide contextualization, use evidence effectively, and demonstrate complex understanding through analysis and reasoning.
Why does the course start around the year 1200 CE?
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The course's focus on the modern era, starting c. 1200, is an example of historical periodization. This timeframe, covered across 71 topics, emphasizes global interconnectedness, the rise of empires, and the major developments that shaped the contemporary world, rather than ancient or classical history.
How do I move beyond just listing facts in my essays?
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To build a strong historical argumentation, you must use facts as evidence to support a clear thesis. Go beyond description by explaining *why* or *how* events are connected, using reasoning processes like causation or comparison to analyze the evidence and build a persuasive case.
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