AP World History: Modern (APWH): complete guide to the exam, units and skills
A complete guide to AP World History: Modern (APWH). Explains the College Board exam format (multiple choice, SAQ, DBQ, LEQ), the nine chronological units and three reasoning skills, the themes that run through the course, and how to study for a 5, with links to the Unit 1 and Unit 2 dot points.
AP World History: Modern (APWH) is a College Board course that surveys world history from about 1200 to the present across nine units. This page is the index for our APWH content: below is a map of the exam, the units and reasoning skills, and the study approach, with links to our complete dot-point coverage of all nine units.
The exam at a glance
The APWH exam is scored 1 to 5 and has two sections:
- Section I. 55 stimulus-based multiple choice questions (55 minutes) and 3 Short Answer Questions (SAQs) (40 minutes). This section is 60 percent of the score.
- Section II. One Document Based Question (DBQ) (60 minutes, including a 15-minute reading period) and one Long Essay Question (LEQ) (40 minutes). This section is 40 percent of the score.
The four question types
Each type is marked differently, so practice them separately.
- Stimulus-based multiple choice. Read a source (text, image, map, or chart) and answer questions analyzing it.
- Short Answer Question (SAQ). Three short, specific responses (parts A, B, and C). No thesis is required; markers reward concrete, accurate evidence.
- Document Based Question (DBQ). Build an argument using seven provided documents plus your own outside evidence, scored on a 7-point rubric (thesis, contextualization, evidence, analysis, and complexity).
- Long Essay Question (LEQ). Build an argument from your own knowledge, scored on a 6-point rubric.
The nine units
APWH runs chronologically through nine units from about 1200 to the present:
- Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (c. 1200 to 1450), states and societies across the hemispheres.
- Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (c. 1200 to 1450), the great trade networks.
- Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (c. 1450 to 1750).
- Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections (c. 1450 to 1750).
- Unit 5: Revolutions (c. 1750 to 1900).
- Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (c. 1750 to 1900).
- Unit 7: Global Conflict (c. 1900 to the present).
- Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (c. 1900 to the present).
- Unit 9: Globalization (c. 1900 to the present).
The three reasoning skills
Every essay rewards one or more of the historical reasoning skills:
- Causation. Explaining causes and effects and weighing their importance (see Topic 2.1 on the Silk Roads).
- Comparison. Explaining similarities and differences and the reasons for them (see Topic 1.7 and Topic 2.7).
- Continuity and change over time. Explaining what changed and what stayed the same.
How to study APWH
- Learn each unit as a story anchored to the Course and Exam Description topics.
- Layer in specific evidence: states, rulers, trade networks, and technologies turn a vague answer into a top-band one.
- Drill the four question types separately against their rubrics.
- Automate the rubric moves: thesis, contextualization, and a complexity statement.
- Use released exams from AP Central to practice timing and wording.
Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (c. 1200 to 1450): the dot points
Our complete coverage of Unit 1, one page per College Board topic:
- Developments in East Asia
- Developments in Dar al-Islam
- Developments in South and Southeast Asia
- State Building in the Americas
- State Building in Africa
- Developments in Europe
- Comparison in the Period from c. 1200 to c. 1450
Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (c. 1200 to 1450): the dot points
Our complete coverage of Unit 2, one page per College Board topic:
- The Silk Roads
- The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World
- Exchange in the Indian Ocean
- Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
- Cultural Consequences of Connectivity
- Environmental Consequences of Connectivity
- Comparison of Economic Exchange
Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (c. 1450 to 1750): the dot points
Our complete coverage of Unit 3, one page per College Board topic:
Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections (c. 1450 to 1750): the dot points
Our complete coverage of Unit 4, one page per College Board topic:
- Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750
- Causes of Exploration from 1450 to 1750
- Columbian Exchange
- Maritime Empires Link Regions
- Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed
- Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750
- Changing Social Hierarchies from 1450 to 1750
Unit 5: Revolutions (c. 1750 to 1900): the dot points
Our complete coverage of Unit 5, one page per College Board topic:
- The Enlightenment
- Nationalism and Revolutions
- Industrial Revolution Begins
- Industrialization Spreads
- Technology of the Industrial Age
- Industrialization: Government's Role
- Economic Developments and Innovations
- Reactions to the Industrial Economy
- Society and the Industrial Age
- Continuity and Change in the Industrial Age
Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (c. 1750 to 1900): the dot points
Our complete coverage of Unit 6, one page per College Board topic:
- Rationales for Imperialism
- State Expansion from 1750 to 1900
- Indigenous Response to State Expansion
- Global Economic Development
- Economic Imperialism
- Causes of Migration in an Interconnected World
- Effects of Migration
- Causation in the Imperial Age
Unit 7: Global Conflict (c. 1900 to the present): the dot points
Our complete coverage of Unit 7, one page per College Board topic:
- Shifting Power after 1900
- Causes of World War I
- Conducting World War I
- Economy in the Interwar Period
- Unresolved Tensions After World War I
- Causes of World War II
- Conducting World War II
- Mass Atrocities After 1900
- Causation in Global Conflicts
Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (c. 1900 to the present): the dot points
Our complete coverage of Unit 8, one page per College Board topic:
- Setting the Stage for the Cold War
- The Cold War
- Effects of the Cold War
- Spread of Communism After 1900
- Decolonization After 1900
- Newly Independent States
- Global Resistance to Established Order After 1900
- End of the Cold War
Unit 9: Globalization (c. 1900 to the present): the dot points
Our complete coverage of Unit 9, one page per College Board topic:
- Advances in Technology and Exchange
- Technological Advances and Limitations
- Disease in a Globalized World
- Environment in a Globalized World
- Economics in the Global Age
- Calls for Reform and Responses After 1900
- Globalized Culture After 1900
- Resistance to Globalization After 1900
- Institutions Developing in a Globalized World
Deep-dive guides
- How to write the AP World DBQ and LEQ, a full walkthrough of the essay rubrics.
For the official Course and Exam Description
The College Board publishes the full APWH Course and Exam Description, past free-response questions, and scoring guidelines at AP Central. Always study from the current CED and the College Board's own released exams, because the units, topics, and rubrics are set by the board.
World History guides
In-depth written guides with paired practice quizzes.
World History practice quizzes
Multiple-choice drills with worked answer explanations. Your scores stay on this device.
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