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AP® US History

How to answer ap® us history free response questions.

  • The Albert Team
  • Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

how to answer AP® US History free response questions

Knowing how to answer AP® US History Free Response Questions is an art. If you’re looking for the best tips and tricks for writing APUSH FRQs, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we’ll review a five-step strategy to writing top-mark AP® US History free response answers, mistakes students often make on the APUSH FRQs, as well as go over a compiled set of tips and test taking tricks for you to incorporate into your responses. 

Keep reading to get the scoop on what you need to know when it comes to maximizing your limited AP® US History exam review time.

What We Review

5 Steps on How to Write Effective AP® US History Free Responses

Here, we’ll review a five-step strategy for you to start writing AP® US History free response answers that will score you maximum possible points. 

1. Master the three different rubrics for the AP® US History SAQ, DBQ, and LEQ. 

The biggest mistake a student can make when it comes to preparing for AP® US History is never truly understanding how they’re going to be graded. This leads to scattered responses that do not provide the specificity that translates to points on the exam. 

To solve this, you’ll want to go to the College Board’s AP® Central website and navigate to the previously released exams for APUSH:

Here is the link for AP® US History past released exams

Open up the scoring guidelines PDF. These guidelines outline how points were distributed on that particular year’s exams. 

Here’s a screenshot from the first question of the 2019 released exam:

Always double check that your answer addresses the how and the why -- this is a good gut check for whether or not you’ve been specific enough. 

Source: College Board

From the above, you’d see that the first SAQ was worth three points, and each point was awarded for successfully completing the task asked within the question. After reviewing a few of these questions, you’d start to notice the level of specificity the graders require in order to earn points.  For example here you can see that in order to adequately describe the differences between the two sources’ historical interpretations, students had to explicitly state the positions of both authors.

2019 AP® US History SAQ Guidelines

As you familiarize yourself with each type of question, you’ll start to notice the College Board always uses a predictable set of directive words in their questions. We’ll cover that later in this post.

For now, be sure to review the last two years worth of released exam scoring guidelines so you can begin to understand how SAQs, DBQs, and LEQs are scored.

2. Underline or circle every bolded and capitalized word in the question prompt.

Now that we know how points are broadly distributed, we need to have a test taking system when reading and preparing for our responses.

2019 AP® US History Highlight Question

As you can see in the above, the first SAQ of the 2019 AP® US History exam was assessing students’ abilities to describe and explain. In the majority of SAQs, you’ll be asked to describe or explain a response to stimuli. 

For DBQs and LEQs, you’ll be asked one of three essay types: compare, change and continuity over time, or causation. This is commonly phrased using the directive words, “evaluate the extent of…”.

It’s easy to circle or underline the key phrases that you’re being asked to respond to. 

There are two “key phrases” to commit to memory when it comes to AP® US History short answer questions:

That’s it. If you review the last several years worth of released exams, these are the most commonly used directive words for the short answer question section of APUSH. 

If you aren’t sure what these words are asking you for, keep reading.

When the exam asks you to describe something, you need to tell them about what they’re asking. This doesn’t mean you need to explain the “why” — it just means you need to talk about what the topic is and the characteristics of the topic being asked.

When you’re asked to explain something, this is where you need to show the “why”. You need to be able to give 3-5 sentences with an example in most cases to earn credit for these questions.

After you’ve identified the key directive words, make sure you take note on how many examples you need to provide in your response. Sometimes students go above and beyond in their response, but what they don’t realize is that if they give more than what was asked, the reader will move on after the student reaches what the question has asked (i.e. the question asks you to describe one thing and you state three; in this case, only the first is considered for your score). 

One of our favorite test taking tips is to make a tick mark or star next to the words you’ve circled or underlined after you’ve answered it in your free response. This gives you a visual way to ensure you’ve answered all parts of the question.

It can be so easy to not answer the question that’s being asked of you. 

Aside from describe and explain, here are other potential directive words the College Board may give you for AP® US History:

  • Compare : Talk about similarities and/or differences.
  • Evaluate : Determine how important information or the quality/accuracy of a claim is.
  • Identify : Give information about a specific topic, without elaboration or explanation.
  • Support an argument : Give specific examples and explain how they support a thesis. 

3. Plan your response BEFORE beginning to write your response.

how to write a thesis apush

When the College Board shared their favorite AP® US History exam tips , they put this at the very top of their considerations. They describe that it’s common for students begin writing responses immediately and as a result, students create poorly planned responses that are disconnected. 

Remember, the FRQ is intended to test your ability to connect the dots of what you’ve learned in class to historical thinking skills. The crucial skill is being able to identify evidence, and connect it to a historically defensible thesis as part of your historical analysis. 

To do so elegantly, you must plan out your response before you begin writing. 

Here’s what we suggest: read the question once to circle the directive words. Then read it a second time to ensure your understanding of what’s being asked. If needed, read the question a third time and think about how you’d word the question in your own words. 

Craft a clear thesis statement. An easy way to do so is with the “although A, XYZ, therefore” model. We go over this in our tips section below. Ask yourself, is my thesis defensible? Can I agree or disagree with it? 

Then, think about what evidence you can bring in to respond to the question — how does this evidence connect back to your thesis? Do not leave it to your reader to infer what you mean when you include certain supporting evidence. 

This process will help you start to think through what you’re actually answering and how you’ll answer the “why” based questions. It’ll also help you avoid simply restating the question without adding any direct response to the question (what is known as a historically defensible thesis or a thesis with a clear line of reasoning). 

4. Remember that AP® US History DBQs and LEQs require you to demonstrate four key skills: formation of a thesis, contextualization, sourcing, and complexity. SAQs should directly respond to what’s being asked. 

For short answer questions in AP® US History, you do not need to write an essay to score all the possible points. There is no need for an introduction, thesis, or conclusion on these questions.

For the DBQ and LEQs, scoring is clearly outlined on a respective seven and six point scale. 

For the DBQ, you need to be able to: 

  • State a defensible claim or thesis that responds to the prompt and establishes a clear line of reasoning. 
  • Contextualize your response in the broader historical context (for APUSH, it’s typically demonstrating knowledge of the last 50-100 years prior to the time period asked in the prompt). 
  • You earn one point for using content from at least three documents to address the prompt and two points for using six documents as well as supporting an argument in response to the prompt. 
  • You earn an additional point for bringing in at least one piece of outside specific historical evidence beyond what has been provided. 
  • For analysis, students must source at least three documents discussing the author’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience in relation to the thesis as well as illustrate a complex understanding of historical development to incorporate nuance into their response.

What this means is that as long as you cover all the points outlined above clearly, you can score a perfect score on the AP® US History DBQ. 

For the LEQ, much is the same in the core rubric in terms of needing a thesis, providing contextualization, and analysis. For evidence, there is not a requirement for additional evidence beyond what is provided since that’s the entire point of the evidence section in crafting a long answer question response. 

When you’re going through your mental checklist of whether you’ve demonstrated these skills, ask yourself if you’ve “closed the loop”. This is a test taking strategy the College Board promotes across multiple disciplines and with good reason — it challenges a student to demonstrate they can form a coherent argument. Closing the loop in AP® US History can mean using words like “because” or “therefore” to help bridge two concepts together and solve for the “why” this matters.

5. Practice, practice, and then practice some more. 

how to write a thesis apush

The nice thing about AP® free response sections is that they’re generally pretty predictable to prepare for. Ultimately they come down to knowing how you’re going to be assessed, and learning how to craft responses that match those criteria. 

When you start preparing, try a set of released questions and then have your friend grade your responses with the scoring guidelines. See how you might have done without any intentional practice. 

Then, review your mistakes, log them in your study journal and begin to tackle the areas where you’re weakest. Typically students struggle most with the evidence and analysis sections of the APUSH exam. 

After a few times of doing this, you’ll have a stronger intuition towards the test and feel more confident heading into test day.

Return to the Table of Contents

37 AP® US History FRQ Tips to Scoring a 4 or 5

Now that we’ve gone over the 5-step process to writing good APUSH free responses, we can shift gears to tackle some test taking tips and tricks to maximizing your FRQ scores. 

We recommend you review these several weeks, and then days before your exam to keep them top of mind. 

15 AP® US History Short Answer Question Tips

  • Answer the question.
  • Cite your supporting evidence.
  • Explain how your evidence proves your point. 
  • Focus much of your prep time on the E in ACE . Students often are not effective at earning the point for explaining because they simply restate a fact and fail to show how that fact supports comparison, causation, or continuity and change over time. 
  • Practice demonstrating comprehension of historical excerpts by working on sharing ideas from different sources in your own words. Review both primary and secondary sources.
  • Practice supporting your main points of your thesis, and then practice supporting your minor points and details. 
  • Be specific in your responses to questions. It is not enough to say for example that “something changed”. What changed, how did it change and what might have prompted that change?
  • One of the easiest ways to bridge two concepts is to use words like “because” or “therefore” and then proceed to answer the “why this matters”. Always double check that your answer addresses the how and the why — this is a good gut check for whether or not you’ve been specific enough. 
  • To help you score points in demonstrating your historical reasoning skills, use words like whereas, in contrast to, or likewise when drawing comparisons.
  • Think of short answer questions as pop quiz drills, rather than full essays. There is no need for having a thesis in each SAQ response. 
  • Stick to the right time period and review your chronology. Sometimes students bring in irrelevant information from outside the time period being asked in the SAQ. More recently this happened in 2019 where students brought in information about women’s history that was not relevant to the time period asked. 
  • When presented with a stimulus such as an image to interpret, be sure that your reference to key concepts from class ties back to that stimulus. For example, “this image demonstrates the historical concept of CONCEPT, which was DEFINITION. This can be seen by the DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE IMAGE RELATES to the CONCEPT.”.
  • Pennsylvania and Maryland are not part of the New England colonies!
  • Know your key definitions with specificity. For example, it’s not enough to only state that the New Deal and Great Society programs helped the economy. To earn points, you must distinguish how the New Deal focused on America’s economy after the Great Depression to combat unemployment while the Great Society focused on social supports via Medicare and Medicaid to support Americans. 
  • Review your wars and presidents before, during and after key wars. Students have often confused things between WWI and WWII or between the Korean and Vietnam wars. 
  • Do not use the outcomes of a government program to describe a difference. Just because one program for example was successful while another was not does not demonstrate that you’ve mastered the content knowledge. 
  • For example, just because a primary source demonstrates something about a particular group of people doesn’t mean it necessarily applies to that entire geographic region. There is often nuance, which is why we study history!

17 AP® US History Document Based Questions (DBQ) Tips

  • X is your counterargument or counterpoint
  • ABC are your strongest supporting points for your argument.
  • And Y is your argument.
  • If you don’t like the above formula, another common way to form a thesis is to use the word “because” — the claims you make after you state “because” will be your argument. 
  • Cover your contextualization point in the introduction of your essay. The easiest way to do this is to discuss what was happening 50-100 years before your prompt and its relation to your thesis. 
  • In document 1, XYZ
  • In document 2, XYZ
  • Be sure to have clear topic sentences that relate back to your thesis. This helps you avoid document listing without direction in your essay. 
  • It’s not enough to just describe the content of the documents.You need to relate what’s going on in the documents to your thesis. Students lose points here for failing to include clear arguments or claims in relation back to their thesis. 
  • XYZ, therefore ABC
  • XYZ is the description of the document
  • ABC is the implication and support of how what you described relates to your thesis. 
  • Many students struggle with author purpose and point of view. Practice articulating what you believe to be the intention of the authors of documents and connecting it back to your argument. Don’t just say “the author has this point of view”.
  • Continuity and Change Over Time : You should include at least one “however” statement at the end of every body paragraph. Example: XYZ changed…; however, one continuity was ABC…”
  • Compare/Contrast : You should include a similarity and difference at the end of every body paragraph: “XYZ similarities…however, one difference was ABC…”
  • Cause/Effect: Have at least one therefore statement at the end of each body paragraph. “XYZ happened….therefore, ABC consequence of XYZ happening”
  • Sourcing is earned when specificity and significance is included in discussing historical context, audience, purpose, or point of view. You don’t earn it by making general statements. 
  • When sourcing, you only need to use one of the skills for each document you source. Don’t feel the need to go over historical context, audience, purpose, and point of view for every single document you are trying to earn sourcing for. 
  • Source at least four or five documents to be safe, in case you’re wrong in one of your interpretations. 
  • Be sure to incorporate a few examples of historical evidence from each decade from beyond the documents you’re given — this is worth a full point on your DBQ. 
  • When you incorporate outside evidence, make sure it’s from the same period  you’re writing about. Chronology and time periods are important! 
  • It’s more than just including the word “however” to qualify an argument. It’s considering the broader picture and implications.
  • It can also be demonstrated in the form of illustrating contradictions between documents or historical events in relation to the thesis.
  • The College Board rubric describes this as “explaining relevant and insightful connections within and across periods”
  • The College Board describes this as “explaining both similarity and difference”
  • If you’re writing about causation, discuss the effects.
  • If you want another way to earn this point, you can earn it by applying your argument to another time period and drawing a connection. If you do this, keep in mind you must apply your entire argument to another time period.
  • A few possible stems to signal to your grader you are attempting complexity is to say use one of the following phrases: another time, another view, or another way.

5 AP® US History Long Essay Questions (LEQ) Tips

  • Your thesis does not need to just be limited to the model of addressing economic, social and political issues. Students have often overused this format when they could be better off understanding core AP® US History themes and how they relate to the question being asked. 
  • Make sure you know your time periods. Students often lose points when it comes to evidence because they bring in concepts that are outside the scope of the time period or region. Chronology is important across the entire AP® US History exam. 
  • Review the causes of key events and how the occurrence of key events impacted society over time. For example, what was fought for in women’s rights before Roe v. Wade, what led to it happening, and what were the outcomes from the case happening going forward in relation to women’s rights?
  • Show the “why” of the evidence you’re providing. It’s not enough just to mention a concept. Explain to the reader why you are including that concept or evidence and relate it back to your thesis. Evidence should further your argument. 
  • If you’re answering a continuity and change over time question, make sure you also discuss continuity. Students often only talk about change over time.

Wrapping Things Up: How to Write AP® US History FRQs

Whoa! We’ve reviewed a ton of information in this AP® US History FRQ review guide. At this time, you should have an actionable 5-step plan for your FRQ prep as well a 37 test taking tips to prepare with.

Putting everything together, here are a few key things to remember: 

  • Students who excel on the AP® US History free response section do so because they understand how they’re being graded. Master the rubrics. Understand how and when points are awarded and not rewarded. There are tons of previously released exams to help you here.
  • Follow a regular system for responding to each question. Whether it’s our approach of identifying the directive word, planning and then writing while checking off after you’ve answered each part of the prompt, have a methodology in the way you craft responses. 
  • Remember the ACE acronym for SAQs: answer the question, cite your evidence, and explain how your evidence proves your point. 
  • Focus your time on chronology, time periods and course themes. This will help you write within the scope of the time period given in each question and not lose points by mistakenly incorporating something outside of the time period being asked. 
  • Review commonly tested AP® US History topics. Review the curriculum and exam description to see the percentage breakdown of different units. Units 3 through 8 are always more important for the exam than Units 1-2, and 9. 
  • Make sure your thesis includes a clear line of reasoning. Remember the model: Although X, ABC, therefore Y.
  • Always “close the loop”. Use words such as “because” or “therefore” to bridge two concepts together and solve for the “why” this matters. 

We hope you’ve found this FRQ guide helpful for your AP® US History exam review. 

If you’re looking for more free response questions or multiple choice questions, check out our website for more valuable exam prep! Albert has hundreds of original standards-aligned practice questions for you with detailed explanations to help you learn by doing.

If you found this post helpful, you may also like our AP® US History tips here or our AP® US History score calculator here .

We also have an AP® US History review guide here .

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How to Write a DBQ Essay for APUSH

DBQ Essay APUSH

The Document Based Question (DBQ) essay is a key feature of the APUSH exam. And at 25% of your total score, it’s an important feature! Keep reading and you will get some great tips on how to write a DBQ for the APUSH exam.

What is a DBQ essay?

As I stated in a previous post on what the APUSH exam is all about , the goal of the exam is to test your historical thinking skills. Historians write arguments based on documents, and for this exam, you will, too.

For a DBQ essay, you will receive several documents of varying length. You will be asked to respond to some historical prompt that will require you to use the documents as evidence in your response. The great thing about a DBQ is that a lot of information you need to answer the question is in the documents themselves – score! However, you do need to have some background knowledge to make sense of the documents (we will practice this later in the post). The documents could be tables, charts, personal letters, or any other source that the exam creators believe would help you answer the question. Generally speaking, the documents will represent multiple perspectives on one topic.

It will be your job to synthesize those various perspectives into a coherent response.

Let’s walk through a sample DBQ topic for the APUSH exam.

Before we get too far into this, it’s important that you note that College Board, the organization that writes the APUSH exam, has made some major changes starting in 2015. I will be taking you through the 2015 sample the College Board provided for students to practice, but, as you will see in a second, it’s important that you practice as much as possible in order to read the documents quickly. Just make a note that the format may be slightly different if you review an exam prior to 2015.

Let’s say that you come across this prompt for a DBQ question:

Compare and contrast views of United States overseas expansion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Evaluate how understandings of national identity, at the time, shaped these views.

Before you Read

You have 7 documents to read in the suggested time of 15 minutes. How is that even possible?!

Well, no one ever said it was going to be easy. But it is possible. When you get that prompt, or any other DBQ prompt like it, what you do before you read the documents will be just as important as what you end up writing. Before you even read the content of the documents, you should:

  • Recall what you know about the time period.
  • Read the source information for each document.
  • Recognize the possible opinions that could be compared and contrasted.

Let’s dig into each of those steps.

1. Recall what you know

This DBQ is interested in U.S. overseas expansion in the late 19th and early 20th century. What do you know about U.S. overseas expansion during that time period? Perhaps you remember something about the Spanish-American War of 1898, which falls into our time period. Perhaps you remember that the U.S. got some territory as a result of that war. Even if you can’t remember exactly what territory, this puts you in a much better position to get started.

2. Read the source information

Take these two documents below as an example.

Jane Addams speech for “Democracy or Militarism

Before I read the document, I see that Jane Addams titled her speech “Democracy or Militarism.” Based on the title alone, I can begin to make some inferences that this document is not likely to be positive about any overseas expansion that would most certainly require military force.

William Jennings Bryan campaign speech

Before I even read this document, I can see that William Jennings Bryan is campaigning for the presidency. However, I cannot recall there ever being a President Bryan, meaning that he was unsuccessful in his campaign. Perhaps what he was saying was not popular enough to get enough votes.

These inferences help me make sense of the document later on.

3. Recognize possible opinions

Again, before I read the documents closely, I recognize that this is a compare/contrast question. Before I even read this document, I’m going to make the following table so that I can group documents later on.

This table will help me more easily write my essay.

I know that your instinct will be to see the clock and think, OH MY GOSH, I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO BE DOING ALL THIS PREP WORK, MS. BERRY!!!!

Fight that instinct, because these steps will help you write a more coherent essay.

While you read

This part is tough. You have quite a few documents to make sense of in a short amount of time. But, as you are reading as fast as you can, you should be actively annotating the document for the following:

  • Words, phrases, and/or visual cues that help you place the document into a group that helps you answer the question .
  • Words, phrases, and/or visual cues that help you activate background knowledge .
  • Words, phrases, and/or visual cues that help you understand the document’s bias .

You will have to practice this multiple times to get good at it; there’s really no way around that. But you have a plan of attack. So work your plan to make your plan work!

As you write

When you are writing your DBQ, use the five paragraph essay to your advantage. I am sure you know lots of other things that could turn this answer into a novel, but the most important thing for this task is to make sure that you get enough of your ideas on the page so that your APUSH exam scorer knows that you know.

  • First paragraph: introduction with a thesis statement
  • Second paragraph: documents FOR expansion (As you write, make sure to mention who is for expansion and compare/contrast that with who is against it.)
  • Third paragraph: documents AGAINST expansion (As you write, make sure to mention who is against expansion and compare/contrast that with who is for it.)
  • Fourth paragraph: documents with ambiguity or complicated arguments (You should compare these documents to BOTH groups.)
  • Fifth paragraph: Conclusion that reiterates your argument

You may be thinking, why do I need that fourth paragraph? That seems needlessly complicated, to look for documents that are complicated.

Well, you are trying to score well on this DBQ, right? (Remember: it’s 25% of your overall score!)

You get a point for being able to do the following:

“Develop and support a cohesive argument that recognizes and accounts for historical complexity by explicitly illustrating relationships among historical evidence such as contradiction, corroboration, and/or qualification.” AP Scoring Guide

You will want that point!

I’ve given you a lot of information; but this information will become more like second nature the more you practice! For a summary, look at the table below.

And happy studying!

In summary: Strategies for writing the DBQ Essay

Allena Berry

Allena Berry loves history; that should be known upfront. She loves it so much that she not only taught high school history and psychology after receiving her Master’s degree at Stanford University, she is now studying how students learn history at Northwestern. That being said, she does not have a favorite historical time period (so don’t bother asking). In addition to history, she enjoys writing, practicing yoga, and scouring Craigslist for her next DIY project or midcentury modern piece of furniture.

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6 APUSH DBQ Examples to Review

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to ace the ap world history dbq: rubric, examples, and tips.

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Advanced Placement (AP)

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AP World History is a challenging class, and in order to get credit for it you’ll have to take an equally challenging exam. And one of the toughest parts of the test is the AP World History document-based question, or AP World DBQ. This question asks you to read and analyze documents on the fly, then write an argumentative essay…all in one hour. 

It can be hard to know what–and how–to study for the AP World History DBQ, especially when you don’t know which documents you’ll receive on test day. But don’t worry: we’ll break down everything you need to know about the AP World History DBQ so you can ace it on test day. (We’ll even give you AP World History DBQ example questions and an AP World History DBQ rubric example!) 

Here’s what we’ll cover:

  • An explanation of what the AP World History DBQ is 
  • A look at how the DBQ works on the AP World History exam
  • A step-by-step process for tackling the AP World History DBQ
  • A guide to studying for and answering the AP World History DBQ

Let’s get going!

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What Is an AP World History DBQ? 

The document-based question (DBQ) is a question on the AP World History exam in which you are given a selection of seven documents and are asked to write an essay that incorporates information from at least six of them in a coherent argument based on a given prompt.

In other words: you’ll be writing an essay on a topic and incorporating resources that you’re given on the day of the exam! 

The DBQ tests over a wide range of skills , like writing, organizing thoughts, making arguments, making connections between different perspectives, and having a knowledge of world history. Yeah, the DBQs are definitely tough! That’s why it’s important to understand what the DBQ APWH is and how to best tackle it. 

How DBQs Work on the AP World History Exam

The DBQ format AP World History uses consists of a single open-ended prompt , and will focus on the time period of 1450-2001 .

Of the two free response questions, one is a long essay (worth 15%) and one is a DBQ. This means that the sole DBQ is, by itself, worth 25% of your total grade, making it the single most heavily-weighted question on the AP World History exam.  

Here are some actual AP World History DBQ examples from previous years’ AP World History exams:

  • “Evaluate the extent to which economic factors led to the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920).” ( 2021 )
  • “Evaluate the extent to which the Portuguese transformed maritime trade in the Indian Ocean in the sixteenth century.” ( 2019 )
  • “Evaluate the extent to which railroads affected the process of empire-building in Afro-Eurasia between 1860 and 1918.” ( 2018 )

Of course, one of the things that makes AP DBQ questions unique is that you’ll be given seven documents to analyze as part of your essay response. Not only will you have to read and analyze these documents on exam day, you’ll have to include them as evidence in your essay to prove your argument! 

The seven documents you’ll receive will be a mixture of: 

  • Primary texts : texts that were actually written in the time period you’re being asked about 
  • Secondary texts : texts written by later historians that explain or interpret the time period 
  • Images: usually either political cartoons or artwork from the time period 

How many of each type of document you get varies by year, so you’ll need to be comfortable using all three types to support an essay-based argument. 

To answer the AP World History DBQ, you’ll have to read through all seven documents and write an argumentative essay that answers the prompt. So not only will you have to come up with an arguable point, you’ll have to prove that thesis using evidence contained in at least three of the seven documents. If you want to earn full credit for your DBQ, you’ll actually have to use six of the seven documents to support your position! 

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Just like in a sport, understanding how to score points on your DBQ is key to doing well on your exam. 

Understand the AP World DBQ Rubric

First, y ou need to understand what the expectations are and how your answer will be graded. Doing this will help you figure out what you need to study and which skills you need to brush up on. It’ll also ensure that you know exactly what a great DBQ response requires so that you earn as many points as possible! 

The good news is that the College Board has provided the AP World History DBQ rubric 2021 as part of their 2021 AP World History: Modern Sample Student Responses and Scoring Commentary document. The AP World History DBQ rubric contains all the information you need to know about how your response will be scored. 

Here’s how the rubric breaks down:

Thesis (1 Point) 

First you’ll need to create a thesis that “responds to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis/claim that establishes a line of reasoning.” In order to get this point you’ll need to make an arguable claim based on the documents that answers the question of the prompt.  

Contextualization (1 Point) 

In order to get a point for contextualization you’ll need to “accurately describe a context relevant” to the time period covered by the prompt. What this means is that you’ll have to describe the political, social, or economic events and trends that contributed to the topic you’re writing about. 

Some of this you’ll know from the provided documents, but some of it you will also be expected to know based on what you’ve studied in AP World History class. You’ll also need to relate your knowledge to “broader historical events, developments, or processes that occur before, during, or continue after the time frame of the question.” In other words, you’ll have to show how the events of this time period are relevant now or how they are similar to some other historical situation.

Evidence (3 Points) 

This category assigns points based on how well you use the documents provided to you on the test. 

For this category, you get one of the potential three points solely for if you incorporate specific evidence that does not come from the provided documents in a way that is relevant to your thesis. 

However, in order to earn the other two points, you must support your argument by using even more evidence from the documents provided . If you use three to five documents, you’ll earn an additional point. If you integrate six or more documents in your response, you can earn up to two points…and full credit for this category!  

Just remember: You can’t just randomly throw information from the documents into your essay, though, you have to use it in a way that supports your argument and accurately represents what the documents are saying . 

Analysis and Reasoning (2 Points) 

For the analysis and reasoning section, you get one point for explaining “how or why the document’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience is relevant to an argument,” and you get one point for “complexity,” showing that you understand the time period that the prompt covers and use evidence to prove your understanding and back up your argument . 

Here’s what that means: you’ll have to prove how the documents are relevant to your argument, and your argument has to show that you understand the period you’re writing about. Additionally, you’ll need to write an essay that proves your argument in a way that shows you understand that there are a variety of possible perspectives about that time period or issue, and that not everyone in that period had the same experiences. 

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If all that sounds like a lot...that's because it is! But don't worry. We'll walk you through the steps you can take to get prepared for your DBQ.

5 Steps for Tackling an AP World History DBQ

The AP World History DBQ is a complicated question that tests you over several different skills, so there isn’t a simple technique to ace it. However, if you master each of the individual skills it takes to do well on the DBQ examples, you’ll set yourself up to write a successful DBQ! response! 

Here are five steps you can follow to prepare for–and tackle!--the AP World History DBQ. 

Step 1: Use Past AP World DBQ Prompts to Practice

Taking practice exams is a great way to prepare for any standardized test–including the AP World exam. Not only do you get a chance to test your knowledge, practice tests also give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the test format…which is really important when it comes to AP World DBQs.

There’s good news when it comes to AP World DBQ prompts, though. College Board’s website has the actual AP World DBQ prompts from 2002-2020 available to download. This means you can take almost 20 practice AP World History exams, as well as access AP World History DBQ example responses and AP World History DBQ rubrics, for free!  

It’s good to take one practice test before you start studying intensely for it because that will let you know where your skills are now (and it’ll let you track your progress). However, the nature of a free response means that it won’t be easy for you to grade by yourself. When it comes to assessing your response, use the AP World History DBQ rubric and honestly assess whether or not you incorporated the information thoroughly and accurately. If that doesn’t work for you, you can always ask a family member, tutor, or teacher to give you feedback on your response as well! 

Don’t be afraid to use multiple AP World DBQ prompts as part of your test prep strategy. The more DBQs you do, the better prepared you’ll be on test day! 

Step 2: Practice Creating a Thesis

A thesis statement is a sentence or two, located in your essay’s introduction, that explains what your essay will be about. In this case, your thesis will outline the argument you make in your AP World DBQ. 

The most important aspect of your thesis is that it has to make a claim that is both arguable and relevant to the prompt you’re given. However, you don’t want to just restate the prompt in your thesis! 

Here’s what we mean. Say you’re given the following prompt:

“Evaluate the extent to which economic factors led to the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920).” 

You don’t want your thesis to be “Economic factors led to the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution,” since that just restates the prompt without adding in your own argument. To write a great DBQ, you want to make a specific claim about how and why economic factors led to the Mexican Revolution, and you want to be able to use the AP World History DBQ documents provided to prove it!

Here are two AP World History DBQ examples that College Board considers acceptable theses for this prompt:

  • “Mexico’s inability to resist the political dominance of the United States and European powers was the most significant factor in leading to the revolution because foreign dominance prevented the Mexican government from enacting economic reforms.”
  • “Ethnic tensions were just as important in leading to the Mexican Revolution as economic factors because much of the economic exploitation that was occurring in Mexico affected poor indigenous communities.”

See how these two examples both make specific claims? The first argues that foreign influences prevented the Mexican government from enacting economic reforms. This is a claim that the author can prove by showing how foreign governments interfered with the Mexican government, and how that action led to reforms being stalled. 

The second AP World History DBQ example thesis addresses something more complex: how ethnic tensions led to economic exploitation. The author can then use the provided documents as evidence that poor indigenous communities were exploited, and can argue that those actions led to the Mexican Revolution.

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Outlines take a little time, but they'll keep your DBQ from derailing. (Staying on topic is key!)

Step 3: Practice Creating an Outline

Remember the AP World History DBQ is timed, and you’ll only have one hour to complete it! To keep your writing organized and on track, it’s a good idea for you to create a quick outline before you jump into writing your essay. 

Having said that, you’ll need to be careful not to spend too much time on your outline so you have enough time to write your DBQ. That’s why we recommend spending 15 minutes reading documents, 5 minutes outlining your essay, and 40 minutes writing your response. 

The most important things that your outline will need are an introduction and conclusion ! Your introduction sets up your thesis while your conclusion restates your thesis and explains how it’s relevant to the reader in some way–perhaps by showing that a similar claim could be made about another time period, or that the effects of the thesis are still being felt today. 

Apart from your intro and conclusion, you’ll need body paragraphs. Since you only have about 45 minutes to write this essay, you don’t want too many of them. Three or four body paragraphs will be enough to make your argument. The most important thing about your body paragraphs is that each of them supports your argument and incorporates information from the documents!

To help you out, here is an example of a usable outline for the AP World History DBQ:

  • Set up your argument and include your thesis.
  • You can break down your thesis into several steps, which will then become the topics of each body paragraph
  • Tell the reader what they need to know about the historical situation. 
  • Include any information you might already know from outside the provided documents.
  • Make the first point you mentioned in your introduction.
  • Use information from the documents to illustrate and prove your point.
  • Include two or three documents that support your point 
  • Just like the previous paragraph, use two or three different documents to prove the second point of your thesis
  • If you make a third point in your thesis, explain it here using one or two different documents as evidence 
  • Restate your thesis and summarize the main points you’ve made.
  • Show how it’s relevant to the reader.

Your outline doesn’t need to be anything fancy–it just needs to give you an idea of how to structure your DBQ. Trust us: outlining might seem like a waste of time, but having a guide will make writing go much faster. 

Step 4: Practice Incorporating Quotes and References

As you write your essay, you’ll need to use examples from the documents provided–and each time you do, you’ll need to indicate which documents you pulled the information from . You’ll do this whether you are quoting your source or just paraphrasing it. 

Here are two attribution examples that College Board considers acceptable for the AP World History DBQ:

  • (Document 1): “The finance minister tells strikers that unemployment is the result of supply and demand and is out of the government’s hands, a position which probably increased people’s discontent with the government because they were unwilling to help.”
  • (Document 2): “The newspaper cartoon shows that the government was willing to use violence to put down popular protests against a rigged election system. Such oppressive government policies may have contributed to increased support for the eventual revolution.”

Note that both of these connect the contents of the document to the argument the author is trying to make. They don’t just paraphrase or quote the contents of the document for the sake of using them– you should use documents to support your argument!

Keep in mind that the College Board is pretty specific about how they want you to use AP World history DBQ documents. In the 2021 AP World History Scoring Guidelines rubric, College Board makes the point that you should “ describe and explain ” the contents of the document: By “describe'' they mean you should point out to your reader what about the document is relevant and illustrate it as if the reader did not have the document in front of them. 

From there, you’ll need to explain the document. That means you should use the document to show the reader why changes or situations in history have happened or why there is a relationship between two factors you’re writing about. 

Step 5: Understand Time Management

One of the most important skills you can acquire by taking multiple attempts at the AP World DBQ practice test will be time management. 

When you’re in the actual test environment, you won’t be able to use your phone to set a timer or alarm, so it’ll be difficult to keep track of how much time you’re spending on reading and re-reading the documents, brainstorming, and outlining. You want to leave yourself the majority of the time allowed (which will be one hour) for writing. 

College Board’s AP World History DBQ rubric recommends that you spend 15 minutes reading the documents and 45 minutes writing the essay . When you write your practice DBQs, be sure to use this format so you can get a feel for how much time you do (or don’t!) have for the question. Practicing with a timer is a great way to make sure you’re using your time wisely on test day! 

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4 Tips for Studying for and Answering the AP World History DBQs

Now that you’ve read our step-by-step process for tackling the AP World History DBQ and have seen several AP World History DBQ examples, here are some expert tips on doing well on the AP World History DBQ . We’ve developed these tips based on the AP World History rubric to make sure you earn as many points as possible! 

Tip 1: Know Your Rubric

Go through the AP World History DBQ rubric 2021 and notice that it tells you exactly how to earn points in each category . Most categories are worth multiple points, so you need to know how to earn all the points possible. 

For example, the rubric is clear about how to earn points for your thesis statement. You’ll have to make sure that you have a thesis that states outright what argument you are trying to make if you want to earn credit for that category of the rubric! 

The scoring for the DBQ is pretty objective, and knowing exactly what the scorers are looking for will help you earn the most points possible.

Tip 2: Your Essay Can Contain Errors

In an AP World History DBQ, you’ll be able to make tiny errors and still be able to earn full credit for your response. 

Before you get too excited, there are big (and we mean big!) limits to this rule. For instance, you can’t misrepresent a document by saying an author makes one claim when they clearly aren’t. You also can’t write something that is obviously wrong, like that America continues under British rule because the revolution was unsuccessful! 

But you can make minor errors that don’t detract from your argument as long as you are demonstrating a knowledge of the time period and the ability to incorporate evidence to make an argument. So for example, you can make the mistake of saying that President Nixon’s impeachment hearings began in July 1974 (instead of May, when they actually began), and still earn full credit as long as you aren’t making an argument that depends on the accuracy of those dates.  

Tip 3: Write for Clarity 

One thing to keep in mind is that you’re graded on the quality of your argument and how well you prove it– you don’t get graded on how beautifully or fluently you write ! 

So, while you’ll want to use correct grammar and write as clearly as you can, don’t spend too much time making your writing beautiful. Instead, focus on clearly explaining your ideas! 

To this end, you won’t have points taken away for grammatical errors unless they make it difficult for the graders to see how you’ve used the evidence to make an argument. So while you want your writing to be as error-free as possible, it’s more important that you’re making your argument as clearly–and as persuasively–as possible. 

Tip 4: Write for Relevance

As you’re outlining and writing your AP World DBQ, ask yourself, why is this relevant to today’s readers? To earn a perfect score, you’ll have to tie your argument to another time period or historical situation. 

This is your chance to show that while the period you’re writing about may have been long in the past, the events are still relevant to us today ! This is why we read, write, and study history in the first place. So as you outline and write your DBQ, make sure you’re doing your best to show your reader why this historical moment or event is still important.

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What’s Next? 

No matter what AP course you’re taking, you’ll want to have a study plan in place when it comes to exam time. This blog article can help you put together a prep strategy that works.

Not sure what a “good” AP test score is for AP World History? This list of the average AP test scores for every exam will help you understand how your scores stack up. 

Perfect test scores are great, but do you really need a perfect AP World History score? Our experts will explain the pros and cons of getting perfect 5s on your AP exams . 

Looking for help studying for your AP exam? Our one-on-one online AP tutoring services can help you prepare for your AP exams. Get matched with a top tutor who got a high score on the exam you're studying for!

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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AP World Long Essay Question (LEQ) Overview

15 min read • may 10, 2022

Zaina Siddiqi

Zaina Siddiqi

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Prep for the AP exam with questions that mimic the test!

Overview of the Long Essay Question (LEQ)

Section II of the AP Exam includes three Long Essay Question (LEQ) prompts. You will choose to write about just one of these. 

The formatting of prompts varies somewhat between the AP Histories, though the rubric does not. In AP World History, the prompt includes a sentence that orients the writer to the time, place, and theme of the prompt topic, while prompts in AP US History and AP European History typically do not. However, the rubrics and scoring guidelines are the same for all Histories.

Your answer should include the following:

A valid thesis

A discussion of relevant historical context

Use of evidence supports your thesis

Use of a reasoning skill to organize and structure the argument

Complex understanding of the topic of the prompt

We will break down each of these aspects in the next section. For now, the gist is that you need to write an essay that answers the prompt, using evidence. You will need to structure and develop your essay using one of the course reasoning skills.

Many of the skills you need to write a successful LEQ essay are the same skills you will use on the DBQ. In fact, some of the rubric points are identical, so you can use a lot of the same strategies on both writing tasks!

You will have three choices of prompts for your LEQ. All three prompts will focus on the same reasoning skills, but the time periods will differ in each prompt. Prompt topics may span across time periods specified in the course outline, and the time period breakdowns for each prompt are as follows:

Writing time on the AP Exam includes both the Document Based Question (DBQ) and the (LEQ), but it is suggested that you spend 40 minutes completing the LEQ. You will need to plan and write your essay in that time.

A good breakdown would be 5 min. (planning) + 35 min. (writing) = 40 min.

The LEQ is scored on a rubric out of six points, and is weighted at 15% of your overall exam score. We’ll break down the rubric next.

How to Rock the LEQ: The Rubric

The LEQ is scored on a six point rubric, and each point can be earned independently. That means you can miss a point on something and still earn other points with the great parts of your essay.

Note: all of the examples in this section will be for this prompt from AP World History: Modern. You could use similar language, structure, or skills to write samples for prompts in AP US History or AP European History.

Let’s break down each rubric component...

What is it?

The thesis is a brief statement that introduces your argument or claim, and can be supported with evidence and analysis. This is where you answer the prompt.

Where do I write it?

This is the only element in the essay that has a required location. The thesis needs to be in your introduction or conclusion of your essay. It can be more than one sentence, but all of the sentences that make up your thesis must be consecutive in order to count.

How do I know if mine is good?

The most important part of your thesis is the claim , which is your answer to the prompt. The description the College-Board gives is that it should be “historically defensible,” which really means that your evidence must be plausible. On the LEQ, your thesis needs to be related topic of the prompt.

Your thesis should also establish your line of reasoning. Translation: address why or how something happened - think of this as the “because” to the implied “how/why” of the prompt. This sets up the framework for the body of your essay, since you can use the reasoning from your thesis to structure your body paragraph topics later.

The claim and reasoning are the required elements of the thesis. And if that’s all you can do, you’re in good shape to earn the point. 

Going above-and-beyond to create a more complex thesis can help you in the long run, so it’s worth your time to try. One way to build in complexity to your thesis is to think about a counter-claim or alternate viewpoint that is relevant to your response. If you are using one of the course reasoning process to structure your essay (and you should!) think about using that framework for your thesis too.

In a causation essay, a complex argument addresses causes and effects.

In a comparison essay, a complex argument addresses similarities and differences.

In a continuity and change over time essay, a complex argument addresses change and continuity .

This counter-claim or alternate viewpoint can look like an “although” or “however” phrase in your thesis.

Powers in both land-based and maritime empires had to adapt their rule to accommodate diverse populations. However, in this era land-based empires were more focused on direct political control, while the maritime empires were more based on trade and economic development.

This thesis works because it clearly addresses the prompt (comparing land and maritime empires). It starts by addressing a similarity, and then specifies a clear difference with a line of reasoning to clarify the actions of the land vs. maritime empires.

Contextualization

Contextualization is a brief statement that lays out the broader historical background relevant to the prompt.

There are a lot of good metaphors out there for contextualization, including the “previously on…” at the beginning of some TV shows, or the famous text crawl at the beginning of the Star Wars movies.

Both of these examples serve the same function: they give important information about what has happened off-screen that the audience needs to know to understand what is about to happen on-screen.

In your essay, contextualization is the same. You give your reader information about what else has happened, or is happening, in history that will help them understand the specific topic and argument you are about to make.

There is no specific requirement for where contextualization must appear in your essay. The easiest place to include it, however, is in your introduction . Use context to get your reader acquainted with the time, place, and theme of your essay, then transition into your thesis.

Good contextualization doesn’t have to be long, and it doesn’t have to go into a ton of detail, but it does need to do a few very specific things.

Your contextualization needs to refer to events, developments and/or processes outside the time and place of the prompt. It could address something that occurred in an earlier era in the same region as the topic of the prompt, or it could address something happening at the same time as the prompt, but in a different place. Briefly describe this outside information.

Then, connect it to your thesis/argument. The language from the College Board is that contextualization must be “relevant to the prompt,” and in practical terms this means you have to show the connection. A transition sentence or phrase is useful here (plus, this is why contextualization makes the most sense in the introduction!)

Also, contextualization needs to be multiple consecutive sentences, so it’s all one argument (not sprinkled around in a paragraph). The introduction is the best place for contextualization, but not the only place. 

Basically, choose a connected topic that “sets the stage” for your thesis, and briefly describe it in a couple sentences. Then, make a clear connection to the argument of your thesis from that outside information.

In the period 1450-1750, both European and Asian powers expanded their reach and created large empires across the world. In Asia, the trend was toward large, land-based empires which were controlled from a central capital city. Europeans built empires that stretched across oceans included territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

This contextualization works by addressing the time period of the prompt and establishing basic definitions for empire-building and the types of empires (land and maritimes.) These definitions will be valuable context for seeing the comparisons developed in the thesis and body paragraphs of this essay.

Evidence: Provide Specific Examples

For this point, the focus is simply about having evidence. Evidence is the historical detail you include in your writing. The specific facts and examples that prove your argument. In the LEQ, your evidence comes your knowledge of history. 

Evidence goes in your body paragraphs. In fact, the bulk of your body paragraphs will be made up of evidence and supporting analysis or commentary that connects that evidence to other evidence and/or to the argument you are making.

Good evidence is specific, accurate, and relevant to the prompt. For this point, simply including multiple pieces of quality evidence is enough. If you’re a numbers person, a good starting point is to aim for two pieces of quality evidence in each body paragraph and go up from there.

In order for your evidence to count for this point, it needs to be really specific. Using course-specific vocabulary is a great strategy here to know that you are writing specific evidence. If you can’t remember a specific vocabulary term, describe what you mean in plain language with as much detail as possible.

Though the Ottoman Sultans were Muslims, they ruled over a population that included fellow Muslims, Christians, and Jews.

This evidence works because it includes specific and relevant details, namely the religions of both the Ottoman rulers and the diverse population they ruled over.

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Evidence: Supports an Argument with Evidence

In addition to having evidence, this point is about using that evidence to support an argument in response to the prompt. Basically, connect your evidence back to your topic sentence and/or thesis.

Supporting statements go with your evidence in your body paragraph. Ideally, a connecting statement comes right before or after a piece of evidence. 

This point is harder to earn than the previous evidence point, because it’s a little more difficult to explain fully. 

One way to know if you are doing this at all is to look at the topic sentences of your body paragraphs. First of all, do you have one? You should. The first sentence of your body paragraph should make it clear what you are talking about in that paragraph. It should relate to some aspect of your thesis, and it should be connected to the reasoning skill you have chosen to organize your argument.

One characteristic shared by both kinds of empires was the need to adapt to diverse populations. As the Ottoman empire expanded its influence, it took over territory previously controlled by the Byzantines. Though the Ottoman Sultans were Muslims, they now ruled over a population that included fellow Muslims, Christians, and Jews. In order to keep peace within their empire, the Ottomans allowed people to continue practicing their traditional faiths. Ottoman cities such as Istanbul had areas of the cities set aside where different groups could live and worship without interference from others .

This section works because it defines the adaptation made by Ottoman rulers to effectively rule a diverse population, and elaborates on both how and why that adaptation was made.

Following your topic sentence, your body paragraph should elaborate on the idea in that topic sentence, using the evidence to prove your point. At first, you may rely on phrases like “this shows…” or “this means…,” which can get repetitive, but may also help you know when you are making the connections between evidence and argument explicit.

Analysis and Reasoning: Historical Reasoning

A good argument needs structure, and yours needs to use one of the course reasoning skills to create that structure. You can choose whichever skill works best for a particular prompt: causation , comparison , or continuity and change over time .

Strong reasoning goes throughout an essay, so this will be the overarching structure of your writing from the thesis through your body paragraphs.

The reasoning doesn’t necessarily have to be completely balanced or even in order to count, which gives you room to write about what you know best. For example, in an essay structured around continuity and change, you might spend most of your time addressing changes and relatively little time addressing continuity. And that’s ok.

The best essays do address both “sides” of the historical reasoning, and yours should too. If you created a complex thesis in your introduction, you can extend those ideas into your body paragraphs. Even if you don’t have equal sentences or paragraphs for each topic, as long as you address the reasoning process in your essay, you’re on the right track.

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Analysis and Reasoning: Complexity

The second part of the Analysis and Reasoning scoring category is complexity. This is by far the most challenging part of the LEQ, and the point earned by the fewest students. It isn’t impossible, just difficult. Part of the difficulty is that it is the least concrete skill to teach and practice.

If you’re already feeling overwhelmed by the time limits of the LEQ, don’t stress about complexity. Focus on writing the best essay you can that answers the prompt. Plenty of students earn 5’s without the complexity point.

If you are ready to tackle this challenge, keep reading!

The College Board awards this point for essays that “demonstrate a complex understanding” of the topic of the prompt.

Complexity cannot be earned with a single sentence or phrase. It must show up throughout the essay. 

A complex argument starts with a complex thesis. A complex thesis must address the topic of the prompt in more than one way. Including a counter-claim or alternate viewpoint in the thesis is a good way to set up a complex argument, because it builds in room within the structure of your essay to address more than one idea (provided your body paragraphs follow the structure of your thesis!)

A complex argument may include corroboration - evidence that supports or confirms the premise of the argument. Clear explanation that connects each piece of evidence to the thesis will help do this. In the LEQ, your evidence is all from your knowledge of history, so it’s up to you to fully explain how that evidence backs up your thesis. Consistent, thoughtful explanation can go a long way toward the complexity point.

A complex argument may also include qualification - evidence that limits or counters an initial claim. This isn’t the same as undoing or undermining your claim. Qualifying a claim shows that it isn’t universal. An example of this might be including continuity in an essay that is primarily about change.

A final way to introduce complexity to your argument is through modification - using evidence to change your claim or argument as it develops. Modification isn’t quite as extreme as qualification, but it shows that the initial claim may be too simple to encompass the reality of history.

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Since no single sentence can demonstrate complexity on its own, it’s difficult to show examples of complex arguments. Fully discussing your claim and its line of reasoning, and fairly addressing your counter-claim or alternate view is the strongest structure to aim for a complexity point. Explain everything as you go and aim for success!

How to Rock the LEQ: The Process

Before you start writing....

It is tempting to just start writing at the beginning of your LEQ time, especially if you took extra time to write your DBQ and you’re feeling some pressure. It’s actually better to take a few minutes to analyze the prompt and plan your essay before you start writing to give yourself the best shot at success. You might surprise yourself with how quickly an essay comes together after you create a solid plan.

The very first thing you should do with any prompt is to be sure you understand the question . Misunderstanding the time period, topic, or geographic region of a prompt can kill a thoughtful and well-argued essay. When you’re practicing early in the year, go ahead and re-write the prompt as a question. Later on you can re-phrase it mentally without all the work.

As you think about the question, start thinking about which reasoning skill might apply best for this prompt: causation, comparison, or continuity and change over time. 

Original prompt - Develop an argument that compares the process of empire building in land-based and maritime empires in the period 1450-1750 CE. 

Revised - What were the key similarities and differences in the ways that land-based (Asian) and maritime (European) empires built their governments and power between 1450-1750?

Now that you know what you’re writing about, take a few minutes to brainstorm what you know about that topic. You can make a simple graphic organizer to help you see relationships between information (i.e. a Venn diagram, T-chart, timeline, etc.), or just jot down ideas as they come to mind.

Go back over you list and mark which ideas work best as context (generally broader and less related to the prompt) and which ideas work best as evidence (more specific.)

If you have time, brainstorm a sample thesis and/or outline for how you want to structure your ideas. This may seem like an extravagance with limited time, but it can be a great cheat sheet for you if you lose your way in the middle of a body paragraph.

When you have a plan you like, start writing!

Writing the essay

Your introduction should include your contextualization and thesis. Start with a statement that establishes your time and place in history, and follow that with a brief description of the historical situation. Connect that broader context to the theme and topic of the prompt. Then, make a claim that answers the prompt, with an overview of your reasoning and any counter-claim you plan to address.

Body paragraphs will vary in length, depending on how many documents or other pieces of evidence you include, but should follow a consistent structure. Start with a topic sentence that introduces the specific aspect of the prompt that paragraph will address. There aren’t specific points for topic sentences, but they will help you stay focused.

Follow your topic sentence with a piece of evidence and connect it back to your topic sentence and/or thesis. Continue with 1-2 pieces of evidence and more explanation until you have completed the argument of your topic sentence. Then start a new paragraph with a new topic sentence.

Each body paragraph will follow this general format, and there is no set number of paragraphs for the LEQ (minimum or maximum.) Write as many paragraphs as you need to fully answer the prompt by developing the argument (and counter-argument if applicable) from your thesis.

If you have time, you may choose to write a conclusion . It isn’t necessary, so you can drop it if you’re rushed. BUT, the conclusion is the only place where you can earn the thesis point outside the introduction, so it’s not a bad idea. You could re-state your thesis in new wording, or give any final thoughts in terms of analysis about your topic. You might solidify your complexity point in the conclusion if written well.

Since most people write the DBQ first, when you finish the LEQ you’re done with your AP Exam. Congratulations!

Sample Prompts

AP World History: Modern

In the period 1450-1750 CE, empires achieved increased scope and influence around the world, shaping and being shaped by the diverse populations they incorporated.

Develop an argument that compares the process of empire building in land-based and maritime empires in the period 1450-1750 CE.

AP US History

Evaluate the extent to which Massachusetts and Virginia differed in the ways that economic development affected their politics between 1607 and 1750.

AP European History

Evaluate the effectiveness of challenges to royal authority in Eastern Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The LEQ Rubric (Quick Reference)

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