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The Tian2 Study Library AP Edition · Tian2 Editorial Bureau
Volume I · MMXXVI AP World History: Modern
Library› Catalogue› History & Social Science› AP World History: Modern
⁂   History & Social Science · AP Exam

World History: Modern Study Library.

From the Global Tapestry to Globalization (c. 1200–present) — expert-authored unit guides covering trade networks, empires, revolutions, industrialization, and the modern world, with DBQ/LEQ exam strategy and a worked FRQ vault.

9 units standard track 195 minutes
Total Time 195 minutes
MCQ 55 multiple-choice questions
FRQ 5 free-response questions
Score Scale 1–5 64.3% scored 3+ (411,547 candidates)
Exam Structure

What the exam looks like.

Section Format Weight Time
Section I Part A — Multiple Choice 55 stimulus-based MCQ · each anchored to a primary or secondary source 40% 55 min
Section I Part B — Short Answer (SAQ) 3 SAQs · each scored 0–3 · Q1 secondary source, Q2 primary source; student chooses Q3 or Q4 (no source) 20% 40 min
Section II — Document-Based Question (DBQ) 1 DBQ · 7 documents · 7-point rubric (thesis, contextualization, evidence-content, evidence-support, outside evidence, HAPP sourcing, complexity) · 15-min reading period 25% 60 min
Section II — Long Essay Question (LEQ) Choose 1 of 3 prompts: 1200–1750, 1450–1900, or 1750–2001 · 6-point rubric 15% 40 min
Curriculum

Study by unit.

1.
The Global Tapestry (c. 1200–1450)
Song and Yuan dynasty governance and Confucian bureaucracy · Dar al-Islam: Abbasid Caliphate and Delhi Sultanate administrative structures · South and Southeast Asian kingdoms and Hindu-Buddhist cultural exchange · Americas: Aztec (Mexica) and Inca imperial organization · Sub-Saharan Africa: Mali Empire, Great Zimbabwe, Swahili coast trade cities · Political authority and legitimacy across diverse regional contexts
standard track
8–10% of exam
0 lessons ›
2.
Networks of Exchange (c. 1200–1450)
Silk Roads: overland exchange of goods, technologies, and religions · Black Death (bubonic plague) spread via Silk Road networks · Indian Ocean Trade: dhow technology, monsoon wind patterns, Swahili coast city-states · Zheng He voyages and Ming tributary system · Trans-Saharan trade routes: gold and salt exchange, spread of Islam to West Africa · Cultural and technological diffusion through trade networks
standard track
8–10% of exam
0 lessons ›
3.
Land-Based Empires (c. 1450–1750)
Ottoman Empire: devshirme system, millet system, Janissaries, expansion into Anatolia and Southeast Europe · Safavid Empire: Shia Islam as state religion, conflict with Sunni Ottomans · Mughal Empire: Akbar's religious syncretism, mansabdar system, Aurangzeb's reversal · Qing (Manchu) dynasty: Eight Banners system, Han Chinese bureaucracy, tributary relationships · Aztec and Inca imperial administration · Use of gunpowder, bureaucracy, and tribute in empire-building
standard track
12–15% of exam
0 lessons ›
4.
Transoceanic Interconnections (c. 1450–1750)
European maritime exploration: Portuguese along African coast to Asia; Spanish in the Americas · Columbian Exchange: transfer of crops (potato, maize, tomato, cassava), diseases (smallpox, measles), and animals (horses, cattle) · Demographic collapse of indigenous American populations · Atlantic slave trade: triangular trade routes, Middle Passage conditions, scale and demographics · Spanish colonial system (encomienda, mita, hacienda) · Mercantilism and joint-stock companies (Dutch East India Company, British East India Company) · Silver trade and global economic integration
standard track
12–15% of exam
0 lessons ›
5.
Revolutions (c. 1750–1900)
Enlightenment ideas: natural rights, social contract, popular sovereignty, religious toleration · American Revolution: colonial grievances, republicanism, influence on subsequent revolutions · French Revolution: causes (fiscal crisis, social hierarchy), phases (constitutional monarchy, radical/Jacobin, Thermidor), Napoleon · Haitian Revolution: only successful large-scale slave revolt; Toussaint Louverture; independence 1804 · Latin American independence movements: Bolívar, San Martín, creole leadership · Nationalist movements and the consolidation of nation-states
standard track
12–15% of exam
0 lessons ›
6.
Consequences of Industrialization (c. 1750–1900)
New imperialism: motives (economic, political, strategic, ideological) and the European scramble for Africa · Berlin Conference (1884–85): partition of Africa among European powers · British imperialism in India: East India Company to Crown rule, economic extraction, cash-crop agriculture · Opium Wars (1839–42, 1856–60): British forced opening of Chinese markets; unequal treaties · Industrial working class and labor movements · Social Darwinism and racist ideologies used to justify imperialism · Responses to imperialism: Sepoy Mutiny (1857), Boxer Rebellion (1900)
standard track
12–15% of exam
0 lessons ›
7.
Global Conflict (c. 1900–1945)
World War I causes: militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism (MAIN); assassination of Franz Ferdinand · New warfare technologies: trench warfare, poison gas, machine guns, tanks, airplanes · Total war: mobilization of entire economies and civilian populations · Treaty of Versailles (1919): war guilt clause, reparations, territorial losses, League of Nations · Russian Revolution: February and October Revolutions (1917), Lenin and Bolshevism · Great Depression: global economic collapse and political consequences · World War II: rise of fascism, Nazi Germany, Holocaust, Pacific theater, atomic bombs
standard track
8–10% of exam
0 lessons ›
8.
Cold War and Decolonization (c. 1900–present)
Cold War ideological rivalry: US capitalism vs. Soviet communism; containment policy and Truman Doctrine · Proxy wars: Korean War, Vietnam War, Angolan Civil War, Soviet-Afghan War · Nuclear arms race, space race, and MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) doctrine · Communist revolutions: Mao Zedong and the People's Republic of China (1949), Cuban Revolution (1959), Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam · Decolonization in Asia and Africa: India (1947), Ghana (1957), Kenya (1963) · Non-Aligned Movement and Third World politics · Collapse of the Soviet Union (1991)
standard track
8–10% of exam
0 lessons ›
9.
Globalization (c. 1900–present)
Economic globalization: WTO, IMF, World Bank, free trade agreements, multinational corporations · Containerization and supply chain revolution transforming global trade volume · Technological change: internet, mobile phones, social media and acceleration of information exchange · Green Revolution: high-yield crops, fertilizers, pesticides — increased food production and environmental side effects · Migration and diaspora communities · Environmental challenges: climate change, deforestation, resource depletion · Cultural exchange and hybridization vs. cultural homogenization
standard track
8–10% of exam
0 lessons ›
Exam Strategy

How to score higher.

Strategy 1
Use Global Causation, Not Just Description
AP World History rewards causal arguments. When writing LEQ or DBQ essays, explain why changes happened and how global interactions drove them. Connect specific evidence to a stated mechanism of change — don't just list events.
Strategy 2
Contextualization Must Span Time or Space
The strongest contextualization points describe a broader global process — trade network expansion, an earlier empire's collapse, a diffusion of technology — that sets the stage for the prompt's period. Write it in the first paragraph and connect it explicitly to your argument.
Strategy 3
Outside Evidence Must Go Beyond the Documents
For the DBQ's 'evidence beyond documents' point, name a specific piece of evidence not in the documents and explain how it supports your argument. A general reference to 'other empires did the same' earns nothing — be specific about the historical example and its relevance.
Strategy 4
HAPP Sourcing: Explain the Mechanism
For at least 3 documents, apply HAPP (Historical situation, Audience, Purpose, Point of view) and explain how that factor affects the document's meaning. Identify: who made it, why they made it, for whom, and under what circumstances — then state what that means for interpreting the document.
Our worked solutions and practice questions are original instructional content created by Tian2 AP. They are aligned to the concepts and skills described in College Board’s Course and Exam Description and are not reproductions of, or affiliated with, College Board’s official materials.