Introduction

Exam preparation materials

10 FACTS ABOUT THE AP EUROPEAN HISTORY TEST

1. The Advanced Placement (AP) Program gives high school students an opportunity to receive college credit.

Students who take AP exams in any one or more of twenty subject areas gain college-level skills and can earn college credit or advanced placement. In 2002, more than 900,000 students took AP exams.

2. More than 2,900 colleges and universities participate.

The College Board does not award college credit for the AP exams. You need to find out from the colleges to which you are applying whether they grant credit and/or use AP scores for placement.

3. The AP European History Test Measures Factual Knowledge and a Range of Skills.

According to the College Board, the AP European History Test measures factual knowledge of the following:

• Knowledge of the basic chronology of major events from approximately 1450 to the present

• Knowledge of the basic chronology of the major trends from approximately 1450 to the present

• Knowledge of some of the basic themes in modern European history including intellectual and cultural history, political and diplomatic history, and social and economic history

Additionally, the AP European History Test measures the following skills:

• The ability to analyze historical evidence

• The ability to express historical understanding in writing

4. The AP European History Test Has Two Sections: Multiple Choice and a Two-Part Free Response Section.

The total test is 3 hours and 5 minutes. Section I contains 80 multiple- choice questions. You will have 55 minutes to complete Section I. The multiple-choice questions count as 50 percent of your total score. Section II includes two Free Response essay sections. The first essay section contains the DBQ, or Document Based Question. The DBQ will require you to use a number of historical documents to compose an essay. The second section contains two groups of essay questions, each group with three questions.

You may choose.

one question from each of the two groups. Section II counts as 50 percent of your total score.

5. The AP European History Test Covers Three Areas or Themes of Modern European History.

The AP European History Test covers three main areas or themes of European history spanning the last six centuries. The three main areas are Intellectual and Cultural History, Political and Diplomatic History, and Social and Economic History. These areas can be broken down into six smaller areas:

• Intellectual History, which includes religious thought, changes in education and literacy, scientific and technological advances, and changes in social, economic, and political thought.

• Cultural History, which includes changes in elite and popular culture, changes in the family, changes in work, changes in ritual, changes in the arts, and overall changes in European culture.

• Political History, which includes the growth of nationalism, the rise of the nation state, the evolution of political parties, the extension of rights, and reforms, rebellions, and revolutions.

• Diplomatic History, which includes foreign policy, the use of treaties, the origins and resolutions of armed conflicts, efforts to avoid armed conflicts, colonization, imperialism, and decolonization.

• Social History, which includes the growth and development of social classes, racial groups and ethnic groups, gender roles, family structure, and the influence of such things as urbanization, diet, health, sanitation, and disease on society.

• Economic History, which includes economic activity of states and of individuals, the development of commercial practices, industrialization and competition, and the development and implementation of economic theories such as capitalism, socialism, and communism.

6. There Is No Required Length for Your Essays.

Your essay will be scored based on its quality, not the quantity. Consider the topic of each question and choose the question you feel the most adequately prepared to answer. Think about how you want to answer the question and develop a good thesis. Then devise an outline that supports your thesis and answers the question. Write each of the paragraphs just as you planned in your outline for a clear, concise, and solid thematic essay.

7. Educated Guessing Can Help.

The multiple-choice questions have 5 lettered choices. As with any multiple-choice question, you should approach each one by first trying to select the correct answer. If the answer is clear to you, select it at once. If you’re unsure, use the process of elimination. Try to dismiss any answer choices that you know are completely wrong or don’t seem to make sense. This improves your odds of guessing the correct answer. The penalty for an incorrect answer is one-quarter point, so it may be advisable to guess.

8. The Test is Given in Mid-May.

The College Board provides all high schools with application booklets that include, among other things, a registration schedule and credit explanations. These booklets are available from your high school guidance office.

9. You Will Get a Composite Score for Your Test.

The College Board reports a single score from 1 (minimum) through 5 (maximum). Your score represents a recommendation by The College Board to the colleges to which you send your scores. Each college determines what score it will accept for credits. Most universities will award at least one course worth of credits for a score of 3 or better. Of course, the more elite universities require a score of 4 or 5.

10. Studying for the Test Can Make a Difference.

It is important that you be active in your studying. Throughout this preparation book, you will read review materials and sample essay questions. The key to a successful study schedule is self-discipline. You must make time to dedicate to your preparation for the exam. It is like exercising: it will become habit if it is done consistently.

PRACTICE PLAN FOR STUDYING FOR THE AP EUROPEAN HISTORY TEST

This plan is designed for nine weeks. A better study plan is one that continues over the course of a semester. The ideal study plan is one that continues over an entire school year and accompanies an AP European History course. With any of these three plans, you have time to think about ideas and talk with your teacher and other students about what you are learning. A semester- or year-long plan will allow you to apply all that you learn in this book to your class and your tests in class. Furthermore, you shouldn’t feel too rushed; staying relaxed about the test is important. For the plan that follows, the nine weeks plan, allow yourself approximately 2 to 3 hours each week in preparation and study.

Week 1

First: Take the Diagnostic Test. Then check your multiple-choice answers against the answer key and check your essays against the answer guide for each essay question. Make some notes for yourself about the areas in which you need the most improvement.

Next: Reread 10 FACTS ABOUT THE AP EUROPEAN HISTORY TEST, about the basic facts of the test and its scoring.

Week 2

Lesson 1

• Review the list you made after taking the Diagnostic Test to see what you need to learn in order to do well on the multiple-choice section.

• Read Chapter 1, About the AP European History Test. Pay particular attention to the multiple-choice tips and strategies.

Lesson 2

• Read Chapter 2, The Renaissance, and read through the sample essay questions at the end of the chapter.

Week 3

Lesson 1

• Read Chapter 3, The Reformation.

• Read Chapter 4, The Age of Expansion, Absolutism, and Constitutionalism.

Week 4

Lesson 1

• This is a good time to practice writing an essay using one of the topics at the end of Chapters 2-4.

• Review the Sample DBQ Essay in Chapter 1. Score your essay using the section about Scoring on pp. 37-38. Ask an AP classmate or a teacher to evaluate your essay. What needs to be improved?

Week 5

Lesson 1

• Read Chapter 5, The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment.

• Review Chapter 1: Part B, The Thematic Essays, pp. 41-45.

Lesson 2

• Choose an essay topic from the list of possible essay questions at the end of Chapter 5.

• Score your essay using the section about Scoring on pp. 37-38. Ask an AP classmate or a teacher to evaluate your essay. What needs to be improved?

Week 6

Lesson 1

• Read Chapter 6, The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era.

• Read Chapter 7, The Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.

Lesson 2

• Choose an essay topic from the list of possible essay questions at the end of Chapter 6 and 7.

• Score your essay using the section about Scoring on pp. 37-38. Ask an AP classmate or a teacher to evaluate your essay. What needs to be improved?

Week 7

Lesson 1

• Read Chapter 8, Europe from 1815-1900.

• Read Chapter 9, Europe in the Twentieth Century and Beyond.

Lesson 2

• Choose an essay topic from the list of possible essay questions at the end of Chapter 8 and 9.

• Score your essay using the section about Scoring on pp. 37-38. Ask an AP classmate or a teacher to evaluate your essay. What needs to be improved?

Week 8

Lesson 1

• Take the Multiple-Choice Section of the Practice Test and check your answers against the Answers and Explanations. Compare your score with the score from the Multiple-Choice Section of the Diagnostic Test, so you can measure your progress.

Lesson 2

• Proceed to Section II, Part A of the Free Response Section of the Practice Test and write your DBQ essay. Use the answer guide to evaluate your DBQ essay.

THE PANIC PLAN

Week 9

Lesson 1

• Proceed to Section II, Part B of the Free Response section of the Practice Test and write your essays. Use the answer guide to evaluate your essays.

Lesson 2

• If you are still not sure about some areas, review those particular chapters.

• Reread Chapter 1, About the AP European History Test.

• Relax and good luck.

Have you put off studying for the AP European History Test so long that you have only two weeks left to study? If so, here’s a two-week Panic Plan that helps you maximize your time. Its objectives are to make you familiar with the test format and directions, to help you get as many questions right as possible, and to write the best free response essays you can.

Week 1

First: Read pp. 1-3 10 FACTS ABOUT THE AP EUROPEAN HISTORY TEST and Chapter 1, About the AP European History Test.

Next: Take the Diagnostic Test and check your answers and essays against the answer key and answer guide. Note any areas in which you had difficulty.

Finally: Read Chapters 2-5.

Week 2

First: Read Chapters 6-9.

Next: Take the Practice Test and check your answers against the answer key and answer guide. Note any areas in which you had difficulty.

Finally: Review your notes about the areas in which you had difficulty. If the difficulty was in an area such as multiple choice, DBQ, or the thematic essays, go back and review the section of the book dealing with that part of the test. If the difficulty was with a particular era of European history, go back to the appropriate chapter and reread the information about that particular era.

SCORING HIGH ON THE AP EUROPEAN HISTORY TEST

Around early July, you and the colleges you designate will receive a score from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, for your AP European History Test. Your high school will receive its report a little later. The multiple-choice section is graded by machine, and your essays are graded during a marathon reading session by high school and college teachers.

A different reader grades each of your essays. None of the readers know who you are (that's why you fill in identification information on your pink Section II booklet and then seal it) or how the others scored your other essays. Each reader is familiar with the work discussed in the essay question she or he is reading. Even your open essay choice is read by someone familiar with the work. The grading is done on a holistic system; that is, the overall essay is scored, not just the development of your ideas, your spelling, or your punctuation. For each essay, the College Board works out grading criteria for the readers to use, much as your teacher uses a rubric to evaluate your writing.

What the Composite Score Means

The College Board refers to the composite score as weighted because a factor of about 1.3 (the exact number varies from year to year) for the multiple- choice questions and a factor of 3.0556 for the essay questions are used to determine a raw score for each section. That is, the actual score you get on the multiple-choice questions—say 35—is multiplied by about 1.3 (1.2273 for 55 questions in a recent year). The actual score that you get on the essay test—say 21—is multiplied by 3.0556. Those two numbers, your raw scores, are then added, and the resulting score—somewhere between 0 and 150 (107, based on the above example)—is then equated to a number from 5 to 1. A score of 107 is good enough to get you a “5” for the test.

What Does All of This Mean To You?

You can leave blank or answer incorrectly some combination of 20 questions on a 55-question multiple-choice section, get a 7 for each of your three essays, and still earn a score of 5. It is not as easy as it may seem, or the majority of students would not fall into the “'3” range, although a 3 may be good enough to get you college credit or advanced placement. A score of 4 certainly will.

Take a look at the charts on the following page. It takes work, but raising your score may not be impossible. Sometimes the difference between a 3 and a 4 or a 4 and a 5 is only a couple of points.

POSSIBLE SCORE DISTRIBUTION FOR A 55-QUESTION MULTIPLE-CHOICE SECTION
SCORE = 5		SCORE = 4		SCORE = 3
MC	Essays (3)	MC	Essays (3)	MC	Essays (3)
25	25 (8.33)	25	21 (7)	25	14 (4.66)
30	23 (7.66)	30	19 (6.33)	30	12(4)
35	21 (7)	35	17 (5.66)	35	10 (3.33)
40	19 (6.33)	40	15 (5)	40	8 (2.66)
45	17 (5.66)	45	13 (4.33)	45	6(2)

The highest score you can receive on an essay is a 9, so the highest total essay score is 27. It is possible to get a variety of scores on your essays—7, 5, 5, for example. The chances are that you will not get a wide range of individual essay scores like 6, 2, 5. Even if you did, you could still get at least a 3 and possibly a 4, depending on how many correct answers you have in the multiple-choice section weighed against how many wrong answers you have.

AP Grade	AP Qualifier	Composite Scores	Probability of Receiving Credit
5	Extremely Well Qualified	107-150	Yes
4	Well Qualified	93-106	Yes
3	Qualified	73-92	Probably
2	Possibly Qualified	43-72	Rarely
1	No Recommendation	0-42	No

According to the College Board, three quarters of the 130,000 students who took the test in a recent year received a 3 or better. The cut-off point for passing grades may change from year to year, but it remains in this range. This chart shows the actual conversion scale in a recent year. What it means is that you neither have to answer all the questions, nor do you have to answer them all correctly, nor write three “9” essays to receive your AP credit.

Some Things to Remember

Note

These are important facts straight from the College Board.

1. The 55 question multiple-choice section is worth 50 percent of your total score.

2. The College Board says that “students who perform acceptably on the free-response section” can receive a 3 if they answer correctly 50 to 60 percent of the multiple-choice questions.

3. There is no deduction for unanswered questions.

4. There is a quarter-point deduction for wrong answers.

5. The three essays together account for 50 percent of your total score, with each essay being counted equally; that is, the open essay counts for the same 16.66 percentage points as the other two essays.

SUGGESTED READINGS

European history has provided you with a multitude of fascinating documents, some of which are listed for you here. The list is certainly not exhaustive, but many of the most important and most influential documents of the past 600 years are included. Although this list is too long for you to conquer in its entirety during the course of your studies, read as many of these documents as you can, even if you only read selections from the documents. These are the documents that shaped European history. Therefore, the more familiar you are with them, the better your understanding of European history will be.