Preparing for the AP European History exam requires understanding its structure. The exam is designed with consistent question types, weighting, and scoring guidelines, ensuring both students and educators know precisely what to anticipate on exam day in 2024. This guide breaks down each section to help you prepare effectively.
Section I, Part A: Multiple Choice Questions
This section consists of 55 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 55 minutes, contributing to 40% of your total exam score. These questions are typically grouped in sets of 3–4 and are designed to test your analytical skills. You will encounter a variety of historical sources, including texts, interpretations, and evidence. Be ready to analyze primary and secondary source excerpts, images, graphs, and maps to answer these questions effectively.
Section I, Part B: Short Answer Questions
The short answer section includes 3 questions and allows 40 minutes for completion, accounting for 20% of your exam score. These questions assess your ability to analyze historians’ interpretations, historical sources, and historical propositions. They are structured to allow you to demonstrate your historical knowledge comprehensively. Some questions may include texts, images, graphs, or maps to aid in your analysis.
Notably, for the final short-answer question, you will have a choice between two options, each focused on different historical periods. Question 1 is mandatory and will present 1–2 secondary sources, focusing on historical developments between 1600 and 2001. Question 2 is also required, featuring a primary source and similarly focusing on developments from 1600 to 2001. For the third question, you can choose between Question 3, which covers 1450 to 1815, and Question 4, which covers 1815 to 2001. Questions 3 and 4 will not include any sources, requiring you to rely on your existing historical knowledge.
Section II: Document-Based Question (DBQ) and Long Essay
Section II is the final part of the exam, taking 1 hour and 40 minutes in total and contributing to 40% of your exam score. It includes two types of free-response questions: the Document-Based Question (DBQ) and the Long Essay.
Document-Based Question (DBQ): It is recommended to spend 1 hour on the DBQ, including a 15-minute reading period. This section alone accounts for 25% of your exam score. In the DBQ, you will be provided with 7 documents presenting diverse perspectives on a historical event or process. Your task is to evaluate these documents—which can be written, quantitative, or visual—as historical evidence. You will then need to construct an argument, supported by your analysis of these documents. The DBQ will focus on historical topics from 1600 to 2001.
Long Essay: The Long Essay section has a recommended time of 40 minutes and makes up 15% of your exam score. Here, you need to explain and analyze significant themes in European history. You are required to develop an argument that is well-supported by historical evidence. You will have a choice among 3 options, each focusing on the same historical thinking skills and reasoning processes (like comparison, causation, or continuity and change), but each option covers a different time range: 1450–1700 (option 1), 1648–1914 (option 2), or 1815–2001 (option 3).
Understanding the format of the 2024 AP Euro Exam is the first step to effective preparation. Knowing what to expect in each section, from multiple-choice questions to document-based essays, allows you to tailor your study approach and maximize your performance on exam day.
