does ap euro have a lot of homework

Anyone taking AP World History? Is it normal to have HOURS of hw each night?

My D has been working continuously since 5pm and she only took a 15 minute break for dinner. It’s almost 10:30 and she’s still working. She did do some work for 2 other classes, but she’s pretty much been working on this AP class for 4 hrs or more. It’s just the beginning of school. Is this typical? If so, OMG!

And she hasn’t been on social media or doing other things, so no procrastinating.

I’m taking AP World History too. We have to read a chapter every night and get quizzed on it next class. It’s a lot for me and my classmates right now, but I think it will get better later on when we can learn how to read a history textbook without reading every single word and actually retain the information. Or at least I’m hoping!

My son (now a junior) took AP World History last year, and there was an insane amount of homework. He’s now taking APUSH, AP Stats, Honors English, etc, and so far, the amount of homework is nothing like it was for AP World. His AP World teacher also happened to be quite disorganized, and left a lot of material until too late in the year. My son’s advice would be to use outside study guides, like Barron’s and AP flash cards, to keep up if the teacher is not experienced. I don’t think I’ll have my younger son take AP World unless he really wants to, now that I know what he’s in for, having watched my older son. There is just so much material to cover. Good luck!

I am taking AP Euro and we have to: read ~40 pages in a college textbook, answer some mini LEQs, write a timed LEQ, and do some MCs questions every two weeks. I think that she may not be planning her time well because there is a possibility that she waited until the last minute to do her homework. If I waited until the night before to do my two weeks of homework, I would have ~7 hours of homework to do in one night.

I remember only having to read 40-50 pages/complete an online quiz weekly, be prepared for surprise reading checks, and write/edit the occasional essay, but I never felt overwhelmed because of that class. What exactly has she been assigned? Does it look like busywork? We never had projects or worksheets in my World class. I think @kimclan1 might be right. Maybe your daughter waited to do a reading and a quiz is coming up. I spent 3/4 hours taking notes over a chapter when I waited too long and had to do it all at once. I can’t imagine a history teacher giving that much homework consistently.

Each class is taught differently by different teachers so it is very difficult to know for sure. My son has to read approx 20-30 pages a night or every other night and answer 20 questions on each chapter , 10 multiple choice and 10 definitions . So yes , it can take 3 or more hours a night. Is this her first AP class? She may be adjusting to a different teaching style. It also requires a lot of reading. She may be having to reread some sections to comprehend the material . I’d also caution people not to assume that your daughter procrastinated , and that’s why it’s taking her so long. There is no consistency in the homework requirements as you can see by reading the many threads regarding AP classes including the several listed on this thread.

@carolinamom2boys @Hamlon @kimclan1 Thanks for your responses. I saw the syllabus, and all that HW was assigned yesterday and due today. There was reading, working on charts, answering numerous questions, working on a timeline AND starting an essay. Lots of busywork. In all my years as a college student and grad student, I had never seen anything like it. She said her teacher is known to be the “hardest”. This is her first AP, and I guess she has to figure it out, but I hope it lets up.

Looking forward, do you think the other AP’s are less intensive or is this class similar to most APs? Thanks again

Yes, AP world history is one of the high workload APs and for students who have never taken one of the hard AP classes before, it can be a shock. Yes, this is typical. My kids do most of the reading/outlining for the week over the weekend, and I’d be surprised if they can do it in less than 5-6 hours. My second kid is a slower reader and more of a perfectionist and she struggled a lot with the workload in the first few months of AP world, probably spending 8-10 hours on those readings. She eventually learned to get the work done more efficiently. As she’s moved into APUSH this year, she is still working to improve her efficiency.

She probably will get more efficient. If she has to produce outlines (not all teachers require this), I would say that most kids make the mistake of writing too much down. My kids would suggest setting a limit of X lines per section and sticking to it. This improves with practice. The important part is the thought process of distilling what’s important, not what’s written on the page. My second kid who reads slowly has been setting timers lately to help her pace herself through the reading and assignments more quickly. Not sure how well that will work out.

I’m surprised at the posts of kid saying they didn’t have to work much in this class. In the years I’ve been on this site, I’ve seen a pretty strong consensus that it’s a lot of work, although less so for those who don’t have to outline. (Though some of those students are required to write significant research papers, which our students are not). I’m not a huge fan of the outlining, but both my kids say that it helps them learn the material well, and our school has an extremely high pass rate, so I guess they are working harder than most, considering the roughly 50% pass rate on this exam.

I would suggest trying to get as much as possible of the week’s work done over the weekend.

@citymama9 I have to say, that is WAY more work than I had to do in AP World…in my case we had these reading guides to do while reading the chapter and some of us would be prone to copying whole sections from the textbook…but even that didn’t take as much time as it looks like your D is taking on these assignments per day. 4 hours a night is pretty extensive.

In terms of other APs it really depends on the teacher and the school. You’re almost always going to hear that there are “hard” teachers and “easy teachers”. For example, a previous poster talked about doing reading and question answering for AP Euro in her school. My AP Euro teacher never assigned hw or essays and said that we could get away with a passing grade by just listening to lectures. We had a textbook, but for course only motivated students would read it. Plus our tests (except the final) were open note. In terms of history APs for me the amount of work probably looked something like this (from least to most): AP Euro<AP Human Geo<APUSH<AP World, though this of course is going to be different for people in other schools Also, there’s a big difference between different subject AP’s like history vs a science. History is going to be intensive in amount of reading and writing to do while a science can be intensive by problem sets (esp. if you leave them to the last day!) and lab write-ups. It all depends on the rigor of the school and rigor of the class as set by the teacher. Plus, for a STEM-oriented student history AP’s may seem harder or more work than their science AP’s and vice versa.

Good luck to your daughter! I hope her work-load lightens up…4 hours a day for one subject really seems like too much, especially if one is not interested in it.

If it’s her first AP History, she may be better served with AP Euro, because the timeline is shorter so teachers don’t feel pressured to cover 5,000 years of history in detail. It’s a massive amount of information and a lot of memorization. AP Euro is more concentrated and while it requires pretty good writing/reading/critical thinking, it shouldn’t be as overwhelming for a first AP.

Many schools don’t offer both. Ours has only World. I will say despite the large amount of work, both my kids found it worthwhile and were glad they did it, even though neither is planning to major in history. I also feel it’s worthwhile. American kids learn so little about world history during their education outside of this class.

For many kids, this is their first experience with a class where they can’t possibly learn all the material that’s presented. Learning to deal with this and sort out what they really need to know and when they know enough is especially tough for thorough, perfectionist types.

I agree it’s worthwhile content, but 4+ hours of hw a day for that one class is too much, especially if a lot of the work is “busywork” (ie., not “harder”, just “more” stuff).

Is it really 4 hours every night? I would say 4 hours 2-3x per week would be within the normal range. I suspect that we would have seen a post before now if it were 4 hours every single night. Yes, there are plenty of reading assignments that take 6+ hours to complete. Most of the kids are pretty busy with this every sunday. Our kids do get at least the full week’s assignment the prior week so they can schedule accordingly. I think my kids probably spent more time on WHAP than on any other AP class, including APUSH, BC calc, AP chem, AP bio, which are the hardest APs at our school.

Some people consider the outlining to be busywork. I’d rather see my kids do less outlining and more paper writing but they are surprisingly supportive of it, and as I said the test results speak for themselves. Yes, there should be more to the course than prepping for the test, but at least our classes do very well with that.

OP, if this doesn’t improve soon, have your child meet with the teacher. It’s quite possible that your kid is doing more than expected. I actually had my second kid do this when she was spending an inordinate amount of time on WHAP last fall, and it did help to get some clarification of expectations and some tips on how to approach the work.

Our son often spent several hours a night on AP World History. APUSH was not too far different for workload. All the other APs have been minimal workload.

All of you have been so incredibly helpful. Thank you! I’ve been thinking: D just started school last Thurs. They then had a 3 day weekend and over the weekend she had an enormous amt of AP HW due Tues. Last night she had even more due today. I am now wondering if she left too much for last night and should have done even more over the weekend than she did. I will have to look at the syllabus. The key here may be getting stuff done way in advance of when it’s due. Anyway, I told her this class will build character and make everything to come look easy in comparison. She grunted.

Absolutely!!! My oh my! I am currently a freshman and I am loaded everynight. It consumes my time a lot. Every night I feel like I see more images of Alexander the Great and pharoahs then my own family! Lots of outlining… Ugh

Our Ap World class is nothing near the workload of that.

My sophomore has had some difficulty with planning and scheduling in the past, but he actually has done well in this class by using the syllabus to plan out his work load . Maybe that can help your daughter @citymama9 .

WHAP is definitely a class where they should be thinking and planning at least for the coming week. Good practice for college.

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Ultimate Guide to the AP European History Exam

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The AP European History exam is one of the hardest and least-common AP exams taken. In 2019, only about 100,000 of the more than 5 million students taking AP exams took the AP European History exam. Only 11.7% of those AP Euro test-takers scored a 5.

If you’re planning to take the AP European History exam—whether you have taken the class or self-studied—read on for a breakdown of the test and CollegeVine’s advice for how to best prepare for it.

When is the AP European History Exam?

The 2020 AP European History exam takes place on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at 12 pm. For a comprehensive list of dates and times for all of the 2020 AP exams, check out our blog post 2020 AP Exam Schedule: Everything You Need to Know .

What Does the AP European History Exam Cover?

The AP European History course investigates the content of European history for significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in four historical periods. In this class, you’ll develop your ability to analyze historical data, assess historical evidence, and analyze significant issues in European history. The course content focuses on events from 1450 to the present and provides seven themes for framing connections over time and between places:

• Interaction of Europe and the world
• Economic and commercial developments
• Cultural and intellectual developments
• States and other institutions of power
• Social organization and development
• National and European identity
• Technological and scientific innovation

In 2015, the AP European History course was redesigned. Though the course content remains largely the same, it is now more focused towards clear learning objectives for the exam. The exam itself has also changed. Starting with the 2016 test, there are now fewer long essays and multiple-choice questions, and short-answer questions were added for the first time. It is important to remember when preparing for the exam to use material produced in 2015 or later, as older material will be outdated.    

AP European History Exam Course Content

The AP European History course consists of nine units, covering the cultural, economic, political, and social developments that have shaped Europe from 1450 through the present. Below is a look at how the units break down and what percentage of the exam they represent. 

AP European History Exam Content

The AP European History exam is one of the longer AP exams, clocking in at three hours and 15 minutes. It is comprised of the following parts: 

Section 1: Multiple Choice 

55 minutes | 55 questions | 40% of score

Section 1 takes 55 minutes, contains 55 multiple-choice questions, and accounts for 40% of your total score. Questions generally come in sets of three or four based on the same stimulus, and include one or more sources such as text, images, charts, and maps. 

Section 2: Short-Answer Questions

40 minutes | 3 questions | 20% of score

Section 2 contains three short-answer questions, takes 40 minutes, and accounts for 20% of your total score. 

• The first short-answer question focuses on historical developments or processes from 1600-2001 and includes one or two secondary sources.
• The second short-answer question shares the same focus and time period as the first question—historical developments or processes occurring between 1600-2001—but includes one primary source. 
• The final short-answer question gives test-takers a choice to answer one of three questions. The three questions all focus on the historical developments and processes of particular time periods—1450 to 1648, 1815 to 1914, 1914 to today—and no source material is included. 

In their short answers, students are tasked with analyzing the sources along with the developments described in them, then putting those occurrences in context and making connections between them. 

Section 3: Free Response 

1 hour 40 minutes | 2 questions | 40% of score

The last section features two free-response questions—one is a document-based question (DBQ) which you have an hour to answer and is worth 25% of your score, the other is a long essay that you’re given 40 minutes to write and is worth 15% of your score. 

Document-Based Question: The document-based question is focused on a historical development that happened between 1600 and 2001. Test takers are presented with seven documents giving various perspectives on the event and are tasked with constructing an argument using the documents AND prior knowledge to form and support an argument. 

Long Essay: Test takers are given the choice of three questions, all of them assessing the ability to develop and support arguments based on evidence, but focusing on different historical time periods. The three time periods are: 1450 to 1700, 1648 to 1914, and 1815 to 2001. 

AP European History Score Distribution, Average Score, and Passing Rate

The AP European History exam is a tough one to master, though many students do well enough to pass (score of 3 or higher). In 2019, 58.1% of students who took the AP European History exam received a score of 3 or higher. Of these, only 11.7% of students received the top score of 5 with another 20.5% scoring a 4. Roughly a quarter (25.9%) of all test-takers received a score of 3, contributing greatly to the exam’s pass rate. About a third (29.2%) of students received a score of 2, while 12.5% of test-takers scored a 1 on the exam. If you’re curious about other score distributions, see our post Easiest and Hardest AP Exams .

Keep in mind that policies regarding credit and advanced standing based on AP scores vary widely from college to college. Be sure to check whether the schools on your list accept AP exam credit, and if so, what scores they require.

Best Ways to Study for the AP European History Exam

Step 1: assess your skills.

Take a practice test to assess your initial knowledge of the material. The College Board AP European History website provides a number of sample test questions and exam tips, and it also has a practice AP European History exam available. There are numerous other free practice tests offered on the web; for example, Varsity Tutors has a multitude of free AP European History Diagnostic Tests on their website. High School Test Prep also hosts a handful of free AP European History tests on their website. 

Step 2: Study the Material

The AP European History exam tests your knowledge of significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in European history in four historical periods from 1450 to present. 

Learn to Think Like a Historian: You’ll need to learn the thinking skills and methods used by historians to study the past. These include analyzing primary and secondary sources, making historical comparisons, chronological reasoning, and argumentation. 

Go to the Source: The College Board provides a series of useful videos that give an overview of curricular framework and exam format. You should also review the College Board’s Exam Tips .

Ask an Expert: For a more specific idea of where to focus your studying, you should consider using an updated formal study guide. Both the Princeton Review’s Cracking the AP European History Exam, 2020 Edition: Proven Techniques to Help You Score a 5 and Barron’s AP European History, 8th Edition are effective and popular resources. Of these, Barron’s is regarded as the stronger option for long-term studying of the material, while the Princeton Review is often regarded as a better option for test practice (though some users say that its practice tests in the past have been more difficult than the actual AP exam).

There are also a number of free study resources available online. Many AP teachers have posted complete study guides—such as this AP European History study guide from Mrs. Newmark , a teacher at the Raleigh Charter High School in Raleigh, North Carolina—review sheets, and test questions. 

Try using a study app: Finally, another convenient way to study is to use one of the recently-developed apps for AP exams. These can be free or cost a small fee, and are an easy way to quiz yourself on-the-go. Make sure you read reviews before choosing one—their quality varies widely. Varsity Tutors also offers a free app to help you study for the AP Euro exam .

Step 3: Practice Multiple-Choice Questions

Once you have your theory down, test it out by practicing multiple-choice questions. You can find these in most study guides or through online searches. You could also try taking the multiple-choice section of another practice exam.

The College Board Course Description includes many practice multiple-choice questions along with explanations of their answers. There are also many practice questions available in any commercial study guide. As you go through these, try to keep track of which areas are still tripping you up, and go back over this theory again. Focus on understanding what each question is asking and keep a running list of any concepts that are still unfamiliar.

Step 4: Practice Free-Response Questions

The AP European History exam is different from many AP exams in that it consists of five free-response questions of varying length and content. To be successful in these sections, you should know what to expect from each question. If you are already familiar with the free-response portions of the AP U.S. History or AP World History exams, you will find these similar in format.

Short Answer: The first four free-response questions are considered “short answer” and you will be allowed 40 minutes to complete them all. These questions tend to have multiple parts, with each being very specific and limited in scope. In this section, you will have an opportunity to explain the historical examples you know best. You will probably be asked to interpret a graph or figure, compare and contrast the effects of different cultural approaches from specific time periods, or list distinct precipitating factors of significant historical events. You should be able to answer each part of these questions in a short, succinct paragraph.

Document-Based Question : The second free-response section is a document-based question and you will have one hour to complete it. This one question alone is worth 25% of your total exam score. To master it, you need to carefully read the question, practice active reading skills while reviewing the documents, and make a strong outline before you begin to write. In this section, you will assess written, quantitative, or visual materials as historical evidence. Be sure to completely review the outline of requirements provided before the prompt, and check them off as you are outlining and writing your response. 

• Scoring: It’s also beneficial to understand the rubric used to score document-based questions before formulating answers. Document-based questions are scored on a scale of 0 to 7, with points awarded for: Thesis/Claim (0 to 1 point), Contextualization (0 to 1 point), Evidence (0 to 3 points), and Analysis/Reasoning (0 to 2 points).

Long Essay: The last free-response section is a long-essay response, which you will have 40 minutes to complete. It is worth 15% of your total exam score. This section gives you the choice of three separate prompts—remember that you only need to answer one of them! As in the document-based question above, you will be provided with a rough outline of key considerations for the scoring of your work. These include a strong thesis, application of your historical thinking skills, ability to support your argument with specific examples, and the synthesis of your response into a greater historical context. You will be asked to explain and analyze significant issues in world history and develop an argument supported by your analysis of historical evidence.

• Scoring: Once again, understanding the scoring rubric is beneficial. The long essay is scored on a scale ranging from 0 to 6. Points are awarded for Thesis/Claim (0 to 1 point), Contextualization (0 to 1 point), Evidence (0 to 2 points), and Analysis/Reasoning (0 to 2 points). This YouTube video explains the AP Euro DBQ rubric and gives concrete examples of what to do and what NOT to do.

As you complete the document-based question and long essay, make sure to keep an eye on the time. Though you will be reminded of time remaining by the exam proctor, you will not be forced to move on to another question once the amount of time recommended for the first question has passed. Make sure you stay on track to address each section of every question. No points can be awarded for answer sections left completely blank when time runs out.

For a more in-depth explanation of how the document-based section and long-essay section are scored, review the College Board’s scoring rubric . To read descriptions of the directives commonly found on this section, visit the Common Directives page. To see authentic examples of past student responses and scoring explanations for each, visit the College Board’s Student Samples, Scoring Guidelines, and Commentary .

Step 5: Take Another Practice Test

As you did at the very beginning of your studying, take a practice test to evaluate your progress. You should see a steady progression of knowledge, and it’s likely that you will see patterns identifying which areas have improved the most and which areas still need improvement.

If you have time, repeat each of the steps above to incrementally increase your score.

Step 6: Exam Day Specifics

If you’re taking the AP course associated with this exam, your teacher will walk you through how to register. If you’re self-studying, check out our blog post How to Self-Register for AP Exams .

For information about what to bring to the exam, see our post What Should I Bring to My AP Exam (And What Should I Definitely Leave at Home)?

History enthusiasts will love CollegeVine’s free chancing engine. We use past performance (grades, standardized test scores, and extracurricular activities) to predict future outcomes—in this case, your chance of acceptance into college. Try our chancing engine today to see your odds of getting into over 500 colleges and universities. 

Looking for more information on AP exams and courses? If so, check out these other excellent posts: 

2020 AP Exam Schedule

How Long is Each AP Exam?

Easiest and Hardest AP Exams

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AP European History Exam Information

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The AP European History course and exam covers cultural, intellectual, political, diplomatic, social and economic themes in Europe from 1450 to the present. The course is less popular than AP World History and AP United States History, but it still had over 100,000 students take the exam. A score of 3 or higher on the exam will often earn students either elective credits, humanities credits, or history credits in college.

About the AP European History Course and Exam

Students who take AP European History should learn the types of disciplinary practices and critical reasoning skills that are central to the study of history. The course content covers six equally important themes:

• Interaction of Europe and the World . European exploration, trade, colonialism, and empire building all fall under this category. Students study how Europe interacted with the world since 1450, and what the impact of those interactions were on both European and non-European societies.
• Poverty and Prosperity . These theme covers issues related to economic development and the rise of capitalism in Europe's history. Students study both the social and political impacts of economic change.
• Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions . This part of the course looks at changes in how knowledge was both created and transmitted in Europe. Students explore topics such as religious world views, ancient texts, scientific inquiry and experimentation, and subjective interpretations of reality.
• States and Other Institutions of Power . This theme covers governance and politics in Europe's history. Students explore Europe's varying forms of governance and their social, cultural, and economic impacts.
• Individual and Society . This theme looks beyond national politics to introduce students to the changing nature of family, class status, and social groups throughout Europe's history.
• National and European Identity . Students study the wide-ranging ways in which European's have viewed themselves. From local communities to nations to international alliances, European identities have changed radically since 1450.

The breadth of AP European History is a bit daunting. The course covers over 550 years of history for an entire continent. Both the teaching of the course and the assessment of the exam break the history down into four periods that get equal weight: 1450 to 1648, 1648 to 1815, 1815 to 1914, and 1914 to the present.

AP European History Score Information

In 2018, 101,740 students took the exam and earned a mean score of 2.89. To earn college credit or course placement, students typically need to earn a score of 3 or higher. 57.7 percent of students did so.

The distribution of scores for the AP European History exam is as follows:

The College Board has released preliminary score percentages for the 2019 exam. Keep in mind that these numbers may change slightly as late exams are added to the calculations.

If you earn a score that isn't going to impress the college admissions folks, you can usually choose to omit it. Whereas most schools require students to submit SAT or ACT scores, AP exam scores are usually self-reported and optional.

College Credit and Course Placement for AP European History

Most colleges and universities have a history or global perspectives requirement, so a high score on the AP European History exam will sometimes fulfill one of these requirements. The course can be particularly valuable for students who have interests in history, different cultures, global studies, government, comparative literature, political science, and many other fields.

The table below presents some representative data from a variety of colleges and universities. This information is meant to provide a general overview of the scoring and placement practices related to the AP European History exam. For schools not listed here, you'll need to search the college website or contact the appropriate Registrar's office to get AP placement information, and always check with a college to get the most up-to-date AP placement information.

A Final Word About AP European History

To learn more specific information about the AP European History exam, be sure to visit the  official College Board website .

Keep in mind that the most important part of a college application is your academic record . Colleges want to see that you have challenged yourself and taken the most challenging courses available to you. AP, IB, Honors, and dual enrollment courses all play an important role on this front. Even if your favorite college doesn't offer credit for AP European History, the fact that you took a college-level course will strengthen your application.

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6 Steps to a Perfect AP European History DBQ

Advanced Placement (AP)

Are you taking AP Euro and are wondering about the AP Euro DBQ essay? The DBQ is quite different from a typical school essay, and students often struggle with it during the AP exam. However, knowing what to expect from the AP Euro DBQ will go a long way towards helping you feel more confident, as well as getting a great score! Read this in-depth guide to learn all about what to expect from the AP Euro DBQ, what graders are looking for in your essay, a step-by-step guide to writing a DBQ, and three key tips to keep in mind when going over AP Euro DBQ example questions.

What Is the AP Euro DBQ? Why Is It Important?

The DBQ, or "document-based question," is an essay question type on three AP History exams (AP US History, AP European History, and AP World History). For the DBQ essay, you'll need to analyze a historical issue or trend with the aid of the provided sources (the documents) as evidence. For AP European History, you'll generally be given about seven documents.

The purpose of the AP Euro DBQ is to put you in the historian's shoes as an interpreter of historical material and test your ability to:

• Create a strong thesis and support that thesis with the aid of the documents provided
• Analyze sources for characteristics such as author's point of view, the author's purpose, the audience, and context
• Make connections between the documents
• Bring in outside knowledge to strengthen the argument

For the AP Euro exam, the DBQ accounts for 25% of your total exam score, so it's definitely not something you want to overlook. It's also consistently one of the toughest parts of the exam. In 2021 , the average AP Euro DBQ score was just a 3.26 out of 7--less than a 50%! Fortunately, preparing in advance for the AP Euro DBQ can go a long way to helping you feel more confident and, ultimately, get a higher score.

What to Expect from the AP Euro DBQ

The AP Euro exam is broken into two main sections. The first section consists of the multiple-choice questions and three short-answer questions. The second section consists of the DBQ and the long essay. When you get to section two, you'll see the DBQ instructions, then the DBQ prompt, and finally the documents (there are typically seven). Here's what the DBQ instructions look like:

These instructions lay out exactly how you're expected to use the documents. You'll need to mention at least six and go into depth for at least three of them. Additionally, you'll have to come up with at least one other piece of historical evidence not found in the documents to support your argument.

Here's an AP Euro DBQ example from the 2021 exam :

"Evaluate whether or not British imperial rule in India during the 1800s was primarily influenced by liberalism."

 Seven documents follow (which you can see if you click the above link), and they're a mix of extracts from posters, newspaper articles, interviews, and other sources. Your job would be to write an essay that takes a side on the issue and uses both information from the documents and your own analysis to support your stance. We'll go over exactly how to do this throughout the rest of the article.

The AP Euro DBQ is worth seven points. You can see the full rubric here , but here's a brief overview of where those points are earned:

• Thesis responds to the prompt with a historically defensible thesis/claim that establishes a line of reasoning. (1 point)
• Essay describes a broader historical context relevant to the prompt.   (1 point)
• Essay supports an argument in response to the prompt using at least six documents. (2 points)
• Essay uses at least one additional piece of specific historical evidence (beyond that found in the documents) relevant to an argument about the prompt. (1 point)
• For at least three documents, the essay explains how or why the document’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience is relevant to an argument. (1 point)
• Demonstrates a complex understanding of the historical development that is the focus of prompt, using evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument that addresses the question. (1 point)

As you can see, a lot of points are derived from clearly and accurately incorporating information from the documents into your essay.

6 Steps for Tackling an AP Euro DBQ Example

Writing a full-length DBQ essay can be a daunting task, but breaking it into smaller steps will help it seem more manageable and can make your writing more organized. Here are six steps to follow when writing your AP Euro DBQ essay.

#1: Break Down the Prompt

Your first step should always be to read the prompt that you need to answer. Mark it up or read it a few times, if necessary, to make sure you really understand what's being asked. For the 2021 prompt, "Evaluate whether or not British imperial rule in India during the 1800s was primarily influenced by liberalism," you might rewrite some of it in your own words, something like, "British rule in India: liberalism?" Whatever works for you.

Once you have a solid grasp of the prompt, you'll be much more focused when reading the documents because you'll know what information to be looking out for.

#2: Look Through the Documents

You can spend as much or as little time reading the documents for the AP Euro DBQ as you'd like, although 15 minutes is recommended for reading time. Depending on the length of the documents and your speed reading skills, that may or may not be enough time to read them all the way through. Some skimming might be necessary.

You'll also need to do more than just read through the documents: quick, targeted notes will help organize the documents and your thoughts. For each document, jot down a few bullet points, covering things like who it was written by, when it was written, and what its main 1-3 points related to the prompt are. This will make it easier to see patterns in the documents which will be necessary when you write your thesis in the next step.

#3: Write Your Thesis

Your thesis is the most important sentence in your DBQ essay: it's the main point of your essay and what everything else you write hinges upon. A good thesis will make a claim, respond to the prompt, and lay out what you will discuss in your essay. Suppose you are responding to a prompt about women's suffrage (suffrage is the right to vote, for those of you who haven't gotten to that unit in class yet): "Analyze the responses to the women's suffrage movement in the United Kingdom."

Included among your documents, you have a letter from a suffragette passionately explaining why she feels women should have the vote, a copy of a suffragette's speech at a women's meeting, a letter from one politician to another debating the pros and cons of suffrage, and a political cartoon displaying the death of society and the end of the ‘natural' order at the hands of female voters.

An effective thesis might be something like, "Though ultimately successful, the women's suffrage movement sharply divided the United Kingdom between those who believed women's suffrage was unnatural and those who believed it was an inherent right of women." This thesis answers the question and clearly states the two responses to suffrage that are going to be analyzed in the essay.

#4: Outline Your Essay

After you know your thesis, you may be tempted to dive right in, but creating an essay outline can end up saving you time and making your DBQ essay much clearer and more organized. Once you get good at outlining, you should be able to come up with one in roughly five minutes so you still have plenty of time to write the essay.

Here's a sample DBQ outline:

• Introduction
• Thesis. The most important part of your intro! It should be the last sentence of your introduction paragraph.
• Body 1 - contextual information
• Any outside historical/contextual information
• Body 2 - First point
• Documents & analysis that support the first point
• If three body paragraphs: use about three documents, do deeper analysis on two
• Body 3 - Second point
• Documents & analysis that support the second point
• Use about three documents, do deeper analysis on two
• Be sure to mention your outside example if you have not done so yet!
• Body 4 (optional) - Third point
• Documents and analysis that support third point
• Restate thesis
• Draw a comparison to another time period or situation (synthesis)

Your ideal outline may include more or less information, so try out a few different ones as you work through AP Euro DBQ example questions to see which works best for you and still allows you to finish the essay on time.

#5: Start Writing!

Now it's time to get writing! If you've kept to 15 minutes for the reading period and 5 minutes for creating your outline, you'll have 40 minutes to write the essay . With an intro, conclusion, and four body paragraphs, that gives you about 6.5 minutes per paragraph --not much time, but doable if you keep your paragraphs short and to the point, which you want to be doing anyway! Remember to refer to the documents but also do more than just repeat what they say. Including your own analysis is key. If you find yourself doing a lot of "Source A says blah, and Source B says blah, and Source C says blah..." make sure you are using the documents to make a point , and not letting the documents use you.

#6: Review Your Essay

You may not have time to do this, of course, but even if you only have an extra minute or two at the end of the section, a quick readthrough can help you spot and fix any glaring errors or omissions. Graders won't dock you points over a misspelling or two, but keeping things as clear as possible makes it easier for them to see the point you're making, which in turn makes it easier for them to award you points. Basically, you want to use every minute you have in this section of the AP Euro exam, so don't let a few extra minutes at the end go to waste if you can use them to add a little final shine to your DBQ essay.

4 Tips for Your AP Euro DBQ Practice

You're now well prepared for the AP Euro DBQ, but a couple extra tips never hurt! Keep these four in mind throughout your studying and on test day.

#1: Find High-Quality Practice Questions

One of the best ways to measure your progress and learn which areas you need to focus on is to take practice exams. There are a lot of AP Euro History practice tests available; however, some are higher-quality than others. Taking a poorly written practice exam can cause you to study the wrong things and give you an inaccurate picture of what the real AP exam will be like. 

Official practice exams are those that have been created by the College Board (the organization that develops and administers all AP exams). Here are the AP Euro free-response questions they've made available:

2021 free-response questions

1999-2019 free-response questions

These include old prompts for both the DBQ and the long essay, as well as answer explanations. The most recent questions will be the most helpful, particularly those from 2018 and later, since AP Euro underwent its last significant changes in 2018. However, older questions can still give you a sense of what AP Euro free-response questions will look like.

#2: Always Keep Track of Time

Time constraints are one of the toughest parts of the AP exam, including the DBQ. You can have all the information and skills you need to write an amazing essay, but if you run out of time halfway through, you won't get a high score. That's why it's crucial to always watch your time.

Part II of the AP Euro exam lasts for a total of 100 minutes, during which time you'll need to write two essays, the DBQ and the long essay. For the DBQ, it's recommended that you spend 15 minutes reading over the documents and 45 minutes writing your DBQ essay. The proctor may note when you have a certain amount of time left, but no one will make you finish your DBQ and move to the long essay at a certain time, so spending too much time on the DBQ can cause you to run out of time on the long essay as well. 

#3: Be an Active Reader, Not a Passive Reader

Many students, especially if they don't have a lot of experience with DBQs, will spend the 15 minutes of recommended reading time reading every word of each of the documents, then, when it comes time to begin writing their essay, have no idea how to craft an essay around all that information they just took in. This is one of the reasons DBQs can be so tricky.

So, how to avoid this problem? Don't just read through the documents. Instead, mark them up: underlining and circling important parts and jotting down helpful notes. We recommend reading the essay prompt before you begin reading the documents. Once you have a good handle on the prompt, then you can skim through the documents, focusing on the parts that relate most to the prompt.  

The DBQ prompt for 2020 was, "Evaluate whether or not the Catholic Church in the 1600s was opposed to new ideas in science." So, when going through the documents, the key thing you're going to want to be making note of is whether each document seems to support or disprove the Catholic Church being opposed to new ideas in science. Your notes for this can be as little as a plus or minus sign next to the document, or you can do some short bullet points (we'd recommend no more than three per document) that give an overview of the main viewpoint. If you actively read the documents, starting to write the essay is much easier because you can clearly see the cases the documents make and, therefore, how to make your own case.

#4: Remember to Cite the Sources

The final tip to keep in mind, which will make a big difference in your DBQ essay quality, is integrating document citations into your essay. You want to be able to reference the information in the documents in a clear, concise way that doesn't take too much of your time but makes it easy for graders to see where you're getting your facts from (as well as how well you're making use of the documents).

To do this, we recommend using the author or title of the document to identify a document rather than writing "Document A." So instead of writing "Document A describes the riot as...," you might say, "In Sven Svenson's description of the riot…"

When you quote a document directly without otherwise identifying it, you may want to include a parenthetical citation. For example, you might write, "The strikers were described as ‘valiant and true' by the working class citizens of the city (Document E)." Doing this throughout your DBQ essay will make it easier for graders to understand the major points you're making.

Summary: AP Euro Document-Based Question

Once you know what to expect from the AP Euro DBQ, it becomes one of the more straightforward parts of the AP exam. The AP Euro DBQ consists of a prompt that asks you to evaluate a statement, and it's followed by about seven documents. You'll need to mention at least six of those documents in your essay. Reviewing the AP Euro DBQ rubric can help you see where points are gained and lost, and running through AP Euro DBQ example questions is a great way to feel more comfortable with this essay. Review your course material over the school year and write several AP Euro practice DBQs to put yourself in a great place on exam day.

What's Next?

Interested in learning more about the AP Euro exam?  Our in-depth guide to the AP European History text explains everything you need to know!

Now that you better understand how hard AP Euro will be for you, get your hands on the best practice materials available!  Check out our guide on the best AP Euro practice tests and quizzes to help with your studying. 

Is AP Euro hard? How tough are the class and exam compared to other APs? We break down the five key factors in determining how hard is AP European History.  

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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