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How to Approach the AP U.S. History Long Essay Question

The second part of Section II of the AP US History exam contains three long essay questions—you must respond to one. The long essay question assesses your ability to apply knowledge of history in a complex, analytical manner. In other words, you are expected to treat history and historical questions as a historian would. This process is called historiography—the skills and strategies historians use to analyze and interpret historical evidence to reach a conclusion. Thus, when writing an effective essay, you must be able to write a strong, clearly developed thesis and supply a substantial amount of relevant evidence to support your thesis and develop a complex argument.

The College Board’s characteristics of a high-scoring long essay question response are listed below. Note that the requirements are very similar to those of the DBQ ; the primary difference is that any requirements related to use of the documents are removed from the scoring requirements for the long essay question.

• Thesis: Make a thesis or claim that responds to the prompt. The thesis or claim must be historically defensible and establish a line of reasoning.
• Context: Provide context relevant to the prompt by describing a broader historical development or process.
• Evidence: Use specific and relevant examples as evidence to support an argument in response to the prompt.
• Historical Skill: Use a historical reasoning skill (causation, comparison, or continuity and change) to develop an argument in response to the prompt.
• Complex Understanding: Demonstrate a complex understanding of an argument that responds to the prompt by using evidence to corroborate, qualify, or modify the argument.

AP U.S. History Long Essay Strategy

Consider the following special strategies for the long essay question. Scoring requirements are highlighted in bold.

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

• Each long essay question will ask you to “evaluate the extent” of some factor in American history. Since you are evaluating, you will need to develop an argument that addresses the prompt. Make sure to read all three prompts carefully. Think of the evidence you could use and the argument you could develop in response to each one, then choose the question you feel most confident about.
• Begin crafting your thesis statement. You must have a thesis that makes a claim and introduces the reasoning of your argument. It is not enough to merely restate the question as your thesis; you must take a position. Don’t be afraid of making a strong claim; just be sure you can provide relevant evidence to support your assertion. Your thesis may also outline the categories of analysis, or the major points, you will use in your essay.
• Part of developing your thesis should be considering how your essay’s argument will demonstrate a complex understanding, perhaps by analyzing multiple variables, by considering both changes and continuities, or by making an insightful connection to another time period.

Step 2: Plan Your Response

• Making a careful plan can help you make sure you address all the scoring requirements.
• Paraphrase your thesis statement. Knowing your claim will make it easier for you to plan an effective argument in your essay. In light of the documents, you must make a claim and/or demonstrate a line of reasoning that responds to the prompt. Avoid statements that are vague or general (“The Vietnam War was very significant”) and make a claim that responds to the prompt, uses both the documents and your historical knowledge, and sets up the rest of your essay (“The Vietnam War impacted Americans’ perceptions of the U.S. role in international politics, the power of the federal government, and the status of young people, influencing legal and social changes in American society”).
• Be sure your thesis or overall plan incorporates a complex understanding . You need to demonstrate that you have more than just a basic understanding of the content, so your thesis or overall essay should address complexity in the historical development—perhaps by including multiple variables, by considering both causes and effects, or by making an insightful connection to another time period. See below for a complete list of ways to demonstrate complex understanding.
• Make a note about how you will provide context for the topic of the prompt. This may fit well in the introduction or first body paragraph.
• List the documents you will use as evidence —remember that you must use six or seven to earn the maximum number of points for using the documents.
• Consider whether the paragraph is a good place to provide additional evidence —you must include one additional historical example.
• Think about when it would be beneficial to explain sourcing , or how a document’s context or situation is relevant to the argument—you must do so for three documents.
• Finally, review your plan and check off each requirement in your test booklet to ensure you addressed all six.

Step 3: Action! Write Your Response

• Nothing is more important in the first paragraph than the clear statement of an analytical thesis. The reader is most interested in seeing a strong thesis as soon as possible.
• Your thesis can be more than just one sentence. With the compound questions often asked by the DBQ, two sentences might be needed to complete the idea.
• Refer to the authors of the documents, not just the document numbers.
• A good idea is to write a concluding paragraph that might extend your original thesis. Think of a way to restate your thesis, adding information from your analysis of the documents.

Step 4: Proofread

• Skim for any glaring errors and, if you have time, check again to make sure your response meets each of the DBQ requirements.

AP Expert Note

Be prepared to demonstrate complex understanding The AP exam asks you to analyze sources and develop arguments in a sophisticated way. Demonstrating your complex understanding of the topic at hand is crucial to your success, and here are some ways you can do so.

• Analyze multiple variables
• Employ a complex historical reasoning skill by explaining both similarities and differences, both continuity and change, both causes and effects, or multiple causes
• Explain relevant connections to other regions or other time periods
• Corroborate perspectives across multiple course themes (such as environment, cultural developments, governance, economic systems, social organization, and technology)
• Qualify an argument using other evidence or views

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Sample Essays

Use these sample AP U.S. History essays to get ideas for your own AP essays. These essays are examples of good AP-level writing.

1. The ‘50s and ‘60s: Decades of Prosperity and Protest (DBQ)

The 1950s were characterized as a prosperous and conformist decade for many reasons. The first and most widespread of these reasons was the development of the suburbs. As masses of Southern blacks migrated northward to the big cities, more rich and middle-class families left to live in the suburbs t...

2. American Foreign Policy: Isolationism to Interventionism (DBQ)

World War I had left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Americans; many believed that the U.S. had been tricked into joining the war for the wrong reasons, and they were determined to avoid making the same mistake twice. After the Great War, Americans were disappointed to realize that the war was ...

3. American Identity and Unity

Throughout the 17 and 18 centuries Americans developed a unique system of government with revolutionary ideals – never seen anywhere else before. Americans adopted representative governments with democratic principles that allowed each person to have a voice in the decisions about their countr...

4. Urbanization in the 19th Century U.S.A.

Cities attracted a diverse population composed of hundreds of ethnicities from around the globe. German and Scandinavian immigrants poured into America during the late 19 century, attracted by extravagant stories of the wonderful American lifestyle: three meals a day, freedom, and social equality. S...

5. Flip-Flopper Thomas Jefferson: From State’s Rights to Federalism

Throughout his early political career, Thomas Jefferson had always been a strong supporter of states’ rights and a major critic of Federalist policies. However, after being elected as President in 1801, Jefferson altered his earlier philosophy of government. Documents A and B show Jefferson&r...

6. Abraham Lincoln and the Struggle for Union and Emancipation (DBQ)

President Abraham Lincoln was faced with a monumental challenge during his two terms as Commander-in-chief of the United States: reuniting the shattered halves of the Union. This was his sole purpose in fighting the Civil War—nothing more, nothing less. However, Lincoln was flexible enough to ...

7. Roosevelt and the Revolutionary New Deal

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” was the ultimate reform movement, providing bold reform without bloodshed or revolution. Although many Americans criticized President Roosevelt for his “try anything” approach and wasteful spending, Roosevelt saved the Americ...

8. Agrarian Discontent in the Late 19th Century

Midwest farmers expressed further discontent with the U.S. government on the issue of taxes. During the Civil War, the U.S. government had increased taxes to raise revenue for the relentless war machine, but had neglected to lower them back down after the conflict had concluded. The high taxes and t...

9. Post-Civil War Reconstruction in the South

Even before the Civil War had concluded, Northern politicians were busy making Reconstruction plans for the Confederate States. Reconstruction—the process by which seceded states were to re-enter back into the Union—was a difficult process for the United States for two reasons. Firstly, ...

10. Winners and Losers in the American Revolution

The American Revolution was an important event for the North American continent because it affected so many differing parties. As in all conflicts, the American Revolution resulted in “winners” and “losers”. The Patriots were the obvious winners in the Revolution; they gained...

11. The Transformation of Colonial Virginia (DBQ)

During the time period between 1606 and 1700 hundreds of settlers flocked to the Virginia colony seeking riches – only to find hardship, and no gold. However, after many years, and much effort, the Virginians managed to secure a solid social and economic system that would eventually make Virgi...

12. The United States: A Date with Manifest Destiny

Since the first Puritan settlement of America by the Massachusetts Bay Colony (“City on a Hill”) to the United States’ current involvement in the affairs of foreign countries, it is clear that Americans find a need to spread their democratic ideals abroad. The idea of Manifest Dest...

13. Challenges to American Democracy: Trends and Similarities

American democracy has faced numerous challenges from the 1700s to modern day. However, the American dream has never faltered for a moment; even in the face of sure failure, and sure destruction, the United States has triumphed. The years 1805, 1905, and 2005 were no exception to this tradition; tho...

14. "Duck Soup" and American Beliefs in the 1930s

The Marx Brothers’ film was first released in 1933. At first, many critics deemed the film to be a commercial failure because its popularity paled in comparison to other Marx Brothers’ productions like , , and . Furthermore, many sensitive American audiences were offended at the rampant...

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AP US History Study Guide

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Begin your journey through US history by exploring primary sources, essays, and videos, organized by time period.

Late-Testing Exam Date : Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Image Source : World War II recruiting poster created by the US Office of War Information: Americans Will Always Fight for Liberty , Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1943. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC09520.37)

History U: AP US History

Review the content featured in the nine AP test periods and practice multiple-choice quizzes and sample essay questions.    

Image Source:   United Press International, “New York ,” 1964 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC09733.03)

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Examine the “why” and the “how” of American government through in-depth discussion of its history and workings.  

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Master teachers lead students through six-week curricula in July and August to help students prep for AP exams.  

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3 AP Courses

Resources by Period:

Period 1: 1491–1607, period 2: 1607–1754, period 3: 1754–1800, period 4: 1800–1848.

• Period 5: 1844–1877

Period 6: 1865–1898

Period 7: 1890–1945, period 8: 1945–1980, period 9: 1980–present.

Test Details

The AP US History exam covers United States history from 1491 to the present, divided into nine time periods. The exam is scored on a scale from 1 to 5, with a score of 3 or higher often earning college credit (depending on the particular university). Sections of the test include

• 55 Source-Based Multiple Choice Questions (55 minutes)
• 3 Short-Answer Questions (40 minutes)
• 1 Document-Based Essay Question (60 minutes including a 15-minute reading period)
• 1 Long Essay Question (40 minutes)

US History Periods

On a North American continent controlled by American Indians, contact among the peoples of Europe, the Americas, and West Africa created a new world.

• 4–6% Exam Weighting

Europeans and American Indians maneuvered and fought for dominance, control, and security in North America, and distinctive colonial and native societies emerged.

• 6–8% Exam Weighting

British imperial attempts to reassert control over its colonies and the colonial reaction to these attempts produced a new American republic, along with struggles over the new nation’s social, political, and economic identity.

• 10–17% Exam Weighting

The new republic struggled to define and extend democratic ideals in the face of rapid economic, territorial, and demographic changes.

Period 5: 1848–1877

As the nation expanded and its population grew, regional tensions, especially over slavery, led to a civil war—the course and aftermath of which transformed American society.

The transformation of the United States from an agricultural to an increasingly industrialized and urbanized society brought about significant economic, political, diplomatic, social, environmental, and cultural changes.

An increasingly pluralistic United States faced profound domestic and global challenges, debated the proper degree of government activism, and sought to define its international role.

After World War II, the United States grappled with prosperity and unfamiliar international responsibilities while struggling to live up to its ideals. 

As the United States transitioned to a new century filled with challenges and possibilities, it experienced renewed ideological and cultural debates, sought to redefine its foreign policy, and adapted to economic globalization and revolutionary changes in science and technology.

AP Exam Test-taking Skills and Strategies

Learn test-taking strategies to answer Multiple-Choice Questions.

Learn how to respond to the Document-Based Essay Question.

Learn how to respond to the Long Essay Question.

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How to Prep for APUSH Essays

Preparation is key to writing a quality APUSH essay. Knowing what and how to write are both skills that you can improve and cultivate through practice. Use the following suggestions to help you prep for your upcoming APUSH essays.

APUSH essays: long essay, short answer or DBQ?

APUSH exams actually contain three different types of essays: long essay, short answer and Data-Based Question (DBQ) . Each asks you to analyze and synthesize historical data, but vary in response format and content. Visit AP College Board to take a closer look at individual APUSH essay requirements.

Short Answer Response: 3 questions, 40 minute response time

Technically, short answer is not an essay at all, but rather a paragraph (or two) that concisely explain your ideas on a topic or prompt. Even though you are not writing a full-length essay for this section, keep in mind that your response still needs to read coherently and maintain focus – just like a standard writing. Short answer responses require three individual answers (parts A, B, C), each worth one point.

Data-based Question Essay: 1 question, 60 minutes response time

The DBQ essay focuses on topics exclusively from periods 3-8. In this section, you are given a series of historical documents that you must cite as evidence throughout your essay. Documents come in various forms: written materials, illustrations, graphs, charts or pictures.

A successful DBQ answer demonstrates the relationship between the provided document and a historical time period or theme. Cite the documents as evidence as well as use them to formulate an argument or express an opinion in order to maximize your DBQ score.

Long Essay: 1 question, 40 minutes response time

An update for the 2017-18, you can now choose from a selection of three essay topics: periods 1-3, 4-6 or 7-9. Each APUSH essay option focuses on the same themes and writing requirements, so choose the time period that best fits your skill set.

The long essay section is exactly what you expect from a typical essay: topic sentence, body paragraphs that cite historical evidence, strong closing. Add more paragraphs as necessary, but never write less than 5. This is your opportunity to demonstrate the depth of your APUSH knowledge, as well as your ability to make connections between historical time periods and content.

How to prepare an APUSH essay format

Regardless of format, APUSH essay responses that fully answer the question prompt and cite evidence tend to score the best. However, if essay-writing is not one of your current strengths, there are some tips you can follow to make writing in an APUSH essay format much easier.

1. Read the question prompt.

All the way through. At least twice. You may see the term “AP” in this section. In this case, “AP” does not stand for “Advance Placement”, but rather “address prompt”.

What is this prompt actually asking you to write? How are they asking you to write your response? Look for keywords such as compare/contrast, analyze or evaluate. These words are good indicators into which direction your APUSH essay should head.

There may be several, especially if you are being asked to state an opinion or formulate an argument. Note any commonalities between the documents. Do they share similar themes? Are they written by the same author? Do they represent ideals or events of a certain time period?

In order to best recall main events of a historical time period, AP College Board recommends using the acronym PERSIA. Essays that include the Political, Economic, Religious, Social, Intellectual and Artistic aspects of a certain time period show an overall understanding of historical context.

For short answer or DBQ essays, this may not be necessary, so use your best judgement. However, we recommend using a quick outline to help focus your thinking before writing your long essay. Taking a few minutes to organize your thoughts by jotting down notes or ideas that will help frame your thinking and make writing a structured essay much easier.

Practice makes perfect

Writing a quality essay is a skill. Like any skill, the more you practice, the better you get. Over the course of your APUSH study sessions, aim to write a total of 3-4 essays per section. If writing essays proves to be difficult, consider writing more often in order to hone your skills.

Even though it may seem daunting, also remember to practice your writing during timed sessions . Timing your writing helps you become aware of areas you may need to work on. It also forces you to focus your efforts into completing the prompt in its entirety each time you write. This is a great way to assess different areas of your writing process, so that you can make adjustments accordingly.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the ultimate ap us history study guide.

Advanced Placement (AP)

Studying for the AP US History course is an exercise in memorization and critical thinking. Multiple-choice questions ask you to read and analyze documents based on your historical knowledge. Essay questions require similar skills but with the added challenge of synthesizing your ideas into a coherent argument that incorporates both outside knowledge and evidence given to you.

In this comprehensive AP US History study guide, we will provide all the resources and strategies you need to prepare for the AP exam and any other test that comes your way in this course !

What's the Purpose of This AP US History Study Guide?

This guide will help you prepare for the AP US History test and other assessments you encounter throughout the school year in your AP US History class. It includes instructions for creating an effective study plan, a few helpful study tips, an overview of the content covered in the AP course, and a list of resources for practice questions.

This article is a one-stop-shop for all the information you need to master the AP US History curriculum.

Creating a Study Plan for AP US History: 5-Step Guide

You should start studying sooner rather than later for the AP US History exam because there's s o much information to remember. Ideally, you'll build on knowledge throughout the year and regularly review to avoid forgetting earlier parts of the course.

We recommend doing a holistic review after each in-class test that covers everything you've learned up to that point. You can then begin your final review for the AP test in March or April, which will give you an  entire month or two to spread out your studying.

Below are the steps we recommend following to prep for the AP US History test. The whole process should take you about 11 hours and 30 minutes .

Step 1: Take a Full-Length Practice Test

Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

The first step is to take a full, official AP US History practice test under realistic conditions. Time yourself in accordance with the actual test and write out both essays (DBQ and Long Essay) completely. Mark any multiple-choice questions you had to guess on—it's crucial to go over this information later even if you happen to guess correctly.

When you're done, score your practice test to see how well you would do on the real AP exam if you were to take it right now.

Depending on how much you're hoping to improve your AP US History test score, you might have to budget for more or less study time. If you're already scoring close to 5 (or a low 5), you might complete these steps once and find that you're satisfied with your results.

If you're scoring 2 or more points lower than you'd like, plan on going through this process several times.

Step 2: Catalog Your Mistakes and Guesses

Time: 1 hour

After you score your practice AP US History test, go through your mistakes and lucky guesses. Try to categorize the mistakes by content area so you can look for patterns and determine which parts of the course you need to study the most.

Once you've identified what you need to learn, move on to reviewing the actual content. Make a list in descending order of the topics that correspond to the highest number of missed multiple-choice questions and missed points on short-answer and free-response questions.

Step 3: Study Relevant Content Areas and Practice Multiple-Choice Questions

Time: 2 hours

Use the list you made in the previous step to guide your review of the AP US History content. Start with the areas for which you need a little refresher, and work your way up to the big issues you had on the diagnostic test .

When you're satisfied that you've fixed the gaps in knowledge that led to your errors, you should do some practice APUSH multiple-choice questions to make sure you really know your stuff (you can find them in review books or on one of the sites listed later in this article).

Step 4: Practice Planning and Writing Essays

You'll need to practice writing essays before taking the AP US History test so you feel comfortable with the time constraints and requirements. This is especially true for the Document-Based Question , which has a unique format.

After examining the problems with your essays from the original diagnostic test, practice your skills on additional free-response questions . For the sake of saving time, you don't necessarily need to write out entire essays, but you should at least make rough outlines that include all the components of a successful essay .

If you struggled a lot with time on your initial AP practice test, then we'd recommend going through another timed free-response section in full, so you can practice moving more quickly.

Step 5: Take a Second Full Practice Test

Once you've gotten more familiar with the APUSH material, take a second full AP practice test to assess your progress . If you find that you've improved to a satisfactory level, you might stop there and just do some light review until the exam.

If you're still not happy with your results, repeat this process , and make sure that you're really absorbing the material as you study.

3 Essential AP US History Study Tips

The following tips for AP US History will help you make the most of your time as you work your way through the process outlined above. The APUSH exam assesses your historical knowledge differently than other tests you might have taken in the past do. Make sure your study methods lend themselves to the format!

#1: Make Thematic Connections

The ultimate goal of AP US History is for you to be able to connect individual events to the main themes of the course and draw conclusions about historical trends based on your analysis.

As you study, don't just look at events in isolation— e xamine how they relate to other events of the time and how they might've resulted from different cultural and political attitudes . What were the outcomes of particular events, and how and why did they feed into other, larger trends?

Ask yourself to dig deeper. Doing so help you on both in-class assessments and the AP test.

#2: Read and Repeat

When you read content notes for AP US History, you might think you have a fact committed to memory but forget it when it appears on a test. The best way to combat this is to pause every couple of minutes and try to remember the facts that you just reviewed without looking back at your notes ; you'll immediately know whether you're absorbing the information or not.

If you're having trouble remembering a particular fact, try to make a distinctive connection with something else that's easier to remember.

For example, say you were trying to remember which items were taxed by the Townshend Acts. (It was glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.) You could think of the mnemonic GuLPP iT to remember them. It also makes sense because all the taxes were repealed except for the one on tea, which you can gulp!

Maybe this sounds super weird, but we often find that the weirder the method of remembering something is, the more likely it will stick in your mind .

#3: Practice Writing Essay Questions

The free-response section is the biggest challenge on the AP US History exam because you have to plan and write two coherent essays (one DBQ and one Long Essay) in less than two hours. It's imperative that you do lots of practice before the AP test to prevent your essays from being disorganized or lacking in focus. You can consult the College Board site for links to past AP US History free-response questions .

Make sure you always have a strong thesis statement and all the points in your essay relate directly back to it. Plan out your essay before you start writing to keep yourself on track.

You should also t ry to include relevant outside knowledge but only if it pertains directly to your argument and the question itself. Don't just spew out everything you know about the topic!

AP US History Course Content: Themes and Units

AP US History covers history in what is now the United States from 1491 to the present. There are eight main themes in the course separated into nine units, or time periods. For each of these themes, we'll go over the main historical topics associated with it.

Before that, though, here's a quick overview of the AP US History units and what percentage of the AP exam they each make up:

Source: 2019-20 AP US History Course and Exam Description

Theme 1: American and National Identity

Focuses on how and why definitions of American and national identity and values have developed among the diverse and changing population of North America as well as on related topics, such as citizenship, constitutionalism, foreign policy, assimilation, and American exceptionalism.

Theme 2: Work, Exchange, and Technology

Focuses on the factors behind the development of systems of economic exchange, particularly the role of technology, economic markets, and government.

Theme 3: Geography and the Environment

Focuses on the role of geography and both the natural and human-made environments in the social and political developments in what would become the United States.

Theme 4: Migration and Settlement

Focuses on why and how the various people who moved to and within the United States both adapted to and transformed their new social and physical environments.

Theme 5: Politics and Power

Focuses on how different social and political groups have influenced society and government in the United States and how political beliefs and institutions have changed over time.

Theme 6: America in the World

Focuses on the interactions between nations that affected North American history in the colonial period and on the influence of the United States on world affairs.

Theme 7: American and Regional Culture

Focuses on the how and why national, regional, and group cultures developed and changed as well as how culture has shaped government policy and the economy.

Theme 8: Social Structures

Focuses on how and why systems of social organization develop and change as well as the impact that these systems have on the broader society.

AP US History Content: Notes and Outlines

In this section, we'll give you notes on the AP US History course content so you can study the facts and connect them to the themes above.

The content is divided into nine units and historical periods. Under each time period, we'll list important topics with links to notes you can use. Every period also includes a link to at least one timeline of significant events. It's helpful to have these handy, so you get a better grasp of the chronology (which will be very helpful for free-response questions).

The timelines are from AP Study Notes , while the rest of the notes are from a different site called APnotes.net , which gives a more succinct overview of the content, with key dates and major events in bold. Overall, this resource is great for a quick review.

We recommend looking at the chapter outlines on AP Study Notes  to see a longer, more detailed description of historical trends and events in the United States.

Period 1: 1491-1607

• Timeline of Significant Events (1650 and earlier)
• "New World" beginnings
• Early English settlement

Period 2: 1607-1754

• Timeline of Significant Events (1650-1750)
• Settlement of the Northern colonies
• American life in the 17th century
• Colonial society leading up to the Revolution
• The fight for control of North America

Period 3: 1754-1800

• Timeline of Significant Events (1750-1775)
• The road to the American Revolution
• Timeline of Significant Events (1775-1800)
• Seceding from the British Empire
• The Confederation and the Constitution
• Starting up a new government

Period 4: 1800-1848

• Timeline of Significant Events (1800-1825)
• The Jeffersonian Republic
• Nationalism and the second war for independence
• Formation of a national economy
• Timeline of Significant Events (1825-1850)
• The rise of a mass democracy
• The ferment of reform and culture
• Controversy over slavery

Period 5: 1844-1877

• Timeline of Significant Events (1850-1875)
• Manifest destiny and its legacy
• The sectional struggle
• Leading up to the Civil War
• Civil War Part 1
• Civil War Part 2
• Reconstruction

Period 6: 1865-1898

• Timeline of Significant Events (1875-1900)
• Politics in the Gilded Age
• Industrial progress
• Development of cities
• Agricultural revolution and the West
• American imperialism

Period 7: 1890-1945

• Timeline of Significant Events (1900-1920)
• America on the world stage
• Progressivism and Theodore Roosevelt's presidency
• Wilsonian progressivism at home and abroad
• World War I
• Timeline of Significant Events (1920-1940)
• The Roaring Twenties
• Economic Boom and Bust
• The Great Depression and the New Deal
• FDR Presidency and the Road to WW2
• World War II

Period 8: 1945-1980

• Timeline of Significant Events (1940-1960)
• Start of the Cold War
• Eisenhower Era
• Timeline of Significant Events (1960-1970)
• Political and social unrest in the sixties
• Timeline of Significant Events (1970-1980)
• Stagnation in the seventies

Period 9: 1980-Present

• Timeline of Significant Events (1980-1990)
• Resurgence of Conservatism
• Clinton presidency and post-Cold War era
• Timeline of Significant Events (2000-Present)
• The start of the new century

Quick Reference Sheets

Here are some quick reference sheets you can use for further AP US History prep.

APUSH Teacher Creations

• Interactive timeline of major historical events in the US through 2015

CourseNotes

• Political parties in US History
• Important political documents in US History
• Important Supreme Court cases

Additional AP US History Resources to Test Your Knowledge

Here are some print and online resources you can use to review for the AP US History exam and smaller portions of the curriculum throughout the school year.

AP US History Review Books

Though not free, AP prep books can be excellent resources for your prep. Here are a few books we recommend getting your hands on :

• The Princeton Review's Cracking the AP US History Exam, 2022 Premium Edition
• Kaplan's AP US History Prep Plus 2020 & 2021
• REA's AP US History Crash Course for the 2020 Exam, 5th Edition

Read our full article on the best review books for APUSH for more details and advice!

Official College Board Materials

The following AP US History practice questions come directly from the College Board, so they're the most accurate representations of what you can expect on the actual test. Try to save these resources for later in your studying to get an accurate reading of your strengths and weaknesses when you're about to take the exam.

Note that older materials (pre-2019) are not aligned with the current exam format , so you will have to tweak your prep a bit to make them work.

• 2020 AP US History Course and Exam Description
• 2017 APUSH Practice Exam
• APUSH Free-Response Questions, 2015-2020 and 2021

Get more guidance on how to use official practice resources in our collection of APUSH practice tests .

Unofficial Practice Materials

Although College Board materials are the gold standard when it comes to APUSH prep, there are some good-quality unofficial resources you can make use of, too. Here are the best ones.

Quizlet Flashcards and Quizzes

These student-created sets of flashcards cover every single aspect of AP US History. You can study different sets depending on where you are in the course or which areas need the most improvement. After studying the terms, you can play games to review them and test your factual recall!

Historyteacher.net Mini Practice Quizzes

This site offers mini practice quizzes for every topic covered in the APUSH course . There are multiple-choice questions as well as "short-answer" questions (you get a drop-down menu of 12 answer choices). These won't help much with the more analytical elements of the test, but if you want to test your knowledge of facts, they'll serve you well.

Albert.io AP US History Practice Quizzes

Albert provides a series of quizzes on every topic in the current APUSH curriculum. As you go through them, the site gives you stats showing how you performed on questions of varying difficulty levels . This should help you figure out whether you've truly mastered the material.

Practice Quizzes for The American Pageant , 12th Edition

This helpful site contains chapter-by-chapter practice quizzes based on an old edition of The American Pageant APUSH textbook. Questions are multiple choice and true/false. This resource is more helpful for factual recall than for analysis questions.

CourseNotes AP US History Practice Quizzes

CourseNotes offers a total of six pages of multiple-choice quizzes on all the topics you need to know for the AP US History exam. Nice!

Varsity Tutors AP US History Practice Quizzes

A well-known test-prep company, Varsity Tutors has short multiple-choice practice quizzes on every APUSH topic as well.

Matching and Multiple-Choice Short Practice Quizzes

This website has sets of matching and multiple-choice questions for every period in US History.

They've got questions; YOU'VE got answers!

Wrap-Up: Making the Most of This AP US History Study Guide

AP US History covers eight major themes across nine time periods. It's hard to study this much material, which is why it's good to have a game plan!

To recap, the steps we recommend taking for your APUSH prep are:

#1: Take a full practice test #2: Catalog your mistakes #3: Study relevant content areas and practice multiple-choice questions #4: Practice planning and writing essays #5: Take a second full practice test

You can repeat these steps as necessary depending on how much you need to improve. As you review, also keep a few key tips in mind:

• Make thematic connections
• Read and repeat
• Practice writing essays frequently

Use the AP US History notes and resources provided above to get yourself up to speed. Also, make sure to start studying for the final exam at least one or two months before test day, so you're not going to be forced to cram for it!

What's Next?

Want more practice with Document-Based Questions? We've got an in-depth article on the best resources for DBQs that you can use in your studying.

Need even more APUSH study materials? Check out our complete list of free AP US History practice tests .

You can also check out our complete study guide to the New York US History Regents Exam . If you take it right after the AP US History exam, you might not need to study much at all!

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.

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AP US History Practice Tests

The AP U.S. History Exam consists of two main sections: a multiple-choice and short-answer section and an essay questions section. See the table below:

If you are a mobile user, click here: Do AP US History Practice Questions .

AP US History Multiple-Choice Practice Tests

• AP US History Practice Test 1
• AP US History Practice Test 2
• AP US History Practice Test 3
• AP US History Practice Test 4
• AP US History Practice Test 5
• AP US History Practice Test 6
• AP US History Practice Test 7
• AP US History Practice Test 8
• AP US History Practice Test 9
• AP US History Practice Test 10
• AP US History Practice Test 11
• AP US History Practice Test 12
• AP US History Practice Test 13
• AP US History Practice Test 14
• AP US History Practice Test 15
• AP US History Practice Test 16
• AP US History Practice Test 17
• AP US History Practice Test 18
• AP US History Practice Test 19
• AP US History Practice Test 20
• AP US History Practice Test 21
• AP US History Practice Test 22
• AP US History Practice Test 23
• AP US History Practice Test 24
• AP US History Practice Test 25
• AP US History Practice Test 26
• AP US History Practice Test 27
• AP US History Practice Test 28
• AP US History Practice Test 29
• AP US History Practice Test 30
• AP US History Practice Test 31
• AP US History Practice Test 32
• AP US History Practice Test 33
• AP US History Practice Test: Early Contact with the New World (1491–1607) Colonization of North America (1607–1754)
• AP US History Practice Test: Conflict and American Independence (1754–1800)
• AP US History Practice Test: Beginnings of Modern American Democracy (1800–1848)
• AP US History Practice Test: Toward the Civil War and Reconstruction (1844–1877)
• AP US History Practice Test: The Industrial Revolution (1865–1898)
• AP US History Practice Test: The Early Twentieth Century (1890–1945)
• AP US History Practice Test: The Postwar Period and Cold War (1945–1980)
• AP US History Practice Test: Entering Into the Twenty-First Century (1980–Present)
• AP US History Practice Multiple-Choice Questions: Period 1: 1491–1607
• AP US History Practice Multiple-Choice Questions: Period 2: 1607–1754
• AP US History Practice Multiple-Choice Questions: Period 3: 1754–1800
• AP US History Practice Multiple-Choice Questions: Period 4: 1800–1848
• AP US History Practice Multiple-Choice Questions: Period 5: 1844–1877
• AP US History Practice Multiple-Choice Questions: Period 6: 1865–1898
• AP US History Practice Multiple-Choice Questions: Period 7: 1890–1945
• AP US History Practice Multiple-Choice Questions: Period 8: 1945–1980
• AP US History Practice Multiple-Choice Questions: Period 9: 1980–Present
• AP U.S. History Practice Test (Period 1: 1491-1607)
• AP U.S. History Practice Test (Period 2: 1607-1754)
• AP U.S. History Practice Test (Period 3: 1754-1800)
• AP U.S. History Practice Test (Period 4: 1800-1848)
• AP U.S. History Practice Test (Period 5: 1844-1877)
• AP U.S. History Practice Test (Period 6: 1865-1898)
• AP U.S. History Practice Test (Period 7: 1890-1945)
• AP U.S. History Practice Test (Period 8: 1945-1980)
• AP U.S. History Practice Test (Period 9: 1980-Present)
• AP U.S. History Period 1: 1491-1607 Practice Questions
• AP U.S. History Practice Tests: 1491-1607
• AP U.S. History Period 2: 1607-1754 Practice Questions
• AP U.S. History Practice Tests: 1607-1754
• AP U.S. History Period 3: 1754-1800 Practice Questions
• AP U.S. History Practice Tests: 1754-1800
• AP U.S. History Period 4: 1800-1848 Practice Questions
• AP U.S. History Practice Tests: 1800-1848
• AP U.S. History Period 5: 1844-1877 Practice Questions
• AP U.S. History Practice Tests: 1844-1877
• AP U.S. History Period 6: 1865-1898 Practice Questions
• AP U.S. History Practice Tests: 1865-1898
• AP U.S. History Period 7: 1890-1945 Practice Questions
• AP U.S. History Practice Tests: 1890-1945
• AP U.S. History Period 8: 1945-1980 Practice Questions
• AP U.S. History Practice Tests: 1945-1980
• AP U.S. History Period 9: 1980-Present Practice Questions
• AP U.S. History Practice Tests: 1980-Present

AP US History Free-Response Practice Tests

• AP US History Short-Answer Practice Test 1
• AP US History Short-Answer Practice Test 2
• AP US History Free-Response Test 1: Document-Based Question
• AP US History Free-Response Test 1: Long Essay
• AP US History Free-Response Test 2: Long Essay
• AP US History Free-Response Test 3: Long Essay
• AP US History Short-Answer Practice Test 3
• AP US History Short-Answer Practice Test 4
• AP US History Free-Response Test 2:Document-Based Question
• AP US History Free-Response Practice Test 4: Long Essay
• AP US History Free-Response Practice Test 5: Long Essay
• AP US History Free-Response Practice Test 6: Long Essay
• AP US History Short-Answer Practice Test 5
• AP US History Short-Answer Practice Test 6
• AP US History Free-Response Test 3:Document-Based Question
• AP US History Free-Response Practice Test 7: Long Essay
• AP US History Free-Response Practice Test 8: Long Essay
• AP US History Free-Response Practice Test 9: Long Essay

AP US History Downloads

• AP US History Exam 2017 PDF download
• AP US History Practice Exam download
• AP US History Test Bank download
• 200 AP US History Practice Questions pdf download
• The Official U.S. History Cram Packet
• AP US History Practice Test: Period 1 (1491–1607) pdf download
• AP US History Practice Test: Period 2 (1607–1754) pdf download
• AP US History Practice Test: Period 3 (1754–1800) pdf download
• AP US History Practice Test: Period 4 (1800–1848) pdf download
• AP US History Practice Test: Period 5 (1844–1877) pdf download
• AP US History Practice Test: Period 6 (1865–1898) pdf download
• AP US History Practice Test: Period 7 (1890–1945) pdf download
• AP US History Practice Test: Period 8 (1945–1980) pdf download
• AP US History Practice Test: Period 9 (1980–Present) pdf download
• AP US History Practice Questions: Pre-Columbian/Nativc American History
• AP US History Practice Questions: Early Exploration and Spanish and French in the Colonies of the New World
• AP US History Practice Questions: Eariy English Colonies
• AP US History Practice Questions: The Era of Discontent
• AP US History Practice Questions: Tbe Constitution and Early U.S. Government
• AP US History Practice Questions: The Era of Good Feelings to the Age of Jackson
• AP US History Practice Questions: Antebellum Reform Movements
• AP US History Practice Questions: Antebellum Cultural Movements and Manifest Destiny
• AP US History Practice Questions: The Mid-19th Century and Causes of the Civil War
• AP US History Practice Questions: The Civil War
• AP US History Practice Questions: Post Civil War and Reconstruction
• AP US History Practice Questions: The Gilded Age and the American West
• AP US History Practice Questions: U.S. Imperialism and the Progressive Movement
• AP US History Practice Questions: The First World War and the Roaring Twenties
• AP US History Practice Questions: Hie Great Depression and the Second World War
• AP US History Practice Questions: The Cold War and Postwar America
• AP US History Practice Questions: Civil Rights, the 1960s, and Vietnam
• AP US History Practice Questions: End of the Cold War, the 1970s to the Present
• More AP US History Downloads

AP® US History

How to answer ap® us history free response questions.

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

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:

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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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Judge acquits 28 people accused in Panama Papers case, including law firm co-founder

FILE - Juergen Mossack, partner of the law firm Mossack-Fonseca, leaves the Supreme Court during the trial of the “Panama Papers” money laundering case in Panama City, April 8, 2024. On Friday, a Panamanian judge acquitted Mossack and 27 other people who were accused of money laundering in the notorious Panama Papers case. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera, File)

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PANAMA CITY (AP) — A judge has acquitted 28 people accused of money laundering in an international case known as the Panama Papers, including the co-founder of a law firm that authorities say was at the center of a conspiracy to hide money linked to illegal activities.

Jürgen Mossack founded Mossack & Fonseca with then associate Ramón Fonseca, who died in May. Mossack was acquitted on Friday along with others after a Panamanian judge found that the evidence against Mossack didn’t comply with the chain of custody after authorities raided the office of the now defunct firm.

Prosecutors had accused Mossack, Fonseca and others of creating offshore companies and using complex transactions to hide money from illegal activities related to the so-called car wash corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to a charge related to using shell companies to hide millions of dollars in bribes paid worldwide to win public contracts.

The judge noted that other evidence in the Panama Papers case “was not sufficient and conclusive to determine the criminal responsibility of the accused.”

In addition, the judge lifted personal and property precautionary measures against all the defendants, according to a judicial statement.

“We feel satisfied in the midst of mixed emotions, because many lives were affected along the way,” Guillermina Mc Donald, who was the defense attorney for Mossack and Fonseca, told The Associated Press. Her firm also represented 80% of the accused firm’s collaborators.

Judge Balaoisa Marquínez had decided to combine the Panama Papers case with another known as “Operation Car Wash,” a major anti-corruption investigation that began in Brazil.

On Friday, she ruled that in the car wash case, “it was not possible to determine the entry of money from illicit sources, coming from Brazil, into the Panamanian financial system with the purpose of hiding, concealing, disguising or helping to evade the legal consequences of the preceding crime.”

In June 2022, Mossack, Fonseca and 37 other people were acquitted in a separate money laundering case.

The investigation in Brazil began in 2014, with the Mossack & Fonseca firm later coming under scrutiny after 11 million financial documents tied to the company were leaked.

The repercussions of the leak were widespread: it led to the resignation of a prime minister in Iceland and brought scrutiny to now former leaders of Argentina and Ukraine, Chinese politicians and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others.

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Judge acquits 28 people accused in Panama Papers case, including law firm co-founder

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AP United States History

Learn all about the course and exam. Already enrolled? Join your class in My AP.

Not a Student?

Go to AP Central for resources for teachers, administrators, and coordinators.

About the Course

Study the cultural, economic, political, and social developments that have shaped the United States from c. 1491 to the present. You’ll analyze texts, visual sources, and other historical evidence and write essays expressing historical arguments.

Skills You'll Learn

Evaluating primary and secondary sources

Analyzing the claims, evidence, and reasoning you find in sources

Putting historical developments in context and making connections between them

Coming up with a claim or thesis and explaining and supporting it in writing

Equivalency and Prerequisites

College course equivalent.

A two-semester introductory college course in U.S. history

Recommended Prerequisites

Fri, May 10, 2024

AP U.S. History Exam

This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP United States History Exam.

About the Units

The course content outlined below is organized into commonly taught units of study that provide one possible sequence for the course. Your teacher may choose to organize the course content differently based on local priorities and preferences.

Course Content

Unit 1: period 1: 1491–1607.

You’ll learn about Native American societies as well as how and why Europeans first explored, and then began to colonize, the Americas.

Topics may include:

• Native American societies before European contact
• European exploration in the New World
• The Columbian Exchange
• Labor, slavery, and caste in the Spanish colonial system
• Cultural interactions between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans

On The Exam

4%–6% of score

Unit 2: Period 2: 1607–1754

You'll study the colonies established in the New World by the Spanish, French, Dutch, and British.

• How different European colonies developed and expanded
• Transatlantic trade
• Interactions between American Indians and Europeans
• Slavery in the British colonies
• Colonial society and culture

6%–8% of score

Unit 3: Period 3: 1754–1800

You'll explore the events that led to the American Revolution and the formation of the United States and examine the early years of the republic.

• The Seven Years’ War
• The American Revolution
• The Articles of Confederation
• The creation and ratification of the Constitution
• Developing an American identity
• Immigration to and migration within America

10%–17% of score

Unit 4: Period 4: 1800–1848

You’ll examine how the young nation developed politically, culturally, and economically in this period.

• The rise of political parties
• American foreign policy
• Innovations in technology, agriculture, and business
• Debates about federal power
• The Second Great Awakening
• Reform movements
• The experience of African Americans

Unit 5: Period 5: 1844–1877

You’ll learn how the nation expanded and you’ll explore the events that led to the secession of Southern states and the Civil War.

• Manifest Destiny
• The Mexican–American War
• Attempts to resolve conflicts over the spread of slavery
• The election of 1860 and Southern secession
• The Civil War
• Reconstruction

Unit 6: Period 6: 1865–1898

You’ll examine the nation’s economic and demographic shifts in this period and their links to cultural and political changes.

• The settlement of the West
• The "New South"
• The rise of industrial capitalism
• Immigration and migration
• Debates about the role of government

Unit 7: Period 7: 1890–1945

You’ll examine America’s changing society and culture and the causes and effects of the global wars and economic meltdown of this period.

• Debates over imperialism
• The Progressive movement
• World War I
• Innovations in communications and technology in the 1920s
• The Great Depression and the New Deal
• World War II
• Postwar diplomacy

Unit 8: Period 8: 1945–1980

You’ll learn about the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States, the growth of various civil rights movements, and the economic, cultural, and political transformations of this period.

• The Cold War and the Red Scare
• America as a world power
• The Vietnam War
• The Great Society
• The African American civil rights movement
• Youth culture of the 1960s

Unit 9: Period 9: 1980–Present

You’ll learn about the advance of political conservatism, developments in science and technology, and demographic shifts that had major cultural and political consequences in this period.

• Reagan and conservatism
• The end of the Cold War
• Shifts in the economy
• Migration and immigration
• Challenges of the 21st century

Credit and Placement

Search AP Credit Policies

Find colleges that grant credit and/or placement for AP Exam scores in this and other AP courses.

Course Resources

Ap classroom resources.

Once you join your AP class section online, you’ll be able to access AP Daily videos, any assignments from your teacher, and your assignment results in AP Classroom. Sign in to access them.

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United States History Reading Study Skills

Review these tips to help you better understand and analyze the material you’ll read in this course.

United States History Writing Study Skills

Read these suggestions for writing a good essay, such as one you’d write as a response to a document-based question or other free-response question on the exam.

AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description

This is the core document for the course. It clearly lays out the course content and describes the exam and the AP Program in general.

See Where AP Can Take You

AP United States History can lead to a wide range of careers and college majors

Additional Information

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Defendants Acquitted in Panama Papers Money-Laundering Trial

The case focused on the law firm at the heart of the 2016 scandal, in which leaked documents revealed a vast network of offshore tax havens.

By Leila Miller

Reporting from Mexico City

In a striking verdict for a money-laundering case associated with the Panama Papers scandal, a Panamanian judge on Friday acquitted all 28 defendants, among them former employees of the law firm Mossack Fonseca, the source of the leaked documents that set off a worldwide furor in 2016.

The verdict came eight years after a partnership of media outlets published an explosive investigation into 11.5 million documents leaked from the Panama-based firm. The leak exposed the offshore banking industry, prompted international tax investigations and brought down heads of state.

Among the original 29 defendants were the shuttered firm’s co-founders, Jürgen Mossack, 76, and Ramón Fonseca, who died in May at age 71 while awaiting the verdict. In her 339-page ruling, the judge, Baloísa Marquínez, said that the case against Mr. Fonseca was dropped because of his death.

Prosecutors had alleged that Mossack Fonseca had created shell companies with the purpose of hiding money earned in illicit activities, and that the firm failed to act with due diligence and take the necessary care when reviewing its clients.

In a written statement published Friday evening, Panama’s judicial branch said that the judge had found that electronic evidence presented by prosecutors did not meet chain of custody protocols and had suffered from authentication issues. It also said that the judge had not found sufficient evidence to hold the accused responsible.

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An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Environmental Factor

Your online source for niehs news, papers of the month.

Intramural By Janelle Weaver and Shruti Somai

How personal care products may affect health of Black young adult women

Young adult Black women who are more frequent users of a combination of personal care products (PCPs) are more likely to have higher socio-economic status (SES), and lifestyle and health behaviors with positive health implications, according to researchers from the Division of Translational Toxicology and the Division of Intramural Research.

Compared to White women, Black women in the United States are exposed to higher and more hazardous concentrations of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which are found in PCPs. This may contribute to differential health outcomes in Black women, such as increased risk of breast cancer, cardiometabolic outcomes, adverse birth outcomes, and uterine fibroids. However, previous smaller studies lacked a comprehensive assessment of PCP use among a large cohort of Black women.

To address this gap, the researchers focused solely on Black women, grouped individuals together based on their complex patterns of PCP use, and examined differences in socio-demographic characteristics across these distinct groups. The participants for this study included 1,562 reproductive-aged Black women living in Detroit, Michigan. Researchers identified six distinct subgroups of PCP use which included: (1) lower overall PCP use, (2) lower overall PCP use except for higher use of nailcare products, (3) lower overall PCP use except for higher use of skin creams, (4) overall moderate PCP use, (5) higher use of makeup, hair care, and skin creams, and (6) higher overall PCP use. Participants with less frequent use of all PCPs, and those with only high use of nailcare products, were more likely to report lower SES, be current smokers, have a body mass index of more than 35 kg/m2, and have given birth to three or more children.

In comparison, participants with average and more frequent use of PCPs were more likely to report higher SES and ever use of oral contraceptives, be nonsmokers, and never have given birth to a child. According to the authors, this work demonstrates the importance of considering PCP exposures concurrently with other socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, and health behaviors when modeling health risks. ( JW )

Citation : Taylor KW, Co CA, Gaston SA, Jackson CL, Harmon Q, Baird DD. 2024. Frequency of personal care product use among reproductive-aged Black individuals and associations with socio-demographic characteristics . J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol [Online 29 May 2024].

Genital talc use may be associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer

Using talcum powder as an intimate care product may be associated with an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer, according to NIEHS researchers and their collaborators.

Douching and the use of talc in the genital area are two common intimate care practices that may adversely affect reproductive health. Both may contain chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, and bisphenols, which have been reported to disrupt natural hormone levels. And talcum powder may additionally contain asbestos, a known carcinogen. Exposure to these chemicals could potentially increase the risk of developing hormone-related diseases such as breast, ovarian, or uterine cancer. Previous studies examining the relationship between genital talc use and ovarian cancer have been limited by potential reporting biases.

To overcome this limitation, the researchers incorporated a statistical method known as quantitative bias analysis to correct potential biases that might have affected the results reported in previous studies. Their study involved 50,884 women from the Sister Study, all of whom had a sister diagnosed with breast cancer. The findings showed a strong and consistent association between genital talc use and ovarian cancer, especially for frequent users and for use during the reproductive years. Douching was also associated with ovarian cancer. No significant associations were found between either intimate care product and breast or uterine cancer.

Together, these findings provide valuable insights into current discussions concerning the safety of intimate care products. According to the authors, further research is needed to identify specific chemicals in intimate care products that may affect cancer risk. [Read related article .] ( SS )

Citation : O'Brien KM, Wentzensen N, Ogunsina K, Weinberg CR, D'Aloisio AA, Edwards JK, Sandler DP. 2024. Intimate care products and incidence of hormone-related cancers: a quantitative bias analysis . J Clin Oncol JCO2302037.

Measuring environmental phenols in infants

Some infants may be exposed to higher levels of parabens than older children, according to NIEHS researchers and their collaborators. Higher levels of exposure were observed in a diverse U.S. cohort of healthy infants compared to those reported in national biomonitoring data of children ages 3 to 11 years old.

Parabens and other phenols are potentially endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are used in personal care and consumer products. Data on infant exposures are limited despite heightened sensitivity to endocrine disruption during this developmental period.

The researchers examined the distributions and predictors of urinary phenol concentrations among healthy U.S. infants. They measured concentrations of seven phenols in urine samples collected from 199 infants who were aged 6-12 weeks and were enrolled from 2010-2013 in the Philadelphia region.

The results revealed widespread exposure to measured environmental phenols among this population, including much higher paraben concentrations compared to those reported for U.S. children. This finding supports the importance of expanding population-based biomonitoring programs to infants and toddlers. According to the authors, studies are needed to identify products and behaviors contributing to infant exposures to environmental phenols in the U.S., where there are few restrictions on use.

In addition, the results showed differences in most urinary phenol concentrations by race. These differences may inform the design of future studies of infant exposure sources and aid in developing targeted interventions to reduce the burden of chemical exposures in vulnerable populations. ( JW)

Citation : Goldberg M, Adgent MA, Stevens DR, Chin HB, Ferguson KK, Calafat AM, Travlos G, Ford EG, Stallings VA, Rogan WJ, Umbach DM, Baird DD, Sandler DP. 2024. Environmental phenol exposures in 6- to 12-week-old infants: The Infant Feeding and Early Development (IFED) study . Environ Res 252(Pt 4):119075.

Quantifying mixture effects of environmental exposures

New findings may guide researchers on carefully choosing methods for environmental mixtures analysis to accommodate exposure measurements that lie below the limit of detection (LOD), according to NIEHS researchers and their collaborators.

Identifying the impact of environmental mixtures on human health is an important topic. However, there are challenges when exposure measurements lie below the LOD. Several statistical approaches have been used to accommodate values below LOD for a single exposure. But the impact of these approaches on downstream mixture analysis results when multiple correlated exposures are subject to LOD has not been thoroughly investigated.

To fill this knowledge gap, the researchers examined the performance of five popular LOD accommodation approaches for three mixture analysis methods. Extensive simulations favored the use of truncated multiple imputation (MI) and censored accelerated failure time (AFT) models to accommodate values below LOD for the stability of downstream mixtures analysis. By contrast, certain methods that are frequently used in environmental health studies due to their easy implementation, such as excluding incomplete measurements and substituting missing data with LOD divided by the square root of 2, can have quite unstable performance.

According to the authors, quantifying the impact of mixtures of environmental exposures is becoming increasingly important for identifying disease risk factors and developing targeted public health interventions. Their study provides insight into various LOD accommodation approaches in downstream mixture analyses, enhancing the quality and reliability of environmental health studies. ( JW )

Citation : Lee M, Saha A, Sundaram R, Albert PS, Zhao S. 2024. Accommodating detection limits of multiple exposures in environmental mixture analyses: An overview of statistical approaches . Environ Health 23(1):48.

How inhibiting inflammation affects response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

The cytokine storm is primarily responsible for morbidity and mortality in mice infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), according to NIEHS researchers and their collaborators.

SARS-CoV-2 infection involves an initial viral infection phase followed by a host-response phase. The latter phase includes an eicosanoid and cytokine storm — an uncontrolled and excessive release of these cell signaling molecules — lung inflammation and respiratory failure. Although vaccination and early antiviral therapies are effective in preventing or limiting the initial viral phase, the latter phase is poorly understood with no highly effective treatment options.

To address this problem, the researchers used a mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 infection to investigate the effect of inhibiting soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) to increase levels of anti-inflammatory molecules. Within days, SARS-CoV-2 induced weight loss, clinical signs, an eicosanoid and cytokine storm, and severe lung inflammation with ~50% mortality. Treatment with the sEH inhibitor delayed weight loss but did not alter clinical signs, lung inflammation, or overall survival of infected mice. The sEH inhibitor significantly reversed the eicosanoid storm but had no effect on the cytokine storm.

Others have proposed inhibition of eicosanoid pathways to attenuate severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. According to the authors, the suppression of the eicosanoid storm by the sEH inhibitor without corresponding changes in lung cytokines, lung inflammation, morbidity, or mortality suggests that the cytokine storm is primarily responsible for morbidity and mortality in this animal model. ( JW )

Citation : Edin ML, Gruzdev A, Graves JP, Lih FB, Morisseau C, Ward JM, Hammock BD, Bosio CM, Zeldin DC. 2024. Effects of sEH inhibition on the eicosanoid and cytokine storms in SARS-CoV-2-infected mice . FASEB J 38(10):e23692.

(Janelle Weaver, Ph.D., is a contract writer for the NIEHS Office of Communications and Public Liaison. Shruti Somai, Ph.D., is a visiting fellow in the Genome Integrity and Structural Biology Laboratory.)