AP European History Exam Format

Learn about the AP European History exam structure, including multiple-choice, short-answer, and free-response sections, timing, scoring, and preparation strategies.

The AP European History Exam (2025) is a comprehensive test of students' understanding of modern European history and their ability to think like historians.

For 2025, the exam will be administered in a fully digital format through the College Board's Bluebook application, though the content and structure remain the same as the traditional format.

Exam Structure Overview

The AP European History Exam is divided into two main sections, each containing different question types. In total, the exam lasts approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes (not including breaks) and is scored on a 5-point scale after being graded.

Section I consists of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, while Section II includes the document-based question (DBQ) and the long essay question (LEQ).

Each section of the exam has a set number of questions, a fixed time allotment, and a specific weight toward the overall exam score. Below is a breakdown of each component:

Multiple-Choice Section (Section I, Part A)

Format: 55 multiple-choice questions | 55 minutes | 40% of exam score. The multiple-choice questions are designed in sets, usually with 3–4 questions per set, all based on a shared stimulus or source. These stimuli can be primary or secondary texts, images (such as artwork or political cartoons), graphs, maps, or other historical evidence. Each set of questions asks students to analyze the provided material and apply their historical knowledge.

Skills Assessed: The multiple-choice section assesses students' ability to analyze historical sources and evidence and to understand historical developments in context. Students must interpret the meaning of passages or data, identify the significance of images or maps, and draw conclusions about historical trends or events. This section emphasizes reading and analytical skills – for example, interpreting a historian's argument or comparing data trends – rather than simple recall of facts. All questions are tied to the course themes and require students to apply historical thinking skills like causation, comparison, and contextualization in a multiple-choice format.

Short Answer Questions (Section I, Part B)

Format: 3 short-answer questions (SAQs) | 40 minutes | 20% of exam score. In this section, students write brief responses (usually a few sentences per part) to each prompt. SAQs often have multiple parts (labeled a, b, c), and each question requires concise answers that directly address each component of the prompt. Students are given some choice: the first two SAQs are required, and for the third SAQ, students choose between two options (Question 3 or Question 4). This optional choice allows students to select the question focused on a time period they are more comfortable with.

• Content Covered: Question 1 is required and includes 1–2 secondary source excerpts, focusing on historical developments or processes between 1600 and 2001. Question 2 is required and provides 1 primary source, also focusing on the period 1600 to 2001. For Question 3 and Question 4, no sources are provided; these ask about broader historical developments. Question 3 covers an earlier era (approximately 1450–1815), while Question 4 covers a later era (approximately 1815–2001). Students must choose either Q3 or Q4, ensuring that they answer a total of three SAQs.

• Skills Assessed: The SAQs evaluate students' ability to analyze historical sources, use evidence, and contextualize information in a brief format. For the source-based questions (Q1 and Q2), students might be asked to interpret an excerpt's point of view or argument and connect it to historical knowledge. All SAQs require students to explain historical developments or relationships in a few sentences. According to the College Board, students should be able to analyze the sources, put developments in context, and make connections between historical events or processes in their short answers. This means a strong SAQ response will not only identify correct examples but also briefly explain their significance or relationship to the question, demonstrating skills like comparison or causation on a small scale.

Document-Based Question (Section II, Part A)

Format: 1 document-based question (DBQ) | 60 minutes (including a 15-minute reading period) | 25% of exam score. The DBQ is a major component of the exam where students write an essay in response to a prompt, using a set of provided historical documents as evidence. Students will receive seven documents that offer different perspectives on a historical issue or trend. These documents may include written texts (e.g. excerpts from speeches, letters, or scholarly works), as well as visual or quantitative sources (such as political cartoons, charts, or maps). The DBQ prompt will relate to topics in the period 1600–2001, which is roughly the scope of modern European history covered by the course after the Renaissance.

Skills Assessed: The DBQ measures a wide range of historical thinking skills and is often considered the most challenging part of the exam. To score well, students must analyze and synthesize information from the documents, bring in outside knowledge of the historical context, and develop a coherent argumentative essay. Specifically, the College Board expects students to:

• Understand and interpret the documents: identify the author's point of view, purpose, or audience, and explain how each document relates to the prompt.

• Group and synthesize evidence: find connections or contrasts between documents, and use them to support an argument.

• Incorporate outside information: contextualize the issue by bringing in relevant facts or examples not contained in the documents.

• Develop a thesis and argument: write a clear thesis statement and organize the essay with logical reasoning. The essay should use evidence from most or all documents and include analysis of the documents as historical evidence. Students are essentially being tested on their ability to "develop an argument supported by an analysis of historical evidence," as stated by the College Board. This requires proficiency in nearly all the historical thinking skills: argumentation, use of evidence, contextualization, and synthesis. The 15-minute reading period is built in to allow students to closely examine the documents and plan their approach before writing.

Long Essay Question (Section II, Part B)

Format: 1 long essay question (LEQ) | 40 minutes | 15% of exam score. For the long essay, students must write an in-depth essay on one of three possible prompts. Students have a choice of three LEQ prompts and must choose ONE to answer. All three options address the same historical reasoning skill (such as comparison, causation, or continuity and change over time) but apply to different time periods. Typically, the three time period choices are: 1450–1700 (roughly the Renaissance to early Enlightenment), 1648–1914 (encompassing the Enlightenment, revolutions, 19th century up to World War I), and 1815–2001 (Napoleonic era through the 19th and 20th centuries). This range ensures that one prompt will cover early modern history, one covers the 18th–19th centuries, and one covers 19th–20th centuries, allowing students to select the era they know best.

Skills Assessed: The LEQ evaluates a student's ability to craft a historical argument without the aid of provided documents, relying only on their knowledge and analytical skills. Students must do the following in their essay:

• Develop a clear thesis: provide a direct response to the question with a defensible claim.

• Use relevant historical evidence: pull from their knowledge of the period to give specific examples that support the thesis.

• Apply the targeted reasoning skill: if the prompt asks for comparison, the essay must compare and contrast historical developments; if it asks for causation, the essay should analyze causes and/or effects, etc. The College Board notes that all LEQ options focus on the same reasoning process (e.g. all three prompts might require causation analysis, just in different eras).

• Organize coherently: present a logically structured argument with clear paragraphs (introduction with thesis, body paragraphs with evidence and analysis, conclusion). Like the DBQ, the long essay rewards argumentation and analytical clarity. However, since no documents are provided, success on the LEQ depends on the student's grasp of the historical material and their ability to recall and deploy evidence. It also emphasizes broader historical thinking skills such as understanding change over time, making comparisons across eras or regions, or explaining the causes or consequences of events.

Historical Thinking Skills and Thematic Learning Objectives

The AP European History course is not just about memorizing facts – it is structured around developing historical thinking skills and understanding broad thematic learning objectives. The exam is designed to assess these skills and themes in every question. According to the College Board, there are six key historical thinking skills (practices and reasoning skills) that AP History students should master and that the exam will evaluate:

• Developments and Processes: Identify and explain historical developments and processes in context. (For example, recognizing how the Industrial Revolution developed and its features.)

• Sourcing and Situation: Analyze the sourcing of historical documents (who wrote or created it, when, why) and the situation in which they were produced. (For instance, understanding the bias or perspective of a primary source author.)

• Claims and Evidence in Sources: Analyze arguments and evidence in primary and secondary sources. (Evaluating what a source is saying and whether it's persuasive or reliable.)

• Contextualization: Analyze the broader context of historical events, developments, or processes. (Linking an event to what else was happening at the time regionally or globally.)

• Making Connections: Use historical reasoning to identify patterns and connections – this includes comparison, causation, and continuity/change over time. (E.g., comparing two revolutions, explaining causes of World War I, or discussing what changed and stayed the same in European society before and after 1945.)

• Argumentation: Develop a coherent argument supported by evidence. (Formulating a thesis and backing it up in an essay.)

Every part of the exam requires one or more of these skills. For instance, the multiple-choice and SAQs might ask students to use sourcing or comparison skills in brief, while the DBQ and LEQ heavily emphasize argumentation, use of evidence, and contextualization in longer written form.

In addition to skills, AP European History is organized around thematic learning objectives that span the course content. The College Board has identified six major themes that help students connect specific facts to larger historical trends:

• Interaction of Europe and the World (INT): How Europe's engagement with the wider world (through exploration, trade, colonization, globalization) influenced European societies and other regions.

• Poverty and Prosperity (PP): The role of economic systems (especially the development of capitalism), and how economic change affected social structures, living standards, and politics.

• Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions (OS): The evolution of knowledge, culture, and belief – including the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, religious and ideological shifts – and how truth and subjectivity have been defined in European thought.

• States and Other Institutions of Power (SP): The development of political states, conflicts, and institutions of authority (from monarchies and parliaments to churches and international organizations) and their impact on society.

• Individual and Society (IS): Social developments relating to family, class, gender, and social hierarchies – how the relationship between the individual and the community/society has changed over time.

• National and European Identity (NI): The formation of national identities and the idea of "Europe" itself, including nationalism, patriotism, and how definitions of identity have been challenged over time.

Tips and Tricks for Exam Success

• Familiarize Yourself with the Exam Format: Make sure you know what to expect on exam day – how many questions, what types, and how the timing works. Understanding the format (as outlined above) will help you allocate time appropriately during practice and the actual exam. For example, knowing you have 55 minutes for 55 multiple-choice questions and about 40 minutes for 3 SAQs allows you to practice pacing yourself so you don't run out of time. Similarly, be aware that you'll have a 15-minute reading period to prepare for the DBQ, and plan how to use it effectively.

• Practice Time Management: Timing is critical, so build this into your study routine. When practicing essays or sets of questions, use a timer to simulate exam conditions. Make sure not to spend too long on any single multiple-choice question or any one part of an essay. If a question puzzles you, mark it and move on – you can return if time permits. The College Board's experts advise students to monitor time carefully and ensure they answer all questions, rather than getting stuck on one and missing others. By practicing under timed conditions, you will become more comfortable thinking and writing quickly.

• Develop Strong Writing Skills: The free-response sections (DBQ and LEQ) are where you can earn a lot of points, but they require clear, well-organized writing. Practice outlining your DBQ and LEQ responses before writing full essays. Always start with a solid thesis that directly answers the prompt, and plan out your supporting points. Remember to integrate evidence effectively: for a DBQ, use multiple documents and explain their significance; for an LEQ, bring in specific examples from your knowledge. It's helpful to review the scoring rubrics and sample high-scoring essays from past exams to understand what graders look for. In fact, practicing with previous AP Euro exam questions and comparing your responses to the scoring guidelines is one of the best ways to improve. The College Board provides past free-response questions and sample essays on AP Central, which can be invaluable for self-evaluation.

• Hone Your Historical Thinking Skills: As mentioned, skills like sourcing, contextualization, and making connections are central to the exam. While studying content, regularly practice these skills. For example, when you learn about a particular event (say, the Congress of Vienna), practice contextualization by noting what broader developments were happening at the same time, or practice comparison by relating it to a similar diplomatic conference (like the Treaty of Versailles). When reading primary sources in class or review materials, take a moment to consider the author's perspective (sourcing) and think about how the document could serve as evidence in an argument. The more you incorporate the six AP historical thinking skills into your study routine, the more automatically you will apply them on the exam.

• Study Thematically and Chronologically: Don't just memorize dates and names in isolation. Try to study by tracing themes across time periods. For instance, follow the theme of Poverty and Prosperity by understanding how the economy of Europe evolved from feudalism to industrial capitalism to the modern welfare state. Or trace Individual and Society by examining changing social roles from the Renaissance through the 20th century. This approach will deepen your understanding and help you answer questions that require connecting different periods or seeing long-term patterns. Creating timelines or concept maps for each theme can be a useful tool. Also, ensure you have a strong grasp of each major period in the curriculum (c. 1450–1648, 1648–1815, 1815–1914, 1914–present), since the exam ensures coverage of all eras through its question choice structure.

• Use Quality Study Resources and Get Feedback: Take advantage of the resources available to you. The College Board's AP Classroom provides practice questions and videos. There are also many reputable review books, online lectures (such as those by AP Euro teachers), and study guides. After writing practice essays, seek feedback from your teacher or peers if possible – understanding what you did well or where you need improvement (like strengthening your thesis or adding more specific evidence) will help you progress. If working alone, compare your essays to high-scoring samples and the scoring criteria. Forming a study group can also be beneficial: you can quiz each other on content, trade essay feedback, and keep each other motivated.

• Plan for Exam Day Strategies: When the exam day comes (in May 2025), go in with a clear plan. During the 15-minute DBQ reading period, read all documents carefully and jot down notes or groupings for how you might use them in your essay. For SAQs, quickly outline your answers mentally or on scratch paper to ensure you address every part of the question. In your essays, address exactly what the prompt is asking – for example, if a prompt asks you to "evaluate the extent" of something, make sure your thesis assesses how much change or continuity occurred, not just that change occurred. Paying attention to the directive words (compare, describe, evaluate, explain, etc.) is crucial so that you fulfill the requirements of the question. Finally, leave a few minutes at the end of each section to review your work (if possible) and make minor corrections or add brief details.