AP Practice #2 WHAP/Napp

The Short-Answer Questions:

“On the AP World History exam, test-takers will answer four short-answer questions. Two or more of them will include a stimulus. Each question is divided into either two parts (A and B) or three parts (A, B, and C). A single part might ask for either ONE or TWO examples.”

Practice Short-Answer Question:

Question 1 refers to the passages below.

“For that some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary but expedient; from the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule.”

Aristotle, Politics, c. 340 B.C.E.

“Nature herself intimates that it is just for the better to have more than the worse, the more powerful than the weaker; and in many ways she shows, among men as well as among animals, and indeed among whole cities and races, that justice consists in the superior ruling over and having more than the inferior.”

Plato, Gorgias, c. 380 B.C.E.

  1. Answer parts A and B.
  1. Identify and explain TWO examples from the Greek city-states and/or Persia of attitudes toward society and social structure.
  1. By using behaviors in either the Greek city-states or in Persia, identify ONE counterargument to the ideas presented in the above passages.
  1. Answer parts A, B, and C.
  1. Explain ONE cause of the Persian wars.
  1. Explain ONE effect of the Persian wars.
  1. Explain ONE effect of the Peloponnesian wars.

The Long Essay Question:

“Test-takers will answer one of a pair of questions with a long essay in 35 minutes. The question will focus on causation, comparison, continuity and change, or periodization. Before you begin to write, take 5 or 10 minutes to identify key points and plan the structure of your essay. Your essay responses will be evaluated on the strength of the thesis, the support for the argument, the use of historical thinking skill, and the synthesis of information.”

Define each of the following:

  • Causation
  • Comparison
  • Continuity and Change
  • Periodization
  • Thesis
  • Synthesis

“Begin developing your writing skills as soon as the course starts. Rather than simply writing and rewriting compete essays, break down the skills needed to write an effective AP history essay into sequential steps and work on one of them at a time. Following are six basic steps in writing an essay”:

  1. Analyze the question
  2. Organize the evidence.
  3. Develop a thesis.
  4. Write an introductory paragraph.
  5. Write the supporting paragraphs and conclusion.
  6. Evaluate the essay.

Practice Long Essay Questions:

Directions: Write an essay to respond to either question 1 or question 2. State a thesis in the first paragraph, support it with specific historical evidence, and address the historical thinking skill in the question.

  1. Analyze how religion and belief systems generated conflict and reduced conflict within or among societies from 600 B.C.E. through 600 C.E. in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region.
  2. Analyze how religion and belief systems generated conflict and reduced conflict within or among societies from 600 B.C.E. through 600 C.E. in South Asia and East Asia.

Directions: For additional preparation, write an essay to respond to each question.

  1. Compare and contrast how Christianity in classical Rome and Daoism in classical China influenced cultural practices.
  1. Analyze continuities and changes in the societies and cultures of Mesoamerica from the Olmec through the Mayans.
  1. Analyze environmental and military challenges that contributed to the collapse of two different empires between 400 B.C.E. and 600 C.E.

Identify the following Key Terms by Theme:

Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Parthenon
Persepolis
Socratic Method
Logic
Rationalism
Empiricism
Syncretic
Zoroastrianism
Zarathustra
Qanat
Cyrus the Great
Delian League
Darius I
Peloponnesian League
Philip II
Alexander the Great
Solon
Pericles
Poleis (polis)
Monarchies
Aristocracy
Oligarchy
Tyrants
Democracy
Direct Democracy
Representative Democracy
Persian Wars
Achaemenid Empire
Athens
Sparta
Hellenistic Period
Hoplites
Helots
Satraps
Royal Road
Common Currency / Republic
Senate
Tribunes
Consuls
Checks and Balances
Twelve Tables
Carthage
Punic Wars
Vandals
Latifundia
Julius Caesar
Octavian
Pax Romana
Constantine
Edict of Milan
Patricians
Plebeians
Jesus
Peter
Paul
Christianity
Confucius
Confucianism
Daoism
Dao De Jing
Dao
Caste System
Varna
Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras
Untouchables
Dalits
Jatis / Ashoka Maurya
Kalinga
Pataliputra
Ganges River
Rock and Pillar Edicts
Gupta Dynasty
Mauryan Dynasty
Chandragupta Maurya
White Huns
Han Dynasty
Shihuangdi
Xiongnu
Civil Service Examination
Yellow Turban Rebellion
Vedas
Upanishads
Brahma
Dharma
Karma
Mahavir Jain
Jainism
Buddhism
Ahimsa
Siddhartha Gautama
Ascetic
Enlightenment
Four Noble Truths
Bhagavad Gita
Mahabharata
Nirvana
Reincarnation
Arabic Numerals
Indian Ocean Sea Lanes
Silk Roads