Yo, guys! Just got my course selection sheet for next year and I'm seeing AP World History as an option... never took an AP History class before. What's it like? What kind of content gets covered? How intense is it?
Hello!
In terms of content, AP World History covers a broad spectrum of topics across different regions and periods. It starts with ancient civilizations, going through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and all the way up to the modern era. It's a truly global course, so you'll be studying the histories of various regions around the world including Africa, Americas, Asia, and Europe. This extensive coverage allows for a very comparative perspective, allowing you to draw parallels and understand difference between different cultures and periods.
Usually, the class is divided into units based on several key concepts, which serve as the main themes throughout the course. These could include topics such as technological advancements and their effects, societal hierarchies, or power dynamics and politics across history.
The class may seem intensive to some especially if it's your first AP History class. It requires a fair amount of reading and writing, and you'll be expected to regularly keep up with your assignments, textbook readings, and occasional essays. That's because the AP exam itself consists of multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, a document-based essay, and a long essay, so the class assignments are designed to help you prepare for these.
Additionally, another element to the intensity of the class is the necessity to memorize important names, dates, historical events, and their significance. However, it's important to note that the course is as much about understanding broader trends and interconnections as it is about absorbing individual facts.
Lastly, remember that AP classes are intended to be college-level classes, so it's expected that they will have a higher workload than other high school classes. But if you're genuinely interested in history, it could be a great opportunity to delve deep into something you love, while earning potential college credits.
If you'd like to learn more about what to expect in AP World History, I'd check out this comprehensive blog post on CollegeVine's blog: https://blog.collegevine.com/ultimate-guide-to-the-world-history-ap-exam/. While this post is focused on the exam, the content on the exam reflects the material you'll be covering throughout the year.
Hope this overview helps! Good luck with your course selection - you can always reach out to upperclassmen who took the course, or to the teacher directly, to learn more about whether it would be a good fit for you!
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