You have four weeks until the AP World History: Modern exam. This plan spreads content review and skill-building across a full month, allowing time for mistakes, review, and genuine learning — not just cramming.
Commit 60-90 minutes per day (weekends flexible). Each week covers 2-3 units deeply, with a cumulative practice exam on Sunday.
Week 1: Empires & Trade Networks (Units 1-2)
Focus: Pre-modern globalization and the empires that connected the world.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 intro: Read Song, Abbasid, Mali summaries. Create a 3-empire comparison chart (government, trade, decline). 20 MCQs. | Unit 1 deep dive: Feudal Europe vs Song bureaucracy. Why did each empire's system work? 1 short essay: which was more stable? | Unit 2 intro: Silk Roads, Indian Ocean, trans-Saharan routes. Map each. How did goods + disease + ideas flow? 20 MCQs. | Unit 2 deep dive: Mongol role in Eurasian trade. How did Mongol collapse fragment trade routes? Compare pre- and post-Mongol era. | Units 1-2 synthesis: Aztec, Inca, Tokugawa were outside Eurasian networks. Why? What was their version of "trade"? 15 MCQs on all four units. | Review & fill gaps. Weak area? Reread and do 10 more MCQs. | Practice exam #1 (Units 1-2): 20 MCQs + 1 SAQ on trade networks + 1 short LEQ (1 hr). Target 70%+. |
Skills to lock in: Compare empires on government structure, trade participation, and decline causes. Use transition phrases: "Unlike X, Y..." "Both relied on..." "However..."
Week 2: Land-Based Empires & Transoceanic Shift (Units 3-4)
Focus: 1450-1750 — the age of land empires and European expansion's global consequences.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 3 intro: Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal. Read on each. How did they govern multi-ethnic empires? 20 MCQs. | Unit 3 deep dive: Ottoman tolerance vs Safavid exclusion vs Mughal syncretism. Why did each choose a different approach? 1 LEQ practice. | Unit 4 intro: Columbian Exchange (crops, animals, disease). Atlantic slave trade (why? consequences?). 20 MCQs. | Unit 4 deep dive: Mercantilism & Scientific Revolution. How did European ideas and economics reshape the globe? 1 LEQ practice. | Units 3-4 synthesis: Compare Ottoman decline and Qing stability. What was the role of trade, military, and succession? 15 MCQs on all four units. | DBQ-style drill: Annotate 5 documents on imperialism or empire administration using HIPP. Draft thesis. | Practice exam #2 (Units 1-4): 25 MCQs + 1 DBQ (7 docs, 55 min) or 1 LEQ (2 hrs total). Target 70%+. Review DBQ rubric. |
Skills to lock in: HIPP (Historian, Intent, Purpose, Point). Write document-specific evidence: "Document 2 (Ottoman decree) states X, which reveals Y about Ottoman policy." Compare across regions explicitly.
Week 3: Revolution, Industrialization & Imperialism (Units 5-6)
Focus: 1750-1900 — the long century of upheaval, economic transformation, and Western domination.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 5 intro: Enlightenment, American, French, Haitian, Latin American revolutions. Why did each happen? 20 MCQs. | Unit 5A deep: American & French revolutions. Thesis practice: "How did Enlightenment ideas shape different outcomes in the Americas?" | Unit 5B deep: Industrial Revolution. Steam, factories, urbanization, capitalism. How did industrialization create imperialism? 20 MCQs. | Unit 5C deep: Nationalism (Italy, Germany, pan-movements). How did nationalism drive empire-building? 1 LEQ practice. | Unit 6 intro: Imperialism motivations (markets, raw materials, prestige). Africa & Asia carved up. Resistance (independence, labor). 20 MCQs. | DBQ practice #2: 7 documents on imperialism or industrial labor. HIPP all, draft thesis + 2 paragraphs (1.5 hrs). Score against rubric. | Practice exam #3 (Units 1-6): 30 MCQs + 3 SAQs + 1 LEQ (pick Units 5 or 6 prompt) (2.5 hrs). Target 70%+. |
Skills to lock in: Causation chains: "Because of X (Industrial Revolution), Y (imperialism) occurred, which led to Z (anti-colonial resistance)." Use "as a result," "consequently," "therefore."
Week 4: Modern World & Full Exam Sim (Units 7-9 + Finals)
Focus: 1900-present — wars, Cold War, decolonization, globalization. Full exam practice.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 7 intro: WWI, WWII, Cold War origins. Why did wars escalate? 20 MCQs. | Unit 7 deep: Cold War causes & early conflicts. Superpower tension, ideological clash. Complexity: not all conflicts were ideological. | Unit 8 intro: Decolonization in Africa, Asia, Middle East. Why did empires weaken? How did nations resist? 20 MCQs. | Unit 8 deep: Non-aligned movement, proxy wars, post-colonial challenges. Complexity: independence ≠ stability. 1 LEQ practice. | Unit 9 intro: Globalization, tech, environment, terrorism, culture. How did the world interconnect? 15 MCQs. Unit 9 is small (~10% of exam), but synthesis questions pull from it. | Full DBQ + LEQ drill. Pick 1 DBQ (7 docs, 55 min) + 1 LEQ (35 min) from Units 7-9. Grade yourself: thesis, evidence, complexity. | Final full-length exam sim (ALL UNITS): 40 MCQs (60 min) + 3 SAQs (15 min) + 1 DBQ (55 min) + 1 LEQ (35 min) = 3 hrs total. Target 70+/108 (that's a 5). |
Skills to lock in: Complexity is your last point. Examples: "While X dominated, Y persisted." "Intended consequence was A, but unintended consequence was B." "Short-term outcome was X, but long-term was Y."
Monthly milestones
By end of Week 1: You can compare two pre-modern empires on governance, trade, and decline.
By end of Week 2: You can analyze a 7-document DBQ and write a thesis that makes a specific claim (not "empires changed").
By end of Week 3: You can write a causation chain (Industrial Revolution → imperialism → resistance) with specific evidence.
By end of Week 4: You can complete a full 3-hour exam in 2.5 hours, leaving time for review.
Weekly review checkpoints
Each Sunday, after your practice exam, ask yourself:
- ☐ Did I write a thesis that addressed the prompt's specific claim?
- ☐ Did I cite documents (or evidence) by name/number?
- ☐ Did I compare across at least two regions or time periods?
- ☐ Did I write at least one complexity point (not a restatement)?
- ☐ Did I score 70+ out of 108? (If not, which section: MCQ, DBQ, LEQ, SAQ?)
If you scored below 70, spend the next week drilling that section (more MCQs, more essay practice, more HIPP).
The real payoff
By end of Week 4, you'll have written 8+ full essays and 4 DBQs. You'll recognize which units are your weaknesses and which are your strengths. More importantly, you'll have internalized the patterns the College Board reuses every year: comparison across regions, causation in chains, and the importance of cited evidence.
Sleep, eat, and trust the process. See you on exam day. 🎯
Need detailed unit notes? Browse AP World History: Modern topics →. Skip ahead to essay drills? Check our FRQ practice guide →.