title: "AP World History: Modern 7-Day Cram Plan" description: "A week-long AP World History: Modern study guide covering all 9 CED units, FRQ patterns, essay templates, and 2 full practice exams. Tackle one unit per day." date: "2026-01-15" examDate: "May AP Exam" topics:
- All 9 CED Units
- DBQ & LEQ Practice
- Comparison & CCOT Skills
- Imperialism & Decolonization
You have seven days until the AP World History: Modern exam. This plan covers all 9 CED units at a sustainable pace, leaving two days for full-length practice exams and FRQ drilling.
Commit 5-6 hours per day. Read the daily unit summary, create a timeline, practice 10-15 multiple-choice questions on that unit, then do one synthesis task (comparison or short essay).
Daily Study Schedule
| Day | Units | Focus | Practice | |---|---|---|---| | Mon | Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (c. 1200-1450) | Post-classical empires: Song, Abbasid, Mali, feudal Europe, Aztec, Inca, Tokugawa. Know their trade, government, decline. | 15 MCQs on empires; compare Song & Abbasid administrations (500 words). | | Tue | Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (c. 1200-1450) | Silk Roads overland trade, Indian Ocean maritime routes, trans-Saharan routes, Mongol role. Disease, technology, and cultural diffusion. | 15 MCQs on trade networks; "Compare Silk Roads and Indian Ocean trade: similarities and regional impacts." | | Wed | Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (c. 1450-1750) | Ottoman (multi-ethnic), Safavid (Shia), Mughal (syncretism), Qing (tributary system), Russia (expansion). Administrative genius and decline. | 15 MCQs; 1 LEQ: "Analyze Ottoman and Mughal strategies for managing religious diversity, 1450-1750. To what extent did these differ?" | | Thu | Units 4-5: Transoceanic + Revolutions (c. 1450-1900) | Columbian Exchange, Atlantic slave trade, mercantilism, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, American/French/Haitian/Latin American revolutions, Industrial Revolution, nationalism. | 20 MCQs; 1 short essay: "How did Enlightenment ideas shape 18th-century revolutions? Use 2 examples (American, French, Haitian)." | | Fri | Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (c. 1750-1900) | Imperialism in Africa & Asia, labor migration, ideologies (Marx, capitalism, Social Darwinism). Colonial resistance and nation-building. | 15 MCQs; 1 DBQ-style prompt on imperialism (practice HIPP annotation on 5 documents, then thesis + 2 paragraphs of evidence). | | Sat | Units 7-8: Global Conflict & Decolonization (c. 1900-present) | WWI, WWII, Cold War, decolonization movements, non-aligned movement, proxy wars, fall of Soviet Union, post-colonial challenges. | 20 MCQs; 1 timed LEQ on decolonization or Cold War causation. Practice complexity point. | | Sun | Unit 9: Globalization (c. 1900-present) | Technology, economic integration, environmental issues, terrorism, cultural flows. Also: Full-length practice exam (Section I + full DBQ/LEQ) | Mock exam: 40 MCQ + 3 SAQs + 1 DBQ + 1 LEQ (3 hrs total). Score and review. |
Weekly themes to master
💡 Week goal: By Day 7, you should be able to:
- Compare two empires or revolutions across different regions and centuries, citing specific evidence.
- Analyze a 7-document DBQ in 55 minutes with a clear thesis, HIPP analysis, and contextualization.
- Write a complexity point that shows nuance, not a restatement of your thesis.
- Spot period shifts: 1200-1450 (empires), 1450-1750 (land-based), 1750-1900 (industry & imperialism), 1900+ (modern).
Unit summary snapshots
Unit 1: Know the administrative system of each empire (Song bureaucracy vs feudal hierarchy), trade (Indian Ocean connections), and why they declined (Mongol invasions, internal strain, environmental change). These set the stage for what comes next.
Unit 2: Silk Roads and Indian Ocean trade weren't just goods — they were disease vectors (plague), cultural diffusion (Buddhism, Islam, Christianity spreading), and technology transfer. The Mongol Empire unified Eurasia temporarily; after collapse, trade fragmented regionally.
Unit 3: The 1450-1750 era is dominated by land-based empires competing for trade and territory. Ottoman used military tech and administrative tolerance; Qing China used tributary trade and cultural assimilation; Russia expanded eastward. Comparison question: How did each respond to religious diversity? How did they decline or stabilize?
Units 4-5: 1450-1750 also saw European expansion (Columbian Exchange, Atlantic slavery, mercantilism, Scientific Revolution). Then 1750-1900 flipped everything: Enlightenment challenged absolute rule, Industrial Revolution created new wealth and new inequalities, nationalism reshaped Europe and Latin America.
Unit 6: Industrialization = imperialism. Europe's factories needed raw materials and markets. Africa and Asia were carved up. But colonized peoples resisted (independence movements, labor organizing). Ideologies clashed: Marx vs capitalism vs Social Darwinism.
Units 7-8: Two world wars, Cold War, decolonization. Superpowers battled for influence; colonies gained independence. Non-aligned nations tried to stay neutral. By 1990s, Soviet Union collapsed, and globalization accelerated.
Unit 9: Internet, trade blocs, multinational corporations, climate change, terrorism. The world is interconnected in ways 16th-century traders could never imagine — and friction persists.
FRQ patterns this week
DBQ (55 min for prompt + writing): Always 7 documents. Always includes points of view from different regions, genders, or perspectives. HIPP each document, then synthesize into thesis + 2-3 evidence paragraphs. One complexity point (e.g., "While I argue X, I acknowledge Y").
LEQ (35 min for writing; choose 1 of 3 prompts): One prompt is usually Units 1-5, one is Units 5-7, one is Units 7-9. You control the choice. Start with the prompt where you know the most empires or revolutions.
SAQ (each ~10 min for reading + writing): Three short-answer questions. Each has a stimulus (a paragraph, a map, a quote) and 3 sub-parts (a) describe, (b) explain cause or consequence, (c) provide evidence. Don't skip these — they're 9 points and easier than essays.
Checkpoint
By end of Day 7 (after your mock exam):
- ☐ You can compare two empires on governance, trade, and decline.
- ☐ You can write a DBQ thesis that commits to a position and addresses the prompt's specific claim.
- ☐ You understand causation chains: trade networks → wealth → imperialism → nationalism → wars → globalization.
- ☐ You can cite HIPP when analyzing documents.
- ☐ You scored at least 65+ on your full-length mock (out of 108).
If you're below 65, repeat Day 7 and focus on essay thesis-building and document analysis.
Ready for exam week?
Review our last-minute review guide → the night before the exam. Browse full unit notes →. You've got seven days to own this. Go.