Thematic Essay Questions

Along with the DBQ, AP history exams contain other essay questions, called “thematic essays,” “free response questions,” or simply “long essays.” This type of essay question tests your ability to use information that you already know to answer a specific question that draws on one or more historical thinking skills. Like the DBQ, essay questions have different task verbs, which correspond to different historical thinking skills. Three of the most common of these involve change and continuity, causation, and comparison.