Glossary · History skills
Historical thinking skills
AP U.S. History, AP World History: Modern
By the CollegePrepRoom editorial team · Updated · How we write and check these pages
AP U.S. History and AP World History: Modern score historical reasoning along with content knowledge. Their rubrics reward specific ways of thinking about the past: placing events in context, analyzing sources, and reasoning about causes, comparisons and change. These skill terms appear directly in the DBQ, LEQ and SAQ rubrics, so each entry explains how the skill earns points.
Index of terms
Terms in study order
- ContextualizationDescribing the broader historical developments before, during or after a topic that explain why it happened or mattered.
- SourcingAnalyzing how a document's point of view, purpose, historical situation or audience shapes its content and its usefulness as evidence.
- CausationExplaining the causes and effects of historical developments, including their relative importance and short- and long-term consequences.
- ComparisonExplaining similarities and differences between historical developments, societies or time periods, and the reasons for them.
- Continuity and change over timeAnalyzing what changed and what stayed the same across a period, and explaining why.
- PeriodizationDividing history into periods based on turning points, and evaluating how and why historians choose those boundaries.
- CorroborationComparing sources to see where they agree or disagree, to test the reliability of each account.
- Complexity (AP history rubric)A sustained, nuanced understanding of a historical development, demonstrated through sophisticated argument or effective use of evidence.
Flashcard review
Say each definition aloud, then open the card to check your answer.
What does “Contextualization” mean?
Describing the broader historical developments before, during or after a topic that explain why it happened or mattered.
What does “Sourcing” mean?
Analyzing how a document's point of view, purpose, historical situation or audience shapes its content and its usefulness as evidence.
What does “Causation” mean?
Explaining the causes and effects of historical developments, including their relative importance and short- and long-term consequences.
What does “Comparison” mean?
Explaining similarities and differences between historical developments, societies or time periods, and the reasons for them.
What does “Continuity and change over time” mean?
Analyzing what changed and what stayed the same across a period, and explaining why.
What does “Periodization” mean?
Dividing history into periods based on turning points, and evaluating how and why historians choose those boundaries.
What does “Corroboration” mean?
Comparing sources to see where they agree or disagree, to test the reliability of each account.
What does “Complexity” mean?
A sustained, nuanced understanding of a historical development, demonstrated through sophisticated argument or effective use of evidence.
Practice questions, courses and guides that use these terms
- Free AP US History practice questionsQuestion bank
- Free AP World History practice questionsQuestion bank
- The AP US History courseCourse
- The AP World History courseCourse
- AP US History: DBQ guideFree-response guide
- AP US History: LEQ guideFree-response guide
- AP US History: SAQ guideFree-response guide
- AP World History: DBQ guideFree-response guide
- AP World History: LEQ guideFree-response guide
- AP World History: SAQ guideFree-response guide