Analyze similarities and differences between historical developments across places, societies, or time periods.
Explain why those similarities and differences exist.
Use comparison to identify patterns, explain relationships between developments, and build an argument in SAQs, LEQs, DBQs, and stimulus-based multiple-choice questions.

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Exam-Skill Focus

In the current AP World History: Modern framework, comparison is part of the historical thinking skill set used to analyze patterns and connections among developments. Students should be able to identify similarities and differences, explain why they exist, and use those comparisons to support a historically defensible claim with specific evidence. On FRQs, comparison should be used to organize an argument, not just list likenesses and differences.

In the current AP World History: Modern CED, students practice comparison as part of making connections and historical argumentation: they identify patterns and connections, explain relationships among developments, and use those comparisons as evidence in arguments.

🔎Organizing Question

How are places, events, and developments both similar and different? And why are these both similar and different?

How Comparison Appears on the Exam

Comparison can be assessed in multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, DBQs, and LEQs. On stimulus-based multiple-choice questions, you may need to compare developments, identify a shared pattern, or explain a key difference between two societies, states, or processes.

On SAQs, you might be asked to identify one similarity and one difference, or explain a major difference between two developments. On the LEQ, students choose 1 of 3 prompts. The three LEQ options on a given exam use the same historical reasoning process, and students must use that reasoning process to organize an argument with specific evidence. Comparison may be the required reasoning process on some exams, but it is not guaranteed every year. On DBQs, you may use comparison as part of your argument even when the prompt is not labeled as a comparison prompt.

On the current AP World History: Modern exam, comparison may appear in stimulus-based multiple-choice questions, in any of the 3 short-answer questions, in the DBQ as part of a broader argument, and in the LEQ when comparison is the required reasoning process. Students answer 3 SAQs total: Question 1 uses a secondary source, Question 2 uses a primary source, and students choose Question 3 (1200–1750) or Question 4 (1750–2001). The DBQ covers 1450–2001, and the LEQ offers 3 time-period options.

That means comparison is not just a “Unit 1” or “Unit 3” thing—it is a reasoning tool you can use across the entire course.

How to earn credit with comparison

To use comparison effectively on FRQs, start with a defensible claim that directly states a similarity, difference, or degree of similarity/difference. Then support that claim with specific historical evidence from both subjects being compared. Finally, explain why the similarity or difference existed or why it mattered. A simple list of traits is not enough; the comparison must help build an argument.

Comparison

Think about an apple and an orange. You can probably think of many differences. Color, taste, size, shape and smell. Both are round, but people generally eat the skin of apples whereas most people do not eat the skin of oranges.

Comparison enables one to explore the context of various parts of the world as it was and is. This contextualization is an important part of comparing or else looking at two parts of the world would be a fruitless exercise as we would have no idea why these things are different. From politics and culture to economics and technology, the world continues to be a very diverse place, and being able to effectively contextualize and compare parts of it is critical.

Back to the fruit, however, what about the similarities? Initially Apples and Oranges don’t seem so similar, however look close. They are both fruit, and they are both roughly circular, they are both considered healthy to eat. And this is perhaps the tougher part of comparison, finding the underlying similarities between two places that seem obviously different.

The following are brief summaries of comparison per AP World History’s time periods. As you read, consider the context of each situation and practice coming up with additional ways to compare these topics.

🎥Watch: WHAP - Introduction to Historical Reasoning

Unit 1 Comparisons

Short but sweet: Unit 1 focuses on the variety of political states so the college board cites political comparison among the types of states seen during this time.

Below is a breakdown of the major government types witnessed in Unit 1.

Caliphates	The original Islamic form of government, a combination of classic Imperial Rule and Islamic principles. The Caliph was the leader of the whole Muslim community but also the ruler of a large empire Example: the Abbasid Caliphate
Sultanates	Different from a Caliphate in that while the leader was Muslim, they made no claim to religious leadership Many Sultans paid lip service to the existing Caliph though they did not submit political power Examples: the Delhi Sultanate or the Mamluk Sultanate
Feudal-States	These states often featured decentralized political authority in which monarchs shared power with regional nobles or warrior elites. Often, these rulers had more influence over the population than a king or queen Examples: Medieval Europe and Medieval Japan
Imperial States	In Unit 1, China is a major example of a centralized imperial state, especially under the Song and Yuan dynasties. More broadly, empires are not unique to China, but China is the clearest Unit 1 example of a large bureaucracy-based imperial system. These dynasties relied to different degrees on Confucian traditions, imperial bureaucracy, and the Mandate of Heaven; the Song more fully reflected Confucian governance, while the Yuan adopted many Chinese administrative practices but also preserved Mongol political distinctions. Examples: the Song Dynasty or Yuan Dynasty
South and Southeast Asian States	South and Southeast Asian states often blended local political traditions with Hindu, Buddhist, or Islamic influences. Rulers sometimes used religious patronage, temple building, court ritual, and links to sacred traditions to strengthen legitimacy. Examples: Vijayanagara, the Delhi Sultanate, and Khmer.
City-States	These are cities and some land around them which sit around major trade routes, giving them a power to shape the course of trade They often were the site of major cultural interactions, and almost all major religious and cultural groups could be found here Examples: the Swahili city-states; for later periods, students may also know port cities such as Malacca.

When comparing these types of governments, ask yourself about why these types of governments exist? What role does Geography play? What role does Culture play? What role does Trade or Economics play?

For example, the Chinese imperial state and a caliphate were both large states that claimed broad political authority, but they justified rule differently. Caliphates grounded legitimacy in Islam, while Chinese dynasties emphasized Confucian political order and the Mandate of Heaven.

Unit 2 Comparisons

Short but sweet: Unit 2 focuses on trade networks and networks of exchange so the comparisons focus on the new v. old networks, and within existing trade networks.

	Silk Road Trade Network (Old)	Indian Ocean Trade Network (Old)	Trans-Saharan Trade Network (Intensified in this period)
Commercial Practices	Bills of Credit (China), Banking (Islamic World)	Hindu Temples as banking institutions	State protection of trade routes and taxation of trade by empires such as Mali
Role of Technology	Paper Money and Caravansaries	Dhow ships and knowledge of Monsoon Winds	Use of Camels and Camel saddles
Cultures spread	Buddhism, Islam, and artistic/technological exchanges spread across Afro-Eurasia	Islam spread widely through merchant diasporas, while Hindu and Buddhist influences also continued in parts of South and Southeast Asia	Islam spread into West Africa
Goods traded	Porcelain, Precious Stones, Silk	Spices, Gold, Ivory, Textiles, Sugar, Silk, Porcelain	Salt, Slaves, Gold, Iron Products
Impact on the Environment	Spread of Citrus Fruit and Sugar in the Islamic World	Spread of Rice Varieties in East and Southeast Asia	Introduction of Camels to West Africa

The Silk Roads and trans-Saharan routes both intensified in this period, while commercial activity in the Indian Ocean also expanded significantly. The Mongol Empire especially increased the safety and volume of Silk Roads trade.

Long-distance trade often emphasized luxury goods because they were easier to transport profitably over great distances, especially on the Silk Roads. However, some networks also carried bulk goods and staple commodities, especially in the Indian Ocean and trans-Saharan systems.

Unit 3/4 Comparisons

Short but sweet: Unit 3 and 4 focus on the growth of empires on land and overseas, so the major comparison would be in the type or style of government.

Land-Based Empires 🗾	Maritime Empires ⛵
Ottoman Empire Safavid Empire Mughal Empire Qing Empire Russian Empire	British Empire Spanish Empire Portuguese Empire French Empire Dutch Empire

A major difference between these two types of empires is that the empires on the left were predominantly land based, meaning most of their power and wealth came from the land, rich agriculture, and profitable trade routes. Those on the right are predominantly maritime based empires, meaning that their power and wealth come from trade overseas, colonies overseas, or controlling overseas trade routes.

Related states you may also know from the 1450–1750 period include Ming China and Tokugawa Japan, while the Aztec and Inca are useful supplementary examples from the Americas—but those are not the main land-based empire comparison set here.

Administrative Systems

Political or Religious Legitimacy Claims	Based on Military Elites 🎖
Divine Right of Kings (France) Mandate of Heaven (China) Safavid use of Shi'a Islam to support dynastic legitimacy	Devshirme System (Ottoman Empire) Samurai Warriors (Japan)

How governments maintain legitimacy varies across empires, but the chart above illustrates two general ways that empires claimed the right to rule. Military elites refer to a system of warriors who are loyal to the ruler or the state which helps them maintain power. On the other hand, some states relied more on political or religious legitimacy claims, including ideas about divine favor, cosmic order, or religious authority. It should be understood, these two often mixed.

Social Hierarchies

Social Hierarchy based on Race/Culture	Social Hierarchy based on Religion
Qing Dynasty (Restrictive Policy on Han Chinese) Spanish Empire (The Casta System)	The Ottoman Empire (The Millet System) Mughal rule often incorporated local Hindu elites such as Rajputs into imperial administration, showing political accommodation across religious difference rather than a strictly religion-based social hierarchy.

Organizing a society is essential to maintaining stability within an Empire. A hierarchy determined one's job, what legal rights they had and proximity to power. These hierarchies can be based on physical characteristics, probably the most famous being the Casta System, which was based on perceptions of blood purity. Or they can be based on religion as in many of the Islamic empires; the millet system allowed recognized religious communities a degree of legal and communal autonomy under their own religious leaders within the Ottoman Empire. Although Muslims held higher status politically, this arrangement did provide some stability as communities were allowed to practice their own religion.

Empire Type (Maritime Empires)

Trading Post Empires	Colonial Empires
The Portugese in Africa/India The Dutch in Southeast Asia	The French in North America The British in North America The Spanish in North and South America

For those empires that expanded overseas, there were two major types that corresponded more to the situation of the colonized regions. In some regions, especially in parts of Africa and Asia, Europeans built trading-post empires that focused on controlling key ports and sea routes rather than conquering large inland territories. In other regions, especially the Americas, they established colonial empires with direct territorial rule and large settler populations. Trading Post Empires often confronted established and long standing empires or populations they could not eliminate or geography that was unfavorable to conquest. The opposite was often true for Colonial Empires.

Unit 5 Comparisons

Short but sweet: Unit 5 focuses on Industrialization. The major comparisons are on nations with industrialization and those nations which de-industrialized in response to expanding European economic power.

Industrialization Outside of Europe

Russia	Japan	The United States
The abolition of serfdom in 1861 increased labor mobility and contributed to industrialization, though many peasants remained tied to rural communities and industrial growth still depended heavily on state policy and investment. Importing technical expertise from Europe created first factories Initial industry focuses on heavy industry specifically railroads and steel production Intensified control over Siberia as a market and location of resources Heavy government involvement By 1900 Russia was semi-Industrialized	The Meiji Restoration (1868) reset the political structure of Japan. The feudal landowning class was abolished Importing legal and technical expertise created their first factories Initial industry focuses on Japan's silk textile industry and later on producing weapons Imperial expansion in Korea and Taiwan to support economy Heavy government involvement By 1900, Japan had industrialized rapidly and had become a major non-Western industrial power, though its industrial base was still developing compared with the most industrialized Western states.	Some Industry before Civil War, but victory of the North over slavery (1865) meant Industry would be dominant politically over farming Long history of inventions and developments means no need to import expertise Initial industry focuses on cotton textiles, later spreading to many other industries Conquest of western North America to create food supply and ideological belief (Manifest Destiny) Some government involvement By 1900 the United States was heavily industrialized

Industrial Decline in Response to European Industrialization

Egypt	India
British Textiles drowned the traditional market for Egyptian fabrics, putting many producers out of business by 1900. In response, Egypt became a source of Cotton for the British Textile Industry.	British Textiles drowned the traditional market for Indian fabrics, putting many producers out of business by 1900. In response, India became a source of Cotton for the British Textile Industry. The rise of steel ships eliminated the shipbuilding yards in South Asia that had served the East India Company.

Unit 6 Comparisons

Short but sweet: Unit 6 is about the expansion of the European and American Empires and a comparison in this unit could focus on the types of empires created during this time, much like Unit 3/4.

State Expansion in the Age of Empire

Settler Colonies	Direct State Expansion	Private or Personal Rule to State Rule
New Zealand White Highlands in Kenya Western United States	French Expansion in North Africa British Expansion in West Africa	Congo Free State (personal rule of Leopold II) to Belgian Government British East India Company to British Government

The Age of Imperialism, which is different from the Age of Colonialism (Unit 3/4) in the expansion of European States, involved European States asserting both political and economic control over the planet.

State Expansion varied by region. In those places where the geography and demographics were favorable Settler Colonies were either established directly by governments or by waves of immigration. These states eliminated or displaced the local populations and replaced them with the state’s own population. However, in cases where the populations were too large or state control was not as strong, direct state expansion simply incorporated a conquered region into the state itself, the traditional definition of Imperialism. During Unit 3/4 several major private companies built large colonial empires. However, by Unit 6 these companies were bankrupt or their states had grown strong enough to assume control, or in the case of the Congo, a major scandal led to the incorporation of these territories into their respective empires.

Unit 7 Comparisons

Short but sweet: Unit 7 Focuses on global warfare, specifically World War I and World War II, so any comparison will focus on global war or the time in between the conflicts

Government Responses to the Great Depression

Fascist Corporate Organization	State Development in Latin America	Social Democracy in the United States
German government makes deals with Industrial Companies to develop certain products and keep prices low. The Volkswagen Car and the Radio as products that were designed to be affordable for citizens. Having these items would improve Government legitimacy in the eyes of the German People.	The Mexican and Brazilian Governments took the lead in developing specific industries to make their nations economically stronger. Mexico nationalized the Oil Industry creating PEMEX, Mexican Petroleum to raise money for development Brazil increased state involvement in economic development and promoted import-substitution industrialization, encouraging domestic industries such as steel and manufacturing.	The United States adopted Social Democratic measures to counteract the Great Depression. U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's government created works projects and social welfare to alleviate suffering from the Depression and attempt to kickstart the economy.

Five Year Plans in the Soviet Union

Compared with capitalist states such as the United States, which responded to the Depression with reform programs and mixed-market policies, the Soviet Union pursued state-controlled rapid industrialization through Five Year Plans. Both involved major state intervention, but the Soviet approach was more centralized and coercive.

The First Five Year Plan (1928-1932) dramatically expanded Soviet heavy industry and state-directed economic production, accelerating industrialization at a very rapid pace, though Soviet industrialization continued beyond the first plan.

Government Conduct of World War II

Totalitarian (Fascist and Communist) Governments Wage World War II	Democratic Governments Wage World War II
Governments took control of arms production to ensure supplies for the military Governments used Ideology and Propaganda to gain support for the War The Soviet Union mobilized around the need to defend the state, defeat Nazi Germany, and preserve Soviet power. The need for Nazi Germany to defeat the Soviet Union for German "Living Space"	Governments sold war bonds and made contracts with private companies to ensure supplies for the military France, Britain, and the United States utilized their colonial holdings to help fight the Axis Powers Democratic governments often framed the war in terms of defending freedom and democracy, but these claims were applied unevenly because Britain, France, and others still maintained colonial empires during and after the war. The Atlantic Charter

Totalitarian (Fascist and Communist) Governments Wage World War II

Democratic Governments Wage World War II

Governments took control of arms production to ensure supplies for the military
Governments used Ideology and Propaganda to gain support for the War
The Soviet Union mobilized around the need to defend the state, defeat Nazi Germany, and preserve Soviet power.
The need for Nazi Germany to defeat the Soviet Union for German "Living Space"

Governments sold war bonds and made contracts with private companies to ensure supplies for the military
France, Britain, and the United States utilized their colonial holdings to help fight the Axis Powers
Democratic governments often framed the war in terms of defending freedom and democracy, but these claims were applied unevenly because Britain, France, and others still maintained colonial empires during and after the war.
The Atlantic Charter

Unit 8 Comparisons

Short but sweet: Unit 8 Focuses on the World from 1945-1980s, involving mainly the Cold War and the major impacts of decolonization around the World. Comparisons in this unit officially focus on decolonization methods and military action in the Cold War.

Gaining Allies during the Cold War

The Soviet Union	The United States
Military Alliances The Warsaw Pact Aid Egypt and the Aswan High Dam Support for communist or anti-Western states and movements Cuba Egypt Vietnam	Military Alliances NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Org.) Aid The Marshall Plan Support for Anti-Communist Governments S. Vietnam Chile

The Cold War is defined as a major political rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union that lasted from the End of WWII to 1989 (1945-1989). During this time both sides attempted to gain allies and influence nations to join their respective ideologies. Military alliances and military aid were a major factor. Though the major military alliances (Warsaw Pact v. NATO) never went to war, many small conflicts were fought between and within nations, proxy wars where each side was backed by either the U.S. or the U.S.S.R.. Though it should be noted, not all of these conflicts were specifically fought by communists v. anti-communists. For example, the Arab-Israeli Wars were not about communism, but each side was largely backed by one super power.

Methods of Obtaining Independence

Negotiated Independence	Armed Struggle for Independence
India (From Great Britain) The Gold Coast (From Great Britain) The Philippines (From the United States)	Vietnam (From France & the U.S.) Algeria (From France) Angola (From Portugal)

The Cold War was also the Age of Decolonization, the dismantling of the major colonial empires from Unit 3, 4, and 6. Depending on the situation, this may have been violent or peaceful. Whether decolonization was violent or negotiated depended on several factors, including the policies of the colonial power, the strength and strategy of nationalist movements, the presence of settler populations, and Cold War intervention. France and Portugal often fought to retain colonies, but outcomes varied by local conditions.

Cold War superpowers often viewed decolonization through the lens of ideological rivalry. The Soviet Union generally presented itself as anti-imperialist and supported many liberation movements. U.S. policy was more mixed: it sometimes supported self-determination, but it also backed anti-communist allies and governments when strategic interests seemed more important. Angola is an important example of armed struggle for independence: Angolan movements fought Portuguese rule, and after Portugal's 1974 Carnation Revolution accelerated decolonization, Angola's independence was followed by a civil war in which rival groups received outside support from Cold War powers.

However, in other cases, decolonization could be (relatively) peaceful. If the colonial power was too exhausted by World War II or if the colony had strong pre-existing independence movements. India is an excellent example. India had a long standing politically organized independence movement. The Indian National Congress and Muslim League and Great Britain was largely exhausted from WWII, and so India (and Pakistan) achieved independence without armed struggle against the colonizer.

Unit 9 Comparisons

Short but Sweet: Unit 9 does not have a topic specifically labeled as a comparison topic, but comparison is still an important historical reasoning skill that can be used with Unit 9 content on MCQs, SAQs, DBQs, and LEQs.

Diseases and Illnesses reduced or controlled since 1900.	Diseases and Illnesses that spread or persisted in an interconnected world.
Smallpox Polio Measles in many regions through vaccination campaigns	HIV/AIDS Influenza strains Cholera Malaria in regions where it remained difficult to control

Facts to note about this is that some diseases were reduced or controlled because of vaccines, public-health campaigns, increased access to medical care, or better living conditions in general such as clean water or proper sanitation. Smallpox is the clearest example of actual eradication.

Facts to note about diseases that spread or persisted are that these are often connected to an increasingly interconnected world, but also to urbanization, inequality, environmental conditions, and access to medicine.

Comparing the spread and control of diseases in the 20th century, such as HIV/AIDS, influenza, cholera, malaria, and smallpox eradication, would be one way to practice comparison in Unit 9.