William V. Melega - SAT Subject Test World History: With 5 Practice Tests

William V. Melega, M.Ed., NBPTS
Chapel Hill High School
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Copyright 2020, 2015 by Kaplan, Inc., d/b/a Barrons Educational Series

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ISBN: 978-1-5062-6711-1

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In many textbooks and review books, history is broken down into five time periods.

• Ancient History (3600 b.c.e. 500 c.e .)
• Postclassical Era (500 c.e. 1500 c.e .)
• Early Modern Period (1500 c.e. 1750 c.e .)
• Mid Modern Period (1750 c.e. 1914 c.e .)
• Contemporary Period (1914 c.e. present)

These designations are accurate, but this review book features lateral history. At times, several civilizations are doing nearly the same thing at the same time. You can see patterns of history develop and see where historical concepts can overlap and be applied to several different areas of the world. Viewing history laterally (moving across dates) instead of linearly (guided strictly by dates in a straight line) will help you understand the global connections of world history.

World history can be a guide to your future. Within our global, interconnected world, the ability to understand the historical and cultural backgrounds of others can help you grow and mature. It is exciting to see how history is becoming a growing discipline within the academic community.

We are going to review 52,000 years of history around the world. This book is a condensed version of material covered in most world history classes and textbooks.

If you have completed your world history course and are using this book to prepare for the SAT, give yourself around 50 days to prepare for the exam.

If you are using this book at the same time you are taking your world history course, review each unit as you cover it in your class. You can also go back and hit any areas that you struggled with during the year.

To use the book most effectively, start by taking the diagnostic test beginning on page 9. Answer each of the questions, and then tally up your score. This should give you an idea of your strengths and also indicate what sections of world history you need to review. This is the best way to plan your review sessions.

After youve read through the book in its entirety, take one of the practice tests. See how you scored, and then continue reviewing the sections with which you struggled. Repeat the process until you are comfortable with the material. Doing a little every day will help you retain the information.

The chapters are set up in such a way as to focus on the what happened, the why it happened, and the important result, instead of just stating and memorizing a fact and a date.

Found throughout the book are Global Connections, which point out similarities between multiple civilizations. The goal is that you will begin to see the developing patterns of global connections as well as understand and synthesize the material, instead of just gaining basic knowledge and memorizing facts.

The SAT Subject Test in World History is made up of 90-95 multiple - choice questions. For each question you will have five answer choices from which you are to select the BEST answer. The test is 60 minutes in length with no breaks given. One point is given for each correct answer, and point is deducted from the total for each incorrect answer. Answers left blank receive zero points.

The College Board, who administers the test, stresses that you can achieve the maximum score of 800 without completing all of the questions in the allotted time. It is also not necessary to get every question correct to achieve the highest score.

Test topics include historical themes from prehistory through present day. The historical themes include social, economic, cultural, political, and intellectual. Test questions will have multiple formats. You will need to be able to

• Analyze cause and effect relationships throughout history
• Understand geography and interpret maps, graphs, and/or charts
• Analyze political statements, cultural and artistic images, and/or quotations from important historical figures or literature in the context of history
• Know facts and terms
• Understand and analyze major historical developments in all civilizations

The content of the SAT World History test is broken down into the following percentages:

The percentage of questions asked is divided between chronological periods to ensure comprehensive understanding of world history.

This review guide is designed to mirror these percentages in order to prepare you as fully as possible for the SAT Subject Test in World History.

A student can earn a score between 200 and 800 on the SAT World History Subject Test. Points are awarded as follows:

• 1 point: Awarded for every correct answer
• point: Subtracted for every incorrect answer
• 0 points: No points are deducted for answers that are left blank

To find out your raw score, use the following equation. For example, if you answer 75 questions correctly, 12 questions incorrectly, and leave 8 answers blank, your raw score would be 72.

75 points (12 x points) = 72

Remember, answers left blank do not affect your raw score because they dont add to or subtract anything from your score. Scores are rounded up or down to the nearest whole number. Scores that include exactly point totals are rounded up. For example, if you missed 10 questions instead of 12, you would earn a raw score of 73.

75 points (10 x