AP European History · Exam guide

AP European History Sourcing and Complexity: How to Earn the Last Analysis Points

Sourcing asks you to explain why a document's author, audience, purpose, or situation matters to your argument. Complexity asks you to show the history is not simple. This guide builds both using Hobbes and Locke, two English writers who reached opposite conclusions about authority from the same century of upheaval.

Sourcing: the four questions

Question	What to ask	Example
Historical situation	What was happening when this was written?	Hobbes wrote during and just after the English Civil War. Locke published after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
Audience	Who was it written for?	Both wrote for educated readers, but Hobbes for those fearing disorder and Locke for those defending a settlement that limited the Crown.
Purpose	What was the author trying to do?	Hobbes argued for a strong sovereign to prevent chaos. Locke argued that governments exist to protect rights.
Point of view	What does this person think or want?	Hobbes feared civil war above all. Locke defended the people's right to resist a ruler who violated their rights.

Document 1. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, 1651

the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short

Hobbes described life without a strong government in the wake of civil war.

Does not earn the pointHobbes was an English writer who thought life was bad without government.

It names the author but gives no reason why his situation matters to an argument.

Earns the pointBecause Hobbes wrote Leviathan in the aftermath of the English Civil War, his bleak picture of life without government reflects a fear of disorder, which helps explain why he defended strong, even absolute, rule when the other sources defend limits on it.

It ties the situation to the author's purpose and to the argument.

Document 2. John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, 1689, section 6

being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions

Published after the Glorious Revolution, in defense of limited government.

Complexity: five ways to earn it

Qualify: show where a claim is true and where it is not.
Corroborate: show that two sources from different places or times support the same point.
Explain more than one cause and how the causes interacted.
Connect across periods (Locke's ideas and the American and French declarations).
Compare a continuity with a change inside the same society.

A complexity sentenceAlthough Hobbes and Locke disagree about whether a ruler can be limited, both begin from the idea that government rests on a purpose, the protection of the governed, rather than on divine right, which marks a shared break with the older justification of kingship.

It qualifies a contrast by finding a shared assumption. It must be sustained across the essay.

Common mistakes

Writing "he was biased" with no link to the argument.
Summarizing the document and calling it sourcing.
Using a complexity sentence at the end that the rest of the essay does not support.
Sourcing only one document.

Frequently asked questions

How many documents must I source?

At least two documents, and for each you must explain how the point of view, purpose, situation, or audience matters to your argument.

Does complexity need its own paragraph?

No. It is shown through how you handle the evidence across the whole essay.

Is sourcing the same as summarizing a document?

No. Sourcing explains why the author or situation affects what the document can show.

Are these texts public domain?

Yes, both works are public domain and the quotations are short.

Where can I find the official scoring rules?

Exam formats change a little from year to year, so check the current course and exam description on the College Board site before test day.

Keep practicing

The AP European History course has five practice prompts for the DBQ and LEQ, plus short-answer sets, with a writing space that scores your response against the 7-point and 6-point rubrics. These free lessons also build the skills the free-response section tests:

See the AP European History course Free lessons and lesson list

More AP European History guides (7)

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Free-response and writing

Multiple choice

AP European History Multiple-Choice Guide: 55 Questions in 55 Minutes

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