AP World History: Modern Sample Notes and Procedures/Expectations

My process for notetaking is as follows: 1. READ - I read the textbook, first.

2. RE-READ TEXTBOOK & TAKE NOTES IN YOUR OWN WORDS - Then I re-read

the textbook and take my notes in my own wording.

a. STRUCTURE OF NOTES: I structure my notes based on the headers and sub-

headers in the textbook’s section. I write down the important themes from the headers

and sub-headers, and I bold/highlight any words that the textbook italicizes or highlight

specific key words.

EXAMPLE: Below is an example from the section on China and the Search for Order. Here are

some notes I took from that section’s headers and its sub-headers:

China and the Search for Order

China was one of the First Civilizations and the notion of the Mandate of Heaven had taken root.

By 500 B.C.E., China was in a period of chaos, violence, and disharmony. This time was known

as the age of the warring states. It was during this period when Chinese thinkers thought about

how to restore order.

The Legalist Answer

Legalism is a philosophy, not a religion. Legalists believed the solution to China’s problems

were in rules or laws. They had to be spelled out and strictly enforced in a system of rewards and

punishments. Legalists had a pessimistic view of human nature. It was state and its rulers who

could act in the people’s best interests. Legalism only promoted farmers and soldiers. Legalist

thinking led to the harsh reunification of China under Shihuangdi and the Qin Dynasty. However,

the Qin Dynasty’s brutality led to its quick fall and legalism being discredited.

The Confucian Answer

Confucius was from an aristocratic family and was both educated and ambitious. He felt he

found the solution to China’s problems and sought a political position to put his ideas into action.

He never gained such a position and thus became a teacher. After Confucius’ death, his students

put his teachings in a book called the Analects. Later scholars elaborated and commented on

Confucius’ ideas and this is known as the philosophy of Confucianism. Continue from there…