Practice a College Board-style Short Answer Question on Industrialization and Its Effects. Write your response, then reveal the model answer to see exactly what earns each point.
Short Answer Question · Unit 6 · Industrialization and Its Effects
"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles... Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat... The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honored and looked up to with reverent awe... It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage laborers... The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win."
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, 1848
A
Using the excerpt, identify ONE specific claim Marx and Engels make about the structure of industrial society.
✓ Model answer (earns the point)
Marx and Engels claim that "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles," and that industrial society is splitting into two opposed classes — the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (wage laborers) — who directly confront each other.
Why it scores: Identifies a specific claim from the text (class struggle, or the bourgeoisie/proletariat divide) rather than a vague statement like "society had problems."
B
Explain ONE specific historical development of the Industrial Revolution that supports the claims made in the excerpt.
✓ Model answer (earns the point)
The factory system concentrated large numbers of wage workers under factory owners who controlled production and profits, creating exactly the kind of stark division between owners and laborers that Marx and Engels describe — with factory owners (bourgeoisie) growing wealthy while workers (proletariat) faced long hours and low pay.
Why it scores: Names a specific historical development (the factory system, urbanization, or low industrial wages) and explains specifically how it supports the excerpt's claim about class division, rather than vaguely stating "factories were bad."
C
Explain ONE way that a development NOT explicitly mentioned in the excerpt also responded to the social effects of industrialization described by Marx and Engels.
✓ Model answer (earns the point)
Britain's Factory Acts gradually restricted child labor and limited working hours in response to the harsh conditions of industrial labor — a reform-based response to the same class inequalities Marx and Engels describe, but one that worked through government legislation rather than revolutionary class struggle.
Why it scores: Names a specific development not in the excerpt (Factory Acts, Chartism, or trade unions) and explains specifically how it responded to industrial inequality, rather than just asserting "things got better eventually."
How to score points on AP European History SAQs
Answer exactly what's asked. "Identify" needs a name or fact only. "Explain" needs a claim PLUS supporting reasoning — don't skip the "why" or "how."
Use the stimulus, but don't just summarize it. Strong SAQ responses connect the source to outside historical knowledge, not just restate what the excerpt says.
Be specific, not general. Name specific developments and figures (the factory system, the Factory Acts, Chartism) rather than vague references to "industrialization" or "changes in Europe."
Keep each part short and focused. 2–3 sentences per part is usually enough — SAQs reward precision over length.
Connect cause to effect. Don't just describe a development; explain why it mattered or how it connects to the question's claim.