So I moved states recently. My previous AP World teacher emphasized the synthesis component of writing essays, saying that we needed to include synthesis in every paragraph; it should connect to the topic of the paragraph while being in a distinct period/region. However, my new teacher doesn’t talk about synthesis at all. In fact, we wrote an LEQ in class just a couple weeks after I arrived, and the rubric said nothing about synthesis.
That made me do some digging. I found the most recent (2017) rubric for the AP histories: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/rubrics-ap-histories.pdf. It says nothing about synthesis as well.
So basically, I’m confused. I’m aware that there were some changes to the exam in 2017 and that the review books have not updated to cover those changes. Could you summarize what those changes were and whether synthesis is a necessary component of the essays anymore. Also, where can I find the most updated guidelines for the essays?
College board dropped synthesis from all of the history rubrics in the redesign. If you can do it easily, it can help you get the “complex understanding” point. It’s not something I’d worry about too much, though.
Most likely, your previous teacher was grading your essays harder than the way they will be scored on the exam so you would continue to work on improving in class. My APWH teacher told us what the actual point values for FRQs and LEQs were for the exam the day before we took it so that we were over prepared. I can definitely say this is why I scored so well, and you should continue to strive for well crafted essays.
Here are some cool resources that should help you study the content of APWH, and they should also have at least a little bit of information about essays:
Fiveable
Freemanipedia
Khan Academy