2018 AP World History Free-Response Questions - Short Answer and DBQ

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Maeve

2018 AP World History free-response questions prepare students to answer four short-answer prompts and complete a document-based question. Section I Part B requires 40 minutes to respond in complete sentences within designated space, addressing multiple subparts with historically defensible examples and explanations. Section II provides a DBQ with a recommended 15-minute reading and 45-minute writing process, emphasizing thesis development, contextualization, sourcing at least six documents, and integrating outside evidence plus document relevance analysis.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Section I, Part B

Short-Answer Questions (1–2)

Question 3 or 4

Section II

Document-Based Question (DBQ)

2018 AP World History Free-Response Questions © 2018 The College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. Visit [the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org](the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org). [AP Central is the official online home for the AP Program: apcentral.collegeboard.org](AP Central is the official online home for the AP Program: apcentral.collegeboard.org). 2018 AP® WORLD HISTORY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS WORLD HISTORY SECTION I, Part B Time—40 minutes Directions: Answer Question 1 and Question 2. Answer either Question 3 or Question 4. Write your responses in the Section I, Part B: Short-Answer Response booklet. You must write your response to each question on the lined page designated for that response. Each response is expected to fit within the space provided. In your responses, be sure to address all parts of the questions you answer. Use complete sentences; an outline or bulleted list alone is not acceptable. You may plan your answers in this exam booklet, but no credit will be given for notes written in this booklet. Use the passage below to answer all parts of the question that follows. “The more power a government has, the more it can act arbitrarily according to the whims and desires of the elite, and the more it will make war on others and murder its foreign and domestic subjects. The more constrained the power of governments, the more power is diffused, checked, and balanced, the less it will aggress on others and commit mass violence. At the extremes of power, totalitarian governments slaughter their people by the tens of millions. In contrast, many democracies can barely bring themselves to execute even serial murderers.” Rudolph Rummel, United States political scientist, Death by Government, 1994 1. a) Identify ONE historical example of mass violence that was committed by a totalitarian state in the twentieth century that would support Rummel’s argument in the passage. b) Explain ONE historical example of a democratic state committing mass violence that would challenge Rummel’s argument regarding democracies and mass violence. c) Explain ONE development in the late twentieth century that likely shaped Rummel’s view of the relationship between democracy and mass violence. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -2- 2018 AP® WORLD HISTORY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Use the image below to answer all parts of the question that follows. ENGRAVING PRODUCED IN GREAT BRITAIN BASED ON AN 1817 PAINTING BY BRITISH ARTIST BENJAMIN WEST The Granger Collection, New York The engraving shows a historical encounter in 1765 in which the Mughal emperor Shah ‘Alam II granted the British East India Company, represented by Robert Clive, the right to collect tax revenue from the Mughal provinces of Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar. 2. a) Identify ONE way in which the event depicted in the image reflects political changes in the global balance of power in the eighteenth century. b) Explain ONE way in which the event depicted in the image reflects economic changes in Asia in the eighteenth century. c) Explain ONE significant way in which Great Britain’s relationship with South Asia changed in the nineteenth century, compared with the relationship depicted in the image. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -3- 2018 AP® WORLD HISTORY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Question 3 or 4 Directions: Answer either Question 3 or Question 4. Answer all parts of the question that follows. 3. a) Explain ONE difference in the way in which nomadic and sedentary societies in Afro-Eurasia before 1450 C.E. adapted to their environment. b) Explain ONE similarity between the economic practices of nomadic and sedentary societies in Afro-Eurasia in the period 600–1450 C.E. c) Explain ONE major pattern of cultural interaction between nomadic and sedentary societies in Afro-Eurasia before 1450 C.E. Answer all p

FAQs

What are the directions for Section I, Part B short-answer responses?

Answer Question 1 and Question 2, and choose either Question 3 or Question 4. Write complete sentences for each response and address all parts within the space provided.

What does the Document-Based Question (Question 1) require in Section II?

Develop a historically defensible thesis, provide broader context, use at least six documents for support, include at least one outside piece of evidence, and explain document relevance for at least three documents.

How is time allocated for the DBQ reading and writing?

Spend 15 minutes reading the documents and 45 minutes writing the response, and you may begin writing before the reading period ends.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Maeve

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