How To Attack an AP Government Exam
Types of Multiple-Choice Questions
Not all multiple-choice questions are the same. AP U.S. Government & Politics Exams will contain the following types of
questions:
Definition or Identification Questions
These questions ask you to recognize something and know what it is. Here is an example.
1. Class action suits
(A) permit a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated.
(B) are filed by students seeking to force a school district to offer additional sections of
perpetually overenrolled courses.
(C) have to do with constitutional issues, thus broadening the standing to sue.
(D) are routinely filed by teachers' groups to prepare the way or strikes.
(E) may be filed only if all of those with standing to sue agree to participate.
The correct answer is A. A small group of people who believe, for example, that a product has harmed them can sue the
manufacturer on behalf of all the people who believe they were harmed. This is the definition of class action.
Cause-and-Effect Questions
This type of question asks which event caused another, or what is the result of something. Here is an example:
2. The increasing speed of technological advance
(A) has significantly reduced the scope of American government.
(B) helps reduce and accelerate government policymaking.
(C) has helped reduce the cost of health care in the United States.
(D) has dramatically affected health policy, but has had no effect on environmental and energy policy.
(E) has created many new practical and moral problems of the political system.
The answer is E. You can use the process of elimination. The scope of government has not gotten smaller; policymaking
has not become faster; health care costs have risen; if technology has affected health policy, it is unlikely that it has not also
affected environmental and energy policies. Answers A-D are obviously wrong, leaving E.
"Roman Numeral" Questions
Here you are given a question, then several statements, phrases, or words relating to the question. You must decide which
of the statements, phrases, or words are correct. It may be one or more than one.
3. Registered voters directly elect which of the following?
I. The president and vice president
II. Supreme Court justices
III. Senators
IV. The Electoral College
(A)
I only
(B)
IV only
(C)
I and II only
(D)
III and IV only
(E)
II, III, and IV only
The answer is D. Registered voters vote for electors who then vote for the president and vice president. This is not direct
election. So any choice that includes I is wrong (A, C). Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president and
approved by the Senate, so you can also eliminate choice E. Voters vote directly for both senators and, as noted above, the
Electoral College.
EXCEPT or NOT Questions
In this type of question, four of the answer choices are correct, and you must find the answer that is wrong. Be sure to read
the question carefully. Here is an example of this type of question.
4. Which of the following is NOT specifically mentioned in the Constitution, including its amendments?
(A) Protection against double jeopardy
(B) Right to bear arms
(C) Freedom of speech
(D) Right to privacy
(E) Right to trial by jury
The answer is D. Double jeopardy is addressed in the Fifth Amendment. The right to bear arms is mentioned in the Second
Amendment. Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment. Article III provides for trial by jury. Only the right
to privacy is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.
Supreme Court Decisions
You will be asked to identify, interpret, or compare one or more well-known Supreme Court decisions. Here is an
example:
5. New York Times v. Sullivan addressed
(A) equal opportunity in the workplace.
(B) libel.
(C) prior restraint.
(D) business monopolies.
(E) obscenity.
The answer is B. The Court held that statements about public figures are libelous only if made with "reckless disregard for
the truth." There is no way to guess here. All the choices are topics the Supreme Court has ruled on, and all might involve a
newspaper. You need to remember significant cases and the issues they address.
Graphic Questions
You can expect to see questions based on graphs, tables, and maps.
DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME AMONG FAMILIES
(percentage share by economic level)
1970
1980
1990
2000
Lowest fifth
5.5
5.1
4.6
3.6
Second fifth
12.0
11.6
10.8
8.9
Third fifth
17.4
17.5
16.6
14.9
Fourth fifth
23.5
24.3
23.8
23.0
Highest fifth
41.6
41.6
44.3
49.6
6. Which of the following conclusions about income distribution is supported by the table?
(A) The share of income received by the lowest fifth increased, and the share received by
the fourth fifth decreased.
(B) The share of income received by the second fifth increased, and the share received by
the fourth fifth decreased.
(C) The share of income received by the highest fifth increased, and the share received by
the lowest fifth decreased.
(D) The number of people earning high incomes increased.
(E) The middle class disappeared.
The numbers clearly show that C is the answer. Choice D might be attractive, but note that the table gives percents.
Although the percent of families in the highest fifth increased, you know nothing about the actual number of people.
Always read the questions and answer choices carefully.
Strategies for Multiple-Choice Questions
Having a firm grasp of U.S. government and politics is, of course, the key to your doing well on a AP U.S. Government &
Politics Examination. In addition, being well-informed about the exam itself increases your chances of achieving a high
score. Below is a list of strategies that you can use to increase your comfort, your confidence, and your chances of excelling
on the multiple-choice section of the exam.
Make yourself completely familiar with the instructions for the multiple-choice questions before you take the exam. You
will find the instructions in this book. By knowing the instructions cold, you will save yourself the time of reading them
carefully on the day of the test.
Always read the entire question carefully and underline and define key words or ideas. You might want to circle words such
as NOT or EXCEPT in that type of multiple-choice question.
Read every answer choice carefully before you make your final selection.
Use the process of elimination to help you choose the correct answer. Even if you are sure of an answer, cross out the letters
of incorrect choices in your test booklet as you eliminate them. This cuts down on distraction and allows you to narrow the
remaining choices even further. If you are able to eliminate three answer choices, it is better to make an educated guess at
the correct answer than to leave the answer blank. If you can only eliminate one or two answers, leave the answer blank:
you are more likely to lose a point by guessing between more than two answers.
Section II: Free-Response Questions
The free response section consisting of four questions, i.e., You may, however, have some choice within a question.
Because the free-response questions are open-ended, this is your opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of U.S.
government and politics. You will see directives like define, identify, describe, and explain. Knowing facts or terms may
earn you points if the task is to define or to identify, but to describe or to explain requires using your knowledge to
construct an argument. You should use your knowledge to construct a thorough and intelligent response.
Scan all questions quickly to form initial impressions of the topics about which you are being asked to write. You do not
have to answer the questions in the order in which they are presented. Begin with the question you think you can respond to
best. (If you are to run short on time, you would rather run short on a question about which you think you know the least,
than the one about which you know the most.)
Read and reread the question to be sure you understand exactly what is being asked. Underline directives such as define,
identify, describe, and explain. These are the tasks that must be accomplished for you to earn credit for a response.
You can jot notes in the margins of the exam booklet.
Take a couple of minutes to brainstorm about the topic. Write down the things that come to your mind. Then look them
over to see which ideas will go well together to serve as examples for your response to the question and to determine the
order in which you will present them. This, in essence, is the outline for your response. You may use any organizational
approach that makes sense to you as long as you respond to the question and all of its parts. Strong organization is to your
advantage. Using the question structure as your guide is often a very good approach; think carefully before doing
something more creative, as it makes it more difficult for you (and for the reader!) to see that you have answered the entire
question.
Now you are ready to begin writing. What you write is the only evidence that the reader has about what you know
regarding the question that has been posed. You will not get any benefit of the doubt about your knowledge. Flesh out the
ideas you used to construct your outline, using precise language and examples to bolster you points. Correctly used,
appropriate examples give the reader confidence that you have an understanding of the question that merits awarding the
points allocated to that part of the question.
Your answer will be judged based on whether or not you have accomplished your task-to define, identify, describe, or
explain-as laid out in the question. You earn points for accomplishing the assigned tasks. There is no need to venture
beyond the scope of the question. You will not earn extra points, and, because each question is scored independently, you
will not be able to make up for a question you feel you did not answer well enough by overcompensating on another
question.
Many free-response questions on an AP U.S. Government & Politics Exam will ask you to address a single topic in a
straightforward way. Here is an example of such a question:
1. The system of checks and balances ensures that no branch of government has unfettered power. Describe-using
examples-how each branch has exercised this power over another branch.
In your response to this question, you need to furnish examples that help you describe how each of the three governmental
branches has used the system of checks and balances to wield power.
Some free-response questions are divided into several parts, or sub questions. You might be presented with a list of items,
such as specific court cases or interest groups, that you are asked to address in your response. These partitioned questions
often contain directives like identify, describe, and explain. Here is an example:
2. Choose two of the following Supreme Court cases.
California Board of Regents v. Bakke
Roe v. Wade
Gideon v. Wainwright
Rust v. Sullivan Miranda v. Arizona
Korematsu v. United States
For each case you selected, do each of the following.
a. Describe the position of each side.
b. Describe the Supreme Court's ruling.
c. Explain whether the ruling increased or decreased the rights of individuals.
First, you need to recognize (at least two of) the cases and choose the two you want to use in the remainder of your
response. Do not be intimidated by a list of six cases. You could know absolutely nothing about four of the cases and still
earn all of the points for the question. Second, you would need to describe the positions of the opposing sides in each of the
two cases chosen (four descriptions). Third, you must describe the Court's ruling, i.e., present a simple statement of the
Court's holding in the cases chosen. Finally, you must take a position on whether the rights of individuals were increased or
decreased in each of the chosen cases and support your position.
A simple statement of your conclusion about the increase or decrease of individual rights by the Court in your chosen cases
would not be sufficient to earn credit for the explain part of the question. The reader must finish your response knowing
how you think rights were expanded or contracted or why you have taken the position you have for each of the chosen
cases. It is often the explain part of a question that separates the best prepared students from the rest.
It cannot be overemphasized: pay close attention to exactly what the question asks you to do, and do it-nothing more,
nothing less! For example, in the question posed above, asking you to
describe the positions of the parties in two cases, the Supreme Court's ruling, and to explain the cases' impact on the
expansion or contraction of individual rights, you might know the full story of Clarence Gideon and how his case made it to
the Supreme Court, but even a brilliant explanation of this saga would earn you no points because that is not requested in
the question. To earn points, answer the question that is asked-not the one you wish had been asked.
You will not be asked about your personal political opinions, so do not include them in your answer. You do not get extra
credit for going beyond the scope of a question, and that just wastes your valuable time. Similarly, students sometimes
will write a response that is completely off topic when they don't know the answer. You are better off re-reading your
other answers and adding to them if you can't write on one of the questions. But even writing a little on a topic might earn
a few points that a description of your prom night (and yes, some essays do exactly that!) won't. The AP Exam is a
political science exam. Make sure that your answer is a political science answer.
Strategies for Free-Response Questions
Here is a list of strategies that you can use to increase your chance of excelling on the free-response section of the exam.
Some frequently used directives are listed below, along with descriptions of what you need to do in writing your answer.
• compare: address similarities and differences between two or more things
• describe: give a detailed account
• identify: give a brief definition or listing
• explain: communicate how or why
Last But Not Least
1. Knock out the stupid answers- Many multiple choice questions on an AP exam have at least one wild-card answer that
looks nothing like any of the others and couldn't possibly be right. Anyone even a little familiar with the exam content
won't choose it. Cross that one out first.
2. Knock out the answer that's "almost" right- Examiners know that some people will look at the question, have a
quick think and look for the answer that's in the ball-park. That's why they include an answer choice that's only half-right.
Half-right is WRONG and it's a "trick" answer put in to fool you. Find that answer and cross it out next.
Reminder: On the AP Exam in May, missed questions count more against you than unanswered questions. So, if you
aren’t absolutely sure you may choose not to answer the question.