HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT AP U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 12TH GRADE Study Guide for Free Response Questions #1-4 1. Concept Application Question: Political topic/scenario with brief reading (relatively current issue/problem) Solution to the question/problem Who are the actors and what are their powers? Can be formal or informal. Answer the VERB in each of the letter prompts. LABEL them. Identify: What is it? Describe: How does it work? How is power distributed? Explain/Support/Respond: If you cover how, why, and because, you should be on solid ground. 15 minutes should be enough to answer it. Rubric Points 3: 1) Describe a power, and action… 2) Explain, in context, use of power / effect of the action / contrast of ideas… 3) Explain, in context, interactions / effects in strategies / the other side... 2. Quantitative Analysis Question: Map/chart/graph/cartoon with expected analysis Analyze quantitative data, identify a trend or pattern, or draw a conclusion from a visual representation and explain how it relates to a political principle, institution, process, policy, or behavior. Don’t cite data that doesn’t answer the question. Identify: What is it? Describe: How does it work? How is power distributed? Explain/Support/Respond: If you cover how, why, and because, you should be on solid ground. 20 minutes should be enough to answer it. Rubric Points 4: 1)identify relevant data from the chart/map 2)describe similarity/difference 3)draw a conclusion about 4)explain relevant data in gov context 3. SCOTUS Comparison: Compare a nonrequired Supreme Court case with a required Supreme Court case, explaining how information from the required case is relevant to the nonrequired one. *The instructions in Q3, part (B) do NOT make it clear that you have to give facts of the case. Identify: What is it? Describe: How does it work? How is power distributed? Explain/Support/Respond: If you cover how, why, and because, you should be on solid ground. 20 minutes should be enough to answer it. Rubric Points 4: 1) identify constitutional clause in both 2) provide facts of req. case * 3) explain the relevance of facts… 4) describe an action of the government. 4. Argument Essay: Develop an argument in the form of an essay, using evidence from required foundational documents and course concepts. **In Q4 you MUST state a thesis to get other points on this question! It will be easy, but be sure to do it. You HAVE to take a stand/side out of the 2 that the prompt will suggest. READ the prompt CAREFULLY and ANSWER the question. 30 minutes should be enough to answer it. Rubric Points 6: 1) articulate a defensible claim ** 2) support the claim with req. document 3) describe why document supports 4) support with another document 5) describe why document supports 6) respond to opposing/alternative… In your essay, you must: ● Articulate a defensible claim or thesis that responds to the prompt and establishes a line of reasoning with a clear why (BECAUSE) you pick that side ● Support your claim with at least TWO pieces of accurate and relevant information: ○ At least ONE piece of evidence must be from one of the given foundational documents: ● Use a second piece of evidence from another foundational document from the list, from the SCOTUS cases or from your study of the topic addressed by the prompt. ● Use reasoning to explain why claim/thesis.“Because” is your best friend. your evidence supports your ● Respond to an opposing or alternative perspective using refutation, concession, or rebuttal.
