WRITING FREE RESPONSE
Do’s and Don’ts
Overview
 4 Questions in 100 minutes
 Designed to evaluate your analytical and
organizational skills
 Brainstorm
 Organize and outline
 Re-read
 Don’t leave points on the table
When you see the question
 Take 5 minutes to organize
and brainstorm
 Underline the Directives
 Identify
 Explain
 Identify and Explain
 Describe and explain
 Give specific explanantions
 Pay attention to the
specific task after directive
 You will always need to
support your answer with
examples
 If you can’t remember
some information, don’t
panic, answer the parts
you know how to answer
Do’s and don’ts
Do’s
 Use correct grammar-they



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don’t count for grading
purposes, but help the
grader psychologically
Answer all 4 questions
Support your explanations
with specific evidence
Write in your style
Edit your answer and make
sure you have answered all
parts
Don’ts
 Try to sound sophisticated
or use big words, keep it
simple and concise
 Editorialize, they aren’t
interested in your opinion
and won’t get you points
 Data dump
 Use historical examples,
this a contemporary US
political class
An example from Chapter 3
The power of the federal government relative to the power of
the states has increased since the ratification of the
Constitution.
a. Describe two of the following provisions of the
Constitution and explain how each has been used over time
to expand federal power.
The power to tax and spend
The “necessary and proper” or “elastic” clause
The commerce clause
b. Explain how one of the following has increased the power
of the federal government relative to the power of state
governments.
Americans with Disabilities Act
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Clean Air Act
Rubric (trade with someone else)
 Part A: One point is earned for each of the two
descriptions and one point for the two explanations
 Acceptable descriptions may include
 Tax and spend power
 Response must indicate who exercises this power.
(Congress/national government)
 The response must describe both the power to tax and the power
to spend
 “necessary and proper” clause
 Must indicate who exercises this power
 Must include the power to pass laws
 The commerce clause
 Must indicate who exercises this power
 Response must refer to the regulation of interstate commerce,
foreign commerce/trade, or commerce with Native American
tribes.
continued
 Part B: One point is earned for identifying a
provision of one of the laws, and 1 point is earned
for explaining how the provision increased federal
power over the states. If the response doesn’t
identify a provision of one of the laws, it cannot get
the second point.
 (Each point worth 5)
Questions for Unit Test I
 1. In The Federalist paper #10, Madison expressed concern
over the possibility that both majority and minority
factions would have too much power over government, and
he presented ways of minimizing that danger.
 a. Identify the part of the national government that was
originally most closely tied to citizens and explain how it was
tied to citizens.
 b. Explain two ways the United States Constitution limited
majority rule.
 c. Choose two of the following 20th century developments and
explain how each moved the United States from a less
democratic system to a more democratic system.
 Primary elections
 The 17th Amendment
 Expansion of suffrage
 2.
 A. Define federalism
 B. Select two of the following and explain how each has
been used to increase the power of the federal government
relative to the states.
 Categorical grants
 Federal mandate
 Selective incorporation
 C. Select two of the following and explain how each has
been used to increase the power of the states relative to the
federal government
 Welfare Reform Act of 1996
 Block grants
 10th Amendment