AP Gov
Name________________
Ideology Assignment
Due:
Tuesday, October 2
1. Attached are links to several ideology surveys. Take any three (minimum) of the
surveys. The more the better! Record your results by writing them down or printing
them out.
2. If possible, encourage your family members to take the online surveys. Record their
results.
3. Write a two-to-three page paper covering some of the following questions. You don’t
have to address all the questions; choose the ones that are interesting for your particular
results. This paper should be typed (double-spaced) and in MLA format with a title.
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Do the results of the three surveys correlate with one another?
How are they different?
How can you explain the differences?
Were you surprised by the results? Did the results match where you thought you
were ideologically? Did they match the presidential candidate you support in the
2012 election?
What issues were the most important ones to you? If the surveys had only been
composed of those questions, would the results have been different for you?
How can you apply the results of these tests to what you feel the purpose of
government should be?
What do you think the terms liberal and conservative really mean in today¹s
political climate?
How do your results correlate with your family’s results? Does this surprise you?
Now that you have learned about the factors that influence public opinion do
those factors apply to you? What does and what doesn’t?
Which survey do you think was the most valid and why?
Grading Rubric
(This must be stapled to your paper when you turn it in plus the results of your three+
online surveys.)
Perceptive analysis of the results of your survey. Use of examples
from the surveys and the world of politics to support your analysis.
Good essay structure with an introduction containing a thesis
statement, transition between paragraphs, body paragraphs that
support that thesis, and a strong conclusion.
Beautiful English grammar, spelling, and punctuation
TOTAL
Possible
Points
35
10
5
50
Your
Points
AP Gov
Match Your Ideology
There are all sorts of quizzes of political ideology on the web. They are of varying
quality and reliability. Some of them have an agenda to steer respondents one
way or another. Some are just not written that well. Some are just plain wacky. Be
aware of all this as you take the quizzes. Despite these caveats - the quizzes can
be a lot of fun.
The Pew Research Center - http://typology.people-press.org/typology/
Find out where you fit in on their typology scale.
The Pew Research Center Political Party Quiz –
http://www.people-press.org/political-party-quiz/
This places you on a partisan spectrum vs. an ideological one
The Political Compass- http://www.politicalcompass.org/test
Find out where you belong on the conservative/liberal and authoritarian/libertarian
spectrum
I Side With - http://www.isidewith.com/presidential-election-quiz
Matches you to a current presidential candidate
The Nolan Chart - http://www.nolanchart.com/survey.php
Answer ten, rather detailed questions and find out where you are on an ideological chart.
VoteMatch Quiz - http://www.ontheissues.org/Quiz/Quiz2010.asp?quiz=Pres2012
Also based on the 2012 presidential candidates
The World's Smallest Political Quiz - http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html
Ten questions and you're done. This is a libertarian site.
Ideology Selector - http://selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=zeron
A couple of these questions are out of date, but one interesting gimmick is being able to
rate how important an issue is to you.
Libertarian Purity Test - http://www.bcaplan.com/cgi-bin/purity.cgi
Find out how libertarian your views are.
Are You a Socialist or a Capitalist?
http://www.blogthings.com/areyouasocialistorcapitalistquiz/
rather a simplistic quiz, but still entertaining