Mr. Sea’s General FRQ Tips for the AP Government Exam
Released Free Response Question From 2008
“1. Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted,
politicians often engage in gerrymandering.
(a) Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states.
(b) Define congressional redistricting.
(c) Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting.

Each question will begin with a factual statement concerning the topic. You should underline the
important key words in this opening statement of the question.
For example:
“Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is
conducted politicians often engage in gerrymandering.”(See the three key vocabulary words?)

Read and reread the question to be sure you understand exactly what is being asked. Circle directives
such as define, identify, describe, and explain. These are the tasks that must be accomplished for you to
earn credit for a response. DO EXACTLY (and only) WHAT THE VERB SAYS!
For example:
(a) Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states. (Two verbs here!)
(b) Define congressional redistricting.
(c) Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting.

When formulating your answer: (IMPORTANT!)
o Include the letter to show what part of the question you are answering (a), (b), etc.
o Use a separate paragraph for each point
o Underline the key terms in your answer
o Pay attention to how many examples they ask for (Look at “c” above)
o (Most Important) DO EXACTLY WHAT THEY ASKED OF YOU IN THE VERB
For example:
a) “Congressional reapportionment is when a state’s population is counted and based upon the growth or
loss of state citizens the number of representatives a state sends to the House could change. (There’s
your “Define Reapportionment”) Congressional reapportionment is important because the more
representatives a state has the more influence it has in Congress” (There’s your “Explain Why it’s
Important”)
Skip one line, write a “b”, and start answering the second task the exact same way you answered the first
b) “Congressional Redistricting is the process of redrawing district boundaries every ten years following the
national census to reflect population shifts and ensure that each US House district has equal numbers of
people” (There’s your “Define Congressional Redistricting”)
Skip one line, write a “c” and start answering the third task always paying attention to the VERB and
NUMBER of EXAMPLES
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
Other general tips
o If a question asks for 1 example, give them 2; this gives you a chance to be wrong on the first
example and still get the maximum number of points since only correct answers are tallied and
incorrect ones are ignored and do not hurt you
o Always define governmental terms mentioned in the question even if not asked to do so as there
is a 50/50 chance it will be counted as a point
o Don’t write a conclusion since repeating items won’t get you more points AGAIN, JUST
ACCOMPLISH THE TASK THEY ASK OF YOU!

Final Instructions
o The AP Government exam consists of 60 multiple choice questions and 4 FRQs that must be
accomplished in two hours and 25 minutes
o The multiple choice portion of the exam is 45 minutes long
o The free response portion of the exam is One hour and 40 minutes long
o Your FRQ answers 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
o You will not be asked about your personal political opinions, so do NOT include them in your
answer
For EVERY FRQ since 2003 and SAMPLE ANSWERS go to:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_information/2086.html#name08
Or Google “AP Government FRQ” and click on the link from
College Board
FRQs are EASY: Do only what they ask you to do and simply
answer the question! YOU CAN DO IT!!!
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