ap us gov argumentative essay prompts

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Lesson Plan: AP Government: Argumentative Essay Practice

The Federalist Papers

Boston College professor Mary Sarah Bilder gives a brief overview backgrounding the Federalist Papers

Description

This is intended as an end-of-course review activity for practice with the argumentative essay format included on the AP United States Government and Politics exam since the 2018 redesign. Eleven practice prompts are provided, reflecting content from Units 1-3.

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY PROMPT ANALYSIS

• Review the provided Argumentative Essay Prompts in either an individual or jigsaw format.
• Write a thesis statement for your selected prompt(s) and identify the selection you would make from the provided list and the second piece of evidence you would choose.
• If there are prompts for which you struggle to develop a thesis, or items on the bulleted lists with which you are not conversant, use the hyperlinked C-SPAN Classroom resources to extend your understanding of the required founding documents and SCOTUS cases that you found challenging.

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

• Chose one or more of the provided Argumentative Essay Prompts , as assigned, and use the planning and exploration you did above to write a full essay in response to your designated prompt(s) in 25 or fewer minutes , since that's the time limit you'll face on the AP Exam!
• Exchange essays with a classmate and evaluate each others' work.
• 1st Amendment
• Branches Of Government
• Constitution
• House Of Representatives
• Separation Of Powers
• Supreme Court

Sample Prompts for the Argument Essay FRQ- AP government

Below are 16 topics, each of which includes:

• A sample essential question which introduces the prompt
• A draft prompt including three founding documents that could help shape the students’ arguments.

Each prompt is crafted to encourage deep analysis and aligns with key AP Government concepts, ensuring your students are well-prepared for exam success.

AP Government Argument Essay Samples

• NEW ! Media censorship: Should the government play an active role in the censorship of social media?  
• Independent judiciary:   Is an independent judiciary a threat to or a savior for democracy?  
• Congressional roles:   Does the delegate or trustee model of Congressional representation best serve the needs of the people as the Framers intended?  
• Federalism in the Age of Coronavirus:  Should the federal government or the states be most responsible for responding to the Coronavirus outbreak?  
• Political Parties:  Do political parties hinder or promote democracy?  
• Congressional oversight :  Is congressional oversight healthy or unhealthy for our system of government?
• Interest groups: Do interest groups hinder or promote democracy? 
• Civil Rights:  Should the federal government have power over states in the shaping of civil rights policies?
• Citizen participation: Does citizen participation really matter? 
• Photo IDs and federalism:   Do states have the authority to pass photo identification laws which restrict people’s ability to vote?  
• Presidential power:   Do executive orders give the president too much power?      
• Gridlock:   Is gridlock healthy or unhealthy for our system of government?
• Term limits:   Do congressional term limits violate or honor popular sovereignty?
• Primaries and caucuses: Is the presidential nominating process democratic? 
• Social Media :  Is social media a healthy way for citizens to participate in our political system?  
• Electoral College:   Should the electoral college be abolished?
• Representative versus direct democracy: Which is a better vehicle to serve citizen needs– a representative or direct democracy?  

Enhance Your Classroom Experience! You understand the challenges of keeping students engaged and preparing them for the AP exam. Our carefully curated essay prompts are designed to align with AP standards, fostering critical thinking and discussion in your classroom. Get ready to inspire your students with materials that cater to the dynamic world of government and politics.

For more resources for AP government, visit HERE

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AP US Government FRQ

Ap government free response.

Check out the following resources for the AP Gov FRQ. Be sure to watch these strategy videos and work through all of the free response practice questions.

Official Sample FRQ

Frq strategy videos, how to write ap gov frqs, argumentative essay.

AP Government | Practice Exams | FRQ | Notes | Videos |  Flashcards |  Study Guides

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AP Gov Free Response Questions (FRQ) – Past Prompts

1 min read • july 11, 2024

Fatima Raja

We’ve compiled a sortable list of a bunch of the AP US Government & Politics past prompts! The AP Gov essays (or all written portions) are 50% of the exam including short-answer questions (SAQs) and an Argument Essay. It’s important that you understand the rubrics and question styles going into the exam. Use this list to practice! 

By practicing with previously released free response questions (FRQs), you’ll build critical-thinking and analytical skills that will prepare you for the exam. These past prompts have been designed to help you connect concepts and ideas to each other while applying your knowledge to real-life scenarios.

The AP Gov curriculum was  updated in 2018 to focus more on primary documents and have more specific course content outlines, but the past prompts are still a good resource to practice with!

If you need more support with AP Gov,  join us live for reviews, concept explanations, practice FRQs, and more!

All credit to College Board.

👉 2019 AP Gov FRQs

Qualitative Analysis

Interactions among branches of government (congress, policy-making, interest groups).

Since 2008 the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian interest group, has promoted an annual event known as Pulpit Freedom Sunday. On this occasion, pastors are encouraged to challenge a provision of the tax law known as the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits political activity by certain nonprofit organizations, including religious organizations. While the Johnson Amendment does not restrict religious leaders from speaking out regarding social issues, it does prohibit them from contributing money to political campaigns or speaking out in favor or against candidates running for political office. 

On Pulpit Freedom Sunday, as an act of civil disobedience, pastors and religious leaders preach openly about the moral qualifications of candidates seeking office.

• Describe an action Congress could take to address the concerns of the interest group in the scenario.
• In the context of the scenario, explain how partisan divisions could prevent the action described in part A.
• Explain why the Alliance Defending Freedom might argue that their constitutional rights are threatened by the Johnson Amendment.

What are they actually asking?

To carefully read the provided passage and then use the information provided to describe responses that Congress could take, potential partisan obstacles, and how an interest group could argue their rights are being threatened by the scenario.

Mean Score: 1.84/5

Quantitative Analysis

American political ideologies and belief (political parties, polls).

• Identify the political affiliation of people who are most likely to believe elected officials should compromise.
• Describe the difference between Democrats and Republicans on their attitudes of whether government officials should stick to their principles, based on the data in the bar graph.
• Explain how the data in the bar graph could influence how a Republican candidate would shift his or her campaign positions after securing the Republican nomination for president.
• Explain how the data in the bar graph could affect policy making interactions between the president and Congress.

Using the graphic provided and your knowledge of the AP Gov course, analyze the data provided and apply it to the situations provided.

Mean Score:  2.3/5

Supreme Court Case

Civil liberties and civil rights (civil rights, fourteenth amendment).

In the 1950s, Pete Hernandez, a Mexican American agricultural worker, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison by an all-white jury in Jackson County, Texas. Hernandez’s defense claimed that people of Mexican ancestry had been discriminated against in Jackson County. They pointed to the fact that no person of Mexican ancestry had served on a jury in 25 years and that the Jackson County Courthouse itself practiced segregation in its facilities. The five jury commissioners, who selected the members of the grand jury, testified under oath that they selected jurors based only on their qualifications and did not consider race or national origin in their decisions.

In the ensuing case,  Hernandez v. Texas  (1954), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Hernandez, deciding that evidence of discrimination against Mexican Americans existed in Jackson County and that the Constitution prohibits such discrimination.

• Identify the clause in the Fourte enth Amendment that was used as the basis for the decision in both Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and  Hernandez v. Texas (1954).
• Explain how the facts in both  Brown v. Board of Education and  Hernandez v. Texas led to a similar decision in both cases.
• Explain how an interest group could use the decision in  Hernandez v. Texas to advance its agenda.

Using your knowledge of the 14th Amendment and  Brown v. Board of Education , explain the decision and explain how you would apply it to  Hernandez v. Texas .

Mean Score:  1.74/5

Argument Essay

Foundations of american democracy (federalism).

The United States Constitution establishes a federal system of government. Under federalism, policy making is shared between national and state governments. Over time, the powers of the national government have increased relative to those of the state governments.

Develop an argument about whether the expanded powers of the national government benefits or hinders policy making.

Use at least one piece of evidence from one of the following foundational documents: 

• The Articles of Confederation
• The Federalist 10

Using one of the documents listed and additional outside evidence, argue whether or not the expanded powers of the federal government is good or bad for policy-making.

Mean Score: 3.34/5

👉 2018 AP Gov FRQs

Political Participation (political parties, third-parties)

Political parties seek to win elections to control government

• Identify two activities that political parties do to win elections.
• Describe one way third parties can affect elections.
• Explain how single-member districts make it difficult for third parties to win elections.
• Explain how electoral competition is affected by gerrymandering.

What are they actually asking for?

Demonstrate your understanding of how electoral competition affects third-parties and is affected by gerrymandering.

Mean Score:  2.84/5

Political Participation (polls)

Public opinion polls are commonly used by politicians and the media.

• Identify two characteristics of a reliable scientific public opinion poll.
• Describe two ways polling results are used by politicians.
• Explain how frequent public opinion polls impact media coverage of political campaigns.

Demonstrate your understanding of polling by explaining what makes a poll reliable and how they are used.

Mean Score:  3.22/5

Quantitative Reasoning

Interactions between branches (vetos).

The United States Constitution gave Congress and the president specific legislative powers. As a result, the interactions between the two are dynamic and complex.

• Describe the constitutional principle of checks and balances.
• Describe EACH of the following presidential powers in the legislative process: 1. Veto1. State of the Union address
• Using the data in the chart, describe the relationship between the number of presidential vetoes and the number of congressional overrides.
• Explain how Congress can reduce the likelihood of a presidential veto.

Demonstrate your understanding of checks and balances by explaining the relationships between vetos, the State of the Union Address, and congressional overrides.

Mean Score:  3.21/5

Interactions Between Branches (republicanism)

In a democracy, what the majority wants should influence public policy. The opinion of the majority is sometimes, but not always, reflected in policy change.

• Explain how interest groups reduce the influence of public opinion on policy.
• Explain how EACH of the following increases the likelihood of policy change. 1. Newly elected president1. National crisis
• Describe the role of EACH of the following institutions in the policy process. 1. The courts1. The media

Demonstrate your understanding of the policy-making process by explaining the influence of interest groups, the media, and public opinion and explain how different situations can affect it.

Mean Score:  2.42/5

👉 2017 AP Gov FRQs

Foundations of Democracy (Supreme Court)

The framers of the Constitution intended the Supreme Court to be politically insulated. Despite this intent, the Supreme Court is not completely insulated from political influences.

• Describe one constitutional provision that seeks to insulate the Supreme Court from public opinion.
• Identify a power exercised by the Supreme Court that acts as a check on another branch of the federal government.
• Explain how each of the following can limit the independence of the Supreme Court. 1. Congress1. President
• Explain how the Supreme Court protects its political independence.

Explain how the Supreme Court maintains its independence from public opinion and how Congress and the President can limit it.

Mean Score:  1.78/5

Political Participation (Interest Groups)

Interest groups play an important role in the political process.

• Identify the primary goal of interest groups.
• Describe EACH of the following strategies used by interest groups. 1. Lobbying1. Amicus curiae
• Explain how EACH of the following hinders the success of interest groups in obtaining their primary goal. 1. Separation of powers1. Bureaucratic discretion

To describe the functions and goals of interest groups in policy-making.

Mean Score:  2.49/5

Interactions Among Branches of Government (Federal Spending)

Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare are all mandatory spending programs, also known as entitlement programs.

• Identify a change in federal spending between 1970 and 2023 (projected) based on the chart above.
• Describe the difference between entitlement programs and discretionary programs.
• Describe one demographic trend that has contributed to changes in entitlement spending.
• Explain why changes in entitlement spending make balancing the federal budget difficult.
• Explain how deficit spending affects the projected trend in net interest.

To describe how federal spending, including entitlement and discretionary programs, functions and is affected by different factors.

Mean Score: 2.27/5

Interactions Between Branches of Government (federalism)

The balance of power between the United States national government and state governments is shaped by the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings.

• Describe EACH of the following constitutional provisions.1. Supremacy clause1. Tenth Amendment
• Explain how ONE of the following court rulings changed the balance of power between the national government and state governments.1. United States v. Lopez 1. Obergefell v. Hodges
• Describe TWO advantages of federalism for the creation of public policy in the United States.

To explain how the relationship between the state and federal governments is shaped by constitutional clauses and has changed over the years.

Mean Score: 1.86/5

👉 2016 AP Gov FRQs

Political Participation (linkage institutions)

Linkage Institutions - such as political parties, the media, and interest groups - connect citizens to the government and play significant roles in the electoral process.

• Describe one important function of political parties as a linkage institution in elections.
• Describe the influence of the media on the electoral process in each of the following roles. 1. Gatekeeping/agenda setting1. Scorekeeping/horse race journalism
• Describe two strategies interest groups use to influence the electoral process.
• Explain how, according to critics, interest groups may limit representative democracy.

Describe the relationships between interest groups, political parties, and the media as linkage institutions and the federal government and how they affect elections and policy-making.

Mean Score:  3.28/6

Political Participation (Demographics and Elections)

The United States is experiencing a dramatic change in the makeup of its population. These changes have political consequences for political institutions.

• Identify a trend depicted in the chart.
• Assuming that recent voting patterns continue, explain how the trend identified in (a) is likely to affect the electoral success of either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.
• Explain how the demographic changes shown in the chart above are likely to affect the way in which parties operate in Congress.
• Describe two specific actions that presidents can take to respond to the demographic changes in the chart above.

Describe how demographic changes will affect political parties and the electoral process.

Mean Score:  1.77/5

Interactions Between Branches of Government (policy-making)

The public policy process involves interactions between Congress and the bureaucracy.

• Identify the primary role of Congress in the policy process.
• Explain how divided party control of Congress can make the policy process difficult.
• Identify the primary role of the bureaucracy in the policy process.
• Explain how one of the following increases the power of the bureaucracy in the policy process. 1. Rule making1. Bureaucratic discretion
• Explain how each of the following enables Congress to limit the power of the bureaucracy. 1. Oversight hearings1. Power of the purse

Describe the policy-making process, its challenges, the bureaucracy's role within it, and how Congress conducts oversight over the bureaucracy.

Mean Score:  2.47/6

Interactions Between Branches, Political Participation (federalism, voting)

The Constitution limited the power of the national government and restricted popular control; however, citizen participation has changed over time.

• Explain how each of the following constitutional features protects against the concentration of power in the national government. 1. Checks and balances1. Federalism
• Explain how one of the following features of the Constitution limited the people’s ability to influence the national government. 1. Electoral college1. Selection of senators before the Seventeenth Amendment
• Describe a constitutional amendment that increased suffrage.
• Describe the effect of one of the following laws on citizen participation in elections. 1. Voting Rights Act of 19651. National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (Motor Voter Act)

Explain how the power of the federal government is limited, how people's influence on the federal government was limited, how suffrage increased, and how the passage of certain legislation affected voter participation.

Mean Score:  2.93/5

👉 2015 AP Gov FRQs

Interactions Among Branches of Government (presidential roles)

American politics has often been called an "invitation to struggle." Although in recent years the president has been thought to have an advantage in policy making, there are still constraints on the power of the president.

• Describe a power of the president in each of the following roles. 1. Chief legislator1. Chief bureaucrat or chief administrator
• Explain how each of the following limits the president’s influence in policy making. 1. Civil service employees1. The Supreme Court
• Describe the influence of divided government on the policy-making process.

Explain how the president can influence policy-making as well as the limits that the Supreme Court, civil service, and a divided government could place on. them.

Mean Score: 2.5/5

The framers of the Constitution devised a federal system of government that affected the relationship between the national and state governments.

• Compare state sovereignty under the Articles of Confederation and under the Constitution.
• Explain how each of the following has been used to expand the power of the federal government over the states. 1. Commerce clause1. Mandates
• Explain how each of the following has played a role in the devolution of power from the national government to the states.1. Block grants1. Supreme Court decisions

Describe how the relationship between the federal and state governments has changed and how different branches have played a role in that change.

Qualitative/Visual Analysis

Political participation (electoral college).

The framers created the electoral college to elect the president of the United States. This system influences the campaign strategies of presidential candidates.

• Describe one reason that the framers chose to use the electoral college as the method to elect the president.
• Describe the message the cartoon above conveys about presidential elections.
• Explain why California, Texas, and New York do not appear prominently in the cartoon above.
• Describe two campaign tactics presidential candidates use to win the key states identified in the cartoon above.

Explain the electoral college, how it functions, and how it affects presidential campaigns.

Mean Score: 2.37/5

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (civil rights and liberties)

The Fourteenth Amendment protects civil rights and civil liberties.

• Describe the difference between civil rights and civil liberties.
• Identify the primary clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that is used to extend civil rights.
• Describe a specific legislative action that extended civil rights to each of the following. 1. Women1. Persons with disabilities
• Identify the primary clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that is used to extend civil liberties.
• Explain how civil liberties were incorporated by the Supreme Court in two of the following cases. 1. Gideon v. Wainwright 1. Mapp v. Ohio 1. Miranda v. Arizona

Demonstrate your understanding of civil rights and liberties, the Fourteenth Amendment, and Supreme Court cases affected by it.

Mean Score: 2.41/7

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The Complete Guide to AP US Government FRQs

Advanced Placement (AP)

Free-response questions, or FRQs, on the AP US Government exam are more straightforward than those on some other AP tests, but they can still be tough if you're not ready for them. In this guide, we will lay out a simple step-by-step method for answering AP Government FRQs , go through a real example, and tell you where you can find additional practice resources.

AP Government Free-Response Section Format

The free-response section lasts one hour and 40 minutes and consists of four questions , each of which is worth 12.5% of your total score. So as a whole, the free-response section accounts for half your total AP Gov score (the other 50% comes from the multiple-choice section). Each FRQ is worth 3-6 raw points.

Here are the four types of FRQs you'll get on the AP Government exam:

• Concept Application (3 raw points)
• Quantitative Analysis (4 raw points)
• SCOTUS Comparison (4 raw points)
• Argument Essay (6 raw points)

The free-response questions will ask you to integrate your knowledge of the various content areas covered by the course. This includes analyzing political events in the US, discussing examples, and demonstrating your understanding of general principles of US government and politics. You'll also be asked to examine data from charts, define key terms, and explain the roles that different parts of our government play in the political system.

The following chart shows specifically what you must do for each FRQ on the AP Government test. All info below comes from the 2020 AP US Government and Politics Course and Exam Description .

AP Government FRQs: 5-Step Solution Process

This section provides a step-by-step process for answering any question on the AP US Government exam. Here's a sample question from the 2020 AP Gov Course and Exam Description that I'll reference throughout so you can see how these steps might work in practice:

Step 1: Read the Introductory and Concluding Sentences

Free-response questions #1 and #3 will include passages, while question #2 will have an image or a chart with data. Skim the first and final sentences of the passage (or title of the graphic for #2) before you get to the tasks (labeled A-C or A-D). This will help you get a rough sense of what to expect in the rest of the question.

It's a good idea to read the intros and conclusions to all the FRQs before choosing which one to begin with. Doing this might help build up your confidence and improve your efficiency to start with a question that's easier for you.

In the sample question above, you would read the title of the graphic ("Public Education Spending: Amount Spent per Pupil by State in 2014") and then skim the image itself to get a sense of what it's asking you to analyze.

Step 2: Identify (and Underline, If You Want) the Command Verb

For each task in each FRQ, you're given specific instructions on the type of answer that is expected; these instructions include command verbs that tell you what to do. It's important to be aware of exactly what the question is asking so you can earn full points.

These command verbs are the first words you should zero in on as you approach a question. If you think it'll help keep you focused, you can underline these verbs .

Here are the most commonly used task verbs, as described in the AP Gov Exam Description :

Compare: Provide a description or explanation of similarities and/or differences.

Define: Provide a specific meaning for a word or concept.

Describe: Provide the relevant characteristics of a specified topic.

Develop an argument: Articulate a claim and support it with evidence.

Draw a conclusion: Use available information to formulate an accurate statement that demonstrates understanding based on evidence.

Explain: Provide information about how or why a relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome occurs, using evidence and/or reasoning. Explain "how" typically requires analyzing the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome, whereas explain "why" typically requires analysis of motivations or reasons for the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome.

Identify: Indicate or provide information about a specified topic, without elaboration or explanation.

In part A of the sample question, the command verb is "identify," indicating that you need to correctly interpret the data in the image. In part B, the command verb changes to "describe," which means you'll need to go one step further and interpret and analyze data in the graphic that you have found.

Part C starts with "draw a conclusion," meaning that you will need to tie together the evidence you found in part B to come up with a final (accurate) statement on what this means. Finally, part D begins with the task verb "explain," showing that you must make a clear connection between the data in this graphic as a whole and the principle of federalism.

Step 3: Know Where You'll Earn Your Raw Points

In general, each part in a question (A, B, C, and D) will correspond to 1 raw point , but not all questions are like this.

After finding the task verb in the part of the question you're answering, take note of how many examples or descriptions you need to provide , as each will likely correspond to a point in your raw score for the question. There might also be more than one task verb in a question, in which case you'll likely get at least 2 raw points for it.

As a reminder, here is the maximum number of raw points you can earn for each question (don't forget that each question is still worth the same percentage of your score: 12.5%):

Take care to answer the question thoroughly but directly , addressing all points in a way that will make it easy for graders to assess your response. Remember that you don't need to write an essay for the first three FRQs, so just go straight for the answer to avoid any ambiguity.

In the sample question, we know there will be 4 raw points you can earn. And since the tasks are divided into four parts (labeled A-D), we can assume that each part will be worth 1 raw point .

You can see more sample FRQs and how they're graded with the official scoring guidelines here .

Step 4: Reread Your Answer

Once you've come up with an answer, reread what you wrote to ensure it makes sense and addresses the question completely . Did you give the correct number of descriptions or examples asked of you? Does your answer directly respond to what the question is asking?

If you're satisfied, move on to the next part of the question and return to step 2!

Step 5: Pace Yourself

The final step is to keep track of time so you can be sure you're pacing yourself effectively and are not spending too much time on any one question. As a reminder, you'll have one hour and 40 minutes for the entire free-response section of the AP Government exam.

It's suggested that you spend the following amounts of time on each FRQ:

As you can see, you should spend about an equal amount of time on the first three FRQs and save most of your time for your essay , which will likely require the most effort of the four.

A Real AP Government FRQ Example + Analysis

Now, let's go through the answers to a real AP Government free-response question from the 2019 released questions to show you what your responses should look like. This question is an example of a Concept Application question on the exam, meaning it's worth 3 raw points (1 point each for parts A, B, and C).

This question is all about the Johnson Amendment, which does not allow religious organizations to engage in political activities and contribute money to political campaigns. As this passage explains, the Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious group, encourages pastors to challenge this law by participating in an annual event called Pulpit Freedom Sunday.

Below, we go through how to answer each of the three parts correctly using the scoring guidelines .

Part A—1 Point

Part A asks you to come up with an example of a specific action Congress could take to address the concerns of the Alliance Defending Freedom. In other words, what could Congress do to allow groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom to speak freely about political campaigns?

Note that the command verb used here is "describe," meaning you must "provide the relevant characteristics of a specified topic," or elaborate on what you're proposing and why it would work.

There are two possible answers you could put down here, according to the scoring guidelines:

• Congress could pass a law that would reverse the Johnson Amendment.
• Congress could pass a law to allow religious organizations to participate more directly in politics.

Part B—1 Point

Part B asks you to go into more detail about what you proposed in part A . You must talk about how partisan divisions (i.e., differences in political parties among politicians) could stop whatever you proposed in part A from going into effect (whether that's a new law altogether or a reversal of the original Johnson Amendment).

The task verb used here is "explain," so you must use evidence to show how the action you wrote down in part A could be blocked or reversed.

Here are two possible answers , according to the scoring guidelines:

• Partisan divisions make it more difficult to pass a law because parties adhere to different ideological points of view.
• If Congress and the president are from different political parties, the president might threaten to veto the legislation.

Part C—1 Point

The final part of this free-response question asks you to examine the scenario again, this time from the perspective of the Alliance Defending Freedom , or the religious group in question.

How might the Alliance argue that the Johnson Amendment, which prevents them from speaking on political issues and contributing money to political campaigns, is taking away their rights?

The key here is to first think about what rights these could be . Perhaps freedom of speech or freedom of religion? As you probably noticed, the task verb is "explain," so once again you must use plenty of evidence to show why this contentious relationship exists between the Alliance and the Johnson Amendment/the US government as a whole.

Here are examples of answers you could write, according to the official scoring guidelines:

• The Alliance Defending Freedom and other religious groups might argue that their First Amendment rights are being violated.
• The Alliance Defending Freedom and other religious groups might argue that their freedom of speech/religion is being violated.

Essential Resources for Practicing AP US Government FRQs

There are several resources you can use to hone your skills for answering AP Government FRQs.

Official College Board Resources

The College Board website hosts free-response questions from previous tests that you can use for practice. I recommend starting with the 2019 FRQs (unfortunately, they don't come with sample student responses), as these will look the most like the questions you'll get on test day.

Once you've used those, you can look at FRQs from the 2018 test and earlier; most of these come with sample student responses so you can see what a good response looks like.

If you're hoping to practice FRQs in the context of a full-length test, here are some links to past AP Government exams you can download (as always, prioritize the most recent tests):

• 2018 Practice Test
• 2013 Practice Test
• 2012 Practice Test
• 2009 Practice Test
• 2005 Practice Test
• 1999 Practice Test

These are by far the best sample AP US Government free-response questions you can get because they most accurately represent what you'll see on the real test.

AP Government Review Books

AP Government review books are also solid resources for free-response practice, though they vary a lot in quality.

The Princeton Review's prep book for AP Gov includes five full-length practice tests , so there should be tons of free-response questions you can use to hone your skills. Barron's AP US Gov review book also has some useful practice tests and free-response questions.

If you use these unofficial free-response questions for practice, just be sure to intersperse them with official questions from the College Board so that you maintain an accurate sense of what to expect on the real test.

Recap: Everything to Know About AP US Government FRQs

The four free-response questions on the AP US Government and Politics exam can be approached methodically to earn the maximum number of points.

Read the intro and conclusion to the question first so you can get your bearings. Then, for each of the separate parts, identify the task verb, figure out where you'll earn your raw points, and double-check your answer for any missing pieces or careless errors.

You should also pace yourself so that you're spending no more than 20 minutes each on the first three questions and 40 minutes on the essay.

I suggest practicing at least a few free-response questions before heading into the AP exam. The best resource to use is the College Board website, which contains an archive of past questions accompanied by scoring guidelines and sample student responses. These questions are pretty simple compared to the free-response questions on other AP tests once you get the hang of them!

What's Next?

Not sure where to begin in your AP prep? Our five-step plan will prepare you to take on any AP test .

If you're missing some of your notes that you need to study for AP Gov, check out this article with links to all the content you need to know for the test . You can also learn about the test as a whole with our comprehensive AP Government and Politics review guide .

Do you have a target score in mind for this exam? Learn more about what it takes to earn a 5 on an AP test and whether you should aim for one yourself.

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

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Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.

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AP® US Government

How to answer ap® us government free response questions.

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

Mastering the free response section can make or break any student’s AP® US Government and Politics score. If you’re looking for the best tips and tricks for answering AP® US GoPo free response questions, you’ve come to the right place. 

In this article, we’ll review tips for writing top-mark AP® US Government and Politics FRQs, mistakes that students make one too many times on past AP® GoPo exams, and how to use past AP® free response questions to start practicing for your upcoming exam. 

Keep reading to get everything you need to know when it comes to making the most of your AP® US Government and Politics exam review. 

What We Review

5 Steps on How to Write Effective AP® US Government and Politics Free Responses

Here, we’ll review a five-step strategy for you to start writing AP® US GoPo free response answers that will score you maximum possible points. 

1. Commit to learning what gets you points on the AP® US Government and Politics exam by reviewing past rubrics and scoring guidelines.

A common mistake students make when it comes to preparing for their AP® GoPo exam is failing to understand how they’re being graded. The first step to solving this is going to the College Board’s AP® Central website and navigating to the past released exams for US Government. 

Here is the link for AP® US Government and Politics past released exams

Open up the scoring guidelines PDF. These guidelines outline how points were distributed on that particular year’s exams. 

Here’s a screenshot from the first question of the 2019 released exam: 

Source: College Board

From this, you can see that this short answer question in 2019 was worth three points, with one point being allocated to each part. There are certain directive words to keep an eye on when reviewing AP® US Government and Politics free response questions, but we’ll get into that later.

For now, just make sure you review at least two years worth of released exam scoring guidelines so you begin to understand how questions and parts of questions are weighted. 

2. Underline or circle every bolded and capitalized word in the question prompt.

Alright, so now that we know how points are generally distributed, we need to build the habit of having a system for ensuring we actually answer the question asked by the College Board when we start our AP® US Government and Politics free response section.

AP® US Government and Politics isn’t as “nice” as AP® Biology free response questions in that they don’t always bold key directive words for you to know what is being asked.

That being said, it’s not hard to circle or underline for yourself the key thing you are being asked to answer. 

There are three “key phrases” to commit to memory when it comes to AP® US Government and Politics free response questions: 

That’s it. If you look at the last few years worth of released exam questions, these are the most commonly used directive words for the short answer question section of the AP® US Government and Politics free response section. 

If you aren’t sure what the three of these words are asking you for, keep reading.

When the exam asks you to describe something, you need to tell them about what they’re asking. This doesn’t mean you need to explain the “why” — it just means you need to talk about what the topic is and the characteristics of the topic being asked.

When you’re asked to explain something, this is where you need to show the “why”. You need to be able to give 3-5 sentences with an example in most cases to earn credit for these questions.

Finally, when asked to identify something, you need to simply indicate that you know what the topic is related to — no need for explanation or elaboration as you might when asked to describe or explain. 

One of our best test taking tips we can give you is to make a tick mark or star next to the words you have circled or underlined after you’ve answered it in your free response. This serves as a visual checklist for you to make sure you answered all parts of the question. 

Trust us! It’s easy to forget to answer one small part of an FRQ, and that can make all the difference in your free response score. 

Aside from the three directive words above, other commonly used ones for AP® GoPo include:

• Define : Similar to identify — show that you know what the topic is but there is no need to elaborate further than what’s asked.
• Compare : Provide a description of the similarities and/or differences of the topics presented.
• Develop an Argument : State a claim and support it with evidence.
• Draw a Conclusion : Make an accurate statement from what has been presented. 

3. Plan your response BEFORE beginning to write your response. 

One of the most commonly cited mistakes students make on the AP® GoPo free response section is not actually answering the question in a thoughtful way. 

The College Board uses the free response section to test your ability to connect the dots with what you’ve learned in class. You need to demonstrate skills such as considering evidence to incorporate and how that fits into your analysis. 

This means plan out your response before you begin writing! 

Take a second before putting your pen down to start writing to think through how you’ll answer the “why” based questions. 

Think deeply about what the question is actually asking you — sometimes students answer questions without actually…answering the question.

Readers often express that student misconceptions come from having a poorly planned response or simply restating the question without adding any direct response to the question they were asked. 

4. Remember that AP® US Government and Politics free responses are not like other subjects — treat them differently than you may in AP® English Language. 

When it comes to the short answer questions in AP® GoPo, you do not need to write an essay to score max points. There is no need for an introduction, thesis, or conclusion on these questions.

When it comes to the argumentative essay, it’s not necessarily a cookie-cutter five paragraph essay either. 

The argumentative essay’s scoring depends on each proceeding section building on the prior. On every question 4, the College Board states exactly what you need to score maximum possible points. 

You need: 

• To articulate a defensible claim or thesis that responds to the prompt and establishes a line of reasoning.
• Typically one will be from a foundational document while the other will be any other foundational document you learned in class
• Use reasoning to explain why your evidence supports your claim or thesis
• Respond to an opposing or alternative perspective using refutation, concession, or rebuttal.

What this means is that as long as you cover all the points outlined above clearly, you can score a perfect score on the argumentative essay! 

When it comes to preparing for the argumentative essay, one of the best things you can do is make sure you are fully comfortable with all 9 foundational documents and 15 Supreme Court cases. 

The required foundational documents to know are: 

• The Declaration of Independence
• The Articles of Confederation
• The Constitution of the United States
• Federalist No. 10
• Brutus No. 1
• Federalist No. 51
• Federalist No. 70
• Federalist No. 78
• Letters from a Birmingham Jail

Kelsey Falkowski has a nice 15-minute review video of these foundational documents here .

The required Supreme Court cases are:

• Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
• Schenck v. United States (1919)
• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
• Baker v. Carr (1961)
• Engel v. Vitale (1962)
• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
• New York Times Company v. United States (1971)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
• Roe v. Wade (1973)
• Shaw v. Reno (1993)
• United States v. Lopez (1995)
• McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Adam Norris has a great 11-minute review video on these fifteen cases here .

Typically when it comes to the final component, we like using rebuttals more than concessions or refutations. The reason why is because when you make a concession or refutation on a claim you made earlier in your essay, it can potentially come across as a weakening of your thesis if you are not able to position it properly. 

The last thing to remember here is to make sure you “close the loop”. This is a test taking strategy the College Board promotes across multiple disciplines and with good reason — it challenges a student to demonstrate they can form a coherent argument. Closing the loop in AP® US Government can mean using words like “because” or “therefore” to help bridge two concepts together and solve for the “why” this matters. 

5. Practice, practice, and did we say practice?

When you reduce AP® free response sections down to their core, regardless of subject domain, mastering them comes down to two things: knowing how you’re going to be graded, and learning how to craft responses that fit those rubrics. 

Sometimes students do the first part well but fail to practice enough at doing the second part, and vice versa. 

When you first start out, we recommend trying a set of past released questions and then having a friend grade your responses with the scoring guidelines. See how you would do without any intentional prep. Then, learn from your mistakes, log your mistakes in a study journal, and begin intentionally tackling other years one by one.

After a few times of doing this, you’ll begin building your intuition to craft a perfect-score response for your AP® US Government and Politics free responses.

25 AP® US Government and Politics FRQ Tips to Scoring a 4 or 5

Now that we’ve gone over the 5-step process to writing good AP® GoPo free responses, we can shift gears to tackle some test taking tips and tricks to maximizing your FRQ scores. 

We recommend you review these several weeks, and then days before your exam to keep them top of mind. 

• Know which SAQ you’re weakest at. There are always three core question types: concept application, quantitative analysis, and SCOTUS comparison. If you’re weak at one, make sure you’ve reviewed all the past released exams for that particular SAQ. 
• Make sure you review how issues or ideology can drive partnership on specific issues. 
• Focus on applying the political concepts and processes you learned in class to scenarios in context. This is one of the most common mistakes for the SAQs. 
• One of the easiest ways to bridge two concepts is to use words like “because” or “therefore” and then proceed to answer the “why this matters”. 
• Focus on what is right instead of what is wrong in your response. These free response questions are often graded based on what’s right more so than what’s wrong (which is different from another subject like AP® Biology).
• If you’re not 100% sure about a supporting statement, add a second supporting statement on the topic as backup. 
• If you’re offering specificity, make sure to be explicit on what the intent of you introducing that in your response is. For example, if something is being presented to rebuttal something else, explain why or how it does so. 
• When it comes to data analysis, you need to make sure you are comfortable interpreting data and applying data to demonstrate how it interacts with the political process. 
• In the past, students have not been able to analyze and apply data to course content — they make mistakes in connecting how policy relates to respective parties in the political process. 
• When practicing data analysis, it’s important to look at a variety of different types of graphs and focus on identifying the similarities and differences within a set of complex data. 
• Data analysis is not just reading graphs, but also reading charts and tables. Don’t just think because you got one question reading a graph correctly that you’re good to go for your quantitative analysis SAQ. 
• One of the easiest ways to bolster your data analysis skills is by reviewing sources such as the Gallup National Polls or Pew Research findings. 
• When it comes to SCOTUS comparison, students often fail to effectively compare the two cases — they do a fine job of recalling the required case, but struggle to connect the required case to the non-required case. 
• Remember that the SCOTUS comparison SAQ is typically not going to ask you to discuss the rulings of the required case, but rather the facts of the cases and how it applies to the non-required case. 
• Keep an eye out for when you’re asked for the clause from an amendment or the Constitution. This means there will only be one right answer. 
• Know the difference between reasoning of a case, the decision, opinions of the case, as well as the cold hard facts. Make flashcards or use Quizlet to help here. 
• When you’re asked to compare facts, it means you need to review the facts of both cases, not just one. Even if the facts for the non-required case are included in the prompt, you need to include it in your response for points. 
• When it comes to the argumentative essay, students typically fail to explain why the evidence they bring up supports their thesis.
• The second area students struggle is in responding to an alternative perspective (refutation, concession, or rebuttal).
• X is your counterargument or counterpoint
• ABC are your strongest supporting points for your argument.
• And Y is your argument. 
• Know your foundational documents cold. Sometimes students mix up these documents. There are four different Federalists to know!
• When looking to get the reasoning point, make sure to explain why the evidence you’re procuring supports your thesis. Don’t just restate your thesis or state the evidence without connecting the two. 
• When seeking your perspective point (for refutation, concession, or rebuttal), make sure to state the alternative point of view, but also respond to it. Both of these parts are needed.
• Work with a friend through at least three years of AP® GoPo FRQs. Then swap with each other and go through the scoring guidelines together to get consistent exposure to the rubrics. 
• By your last two weeks before the exam, you should have clearly identified your 3-5 biggest weaknesses when it comes to FRQs. Devote at least 70% of your time to these areas and the remaining time on general review. 

Wrapping Things Up: How to Write AP® US Government and Politics FRQs

Wow! We’ve gone over a ton of things in this AP® US Government and Politics review guide. At this point, you should have everything you need to get started in preparing for your GoPo FRQs. 

To summarize, here are a few things to remember: 

• Great AP® US Government and Politics free response scores are only made when you know how you’re being graded. Learn the rubrics. 
• Have a consistent system for responding to each question. We recommend circling or underlining what you’re being asked, and then adding a tick or star next to the word in the prompt when you’ve answered it.
• Know the facts of your foundational documents and required Supreme Court cases cold. Students have missed points in the past by mixing up one with another. 
• Practice working with multiple types of data for the quantitative analysis SAQ: this means reviewing charts, graphs, and tables. Focus on being able to interpret the data presented to political concepts or processes. 
• Review commonly tested AP® US Government and Politics topics. Review the curriculum and exam description to see the percentage breakdown of different units. Unit 2 on Interactions Among Branches of Government is a very important one to know as it makes up 25-36% of the exam. 
• Make sure your thesis includes a clear line of reasoning. Remember the model: Although X, ABC, therefore Y.
• Always “close the loop”. Use words such as “because” or “therefore” to bridge two concepts together and solve for the “why” this matters. 

We hope you’ve found this exhaustive guide helpful for your AP® US Government and Politics exam review. 

If you’re looking for more free response questions or multiple choice questions, check out our website! Albert has hundreds of original standards-aligned practice questions for you with detailed explanations to help you learn by doing.

If you found this post helpful, you may also like our AP® US Government tips here or our AP® US GoPo score calculator here .

We also have an AP® US Government review guide here .

Interested in a school license?​

2 thoughts on “how to answer ap® us government free response questions”.

On the list of required supreme court cases, you guys listed Schneck v United States with the wrong year.

Great catch, Johnny! We’ve updated the list to include the correct date (1919).

Comments are closed.

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10 Hardest AP U.S. Government and Politics Questions

What’s covered:, how will ap scores impact my college chances, overview of the ap u.s. government and politics exam, preparing for the exam.

This post will cover some of the harder AP U.S. Government and Politics questions. We will go through both the multiple choice and the free-response questions to give an overview of what to expect. We also offer a walkthrough of the exam: what kind of questions you’ll see on the test, what you’ll need to study, and which questions are trickiest for most students. Then, we’ll show you how you can ace your AP Government and Politics exam!

AP scores have little to no effect on the college admissions process . You aren’t required to report your AP scores on your application, and even if you self-report your scores they won’t really increase your chance of admissions. 

With that said, colleges do care about course rigor. The AP classes you take and your grades in these classes are much more important to the admissions process than your AP exam scores. Earning good grades in several AP classes shows admissions officers that you challenged yourself and are prepared to take on rigorous college classes.  

Want to see if your AP classes and course rigor will help you get into your dream school? Try our free chancing engine ! This tool will allow you to see your chances of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the country. In addition to course rigor, our chancing engine also factors in your GPA, extracurriculars, demographics, and outside involvement, and will even provide tips for how to improve your profile!

The AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam (a.k.a. AP Government Exam) is made up of two sections, each worth half the final score of the exam. Section I consists of 55 multiple choice questions with an allotted 80 minutes, and Section II consists of 4 free-response questions with an allotted 100 minutes. In total, the exam is three hours long. This may seem intimidating, but don’t worry, we here at CollegeVine have you covered!

The AP Government questions in Section I can be difficult, but are ultimately straightforward. These multiple choice questions are all about knowing your vocab! Section II can be especially confusing for some students, so check out the breakdown below to better understand what you’re in for.

Section II Breakdown:

• Question 1 is a concept application question. This section will require the student to apply political concepts to real-life and presupposed situations.
• Question 2 is a Quantitative Analysis question. A supplied graphic is the focal point of this question. It could be a line graph to read, a chart to interpret, or a table to explain.
• Question 3 is a Supreme Court Case Comparison Essay. This will have the test-taker apply Supreme Court decisions to real-life situations.
• Question 4 is an Argumentative Essay. You will use foundational documents to support an essay asserting your stance on a prompt.

The most important thing to do is study, but how do you know where to start? By the time you are preparing for your AP exam, you should know what your current grade is in AP Government. Start by studying the topics and areas where your scores dip down below your average grade. 

Knowing your progress is paramount to doing well on the exam. If you can’t pinpoint which areas you struggle in, ask your teacher for advice and walk through your grades together. Once you know where to start, create a study plan for the areas you want to work on and decide which days you’ll study what content. It may be helpful to study with your classmates too! They’ll be able to offer advice on their test-taking strategies and you can all benefit from the shared knowledge. 

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Our free chancing engine takes into account your history, background, test scores, and extracurricular activities to show you your real chances of admission—and how to improve them.

The AP Government and Politics Exam Questions do not scaffold in difficulty. The most challenging questions may be placed right before the easiest one on the test. This can be tricky for students that are expecting the first few questions to be a breeze. It is important to treat each multiple choice question as its own separate challenge.

The following section is a preview of some of the more difficult AP Government and Politics questions, both multiple choice and free-response. Each answer will be provided along with an explanation. These questions were sourced directly from previous administrations of the exam.

The answers for the multiple choice section are indisputable, but there is much gray area for valid free-response answers. For this reason, the provided answer may not be exactly what you’re thinking, however your answer can still be correct.

Multiple Choice Questions

Correct Answer: C

The reason that there are fewer Department of Education bureaucrats employed by the federal government is because their issues are localized by state, whereas the Department of Homeland security primarily addresses national issues.

Correct Answer: B

The correct answer is B because Hamilton is wary of a government overstepping its boundaries. It is not C because there is ultimately little talk of the press in this passage. It is not D because Hamilton is against listing the Bill of Rights. Many students may think that the correct answer is A, but it is not because Hamilton does not find these exceptions reasonable.

Correct Answer: D

The correct answer is D. This grouping together of similar voters is called Gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is when a congressional district is drawn to distort the real proportion of voters in an area. If there is a small majority of voters in one area, it can often be divided into smaller and oddly contorted districts that give the minority a slim but valid victory.

This question can be tricky because it could be argued that A is a good answer since it could be true in some situations. Ultimately, however, D is the most correct answer. This answer has been proven repeatedly in American politics when popular candidates have won races because of their charisma rather than their policies. 

Getting this question takes an in-depth understanding of bureaucratic procedures. You must know each piece of vocab used in this question to know which answers do not fit. For example, presenting a cloture doesn’t make sense in this situation because it is not the correct time for that procedure. Conversely, filing for a discharge petition is the correct answer because it makes sense in context.

Correct Answer: A

This question is purely a vocabulary-based question. If you know all of these models, you are good to go. An important tip to remember is that the trustee model is typically contrasted with the delegate model, so if you know one, you automatically know the other! This question can be difficult because the politico model is a combination of the trustee model and the delegate model.

Free-Response Questions

A student can score up to three points on this question by addressing each prompt correctly. For part A, the student should describe a political institution, behavior, or process connected with the scenario. For part B, they should explain how political processes, government entities, or citizens’ behavior can affect the policy mentioned in part A. The final part asks the student to use course content to relate the political institutions to the scenario.

There are four possible points to reap from this section. The first is from interpreting the graphic  correctly, $8,000 to $9,999. The second part asks for any trend in the graphic. You could talk about how there is more spending in the north, or relatively less in the west, or another trend that you see. However, you must then support this assertion with evidence, which is worth two points. The final point is gained from a correct explanation of the principle of federalism as it relates to the graphic. For example, one could talk about the constitutional division of governmental powers and how it relates to public school funding.

The third question in the free-response section, worth four points, is the Supreme Court Case question. The question above focuses on Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014). The first point is acquired by finding the similar constitutional clause between these two cases. The second and third points are earned by explaining the nuances of holding differences between the two cases. You must also explain why the information is relevant. The final point is obtained by describing the interaction between the holding in the non-required Supreme Court case and a relevant political institution, behavior, or process.

The final question is the argumentative essay. The prompt above allows for many different answers. A student could choose any of the three options and, if presented well enough, earn all six available points. In order to get a perfect score, you must: present a thesis statement, support your claim with at least two relevant pieces of information (one of the two coming from foundational documents), use reasoning to explain why your evidence supports your claim, and respond to possible refutations.

Know what to expect

After reading this article, you’ll be much more prepared for what you’ll see on the test. First, you’ll answer multiple choice questions based on charts, graphs and vocab. After that, you’ll write about Supreme Court Cases, do some data analysis, and create an argument based on a given prompt. That doesn’t sound too bad, huh! As always, consult your teacher if you have questions that were not answered in this article.

Study the vocabulary

Because the multiple choice section is so large, most of the questions can be done quickly, as long as you are able to quickly recall the vocab definitions. Make flashcards, highlight your textbook, and form study groups so that you know the difference between the Commerce clause and the Supremacy clause like the back of your hand.

You can’t start too early!

The earlier you start studying, the better you’ll feel. We’ve all had the experience of cramming for a test the night before – it’s not fun! For a test as big as the AP Government and Politics Exam, it’s best to start as early as you can so the night before you can relax and get a good night’s sleep. A rested brain is a test-ready brain!

Check out these CollegeVine resources for more help with your studying:

• Ultimate Guide to the AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam
• 2021 AP Exam Schedule + Study Tips
• How to Understand and Interpret Your AP Scores
• How Long Is Each AP Exam? A Complete List

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AP U.S. Government and Politics: Concept Application Example

Concept application strategy.

• When analyzing the stimulus, carefully note relevant details. Paraphrase the political scenario in your own words before looking at the questions.
• Concept Application questions often build on each other, asking you to use your response for one part to answer another part. Therefore, carefully plan your response before you start writing in order to make sure you choose answers that you can apply to later parts of the prompt if needed.

Sample Concept Application Question

A new political party, the Health & Wealth Party, forms to focus on those policies which members believe will address the most significant threats to the health and prosperity of the general population. Their key platform favors requiring manufacturers of high-sugar snack foods to produce an equal ratio of low-sugar snack alternatives offered at the same price to consumers. In addition, they advocate using tax money to subsidize low-income families with funds to buy the low-sugar snacks. To increase “wealth,” the party supports significantly lowering taxes on corporations, with the intent of attracting new businesses to the United States. Finally, they also propose drastically reducing income taxes for all Americans, making up the difference in the budget by slashing military spending for foreign affairs. After reading the scenario, respond to Parts A, B, and C. (A) The Health & Wealth Party’s platform contains elements that reflect conservative, liberal, and libertarian viewpoints. For each of the three viewpoints, identify one element of the Health & Wealth Party platform that reflects that viewpoint’s typical ideology. (B) Describe a way in which the Health & Wealth Party’s nominee, if elected to the presidency, could attempt to implement the policy regulating snack manufacturers. (C) Explain one reason why it is difficult for third-party candidates, like the Health & Wealth Party nominee, to win presidential elections.

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

Step 2: plan your response.

• Conserv.: traditional values + pro-market policies –> lower taxes on business
• Liberal: more gov’t involvement for equality –> regulate manuf. & subsidies for poor
• Libert.: ind. liberty + low gov’t involvement –> lower income taxes & military spending

Part B: Need to think of how a pres. could impact a policy about reg. snack manufacturers, including details to describe my answer.

• Commerce clause is relevant
• Pres. could meet w/ Congress, persuade to make committee & draft bill
• Pres. could endorse candidates who agree on issue

Part C: Need to think about difficulties faced by third-party candidates during elections (not while in office). Need to fully describe the issue, including the why/how, to count as explaining.

• Hard to win votes in electoral college due to winner-take-all system and entrenchment of major parties
• But an election based only on popular vote would likely not create a clear majority winner

Step 3: Action! Write Your Response

Step 4: proofread, sample high-scoring response, sample response explanation.

• Organization: The response addresses one part in each paragraph. Although this is not required, it makes it much easier for the reader to follow and score your response.
• Sentences: Although Part A requires only identification, the writer still uses a paragraph for the response, adding just a little explanation to justify his or her classifications of the party planks. Use paragraphs and complete sentences for all parts of your responses; never use just phrases or lists.
• Addressing each action word: Note that the responses for Parts B and C are longer than the response for Part A. Part A only required identification, while B required description and C required explanation. The response for Part B provides a full description of a presidential action. The response for Part C effectively explains by discussing multiple reasons why the Electoral College is the way it is, including both how the system puts third-party candidates at a disadvantage and why the system is still practical.

Scoring for Question 1: 3 points (1 + 1 + 1)

• Example conservative components: lowering taxes on businesses, lowering income taxes, seeking more balanced budget
• Example liberal components: regulating snack manufacturers, providing subsidies for lower- income families, lowering military spending
• Example libertarian components: lowering taxes on businesses, lowering income taxes, lowering foreign military spending, seeking more balanced budget

Part B (1 point) One point for describing a way the president could impact policy.

• Example ways include: calling a special committee/commission to research and influence the issue, persuading Congress members to create legislation that addresses the policy, appointing positions to the Food and Drug Administration that support the policy, issuing an executive order to the FDA, endorsing candidates who support the policy, using the “bully pulpit” to rally public support and put pressure on Congress, highlighting the issue in the State of the Union address, proposing a budget that includes provisions for the policy, threatening to veto a bill unless Congress makes provisions for the policy

Part C (1 point) One point for explaining a difficulty faced by third-party candidates.

• Example difficulties include: less financing, difficulty of getting onto ballots, heavy political entrenchment of the two-party system, winner-take-all nature of Electoral College makes it difficult to score electoral votes, voter discouragement (wanting to make sure their vote “counts”), major parties’ tendency to adopt platform planks that try to appeal to potential third-party voters

Learn more about the other free response questions on the AP U.S. Government and Politics exam. Quantitative Analysis   •   SCOTUS Comparison   •   Argument Essay

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AP United States Government and Politics

Learn all about the course and exam. Already enrolled? Join your class in My AP.

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Go to AP Central for resources for teachers, administrators, and coordinators.

About the Exam

The AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam will test your understanding of the political concepts covered in the course units, including your ability to analyze the foundational documents and to apply Supreme Court decisions you studied in the course to real-life scenarios.

Update: Roe v. Wade

Although the Supreme Court recently overturned Roe v. Wade , it remains required course content and is part of Topic 3.9, “Amendments: Due Process and the Right to Privacy” along with two additional cases, Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). Any of these cases can be the focus of AP Exam questions related to this topic, but none of them will be the focus of Free Response Question 3.

Tue, May 6, 2025

12 PM Local

AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam

This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP United States Government and Politics Exam.

Exam Components

Section i: multiple choice.

55 questions 1hr 20mins 50% of Score

The multiple-choice section includes individual, single questions as well as sets of questions. You’ll be asked to:

• Describe, explain, and compare political concepts and processes
• Apply Supreme Court decisions in real-life scenarios
• Analyze data in graphs, charts, tables, maps, or infographics
• Read and analyze foundational documents and other text-based and visual sources

Section II: Free Response

4 questions 1hr 40mins 50% of Score

In the free-response section, you’ll respond to four questions with written answers. The section includes:

• 1 concept application question: You’ll describe and explain the effects of a political institution, behavior, or process, and apply concepts in a new situation.
• 1 quantitative analysis question: You’ll analyze data in the form of a table, graph, map, or infographic to find patterns and trends and reach a conclusion.
• The prompt specifies 1 required SCOTUS case, and you are asked to identify how that required case is related to the case given in the scenario.
• 1 argument essay:  You’ll write an evidence-based essay supporting a claim or thesis.

Exam Essentials

Exam preparation, ap classroom resources.

Once you join your AP class section online, you’ll be able to access AP Daily videos, any assignments from your teacher, and your assignment results in AP Classroom. Sign in to access them.

• Go to AP Classroom

Free-Response Questions and Scoring Information

Go to the Exam Questions and Scoring Information section on the AP United States Government and Politics Exam page at AP Central to review the latest released free-response questions and scoring information.  

Past Exam Free-Response Questions and Scoring Information  

Go to AP Central to review free-response questions and scoring information from past AP United States Government and Politics exams. 

AP United States Government and Politics Course and Exam Description

This is the core document for the course. It clearly lays out the course content and describes the exam and the AP Program in general.

Services for Students with Disabilities

Students with documented disabilities may be eligible for accommodations for the through-course assessment and the end-of-course exam. If you’re using assistive technology and need help accessing the PDFs in this section in another format, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 212-713-8333 or by email at [email protected] . For information about taking AP Exams, or other College Board assessments, with accommodations, visit the Services for Students with Disabilities website.

Credit and Placement

Search AP Credit Policies

Find colleges that grant credit and/or placement for AP Exam scores in this and other AP courses.

Additional Information

25 Essay Topics for American Government Classes

Writing Ideas That Will Make Students Think

• Teaching Resources
• An Introduction to Teaching
• Tips & Strategies
• Policies & Discipline
• Community Involvement
• School Administration
• Technology in the Classroom
• Teaching Adult Learners
• Issues In Education
• Becoming A Teacher
• Assessments & Tests
• Elementary Education
• Secondary Education
• Special Education
• Homeschooling
• M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Florida
• B.A., History, University of Florida

If you are a teacher searching for essay topics to assign to your U.S. government or civics class or looking for ideas, do not fret. It is easy to integrate debates and discussions into the classroom environment. These topic suggestions provide a wealth of ideas for written assignments such as  position papers , compare-and-contrast essays , and  argumentative essays . Scan the following 25 question topics and ideas to find just the right one. You'll soon be reading interesting papers from your students after they grapple with these challenging and important issues.

• Compare and contrast what is a direct democracy versus representative democracy. 
• React to the following statement: Democratic decision-making should be extended to all areas of life including schools, the workplace, and the government. 
• Compare and contrast the Virginia and New Jersey plans. Explain how these led to the Great Compromise .
• Pick one thing about the U.S. Constitution including its amendments that you think should be changed. What modifications would you make? Explain your reasons for making this change.
• What did Thomas Jefferson mean when he said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants?" Do you think that this statement still applies to today's world? 
• Compare and contrast mandates and conditions of aid regarding the federal government's relationship with states. For example, how has the Federal Emergency Management Agency delivered support to states and commonwealths that have experienced natural disasters?
• Should individual states have more or less power compared to the federal government when implementing laws dealing with topics such as the legalization of marijuana  and abortion ? 
• Outline a program that would get more people to vote in presidential elections or local elections.
• What are the dangers of gerrymandering when it comes to voting and presidential elections?
• Compare and contrast the major political parties in the United States. What policies are they preparing for upcoming elections?
• Why would voters choose to vote for a third party, even though they know that their candidate has virtually no chance of winning? 
• Describe the major sources of money that are donated to political campaigns. Check out the Federal Election Regulatory Commission's website for information.
• Should corporations be treated as individuals regarding being allowed to donate to political campaigns?  Look at the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC ruling on the issue. Defend your answer. 
• Explain the role of social media in connecting interest groups that have grown stronger as the major political parties have grown weaker. 
• Explain why the media has been called the fourth branch of government. Include your opinion on whether this is an accurate portrayal.
• Compare and contrast the campaigns of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives candidates.
• Should term limits be instituted for members of Congress? Explain your answer.
• Should members of Congress vote their conscience or follow the will of the people who elected them into office? Explain your answer.
• Explain how executive orders have been used by presidents throughout the history of the U.S. What is the number of executive orders issued by the current president?
• In your opinion, which of the three branches of the federal government has the most power? Defend your answer.
• Which of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment do you consider the most important? Explain your answer. 
• Should a school be required to get a warrant before searching a student's property? Defend your answer. 
• Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail? What kind of campaign could be run to see it passed?
• Explain how the 14th Amendment has affected civil liberties in the United States from the time of its passage at the end of the Civil War.
• Do you think that the federal government has enough, too much or just the right amount of power? Defend your answer.
• How to Teach the Compare and Contrast Essay
• American Government Journal Topics
• 101 Compare and Contrast Essay Topics
• 61 General Expository Essay Topic to Practice Academic Writing
• High School Debate Topics
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• Beef Up Critical Thinking and Writing Skills: Comparison Essays
• Public Vs. Private School Teaching
• Teaching Tools for Viewing Cosmos
• Cosmos Episode 10 Viewing Worksheet
• January Writing Prompts
• April Writing Prompts
• Stage a Debate in Class

AP United States Government and Politics

Review the free-response questions from the 2024 ap exam., updates for 2023-24.

Starting in the 2023-24 school year, AP U.S. Government and Politics will have an updated course framework and instructional materials.

Exam Overview

Exam questions assess the course concepts and skills outlined in the course framework. For more information, download the  AP U.S. Government and Politics Course and Exam Description  (CED).

Encourage your students to visit the  AP U.S. Government and Politics student page  for exam information.

Tue, May 6, 2025

12 PM Local

AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam

Exam format.

The AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam has consistent question types, weighting, and scoring guidelines every year, so you and your students know what to expect on exam day.

Section I: Multiple Choice

55 Questions | 1 Hour 20 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score

• Individual questions (no stimulus): ~30
• Quantitative Analysis : Analysis and application of quantitative-based source material
• Qualitative Analysis : Analysis and application of text-based (primary and secondary) sources
• Visual Analysis : Analysis and application of qualitative visual information

Section II: Free Response

4 Questions | 1 Hour 40 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score

• Concept Application : Respond to a political scenario, describe and explain the effects of a political institution, behavior, or process
• Quantitative 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
• 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
• Argument Essay : Develop an argument in the form of an essay, using evidence from required foundational documents and course concepts

Exam Questions and Scoring Information

Ap u.s. government and politics: exam questions and scoring information.

View free-response questions and scoring information from this year's exam and past exams.

Score Reporting

Ap score reports for educators.

Access your score reports.