AP US Government Free Response Help - FRQs

A view of Washington DC, where politics is everywhere! Image Courtesy of Pixabay

Intro to FRQs

An Overview

• There are 4 free-response questions on the AP US Government exam ✍
  • FRQ 1: Concept Application 📝
  • FRQ 2: Quantitative Analysis 📈
  • FRQ 3: SCOTUS Comparison Essay ⚖
  • FRQ 4: Argumentative Essay 🗳
• You have 100 minutes to answer them 🕐
  • You can split up your time however you choose. College Board suggests this timeline:
    • FRQ 1 Concept Application: 20 minutes 📝
    • FRQ 2 Quantitative Analysis: 20 minutes 📈
    • FRQ 3 SCOTUS Comparison Essay: 20 minutes ⚖
    • FRQ 4 Argumentative Essay: 40 minutes 🗳
• The other 50% is the multiple-choice section (55 questions).

Skills Assessed on the FRQ Section

• 📝 Skill 1 Concept Application: apply political concepts in hypothetical and real-life contexts.
• ⚖ Skill 2 Supreme Court Application: apply Supreme Court decisions in real-life contexts.
• 📈 Skill 3 Data Analysis: analyze and interpret graphs, tables, charts, infographics.
• 💬 Skill 5 Argumentation: create an argument using the foundational documents as support.

As you're reading this guide, find a study place! Does it look like this one? Image Courtesy of Pixabay

Command Terms

• Compare: provide an analysis of similarities and/or differences 🔁
• Define: provide the meaning (definition) of a word or concept 📑
• Identify: indicates a shorter response (you don't need a ton of detail) 🎯
• Describe: analyze the characteristics of the topic or concept at hand ✍
• Explain: should be at least 2-3 sentences and requires lots of detail 📝
  • This is the description College Board gives for the "explain" command term:

• Develop an argument: provide a claim, evidence to back the claim, and explain your evidence 💬
• Draw a conclusion: use the information provided or your knowledge to formulate a statement that demonstrates you have synthesized the evidence well 📃

Breaking Down FRQ 1 & 2

FRQ 1 Concept Application / Analysis

FRQ 2 Quantitative Analysis

• Describe the data presented and identify some sort of pattern or trend in this data 📉
• Draw a conclusion based on the data and explain how the data relates to a political principle, institution, or concept 📊

Breaking Down FRQ 3 & 4

This is a nighttime view of the Supreme Court, where justices hear cases! Image Courtesy of Pixabay

FRQ 3 Supreme Court Case Comparison Essay

• Identify and explain similarities and differences between the non-required Supreme Court case and a required case (information included) 🔁
• Describe in more detail the required Supreme Court case that's specified in the question ✍
• Explain how the non-required Supreme Court case relates to a political concept 📝

• Make sure you know your required Supreme Court cases (here's our guide!). There won't be info provided about the required ones, so you should know these well 💭
• Start studying these court cases as early in the year as possible 📅
  • Make flashcards for each case so that you know all the important details 🗃
  • For each case, you should know the decision, rationale behind the decision, and the constitutional principle used in the ruling 🧠

💡 Here's our guide for the Supreme Court comparison essay! It provides a deeper look into the rubric and writing your response. ⚖

FRQ 4 Argumentative Essay

• Make sure your thesis is defensible and you establish a line of reasoning 📝
• You'll have to explain at least 2 pieces of evidence to support your claim.
  • 1 piece from a foundational document on the list provided 📃
  • 1 piece of evidence from another foundational document or your knowledge of AP Gov 🤔
• Make sure you provide reasoning and explain your evidence's connection to the thesis 🔄
• You must also provide an alternate perspective, and this can often be confusing. You can do this through a refutation, concession, or rebuttal 🙃

• Make sure your thesis is strong! If your thesis doesn't "establish a line of reasoning," you'll have a limited maximum number of points you can get on the rubric 📃
• Make sure you're paying attention to the prompt! You don't want to write a whole essay and not answer the question 👀
• Give yourself at least 30-40 minutes for this question. Since this question is a full-scale essay, you'll want to allow yourself at least 30-40 out of your 100 minutes to write the essay ⌚
• Create an outline before you start writing!
• Make sure you know your foundational documents in and out before the exam! You can review those with this resource 📃

💡 Want a more in-depth explanation of the argumentative essay? Check out our guide for this FRQ here! 🗳

In Closing