Question 1
A member of the House surveys her district before each major vote. On a bill she personally opposes, she votes yes because most of her constituents support it, saying her job is to speak for them. She is acting as
The AP U.S. Government FRQ rubrics, point by point
The four questions are worth 3, 4, 4 and 6 points, and each is 12.5% of the score. Every point is earned on its own, so answering exactly the task in each part matters more than writing a lot.
| Concept Application | 3 points, about 20 minutes |
|---|---|
| Quantitative Analysis | 4 points, about 20 minutes |
| SCOTUS Comparison | 4 points, about 20 minutes |
| Argument Essay | 6 points, about 40 minutes |
Concept Application: 3 points
- A: describe a political action, behavior or institution in the scenario.
- B: explain how it affects a political institution, process or policymaking.
- C: explain how a stated difference, outcome or condition would affect a stakeholder, strategy or result.
Quantitative Analysis: 4 points
- A: identify or describe data in the visual, with the exact figure where it asks for one.
- B: describe a similarity, difference or trend.
- C: draw a conclusion about it, going beyond restating it.
- D: explain how the data demonstrate a principle, institution, process, policy or behavior.
SCOTUS Comparison: 4 points
- A (1): identify the constitutional clause or principle common to the two cases.
- B (2): describe the required case's decision for 1 point, or explain how its facts led to a different holding from the other case for both points.
- C (1): explain how the other case's holding affects a stated relationship, such as the balance between the states and the national government.
Argument Essay: 6 points
- Claim (1): a defensible claim that responds to the prompt and sets out a line of reasoning, not a restated prompt.
- Evidence (3): two specific and relevant pieces of evidence that support the claim, one from a document the prompt lists and the other from another foundational document or course concepts. One piece earns 1 or 2 points, depending on how specifically it supports the claim.
- Reasoning (1): explain how or why the evidence supports the claim.
- Alternate perspective (1): describe an opposing view and answer it with rebuttal or refutation.
Try 2 questions
Question 2
When the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, its protections applied to
Next step
College Board's AP U.S. Government and Politics course and exam description
Questions people ask
How many points is the AP U.S. Government argument essay worth?
6: claim 1, evidence 3, reasoning 1 and alternate perspective 1. It is 12.5% of the exam score, the same as each of the other three free-response questions.
How is the SCOTUS Comparison scored?
4 points: 1 for the clause or principle the two cases share, up to 2 for explaining how the facts of the required case led to its holding compared with the other case, and 1 for the effect of the other case's holding.
Do the AP U.S. Government FRQ types change from year to year?
No. College Board states that the question types, weighting and scoring guidelines stay the same every year.