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Cause-and-Effect Questions
This type of question asks which event caused another, or what is the result of something. Here is an example:
2. The increasing speed of technological advance
(A) has significantly reduced the scope of American government.
(B) helps reduce and accelerate government policymaking.
(C) has helped reduce the cost of health care in the United States.
(D) has dramatically affected health policy, but has had no effect on environmental and energy
(E) has created many new practical and moral problems of the political system.
policy.
The answer is E. You can use the process of elimination. The scope of government has not gotten smaller; policymaking has
not become faster; health care costs have risen; if technology has affected health policy, it is unlikely that it has not also
affected environmental and energy policies. Answers A-D are obviously wrong, leaving E.
Graphic Questions
You can expect to see questions based on graphs, tables, and maps.
DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME AMONG FAMILIES
(percentage share by economic level)
1970
1980
1990
2000
Lowest fifth
5.5
5.1
4.6
3.6
Second fifth
12.0
11.6
10.8
8.9
Third fifth
17.4
17.5
16.6
14.9
Fourth fifth
23.5
24.3
23.8
23.0
Highest fifth
41.6
41.6
44.3
49.6
6. Which of the following conclusions about income distribution is supported by the table?
(A) The share of income received by the lowest fifth increased, and the share received by
the fourth fifth decreased.
(B) The share of income received by the second fifth increased, and the share received by
the fourth fifth decreased.
(C) The share of income received by the highest fifth increased, and the share received by
the lowest fifth decreased.
(D) The number of people earning high incomes increased.
(E) The middle class disappeared.
The numbers clearly show that C is the answer. Choice D might be attractive, but note that the table gives percents.
Although the percent of families in the highest fifth increased, you know nothing about the actual number of people.
Always read the questions and answer choices carefully.
score. Below is a list of strategies that you can use to increase your comfort, your confidence, and your chances of excelling
on the multiple-choice section of the exam.
Make yourself completely familiar with the instructions for the multiple-choice questions before you take the exam. You
will find the instructions in this book. By knowing the instructions cold, you will save yourself the time of reading them
carefully on the day of the test.
Always read the entire question carefully and underline and define key words or ideas. You might want to circle words such
as NOT or EXCEPT in that type of multiple-choice question.
Read every answer choice carefully before you make your final selection.
Use the process of elimination to help you choose the correct answer. Even if you are sure of an answer, cross out the letters
of incorrect choices in your test booklet as you eliminate them. This cuts down on distraction and allows you to narrow the
remaining choices even further. If you are able to eliminate three answer choices, it is better to make an educated guess at
the correct answer than to leave the answer blank. If you can only eliminate one or two answers, leave the answer blank:
you are more likely to lose a point by guessing between more than two answers.
Many free-response questions on an AP U.S. Government & Politics Exam will ask you to address a single topic in a
straightforward way. Here is an example of such a question:
1. The system of checks and balances ensures that no branch of government has unfettered power. Describe-using
examples-how each branch has exercised this power over another branch.
In your response to this question, you need to furnish examples that help you describe how each of the three governmental
branches has used the system of checks and balances to wield power.
Some free-response questions are divided into several parts, or sub questions. You might be presented with a list of items,
such as specific court cases or interest groups, that you are asked to address in your response. These partitioned questions
often contain directives like identify, describe, and explain. Here is an example:
2. Choose two of the following Supreme Court cases.
California Board of Regents v. Bakke
Roe v. Wade
Gideon v. Wainwright
Rust v. Sullivan Miranda v. Arizona
Korematsu v. United States
For each case you selected, do each of the following.
a. Describe the position of each side.
b. Describe the Supreme Court's ruling.
c. Explain whether the ruling increased or decreased the rights of individuals.
First, you need to recognize (at least two of) the cases and choose the two you want to use in the remainder of your
response. Do not be intimidated by a list of six cases. You could know absolutely nothing about four of the cases and still
earn all of the points for the question. Second, you would need to describe the positions of the opposing sides in each of the
two cases chosen (four descriptions). Third, you must describe the Court's ruling, i.e., present a simple statement of the
Court's holding in the cases chosen. Finally, you must take a position on whether the rights of individuals were increased or
decreased in each of the chosen cases and support your position.
A simple statement of your conclusion about the increase or decrease of individual rights by the Court in your chosen cases
would not be sufficient to earn credit for the explain part of the question. The reader must finish your response knowing
how you think rights were expanded or contracted or why you have taken the position you have for each of the chosen
cases. It is often the explain part of a question that separates the best prepared students from the rest.
It cannot be overemphasized: pay close attention to exactly what the question asks you to do, and do it-nothing more,
nothing less! For example, in the question posed above, asking you to
describe the positions of the parties in two cases, the Supreme Court's ruling, and to explain the cases' impact on the
expansion or contraction of individual rights, you might know the full story of Clarence Gideon and how his case made it to
the Supreme Court, but even a brilliant explanation of this saga would earn you no points because that is not requested in
the question. To earn points, answer the question that is asked-not the one you wish had been asked.
You will not be asked about your personal political opinions, so do not include them in your answer. You do not get extra
credit for going beyond the scope of a question, and that just wastes your valuable time. Similarly, students sometimes will
write a response that is completely off topic when they don't know the answer. You are better off re-reading your other
answers and adding to them if you can't write on one of the questions. But even writing a little on a topic might earn a few
points that a description of your prom night (and yes, some essays do exactly that!) won't. The AP Exam is a political
science exam. Make sure that your answer is a political science answer.
1. Knock out the stupid answers- Many multiple choice questions on an AP exam have at least one wild-card answer that
looks nothing like any of the others and couldn't possibly be right. Anyone even a little familiar with the exam content
won't choose it. Cross that one out first.
2. Knock out the answer that's "almost" right- Examiners know that some people will look at the question, have a
quick think and look for the answer that's in the ball-park. That's why they include an answer choice that's only half-right.
Half-right is WRONG and it's a "trick" answer put in to fool you. Find that answer and cross it out next.
Reminder: On the AP Exam in May, missed questions count more against you than unanswered questions. So, if you
arent absolutely sure you may choose not to answer the question.