1. Advanced Placement United states government and politics

2. Advanced Placement United states government and politics
“The easiest 3 you will ever earn.”
Unless it isn’t anymore.

3. “But Mr. Woody, what is a 3 ?”
One college Political Science course at most major institutions.
(Maybe not at some snobby places.)
About half of the possible points!
Not as good as a 4 or 5
(Even most snobby places will take those.)
MUCH better than a 1 or 2
(Don’t even think 0 !)

4. “Please, tell me how to get a 5!”
First, you have a Syllabus…
Find it on the Coursework Resources pages.

5. “Please, tell me how to get a 5!”
Second, you have a textbook…
READ, doggone you!
Pay special attention to the Learning Objectives at the end of each chapter.

6. “Please, tell me how to get a 5!”
Third, let’s learn the meaning of the word
STUDY
Review (rewrite?) your notes regularly
Take your notebook home every Tuesday & Friday night
Make study aids to help you remember difficult stuff
Pay attention to the tests and learn from them

7. “Please, tell me how to get a 5!”
Fourth, know what the test looks like…
This will be no problem, since every one of your tests will look like one!
There are only two elements…

8. Multiple Choice Questions
There are 55 Questions to answer in 80 Minutes.
(Pace yourself at 87 Seconds per Question)
(That will leave you a little “buffer”)
(You will NEVER need this much time, but…)
Questions are worth 50% of your total.
Get your College Vocabulary ready!
It‘s built by “Good” (and now “insane”) test-makers.

9. Multiple Choice Questions
Always 4 possible answers.
None are “Mickey Mouse”.
There are some tricky wordings… and now some tricky structures too.
Watch out for the word, “BEST”

10. Multiple Choice Questions
They are in random order of difficulty.
There is No Penalty for a wrong answer!

11. So, What’s My Strategy? Read through every question at pace
Answer all the easy ones
Mark out incorrect answers immediately
Jot down any ideas you have in the margin
Underline key words (it’s a test booklet, not the Bible!)
Then, go get ‘em again!

12. So, What’s My Strategy?
On Graph Questions, read the Answers before you read the Questions!
Begin by asking yourself, “What exactly DOES the chart tell me?”
Look at the legend/axes
If it’s not about actions, the answer can’t be about actions

13. Free-Response Questions (FRQs)
Four Types of Questions
Concept Application
Quantitative Analysis
SCOTUS Comparison
Argument Essay

14. So, What’s My Strategy on FRQs?
Each of them count as 12.5%
3 of these are NOT an Essay!
“Answer the Question!”
More is not always better
Stay on Pace. (20, 20, 20, 40)
READ. UNDERLINE. PLAN.

15. What’s My Strategy on FRQs?
Look for the Key Words:
Define
Identify
Describe
Explain
“Why…” leads to “because…”
“How…” leads to “by…”
Compare (which implies Contrast)

16. What’s My Strategy on FRQs?
Things to Avoid:
Slang
Name-Dropping
Data-Dumping
Editorials
even Patriotism

17. What’s My Strategy on FRQs?
Things to DO:
Use a Black Pen
Be Legible
Be sure how many parts are in the Question
Use your context vocabulary
More examples are OK
Answer the Question!

18. AP US G&P Exam
Now you have a chance!