**OFFICIAL** AP US Government 2013 Thread

<p>I keep getting 4s on mocks. Any tips to get a 5?</p>

<p>Im nervous for the free responses…anybody wanna give me a pep talk?</p>

<p>@ uconnman465</p>

<p>Based on what my teacher told us and the rubrics from previous FRQs, don’t try so hard. You may think that the correct answer is going to be a vocab word or technical term but that is seldom the only correct answer. Putting something as broad and simple a religion or freedom will net you points as long as you explain how it pertains to the question. That explanation, like the term, can be very broad as well. It is important however, to know that you will not earn points by simple summarizing what you know. You have to explain the extent to which your answer has affect some institution of politics.</p>

<p>@communismrulez</p>

<p>If the question isn’t limited to only one answer, should you put multiple answers just to be safe? Is it better to put additional info even if you have already sufficiently answered the question just to be safe?</p>

<p>Almost all questions will explicitly state: “Explain ONE of the causes for …blah blah blah” or something alone those lines. It can’t hurt you to put multiple CORRECT answers however, according to my teacher, you may be penalized if one of your answer is incorrect. I would suggest picking the answer you are the most confident with. Also by confident, I mean an answer that you are sure ANSWERS the question. Don’t use a choice over another just because you think you can justify it with a specific example (i.e. a court case). They graders are looking for analysis, not facts.</p>

<p>Each year, C-SPAN airs a 45-minute “Cram for the Exam” show to prepare students for the AP US Govt exam. Here are links to the video from the years 2009-2012:</p>

<p>2012: [High</a> School U.S. Government Exam - C-SPAN Video Library](<a href=“http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/305983-5]High”>http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/305983-5)
2011: [High</a> School U.S. Government Exam - C-SPAN Video Library](<a href=“http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/299380-5]High”>http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/299380-5)
2010: [High</a> School U.S. Government Exam - C-SPAN Video Library](<a href=“http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/293279-7]High”>http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/293279-7)
2009: [High</a> School U.S. Government Exam - C-SPAN Video Library](<a href=“http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/285657-6]High”>http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/285657-6)</p>

<p>Hope this helps. Good luck.</p>

<p>I watched 3 of those and I must say wow they helped a TON. I learned so many key information just from watching those CSPAN videos.</p>

<p>How important is knowing specific court cases besides the obvious big cases?</p>

<p>they are important because you can use them as examples in the FRQ questions to get you points. That is really the main purpose of the non-obvious court cases, to apply them to FRQ questions.</p>

<p>Does anyone have a link to the 2004 exam?</p>

<p>Hey guys! I’m also cramming for the exam! </p>

<p>Reading over the DS Marketing ap government book, seems like concepts are quite easy, hopefully get to read over it twice and also writing vocab words on flashcards from the American Government and Institutions text </p>

<p>Good luck to everyone else taking the exam! How are you guys studying?</p>

<p>HELP!! are you supposed to write the FRQ’s like you would an essay? I’m reading the sample responses and a lot of them are formatted like essays and have a lot of additional information.</p>

<p>Should you add a lot of unneeded info or just answer the question directly and no more??</p>

<p>You can either have essays or just a), b), c), etc… Additional information may help you hit the points, but if it asks you for two things, don’t start talking about 3… you’ll only get credit for the first two you mention.</p>

<p>You don’t have to write it as an essay, but my teacher has always told me never to write a), b), c), etc. because you limit your potential points to that section. For example, if you happen to miss a point in part a) but then answer it in part b), you can get the points as long as you did not leave it in outline form. (Or so I’ve been told.) The extra stuff like an intro, conclusion, etc., seem unnecessary to me, and I almost never write them. :P</p>

<p>Anyone else think that was absurdly easy? Especially the third frq (the one with the chart). Woooo feeling good about my last ever ap test.</p>

<p>Seemed way too easy… not that I’m complaining or anything. ;)</p>

<p>I flew through the MC. The REA AP US Gov’t Crash Course book is basically all you need to study.</p>

<p>Same with the MC here. I think I finished with 25 minutes to spare and I’m pretty sure I only missed one or two.</p>

<p>Free response was really easy, though I ended up taking most of the time to write and elaborate with examples.</p>

<p>FRQ was easy #4 B and C were moderatly difficulut</p>

<p>The one with the chart was waay too easy</p>

<p>MC was very very easy. FRQ was way easier than I thought except for one part of #4.</p>

<p>Let’s say you miss 5 on the MC, how well do you have to do on the FRQ’s to get a 5?</p>

<p>Okay that whole exam was a joke. </p>

<p>MC took me 20 minutes, estimating no more than 5 wrong. </p>

<p>FRQ’s were cake, especially #3.</p>