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Massive Review Study Guide
Advice for Reviewing
Use all your notes, the book, AP prep manual, and past tests to write out answers to the above questions. For all your answers, be specific, giving examples as you would if this were the actual test. I don’t expect a full-blown essay answer, but rather the outline of the brilliant answer that I’m sure you could write if asked to.
Some of these questions you’ve seen before. This is a review, after all. Make sure that you understand your answers to the same exquisite level of perfection that you understood them previously. Use this as an opportunity to review the topic of the day. If you do 30-45 minutes [Don’t gasp: that’s as much time as you’re supposed to spending anyways on HW] of review every day for the next couple of weeks, you will be in fine shape for the actual test. When you review a section, I recommend that you look over your class notes and the AP prep book; take the online quizzes; and cover up the answers and retake warm-ups and the test for that unit. If you have purchased a review book, read over the summary for each unit and take the practice quizzes.
The more actively you can study, the better for you. Active studying means not just looking at your notes, but actually writing or saying out loud major points. For example, if you’re reviewing the effects of campaign finance reform, don’t just stare at your notes or the book. Don’t use a highlighter to highlight everything in your notes. Take a piece of scratch paper and write down as many as you can, then use your notes and the book to check over your list.
If you’re a diligent worker and won’t be distracted, I recommend that you form a study group. Take responsibility for teaching a point to the rest of your group. Remember that the best way to master a subject is to teach it to someone else. If you don’t have a study group, teach your parents the joys of federalism and other topics. If your parents are for some strange reason uninterested, teach your pet dog, baby brother, or bathroom mirror.
Here is the breakdown of the Exam
Questions Time allowed Percentage of grade
60 multiple choice 45 minutes 50%
4 free response 100 minutes 50%
This is the breakdown of the distribution of Content Areas covered by the AP Exam. The MC portion of the exam is devoted to each content area in the approximate percentages indicated. The free-response portion will test you in some combination of the six major categories below. Use this as a checklist while you’re studying.
Subject
Percentage of the Test
1) Constitutional Underpinnings of US Government
a. Considerations that influenced the formulation and adoption of the Constitution
b. Separation of powers
c. Federalism
d. Theories of democratic government
5-15%
2) Political Beliefs and Behaviors
a. Beliefs that citizens hold about their gov’t and its leaders
b. Processes by which citizens learn about politics
c. The nature, sources, and consequences of public opinion
d. The ways in which citizens vote and otherwise participate in political life
e. Factors that influence citizens to differ from one another in terms of political beliefs and behaviors
10-20%
3) Political Parties, Interest Groups and Mass Media
a. Political parties and elections
i. Functions
ii. Organization
iii. Development
iv. Effects on the political process
v. Electoral laws and systems
b. Interest groups, including PACs
i. The range of interests represented
ii. The activities of interest groups
iii. The effects of interest groups on the political process
iv. The unique characteristics and roles of PACs in the political process
c. The mass media
i. The functions and structures of the media
ii. The impacts of media on politics
10-20%
4) Institutions of National Government: Congress, Presidency, Bureaucracy and the Federal Courts
a. The major formal and informal institutional arrangements of power
b. Relationships among these four institutions, and varying balances of power
c. Linkages between institutions and the following
i. Public opinion and voters
ii. Interest groups
iii. Political parties
iv. The media
v. Subnational governments (state and local)
35-40%
5) Public Policy
a. Policy making in a federal system
b. The formation of policy agendas
c. The role of institutions in the enactment of policy
d. The role of the bureaucracy and the courts in policy implementation and interpretation
e. Linkages between policy processes and the following
i. Political institutions and federalism
ii. Political parties
iii. Interest groups
iv. Public opinion
v. Elections
vi. Policy networks
5-15%
6) Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
a. The development of civil liberties and civil rights by judicial interpretation
b. Knowledge of substantive rights and liberties
c. The impact of the Fourteenth Amendment on the constitutional development of rights and liberties
5-15%
Advice for Reviewing
Use all your notes, the book, AP prep manual, and past tests to write out answers to the above questions. For all your answers, be specific, giving examples as you would if this were the actual test. I don’t expect a full-blown essay answer, but rather the outline of the brilliant answer that I’m sure you could write if asked to.
Some of these questions you’ve seen before. This is a review, after all. Make sure that you understand your answers to the same exquisite level of perfection that you understood them previously. Use this as an opportunity to review the topic of the day. If you do 30-45 minutes [Don’t gasp: that’s as much time as you’re supposed to spending anyways on HW] of review every day for the next couple of weeks, you will be in fine shape for the actual test. When you review a section, I recommend that you look over your class notes and the AP prep book; take the online quizzes; and cover up the answers and retake warm-ups and the test for that unit. If you have purchased a review book, read over the summary for each unit and take the practice quizzes.
The more actively you can study, the better for you. Active studying means not just looking at your notes, but actually writing or saying out loud major points. For example, if you’re reviewing the effects of campaign finance reform, don’t just stare at your notes or the book. Don’t use a highlighter to highlight everything in your notes. Take a piece of scratch paper and write down as many as you can, then use your notes and the book to check over your list.
If you’re a diligent worker and won’t be distracted, I recommend that you form a study group. Take responsibility for teaching a point to the rest of your group. Remember that the best way to master a subject is to teach it to someone else. If you don’t have a study group, teach your parents the joys of federalism and other topics. If your parents are for some strange reason uninterested, teach your pet dog, baby brother, or bathroom mirror.
Here is the breakdown of the Exam
Questions Time allowed Percentage of grade
60 multiple choice 45 minutes 50%
4 free response 100 minutes 50%
This is the breakdown of the distribution of Content Areas covered by the AP Exam. The MC portion of the exam is devoted to each content area in the approximate percentages indicated. The free-response portion will test you in some combination of the six major categories below. Use this as a checklist while you’re studying.
Subject
Percentage of the Test
1) Constitutional Underpinnings of US Government
a. Considerations that influenced the formulation and adoption of the Constitution
b. Separation of powers
c. Federalism
d. Theories of democratic government
5-15%
2) Political Beliefs and Behaviors
a. Beliefs that citizens hold about their gov’t and its leaders
b. Processes by which citizens learn about politics
c. The nature, sources, and consequences of public opinion
d. The ways in which citizens vote and otherwise participate in political life
e. Factors that influence citizens to differ from one another in terms of political beliefs and behaviors
10-20%
3) Political Parties, Interest Groups and Mass Media
a. Political parties and elections
i. Functions
ii. Organization
iii. Development
iv. Effects on the political process
v. Electoral laws and systems
b. Interest groups, including PACs
i. The range of interests represented
ii. The activities of interest groups
iii. The effects of interest groups on the political process
iv. The unique characteristics and roles of PACs in the political process
c. The mass media
i. The functions and structures of the media
ii. The impacts of media on politics
10-20%
4) Institutions of National Government: Congress, Presidency, Bureaucracy and the Federal Courts
a. The major formal and informal institutional arrangements of power
b. Relationships among these four institutions, and varying balances of power
c. Linkages between institutions and the following
i. Public opinion and voters
ii. Interest groups
iii. Political parties
iv. The media
v. Subnational governments (state and local)
35-40%
5) Public Policy
a. Policy making in a federal system
b. The formation of policy agendas
c. The role of institutions in the enactment of policy
d. The role of the bureaucracy and the courts in policy implementation and interpretation
e. Linkages between policy processes and the following
i. Political institutions and federalism
ii. Political parties
iii. Interest groups
iv. Public opinion
v. Elections
vi. Policy networks
5-15%
6) Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
a. The development of civil liberties and civil rights by judicial interpretation
b. Knowledge of substantive rights and liberties
c. The impact of the Fourteenth Amendment on the constitutional development of rights and liberties
5-15%