Mr. TuccilloAP Government & Politics
Exam Information Sheet
YOU NEED TO BRING THE FOLLOWING TO THE EXAM
A. 2 NUMBER-TWO PENCILS (FOR THE MULTIPLE CHOICE SECTION).
B. 2 DARK-BLUE OR BLACK PENS (FOR THE ESSAY SECTION).
C. WATCH (IN CASE THERE’S NO CLOCK IN YOUR TESTING ROOM). MAKE SURE IT DOES NOT HAVE AN ALARM OR CALCULATOR!
YOUR EXAM CONSISTS OF:
SECTION I
MULTIPLE CHOICE - 60 QUESTIONS IN 45 MINUTES - COUNTS FOR 50% OF FINAL GRADE
SECTION II
ESSAY – 4 ESSAYS IN 100 MINUTES – COUNTS FOR 50% OF FINAL GRADE
TEST QUESTION BREAKDOWN
WORKINGS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – 35 TO 45%
POLITICAL BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUALS (VOTING, ETC.) – 10 TO 20%
POLITICAL BEHAVIOR OF GROUPS (PARTIES, LOBBIES, ETC.) – 10 TO 20%
CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS OF U.S. GOVERNMENT – 5 TO 15 %
CIVIL LIBERTIES AND CIVIL RIGHTS – 5 TO 15%
PUBLIC POLICY – 5 TO 15%
TAKING AND GRADING THE MULTIPLE CHOICE SECTION:
ONE POINT FOR EVERY CORRECT ANSWER, ZERO POINTS FOR QUESTIONS LEFT BLANK/INCORRECT.
HERE IS WHAT YOUR SCORE WOULD TRANSLATE INTO ON THE EXAM, ASSUMING YOU PERFORMED AS WELL ON THE ESSAY PORTION:
MULTIPLE CHOICE SCOREAP SCOREANSWERLEAVE BLANK
0 TO 18 1
19 TO 27 230 TO 38 22 TO 30
28 TO 39 345 15
40 TO 48 452 8
49 TO 60 5AS MANY AS YOU CAN AS FEW AS POSSIBLE
IN THE MULTIPLE CHOICE SECTION, THE QUESTIONS TEND TO GET MORE DIFFICULT AS THE SECTION PROGRESSES. EXPECT MOST OF THE QUESTIONS TO TEST GENERAL KNOWLEDGE AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE U.S GOVERNMENT. THE EXAM USUAL DOES NOT ASK ABOUT TRIVIAL MATTERS.
TAKING AND GRADING THE ESSAY SECTION
ESSAY QUESTIONS OFTEN ASK YOU TO STATE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED IN CLASS, BUT THEY ALMOST ALWAYS ASK YOU TO EXPRESS A VIEWPOINT AS WELL. GRADERS WILL EXPECT YOU TO BACK UP THAT VIEWPOINT WITH FACTS. ESSAY QUESTIONS HAVE NO “CORRECT” ANSWER. YOU JUST NEED TO WRITE A SIMPLE, DEFENSIBLE THESIS THAT RESPONDS TO THE QUESTION AND IS ACCOMPANIED BY AN ORGAINZED ESSAY FILLED WITH AS MUCH INFORMATION AS YOU CAN REMEMBER ABOUT THE SUBJECT.
ESSAY GRADERS KNOW THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO WRITE 4 ESSAYS IN 100 MINUTES. THEY ARE LOOKING TO SEE WHETHER YOU:
I. ADDRESS THE QUESTION
A. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE ENTIRE QUESTION CAREFULLY. ASK YOURSELF:
1. DO I HAVE (OR CAN I COME UP WITH) AN OPINION ABOUT THIS SUBJECT?
2. WHAT IS THE ESSAY REALLY ABOUT?
B. CLEARLY EXPLAIN THE ISSUES INVOLVED
1. ASSUME THE READER KNOWS VERY LITTLE AND TAKE AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE FOR GRANTED. DEFINE YOUR TERMS, EXPLAIN CONCEPTS, PROVIDE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND WHENEVER APPROPRIATE. THIS SHOWS THAT YOU HAVE A FIRM GRASP ON THE TOPIC.
2. WRITE IN A STRAIGHTFORWARD MANNER. DO NOT TRY TO FOOL THE GRADERS.
C. EXPRESS YOUR VIEWPOINT AND BACK IT UP WITH EVIDENCE
1. EXPRESS YOUR POINT OF VIEW THEN EXPLAIN WHY.
2. BACK UP YOUR ARGUMENT WITH FACTS AND OPINIONS THAT YOU FIND CONVINCING.
3. TAKE SOME TIME BEFORE YOU START WRITING TO LIST FACTS PERTINENT TO YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.
4. THE MORE YOU CAN INCLUDE IN YOUR ESSAY, THE BETTER YOUR GRADE.
D. ACKNOWLEDGE SEVERAL POINTS OF VIEW
1. WHENEVER POSSIBLE, INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE VIEWPOINT IN YOUR ESSAY OTHER THAN YOU OWN. THIS WILL DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU HAVE A CLEAR GRASP OF THE ISSUES AND CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ARGUMENT.
II. BEFORE YOU WRITE:
1. READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY.
2. BRAINSTORM FOR A MINUTE OR TWO WRITING DOWN EVERYTHING THAT COMES TO MIND ON THE TOPIC.
3. FIND YOUR CORE ARGUMENT OR POINTS AND MAKE THEN INTO YOUR THESIS.
4. MAKE A BRIEF OUTLINE PLANNING YOUR PARAGRAPHS.
A. YOUR FIRST PARAGRAPH SHOULD INTRODUCE YOUR TOPIC (TYPICALLY RESTATING THE QUESTION) AND CONTAIN YOUR THESIS (A CLEAR ONE-SENTENCE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION).
B. YOUR SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH PARAGRAPHS SHOULD DISCUSS ISSUES PERTINENT TO THE QUESTION. (SOME ESSAYS WILL ONLY HAVE TWO PARAGRAPHS HERE BECAUSE OF THE TIME ISSUE)
C. YOUR FIFTH SHOULD BE YOUR CONCLUSION.
III. AS YOU ARE WRITING:
1. KEEP SENTENCES AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE.
2. USE APPROPRIATE POLITICAL SCIENCE TERMINOLOGY. DO NOT OVERDO IT!
A. REMEMBER THAT GOOD WRITING DOES NOT HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED.
B. DO NOT USE WORDS IF YOU ARE UNAWARE OF ITS MEANING OR PROPER USAGE.
3. WRITE CLEARLY AND NEATLY BECAUSE THIS MAKES GRADERS HAPPY.
4. DEFINE YOUR TERMS. EVERYONE MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT MEANING OF CERTAIN WORDS (I.E. CONSERVATIVE AND LIBERAL). EXPLAIN WHAT YOU THINK THE WORDS MEAN.
A. DEFINE ANY WORD THAT YOU THINK CAN BE DEFINED MORE THAN ONE WAY.
5. USE TRANSITITION WORDS TO SHOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING BECAUSE IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR THE GRADERS TO FOLLOW YOU.
A. I.E. “FURTHERMORE”, “ALSO”, “IN ADDITION”, “HOWEVER”, “YET”
6. USE STRUCTURAL INDICATORS TO ORGANIZE YOUR PARAGRAPHS.
A. I.E. “FIRST”, “SECOND”, “FINALLY”, “ON THE ONE HAND”, “ON THE OTHER HAND”, “WHEREAS”
7. STICK TO YOUR OUTLINE.
8. TRY TO PROVE ONE “BIG PICTURE” IDEA PER PARAGRAPH. KEEP IT SIMPLE.
9. BACK UP YOUR IDEAS WITH EXAMPLES.
10. TRY NOT TO WRITE JUST ONE OR TWO PARAGRAPHS.
11. MAKE SURE YOUR FIRST AND LAST PARAGRAPHS DIRECTLY ADDRESS THE QUESTION.
12. IF YOU ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME ON YOUR FOURTH ESSAY, ABBREVIATE AND WRITE PARTIAL SENTENCES.
DO NOT PANIC
WATCH YOUR TIME