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Lesson Plan: AP Government: Argumentative Essay Practice
The Federalist Papers
Boston College professor Mary Sarah Bilder gives a brief overview backgrounding the Federalist Papers
Description
This is intended as an end-of-course review activity for practice with the argumentative essay format included on the AP United States Government and Politics exam since the 2018 redesign. Eleven practice prompts are provided, reflecting content from Units 1-3.
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY PROMPT ANALYSIS
- Review the provided Argumentative Essay Prompts in either an individual or jigsaw format.
- Write a thesis statement for your selected prompt(s) and identify the selection you would make from the provided list and the second piece of evidence you would choose.
- If there are prompts for which you struggle to develop a thesis, or items on the bulleted lists with which you are not conversant, use the hyperlinked C-SPAN Classroom resources to extend your understanding of the required founding documents and SCOTUS cases that you found challenging.
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
- Chose one or more of the provided Argumentative Essay Prompts , as assigned, and use the planning and exploration you did above to write a full essay in response to your designated prompt(s) in 25 or fewer minutes , since that's the time limit you'll face on the AP Exam!
- Exchange essays with a classmate and evaluate each others' work.
- 1st Amendment
- Branches Of Government
- Constitution
- House Of Representatives
- Separation Of Powers
- Supreme Court
Find what you need to study
How Can I Get a 5 in AP US Government?
4 min read • september 29, 2021
Akhilesh Shivaramakrishnan
The Capitol Building in Washington DC, where our lawmakers argue . . . a lot! Image from Pixabay .
In this guide, we'll give you some tips so you can ace that AP® exam in May! A lot of these tips just involve knowing the exam and its contents, and we'll walk you through them. Remember to stay optimistic! You've got this 💪🏽
1. Know what your test is going to look like
To get a 5 on the exam, you need to be comfortable with the format of the exam! Here is some general information about the questions on the AP US Gov exam:
Multiple Choice (accounts for 50% of your score) 📃
55 questions
Free Response (accounts for 50% of your score) ✍
4 questions
#1—Concept Application 📝
#2—Quantitative Analysis 📈
#3—Supreme Court Case Comparison Essay ⚖
#4—Argumentative Essay 🗳
100 minutes
2. Use the content breakdown to guide your studying
The AP Gov curriculum has 5 main units that you studied throughout the year! These appear in different percentages on the exam, so focus on the units with the highest percentage of exam content, especially if you struggle with them.
AP US Gov Content Breakdown
A look from the outside of the Supreme Court, where judges make decisions! Image from Pixabay .
3. Know your Supreme Court cases
Supreme Court cases became a huge part of the AP exam starting in 2019 when the curriculum included 15 required SCOTUS cases! It's super important that you spend some time going through the details of these cases because they'll be helpful for your comparison essay ✍
The multiple-choice section may also test other SCOTUS cases. They might also help you in real life; these are some of the most famous cases to be heard before the Supreme Court 🔍
Here they are:
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Schenck v. the United States (1919)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
Baker v. Carr (1962)
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
United States v. Lopez (1995)
McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
For each case, I'd recommend knowing a summary of the case, the constitutional issues surrounding it, as well as the holding, constitutional principle applied, and majority opinion issued 💬
Sound overwhelming? Don't worry, we're here to help! Check out this guide to review all 15 cases !
We also have a guide and stream 🎥 breaking down the SCOTUS comparison essay ✍
4. Know your Foundational Documents
Now that we've got the case comparison out of the way, let's move to FRQ 4—the argumentative essay! This one requires you to know a set of documents that were key in shaping America 🇺🇸 It's super important that you review those because you will need to pull evidence from them for the argumentative essay.
Just like the Supreme Court cases, they might also show up on the multiple-choice portion of the AP exam.
Declaration of Independence
Articles of Confederation
Federalist 10
Federalist 51
Federalist 70
Federalist 78
Constitution + Bill of Rights and other amendments
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Here's our guide that'll help you master the foundational documents!
We also have a guide that'll walk you through writing the argumentative essay !
5. Practice your writing skills and make a study plan
As you start your AP gov class, you'll notice that writing is a huge part of the course. As you move on, try to find where your weaknesses are, and make conscious efforts to get better in those areas!
If you find out a unit is a struggle for you, try to block out some times where you can review the content. A great way to study AP Gov content is through mind maps and graphic organizers! These will work as a quick study tool before your AP exam as well 🏫
Finally, space out your study sessions! Don't start the week before May 😉Instead, work in some times before then where you can study your foundational documents, court cases, and other course content.
We know you'll ace this exam! Good luck studying, and always know we'll have your backs. If you need to find any of our content, it's always accessible here !
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The Argument Essay differs substantially from the other free-response questions on the AP U.S. Government and Politics exam, but you can and should still follow the Kaplan Method (AP-AP). It is recommended that you take 40 minutes to plan and write your Argument Essay (as opposed to 20 minutes each for the other free-response questions), so ...
Chose one or more of the provided Argumentative Essay Prompts, as assigned, and use the planning and exploration you did above to write a full essay in response to your designated prompt (s) in 25 ...
More from Heimler's History:AP HEIMLER REVIEW GUIDE (formerly known as the Ultimate Review Packet): +AP Gov Heimler Review Guide: https://bit.ly/3rfXr2YCheck...
Note: Some questions and scoring guidelines from the 2023 and earlier AP U.S. Government and Politics Exams may not perfectly align with the course and exam updates that take effect in the 2023-24 school year. These questions remain available because teachers say that imperfectly aligned questions still provide instructional value.
Because of that, you should spend around 25 minutes, give or take a few, on the Argument Free-Response Question. (NOTE: FOR THE 2019-2020 TEST, YOU WILL HAVE 25 MINUTES TO WRITE AND 5 MINUTES TO UPLOAD YOUR RESPONSE.) This is the nightmare you're not gonna have before this AP exam. Image courtesy of Freepik.
Question 4: Argument Essay 6 points ... 2021 AP Exam Administration Sample Student Responses - AP U.S. Government and Politics Free-Response Question 4: Set 1 Author: College Board Subject: 2021 AP Exam Administration: Student Samples and Commentary ... 8/17/2021 5:26:13 PM ...
In this video I walk you through the process of writing the AP Gov Argument Essay and make sure you know exactly what you need to do your absolute best on th...
🌶️ AP Gov Cram Review: Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government. streamed by user25592398. AP Gov + Politics Cram Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government. slides by user25592398. 🌶️ AP Gov Cram Review: Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights. streamed by user25592398.
Sample Question 1 (Argument Essay) (Adapted from: 2019 AP® U.S. Government and Politics Question 4) Allotted time: 25 minutes (plus 5 minutes to submit) The United States Constitution establishes a federal system of government. Under federalism, policymaking is shared between national and state governments.
Explain why changes in entitlement spending make balancing the federal budget difficult. Explain how deficit spending affects the projected trend in net interest. 4. The balance of power between the United States national government and state governments is shaped by the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings.
Your Guide to the 2024 AP US Government & Politics Exam. We know that studying for your AP exams can be stressful, but Fiveable has your back! We created a study plan to help you crush your AP Government and Politics exam. This guide will continue to update with information about the 2024 exams, as well as helpful resources to help you do your ...
AP United States Government and Politics ... an argumentative essay, demonstrating each of the skills mentioned above. Sample: 4A Score: 6 Claim/Thesis: 1 Evidence: 3 Reasoning: 1 Alternative Perspectives: 1 : A. The response earned 1 point because it contains a thesis. The claim that social movements are
19 AP Government Argumentative Essays. Develop an argument that takes a position on whether the process to amend the US Constitution should be simplified. The process to amend the US Constitution should stay as it is, as the framers deliberately made the process difficult to prevent changes made by the whims of the people.
Articulates a defensible claim or thesis that responds to the prompt and establishes a line of reasoning. To earn this point, the thesis must make a claim that responds to the prompt, rather than merely restating or rephrasing the prompt. The thesis may be located anywhere in the response and this point can be earned even if the claim is not ...
Overview. We've compiled a sortable list of a bunch of the AP US Government & Politics past prompts! The AP Gov essays (or all written portions) are 50% of the exam including short-answer questions (SAQs) and an Argument Essay. It's important that you understand the rubrics and question styles going into the exam. Use this list to practice!
ap gov argumentative essay info. 13 terms. BryceP16. AP Government FRQ Questions. 14 terms. anjali_patel489. Sets found in the same folder. AP Gov Chapter 17. 11 terms. msskp91. ... AP Gov Unit 5. 24 terms. spencerkresie7. Senate, House of Rep, or Congress (both) 44 terms. spencerkresie7. Other Quizlet sets. Zoological Nomenclature and Primate ...
Scoring Rubric for 2020 Question 1: Argument Essay 7 points Reporting Category. Scoring Criteria Row A; Claim/Thesis (0-1 points) 5.A: 0 points: 1 point: ... AP United States Government and Politics Free-Response Question 4 Scoring Rubric, Effective Fall 2019 Author: College Board Subject:
Unit 5 FRQ (public opinion) AP Gov. Identify three rules of the United States electoral system that acts as obstacles to minor party candidates winning elections and explain how each acts as an obstacle. -15% in national polls in presidential in order to participate in the presidential debate. -America's winner take all system.
It. Last year, only 13% of students that took the AP Gov exam scored a 5. You'll need to surround yourself with the absolute best resources if you are headed toward a high score. Although there are thousands of teacher websites and other free content across the internet, these five resources are proven to help students pass the exam with ...
AP Central initial files.indd 4 29/06/18 9:53 PM Preface This publication is designed to help teachers and students understand and prepare for the AP® U.S. Government and Politics Exam. The publication includes sample free-response questions, scoring guidelines, student responses at various levels of achievement, and reader commentaries.
Supreme Court is interpreting Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution in favor of citizens having voting rights. Going along with the idea that the national government best helps increase voter rights, the 26th amendment supports my argument because this law was passed by Congress, which is part of the national government. By passing this law, Congress extended voting rights to citizens ages ...
Here is some general information about the questions on the AP US Gov exam: Multiple Choice (accounts for 50% of your score) 📃 . 55 questions. 80 minutes. Free Response (accounts for 50% of your score) . 4 questions #1—Concept Application 📝 #2—Quantitative Analysis 📈 #3—Supreme Court Case Comparison Essay ⚖ #4—Argumentative ...
AP® United States Government and Politics 2021 Scoring Guidelines . Question 4: Argument Essay 6 points . Reporting Category Scoring Criteria . Row A Claim/Thesis (0-1 points) 0 points . Does not meet the criteria for one point. 1 point . Responds to the prompt with a defensible claim or thesis that reasoning. Decision Rules and Scoring Notes