AP United States Government and Politics

The multiple-choice section includes individual, single questions as well as sets of questions. You’ll be asked to:

• Describe, explain, and compare political concepts and processes
• Apply Supreme Court decisions in real-life scenarios
• Analyze data in graphs, charts, tables, maps, or infographics
• Read and analyze foundational documents and other text-based and visual sources

In the free-response section, you’ll respond to four questions with written answers. The section includes:

• 1 concept application question: You’ll describe and explain the effects of a political institution, behavior, or process, and apply concepts in a new situation.
• 1 quantitative analysis question: You’ll analyze data in the form of a table, graph, map, or infographic to find patterns and trends and reach a conclusion.
• 1 SCOTUS comparison question: You’ll compare a nonrequired Supreme Court case with a required one, explaining how information from the required case is relevant to the nonrequired one.
  • The prompt specifies 1 required SCOTUS case, and you are asked to identify how that required case is related to the case given in the scenario.
• 1 argument essay: You’ll write an evidence-based essay supporting a claim or thesis.