2024 AP US Government & Politics Exam Guide

Your Guide to the 2024 AP US Government & Politics Exam

Format of the 2024 AP US Gov Exam

• 📃 55 multiple-choice questions with 80 minutes to complete them.
  • There will be ~30 individual, stand-alone questions.
  • All the other questions will be put together into sets. You may be asked to complete a quantitative, qualitative, or visual analysis in these questions.
• ✍ 4 free-response questions with 100 minutes to complete them. You should devote ~20 minutes to each response.
  • Question 1 is always a concept application question.
  • Question 2 is a quantitative analysis question, where you will analyze data and come to a conclusion.
  • Question 3 is a Supreme Court case comparison essay. You will compare a required court case with a nonrequired one, explaining how they are related.
  • Lastly, question 4 is an argumentative essay.

Scoring Rubric for the AP US Government Exam

When is the 2024 AP Gov Exam and How do I Take it?

• The exam date will be in-person and on paper at your school on Monday, May 6, 2024 at 8 am, your local time.

How Should I Prepare for the AP Gov Exam?

• First, you need to take stock of your progress in the course so far so that you can build your study plan according to your needs. Download the AP Government and Politics Cheatsheet PDF—a single sheet that covers everything you need to know—so that you can see a map of the entire course and quickly spot the weak areas that you need to focus on.
• Then, create your study plan by focusing on your learning styles and areas to improve. Which types of questions do you need to practice more? We've put together the study plan found below to help you study between now and May. This will cover all of the units and essay types to prepare you for your exam. Pay special attention to the units that you need the most improvement in.
• Study, practice, and review for test day with other students during our live cram sessions via Cram Mode. Cram live streams will teach, review, and practice important topics from AP courses, college admission tests, and college admission topics. These streams are hosted by experienced students who know what you need to succeed.
• Finally, build your study schedule in advance! We highly suggest making your study schedule ahead of time so that you can easily join interactive study sessions such as live streams, voice chats, and study groups.

Pre-Work: Set Up Your Study Environment

AP US Government & Politics 2024 Study Plan

🏛️Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy

• Intro to American Government, models of Representative Democracy: A full review of the types of democracy, the difference between government and politics as well as the functions of government are discussed. 
• Foundational Documents Review: A deep dive into the foundational documents you need to know for the exam.
• Ratification of the Constitution: Constitutional Convention: A review of the compromises leading to the ratification of the Constitution. 

• Unit 1 Overview: Foundations of American Democracy 
• 1.1 Ideals of Democracy 
• 1.2 Types of Democracy 
• 1.3 Federalist No. 10 & Brutus 1 Summary 
• 1.4 Challenges of the Articles of Confederation
• 1.5 Ratification of the US Constitution
• 1.6 Principles of American Government
• 1.7 Relationship Between States and the Federal Government
• 1.8 Constitutional Interpretations of Federalism
• 1.9 Federalism in Action 
• 1.10 Required Founding Documents

• Best Quizlet Deck: AP Gov Unit 1 by bryce_s

• 👻 Check out Too Late to Apologize: An Ode to the Declaration of Independence (YouTube)
• Types of Federalism Part 1 - Dual vs Cooperative
• Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland and US v. Lopez
• The Powers - Expressed, Implied, Concurrent, Denied...

⚖️ Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government

• Legislative and Judicial Branch Review: This stream provides a review of the legislative and judicial branches including their powers and role within the federal government.
• Powers of the Presidency: This stream provides a review of the executive branch including its powers and role within the federal government.
• Separation of Powers/Checks and Balances: This video from Crash Course reviews the separation of powers between the three branches of government. It also looks at the ways each branch “checks” the other. 

• Unit 2 Overview: Interactions Among Branches of Government
• 2.1 Congress: The Senate and the House of Representatives
• 2.2 Structures, Powers, and Functions of Congress
• 2.3 Congressional Behavior
• 2.4 Roles and Power of the President
• 2.5 Checks on the Presidency
• 2.6 Expansion of Presidential Power
• 2.7 Presidential Communication
• 2.8 The Judicial Branch
• 2.9 Legitimacy of the Judicial Branch
• 2.10 The Court in Action
• 2.11 Checks on the Judicial Branch
• 2.12 The Bureaucracy
• 2.13 Discretionary and Rule-Making Authority
• 2.14 Holding the Bureaucracy Accountable
• 2.15 Policy and the Branches of Government

• Best Quizlet Deck: Unit 2 – AP Gov by k8te13

• Bill to Law Process
• Review and Application of Iron Triangles and Issue Networks
• Selection and Nomination of Federal Judges

✊ Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

• First and Second Amendments: This stream looks at what the first and second amendments say, how they have been interpreted and some of the major Supreme Court cases around them.
• Civil Liberties and Civil Rights: This video from crash course provides a review of the civil liberties and civil rights guaranteed to US citizens. It also looks at the way the Bill of Rights has been interpreted since its inception in relation to liberties and rights.
• The 14th Amendment: This stream breaks down the 14th amendment and many of the key terms associated with it: due process, equal protection, incorporation, citizenship, and privileges or immunities clause. 
• Required Supreme Court Cases from 1st-10th Amendments: This stream reviews Supreme Court cases about the 1st-10th Amendments and how they protect civil liberties today!

• Unit 3 Overview: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
• 3.1 The Bill of Rights
• 3.2 First Amendment: Freedom of Religion
• 3.3 First Amendment: Freedom of Speech
• 3.4 First Amendment: Freedom of the Press
• 3.5 Second Amendment: Rights to Bear Arms
• 3.6 Amendments: Balancing Individual Freedom with Public Order and Safety
• 3.7 Selective Incorporation & the 14th Amendment
• 3.8 Amendments: Due Process and the Rights of the Accused
• 3.9 Amendments: Due Process and the Right to Privacy
• 3.10 Social Movements and Equal Protection
• 3.11 Government Responses to Social Movements
• 3.12 Balancing Minority and Majority Rights
• 3.13 Affirmative Action

• Best Quizlet Deck: AP Gov – Civil Liberties and Rights by Sandy_Midgley

• 📜 Check out Bill of Rights and Bill of Rights (YouTube)
• Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (Fiveable stream)

🐘Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs

• Political Socialization and Political Ideology: This stream discusses what influences people's political views and a few different dominant political ideologies.
• Political Parties and Their Platforms: This stream dives into the major beliefs and ideologies of the Republican and Democratic party platforms, the history of political parties, their impact on voters and the government, and third parties were also discussed.
• Economic Ideology - Keynesian vs Supply Side: In this stream we dived into fiscal economic theory and policy, looking at the liberal take on Keynesian theory and the conservative look at supply-side theory. 

• Unit 4 Overview: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs
• 4.1 American Attitudes about Government and Politics
• 4.2 Political Socialization
• 4.4 Influence of Political Events on Ideology
• 4.5 Measuring Public Opinion
• 4.6 Evaluating Public Opinion Data
• 4.7 Ideologies of Political Parties
• 4.8 Ideology and Policy Making
• 4.9 Ideology and Economic Policy
• 4.10 Ideology and Social Policy

• Best Quizlet Deck: AP GOV Unit 4 by MARGARET_CYLKOWSKI

• A Review of Public Policy (Social Policy)
• A Review of Public Policy (Economic Policy)
• Social Security, Healthcare, and Education Policy
• Polling

🗳Unit 5: Political Participation

• Voting and Voter Behavior: Who votes and why do they vote? This stream answers these questions and explains the process of voting in the US in this stream.
• Campaign Finance: Campaign finance isn't as scary as you think! This stream looks at the Federal Elections Campaign Act, hard vs soft money, Buckley vs Valeo, Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, Citizens United vs FEC, 501(c)s, and more!
• Media Ownership and Bias:  This steam discusses the growing concentration of media companies and how bias in media affects both policy-making and public interest.
• Critical Elections: Realignments and Dealignment: Often, students are confused on the differences between a party realignment and dealignment. This stream covers those around the five critical elections in US history. 

• Unit 5 Overview: Political Participation
• 5.1 Voting Rights and Models of Voting Behaviour
• 5.2 Voter Turnout
• 5.3 Political Parties
• 5.4 How and Why Political Parties Change
• 5.5 Third-Party Politics
• 5.6 Interest Groups Influencing Policy Making
• 5.7 Groups Influencing Policy Outcomes
• 5.8 Electing a President
• 5.9 Congressional Elections
• 5.10 Modern Campaigns
• 5.11 Campaign Finance
• 5.12 The Media
• 5.13 Changing Media

• Best Quizlet Deck: AP Government - Political Participation by Carpenter-Economics

🧐AP US Government - Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)

• AP US Government Multiple Choice Questions
• AP US Government Multiple Choice Help (MCQ)

🏛️AP US Government - Free Response Questions (FRQ)

• Breaking Down the Supreme Court Case Comparison Essay: This stream discusses how exactly to write the Supreme Court Case Comparison Essay, FRQ #3, on the AP Gov exam! We talked about the elements of a good response, and wrote one ourselves!
• Writing Workshop on the Argumentative Essay: This stream explores the Argumentative Essay, looking at the rubric and then using the remainder of the time to practice our skills. 

• AP US Government Free Response Help - FRQs
• FRQ: Conceptual Analysis
• FRQ: SCOTUS Application
• AP Gov FRQ: Argument Essay Review (2020)
• AP Gov FRQ: Quantitative Analysis Review (2020)

• AP Gov SAQ Practice Prompt Answers & Feedback
• AP GoPo Free Response Questions (FRQ) – Past Prompts
• AP Gov Federalism Practice Prompt Answers & Feedback