APFIVE AP United States Government and Politics Exam Info
Download PDFThe AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam will test your understanding of the political concepts covered in the course units, including your ability to analyze the foundational documents and to apply Supreme Court decisions you studied in the course to real-life scenarios.
This is a fully digital exam. You’ll complete multiple-choice and free-response questions in the Bluebook testing app, with all responses automatically submitted at the end of the exam.
AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam
This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP United States Government and Politics Exam.
Exam Components
Section I: Multiple Choice
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
Section II: Free Response
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.
Skills You'll Learn
Connecting political concepts to real-life situations
Explaining the impact and implications of certain U.S. Supreme Court decisions
Analyzing data to find patterns and trends and draw conclusions
Reading and analyzing text and visual sources
Developing a claim or thesis and supporting it in an essay
Units
Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy
You’ll learn how the men who created the U.S. Constitution set up a structure of government intended to stand the test of time, and how the compromises they made left some questions unresolved that continue to be debated today.
Topics may include:
- The ideals of democracy as shown in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
- Federalist and Anti-Federalist views on central government and democracy
- Separation of powers and “checks and balances”
- The relationship between the states and the national government (federalism)
- How federalism has been interpreted differently over time
On The Exam
15%–22% of multiple-choice score
Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government
You’ll continue to explore how the government sets and administers policy, and you’ll learn about the complexities of this process.
Topics may include:
- The structures, powers, and functions of each house of Congress
- The roles and powers of the president
- The roles and powers of the Supreme Court and other federal courts
- The roles of the federal bureaucracy (departments, agencies, commissions, and government corporations)
On The Exam
25%–36% of multiple-choice score
Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
You’ll connect what you’ve learned about the founding principles of our government to the debates over how best to balance freedom and order.
Topics may include:
- The intent of the Bill of Rights
- The First Amendment (freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press) and how the Supreme Court has interpreted it
- The Second Amendment (the right to bear arms) and how the Supreme Court has interpreted it
- Supreme Court interpretations of other amendments
- How the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment have motivated social movements
On The Exam
13%–18% of multiple-choice score
Unit 4: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs
You’ll explore the various beliefs that U.S. citizens hold about government, how these beliefs are shaped, and how they affect which policies citizens support.
Topics may include:
- How cultural and social factors affect citizens’ beliefs about government
- How polls are used to gather data about public opinion
- The ideologies of the Democratic and Republican parties
- How political ideologies affect policy on economic and social issues
On The Exam
10%–15% of multiple-choice score
Unit 5: Political Participation
You’ll learn about the many ways that U.S. citizens can influence the decisions the government makes.
Topics may include:
- Laws that protect the right to vote
- Why it’s hard for third parties and independent candidates to succeed
- Interest groups and their influence
- Campaign finance and its role in elections
- The media’s role in elections
On The Exam
20%–27% of multiple-choice score