Do’s and Don’ts WRITING FREE RESPONSE

Overview 4 Questions in 100 minutes Designed to evaluate your analytical and organizational skills Brainstorm Organize and outline Re-read Don’t leave points on the table

When you see the question Take 5 minutes to organize and brainstorm Underline the Directives Identify Explain Identify and Explain Describe and explain Give specific explanations Pay attention to the specific task after directive You will always need to support your answer with examples If you can’t remember some information, don’t panic, answer the parts you know how to answer

Do’s Use correct grammar-they don’t count for grading purposes, but help the grader psychologically Answer all 4 questions Support your explanations with specific evidence Write in your style Edit your answer and make sure you have answered all parts Try to sound sophisticated or use big words, keep it simple and concise Editorialize, they aren’t interested in your opinion and won’t get you points Data dump Use historical examples, this is a contemporary US political class Do’s and don’ts Don’ts

An example from Chapter 1 and 2 (2006) The framers of the United States Constitution created a legislative system that is bicameral. However, it is not just bicameral; the framers also established two houses of distinctly different character and authority. a. Discuss two reasons why the framers created a bicameral legislature. b. Identify one power unique to the House of Representatives and explain why the framers gave the House that power. c. Identify one power unique to the Senate and explain why the framers gave the Senate that power.

Rubric (trade with someone else) ository/_ap06_gopo_us_sg.pdf ository/_ap06_gopo_us_sg.pdf

Questions for Unit Test I 1. In The Federalist paper #10, Madison expressed concern over the possibility that both majority and minority factions would have too much power over government, and he presented ways of minimizing that danger. a. Identify the part of the national government that was originally most closley tied to citizens and explain how it was tied to citizens. b. Explain two ways the United States Constitution limited majority rule. c. Choose two of the following 20 th century developments and explain how each moved the United States from a less democratic system to a more democratic system.  Primary elections  The 17 th Amendment  Expansion of suffrage