READ the verbs; DO what they ask

I said it before and I'll say it again. The best hint I can offer for the Free Response Questions on the AP exam is to

read the verbs and then do what they ask you to do.

If you're asked to explain, explain; if you're asked to describe, describe. Don't describe when you're asked to explain. If you're asked to compare, compare. Don't simply describe one of the things you're asked to compare.

Do what you're asked to do.

Do it as well as you can.

Good luck.

Tips for FRQs

Last year, Mr. Frank Franz, who teaches in Virginia offered a list of great suggestions that will help you write better responses to FRQs.

I posted them last year, and here's a link to them again.

Tips for FRQs

Here's the strategy I place on every FRQ I give my students. I believe it helps them focus on the questions and will help them earn as high of a score as possible...

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Question No. 24

Here's Question No. 24 (It's a Country Context question.):

•Identify a democratic facet of the Iranian regime.
•Explain how it is limited by a non-democratic feature of the regime.
•Identify an undemocratic facet of the Iranian regime.
•Explain how it is limited by a democratic facet of the regime.

(See pp. 142 - 148 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 23

Here's Question No. 23 (It's a Country Context question.):


•Describe a difference between the electoral systems for legislators in Mexico and Iran.
•Explain why one is more likely than the other to be representative of the population.


(See pp. 131 - 132, 134 - 135, and 147 - 150 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 22

For Tuesday, 3 May

Here's Question No. 22 (It's a Conceptual Analysis question.):


•Identify two major politically-relevant cleavages in Nigeria.
•Explain how one feature of the regime in Nigeria is designed to minimize the political effects of those cleavages.
•Explain how one feature of political participation magnifies the political effects of those cleavages.

(See pp. 109 - 120 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 21

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Here's Question No. 21 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

•Identify the primary law-making part of the Iranian regime.
•Explain two limitations on the power of that part of the Iranian regime.

(See pp. 142 - 146 and 148, in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 20

A question for Friday, 28 April:

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)



Here's Question No. 20 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

•Identify an historical factor that influences politics in the United Kingdom.
•Explain how that factor influences politics in the United Kingdom.


(See pp. 55 - 59 and 63 - 65 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 19

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.



Here's Question No. 19 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

Explain two ways that the principle of non-reelection affects political behavior in Mexico.

(See pp. 130 - 132 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 18

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.



Here's Question No. 18 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

Explain why the Peoples Republic of China has parallel bureaucracies in the Communist Party and the government.

(See pp. 88 - 90 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 17

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed, and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.



Here's Question No. 17 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

Describe two choices a politically ambitious young person in Mexico should make to improve her or his chances of gaining a political leadership position.

(See pp. 133 - 137 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 16

This is the question for Monday, 25 April:

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed, and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.



Here's Question No. 16 (It's a Country Context question.):

•Explain one way in which the "wars" between drug cartels in Mexico threatens the national government.
•Explain why the use of the army for law enforcement purposes (against the drug cartels) is politically controversial.


(See p. 130 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 15

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.


Here's Question No. 15 (It's a Country Context question.):

•Describe an example of how global interdependence affects (or affected) policy choices available to the Nigerian government.
•Describe an example of how global interdependence affects (or affected) policy choices available to the British government
OR
explain why global interdependence doesn't affect policy choices available to the British government.


(See pp. 122 - 123 and 66-67 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 14

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.



Here's Question No. 14 (It's a Conceptual Analysis question.):

The heads of government in Russia and the United Kingdom are not directly elected by voters.
•Explain how each is chosen.
•Describe a significant similarity in their roles as heads of government.
•Identify and describe one major difference between the sources of authority for these two executives.


(See pp. 57 - 62 and 74-78 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 13

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.



Here's Question No. 13 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

The governments of Iran and China have gone to great lengths to restrict the flow of information about political events beyond their borders.

•Describe a similarity in the political cultures of Iran and China.
•Explain how that similarity helps account for the countries' unwillingness to allow the free flow of international information.


(See pp. 85, 95 - 98 141 - 142, and 148 - 151 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 12

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.

Here's Question No. 12 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

Explain two reasons the electoral system in Iran discourages the operation of permanent or long-term political parties.


(See pp. 148 - 151 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 11

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.


Here's Question No. 11 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

•What is meant by "democratic centralism" in the Peoples Republic of China?
•Explain two methods used by the Communist Party of China to practice democratic centralism.


(See pp. 89 - 92 in What You Need to Know.)

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A sample response

An anonymous response to Question No. 1 has been submitted. You can see it in the Comments section for Question No. 1

Question No. 10

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.


Here's Question No. 10 (It's a Short Answer - Concept Question question.):

•Identify a primary source of legitimacy for the political system in
The Peoples Republic of China
The Islamic Republic of Iran
•Explain why each source you identified is vulnerable to change


(See pp. 86 - 88, 95 - 98, and 142 -146 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 9

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.

Here's Question No. 9 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

Explain two reasons that the president in the Nigerian regime is dominant over the national legislature and the state governments.


(See pp. 109 - 112 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 8

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.

Here's Question No. 8 (It's a Country Context question.):

Since 1980, major political changes have been proposed in the UK and in China.
•Identify and explain one reason for the relative effectiveness of implementing change in China.
•Identify and explain one reason for the relative ineffectiveness of implementing change in the UK.

(See pp. 63-67 and 96-100 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 7

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.

Here's Question No. 7 (It's a Country Context question.):

•Identify where in each political system, nation-wide interest groups would most likely try to influence policy making in the United Kingdom AND Russia.
•Explain one factor in each country that prevents these efforts from being transparent.

(See pp. 63-67 and 79-82 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 6

I'll post a sample FRQ here about comparative government and politics almost every week day until May 6. They're for practice, since that one of the best ways of preparing for the exam.

I will post 3 sets of FRQs like the ones you'll see on the AP Exam. Each set will consist of 5 "short answer concept" questions, 1 "conceptual analysis" question, and 2 "country context" questions.

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.



Here's Question No. 6 (It's a Conceptual Analysis question.):

•Describe, in general, the role of an ideology in supporting the legitimacy of a political system
•Explain how a religious belief system can be more powerful than a political philosophy in supporting the legitimacy of a political system
•Explain how an ideology can support legitimacy of a political system when it accepts dissent from the ideology


(See pp. 41, 55-57, 69-73, 86-88, 96-98, 104-109, 127-130, and 142-146 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 5

I'll post a sample FRQ here about comparative government and politics almost every week day until May 6. They're for practice, since that one of the best ways of preparing for the exam.

I will post 3 sets of FRQs like the ones you'll see on the AP Exam. Each set will consist of 5 "short answer concept" questions, 1 "conceptual analysis" question, and 2 "country context" questions.

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.


Here's Question No. 5 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

Identify and explain two reasons why the Mexican legislature is not as powerful as the executive in the Mexican political system.

(See pp. 131-132 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 4

I'll post a sample FRQ here about comparative government and politics almost every week day until May 6. They're for practice, since that one of the best ways of preparing for the exam.

I will post 3 sets of FRQs like the ones you'll see on the AP Exam. Each set will consist of 5 "short answer concept" questions, 1 "conceptual analysis" question, and 2 "country context" questions.

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.



Here's Question No. 4 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

•Identify and explain a major obstacle to political success for parties in Russia challenging United Russia.

•Identify and explain a major obstacle to political success for parties in Nigeria challenging the Peoples Democratic Party.

(See pp. 77-80 and 111-114 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 3

I'll post a sample FRQ here about comparative government and politics almost every week day until May 6. They're for practice, since that one of the best ways of preparing for the exam.

I will post 3 sets of FRQs like the ones you'll see on the AP Exam. Each set will consist of 5 "short answer concept" questions, 1 "conceptual analysis" question, and 2 "country context" questions.

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.

Here's Question No. 3 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

Explain one reason comparative theory suggests that a federal system of government is appropriate for Nigeria.

Explain one reason comparative theory suggests that a unitary system of government is appropriate for the Peoples Republic of China.

(See pp.40, 45, 49, 89-90, 95-96, and 109-110 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 2

I'll post a sample FRQ here about comparative government and politics almost every week day until May 6. They're for practice, since that one of the best ways of preparing for the exam.

I will post 3 sets of FRQs like the ones you'll see on the AP Exam. Each set will consist of 5 "short answer - concept" questions, 1 "conceptual analysis" question, and 2 "country context" questions.

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.


Here's Question No. 2 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

Describe two major ways that policy making about social welfare issues in a neo-liberal government differs from policy making making about social welfare issues in a social democratic government.


(See pp.39, 42, 44, and 45 in What You Need to Know.)

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Question No. 1

I'll post a sample FRQ here about comparative government and politics almost every week day until May 6. They're for practice, since that one of the best ways of preparing for the exam.

I will post 3 sets of FRQs like the ones you'll see on the AP Exam. Each set will consist of 5 "short answer concept" questions, 1 "conceptual analysis" question, and 2 "country context" questions.

You can subscribe to these questions using the RSS feed (the little broadcast icon in the address bar), and you'll see them in your news reader when I post them.

You can submit an answer using the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)

If you submit the earliest best answer, I'll post your answer (without your name) and a critique here a week after the question was posted. It will be in the "Comments" section for that question.



Here's Question No. 1 (It's a Short Answer - Concept question.):

Explain why political scientists distinguish between regimes and governments.




(See pp. 32, 37, 40, and 43 in What You Need to Know.)

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A new practice season

COMING APRIL 4

A new practice season of FRQs for Comparative Government and Politics.

Three new sets of 8 questions (like those on THE exam). One a day until May 5.

If you're anxious to begin, you can look at the sample questions from the past three years and see how well you can answer them. (See the blog archive at left.)

If you have questions, please use the "Questions" e-mail link at the What You Need to Know web site. (Look in the lower, right-hand section of that page.)