AP® Comparative Government is one of the most challenging AP® courses. One of the things that students find most difficult about the AP® Comparative Government test are the free response questions. These questions can cover a wide variety of material and require nuanced, detailed answers. This handy guide will help you make sure you know what you’re doing when dealing with AP® Comparative Government free response questions.

What is the Format of AP® Comparative Government?

The AP® Comparative Government test consists of two sections: multiple choice and free response. Each section is worth 50% of your final scaled score. This chart should help clarify the contents of each section, and provide you with an idea of the overall structure of the exam.

As you can see, there are eight total free response questions: five Short Answer, one Conceptual, and two Country-Specific. As a result, there are a number of skills you will need to handle AP® Comparative Government free response questions adequately.

Why is the AP® Comparative Government Free-Response Important?

Free response questions deserve a solid portion of your AP® Comparative Government practice because of how crucial they are. AP® Comparative Government free response questions make up 50% of your scaled score, a strong indicator of their importance. However, the way AP® Comparative Government free response questions are scored will also help you understand their impact. This score sheet is an excellent demonstration of the point. You’ll notice that the score you get on each question is weighted, and those weights are higher than the weight given to the multiple-choice questions. Therefore, while each section counts toward 50% of your final score, each point you get from a free response question contributes much more value to it. The result of this is that doing well on free response questions can boost your final score!

What Content is Covered in the Free-Response Section of AP® Comparative Government?

The different types of free response questions cover different elements from the course. Short Answer questions are more definition based, and require students to define key concepts from the course outline. These questions are the most basic free response questions, and require the least amount of comparison or nuance.

The next type of question, conceptual, is more intensive than the short answer questions. It requires students not only to define, but also to analyze a concept covered in the class. However, these only cover major concepts for the course outline, so that will narrow down the list of potential questions when you are designing your AP® Comparative Government Study plan.

The final question type on the AP® Comparative Government free response section is the Country-Specific one. These questions will require students to provide specific information on the government or political structure of the countries covered in the class and provide comparative analysis on them. As a result, students can expect to explain the similarities and differences between different governments, as well as the importance and implications of those similarities and differences.

How to Prepare for AP® Comparative Government’s Free-Response

There are many ways that you can approach your preparation for AP® Comparative Government free response questions. The first and most important thing to do is develop a study plan. An AP® Comparative Government study plan will help you make sure that your prep is on schedule and is covering all of the topics that you need.

The next step to preparing for AP® Comparative Government free response questions is to make sure you have a list of all of the core concepts covered in the class. The core concepts are found in the course outline linked above. You should go through this list and make an honest assessment of your comfort with each concept and country. This will help you get a better picture of what you need to brush up on to ensure a complete AP® Comparative Government review.

The third tip for preparing for AP® Comparative Government free response questions is to look back at old tests. The CollegeBoard provides all of the past free response questions, as well as scoring guidelines and rubrics. These tools will give you an accurate assessment of your ability to answer AP® Comparative Government free response questions by practicing with actual test questions and seeing what your score would be.

A fourth tip to make sure you get the best AP® Comparative Government practice possible is to make your own random question generator. The process is simple; make a stack of notecards with a single concept from the class, and a stack of cards with the different countries. Shuffle the concept stack, flip one over and also turn over two country cards. Write a practice essay that compares the two countries based on the concept that you’ve turned over. This method will help you prepare for anything that the test can ask you, and makes sure that you don’t limit yourself to only practicing questions for which you already know the answer.

The final recommendation for increasing your score on AP® Comparative Government free response questions is to review outside resources for questions. Make sure to notice any trends when you are practicing multiple-choice questions, as they can indicate knowledge gaps that can undermine your free-response score as well.

How to Answer AP® Comparative Government Free-Response Questions?

There are many ways to answer AP® Comparative Government free response questions. One of the most important things to remember, especially for the Conceptual and Country-Specific questions, is that the course is comparative. Consequently, you can explain the concept as it relates to one country, then the other, and then finally compare and contrast the two countries, explaining why the similarities and differences that you point out are important. This approach works helps you outline the country information and then set up the comparison and analysis of the concept.

Another method that students have found successful is to start with the concept. By first defining the concept, and then explaining how each country relates to that concept, some students find that their ability to articulate the similarities and differences between countries is enhanced. This phenomena occurs because writing about the concept at the start helps them remember and realize things about the countries studied in the class, as opposed to starting with the countries, which can leave some students at a loss trying to remember details.

What are AP® Comparative Government Free-Response Questions Like?

The different types of AP® Comparative Government free response questions can seem confusing, but some examples can help you feel at ease and get you in the right frame of mind to execute your AP® Comparative Government practice.

The short answer questions are the most numerous on the exam. The following is an example of a short answer question on the 2016 AP® Comparative Government exam.

Define referendum. Describe one referendum that took place in Great Britain in the last twenty years. Describe one political consequence of the referendum result.

You can clearly see how these questions are looking for basic definitions and descriptions. A successful answer to this question might define referendums, cite the recent Brexit referendum, and describe the implications that vote had for the members of Parliament in the U.K.

The conceptual questions are more intensive than short answer questions, and the CollegeBoard recommends spending at least 30 minutes on them. The 2016 exam had the following Conceptual question:

Forms of political participating vary in both democratic and authoritarian regimes

a. Describe how political participation in elections is different in democratic regimes and authoritarian regimes.
b. Describe how political participation through social media is different in democratic regimes and authoritarian regimes.
c. Describe how participation in civil society is different in democratic regimes and authoritarian regimes.
d. Explain why people participate politically in democratic regimes. Explain why people participate politically in authoritarian regimes
e. Explain why authoritarian regimes allow certain forms of political participation
f. Explain why democratic regimes allow certain forms of political participation.

As you can see, this question doesn’t cover a specific country but rather explores the similarities and differences between democratic and authoritarian governments, and how their citizens respond. A complete answer will deal with every item on the checklist, paying attention to the fact that items a-d require a response for democratic and authoritarian regimes.

he Country Specific questions are the final question type. This example from the 2016 exam demonstrates this question type:

Describe two domestic factors that influenced the relaxation of China’s one-child policy. Describe one international factor that influenced the relaxation of this policy.

This question asks you to apply concepts from the class to a specific policy of a specific country. Complete answers might discuss different population and political dynamics in the country, as well as international pressure over human rights issues that the policy creates.

How can I Practice AP® Comparative Government Free Response

You can find many resources online to practice AP® Comparative Government free response. These study guides frequently also have many helpful AP® Comparative Government tips that will not only help you with the free response but also with the multiple-choice section. Make sure that you identify what you need the most help on, develop an AP® Comparative Government study plan, and follow through on it. Consider the different ways to approach different question types and practice as much as you can, and you will be well on your way toward getting the AP® Comparative Government exam score you’ve always wanted.

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