How to Approach AP® Statistics Free Response Questions
At first glance, the free response questions (FRQ’s) may seem like the most intimidating part of the AP® Statistics exam. Essay questions on a math test?
The FRQ section consists of five short answer questions and one investigative task. This portion takes ninety minutes and is half your exam score. Here are some tips for studying beforehand and for how to approach the test itself.
Before the Test: Read Past AP® Statistics Free Response Questions
Studying the exams of the past will prepare you for the kinds of questions the test may have. The College Board website features archives of free-response questions and sample answers dating back to 1998. This free resource exists to help students like you prepare for the exam.
If you have a study group or a study hall period, try solving some of the past FRQ’s as a team. Some of you may have stronger writing skills while others have stronger math skills, so take the opportunity to learn from each other.
Structuring Your Written Responses
The primary goal of writing about math is to cover all the relevant information clearly and succinctly, with adept analysis that shows you understand how the math applies to a real-life problem. Keep your responses brief and avoid filler content.
Let’s break down the structure of this sample response to part 2(e) of the AP® Stats investigative task question:
1. State your answer.
2. Explain it in a few sentences.
3. Restate and justify your answer.
In the first sentence, the student stated their answer and gave a brief reason. The second sentence went on to explain why they chose that answer. In the final sentence, the student restated their answer using their analysis to justify their conclusion. Notice the transition and information words: “because,” “tend to be,” and “Therefore.” Words that transition to or set up information are the key to a neat, concise response.
How to Approach the Questions on Test Day
1: The “Nike” Method
Like Nike’s “Just Do It!” slogan, you can approach the AP® Statistics free response questions as they come. The “just do it” method works best for those of us who get in a highly focused, efficient mental zone when test-taking. If you become easily distracted or anxious, you may want to try to complete the whole FRQ section in an uninterrupted, linear manner.
Diving in and plowing through can also help if you tend to get test anxiety. Think of the five short answer questions as a warm-up for the investigative task. Use the first five short-answer questions to build up your confidence before tackling the long, multi-part question. When you get there, think about that last long FRQ as just another series of short answer questions.
2: Back to Front
You may want to work backwards, starting with the investigative task FRQ. If you can feel the pressure of that long question and the number of points it represents hanging over your head, answering it first will considerably relieve your test anxiety. Tackling the longest question first also ensures that you will have enough time to finish it. If you tend to be a slow test-taker and are worried about finishing that investigative task question, this might be the best method for you.
3: Pick and Choose
If you are confident in your time management skills, doing the FRQ portion out of order may work best for you.
First, allow yourself about ten minutes to read through the free response questions and plan your approach. Which questions seem easiest? Which seem hardest?
If you prefer to answer the easier questions first, mark them in order of easiest to most difficult. That way, you can quickly answer the questions you feel confident about before moving on to those that give you more trouble. If you want to get the harder questions out of the way first, mark your test from hardest to easiest. That way, you’ll be sure to have enough time to work out the more difficult questions.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Reading through all the questions beforehand may seem counter intuitive on a timed test, but this approach lets you see if any of the questions relate to each other. If questions two and four involve box plots, for example, you ought to do them one after the other instead of in test order.
With this approach, your ability to time yourself without letting the clock make you nervous is paramount. The pick and choose approach is best for highly organized test takers who stay calm under pressure.
Wrapping Up AP® Statistics FRQ’s: The Key to Statistics is Context
Statistics without explanation or application is just numbers. When doing your AP® Statistics review work, consider that the main goal of your free response questions is to provide the context that will demystify those numbers. As we saw from the example answer above, a well-organized, structured AP® Statistics free response question ought to demonstrate that you can apply your analysis to a real-life scenario.
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