AP Comparative Government and Politics
Exam Day 2016
08:00 AMView AP Exam calendar.
The AP Comparative Government and Politics Exam is approximately 2 hour and 25 minutes long and has two parts — multiple choice questions and free response questions. Each section is worth 50% of the final exam grade.
The multiple choice section contains 55 questions and is 45 minutes long.
The free response section contains 8 questions and is 1 hour and 40 minutes long. This section includes three types of questions: 5 short answer questions, 1 conceptual question and 2 country specific questions. It is suggested that you take a few minutes to plan and outline each answer. When answering AP Comparative Government and Politics free response questions, it is important to read the question carefully and answer clearly and completely. In particular, students are expected to follow the question directions and to provide the same number of examples, explanations, or selections (i.e. tasks) that the question requests. If you provide more than the required number of responses for the prompt and any one of the examples provided is incorrect, then you will at most earn partial correct. In addition, pay close attention to the task verbs in the question, for each directs you to complete a specific type of response. Use substantive examples where appropriate. Use complete sentences.
- Identify: provide a specific answer that does not require causal explanation
- Define: provide a specific meaning for a word or concept in order to distinguish it from similar words or concepts
- Describe: provide the essential details or characteristics of a particular concept or political phenomenon
- Explain: provide a logical connection or causal pattern that exists between or among various political phenomena
- Compare: provide an explicit statement that connects two or more concepts, occurrences, or countries
- Evaluate/Assess: provide an explicit connection between a certain standard and the supporting evidence
You can use the free response questions and scoring guidelines below as you prepare for the AP Exam.
Multiple Choice Questions
For sample multiple-choice questions, please refer to the AP Comparative Government and Politics Course Description, which can be found in the blue, Exam Resources inlay to the right.
Free Response Questions and Scoring Guidelines
Free Response Questions and Scoring Guidelines: login
The following resources contain the remaining available Free Response Questions and Scoring Guidelines for the AP Comparative Government and Politics Exam. To access the files below, you need to log into your College Board account. If you do not have a College Board account, you can create one by selecting ‘Sign In’ in the header and following the prompts to Sign-Up.