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25 Essay Topics for American Government Classes

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If you are a teacher searching for essay topics to assign to your U.S. government or civics class or looking for ideas, do not fret. It is easy to integrate debates and discussions into the classroom environment. These topic suggestions provide a wealth of ideas for written assignments such as  position papers , compare-and-contrast essays , and  argumentative essays . Scan the following 25 question topics and ideas to find just the right one. You'll soon be reading interesting papers from your students after they grapple with these challenging and important issues.

• Compare and contrast what is a direct democracy versus representative democracy. 
• React to the following statement: Democratic decision-making should be extended to all areas of life including schools, the workplace, and the government. 
• Compare and contrast the Virginia and New Jersey plans. Explain how these led to the Great Compromise .
• Pick one thing about the U.S. Constitution including its amendments that you think should be changed. What modifications would you make? Explain your reasons for making this change.
• What did Thomas Jefferson mean when he said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants?" Do you think that this statement still applies to today's world? 
• Compare and contrast mandates and conditions of aid regarding the federal government's relationship with states. For example, how has the Federal Emergency Management Agency delivered support to states and commonwealths that have experienced natural disasters?
• Should individual states have more or less power compared to the federal government when implementing laws dealing with topics such as the legalization of marijuana  and abortion ? 
• Outline a program that would get more people to vote in presidential elections or local elections.
• What are the dangers of gerrymandering when it comes to voting and presidential elections?
• Compare and contrast the major political parties in the United States. What policies are they preparing for upcoming elections?
• Why would voters choose to vote for a third party, even though they know that their candidate has virtually no chance of winning? 
• Describe the major sources of money that are donated to political campaigns. Check out the Federal Election Regulatory Commission's website for information.
• Should corporations be treated as individuals regarding being allowed to donate to political campaigns?  Look at the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC ruling on the issue. Defend your answer. 
• Explain the role of social media in connecting interest groups that have grown stronger as the major political parties have grown weaker. 
• Explain why the media has been called the fourth branch of government. Include your opinion on whether this is an accurate portrayal.
• Compare and contrast the campaigns of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives candidates.
• Should term limits be instituted for members of Congress? Explain your answer.
• Should members of Congress vote their conscience or follow the will of the people who elected them into office? Explain your answer.
• Explain how executive orders have been used by presidents throughout the history of the U.S. What is the number of executive orders issued by the current president?
• In your opinion, which of the three branches of the federal government has the most power? Defend your answer.
• Which of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment do you consider the most important? Explain your answer. 
• Should a school be required to get a warrant before searching a student's property? Defend your answer. 
• Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail? What kind of campaign could be run to see it passed?
• Explain how the 14th Amendment has affected civil liberties in the United States from the time of its passage at the end of the Civil War.
• Do you think that the federal government has enough, too much or just the right amount of power? Defend your answer.
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AP U.S. Government and Politics: Argument Essay

Question 4 of the AP U.S. Government and Politics free response section will always be the Argument Essay. These questions begin with a brief paragraph about a given topic, such as the balance between federal and state powers. The prompt will then give specific instructions about how you must format your essay, including a list of several required foundational documents that are relevant to the topic at hand. You will need to discuss one of the listed documents as well as another piece of specific evidence from your own knowledge.

Argument Essay Strategies

While the scoring for the first three free-response questions is more straightforward—you earn points (or not) based on fully addressing each part of the prompt—the scoring for the Argument Essay is a little more complex. The following rubric outlines what the AP readers are generally looking for when they grade your Argument Essay; note the various categories and the ways you can earn points.

Sample Question

• Formulate a defensible thesis that establishes a chain of reasoning.
• Federalist 10
• U.S. Constitution
• Take your other piece of evidence from a different foundational document from the list above OR from your own study.
• Logically explain why your evidence supports your thesis.
• Present and reply to an alternative viewpoint using refutation, concession, or rebuttal.

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

Step 2: plan your response.

You’ll want to create a brief outline before you start writing, just like you would for any other full-length essay. As you saw from the rubric, AP readers are interested in your thesis development, your use of evidence, and your treatment of an alternative view. Everything you write should be toward one or more of those ends.

You will need to state a thesis that specifically addresses the prompt and makes a claim. Avoid rewording the prompt or being too general. A good question to ask yourself is, “Am I actually taking a position on this issue that someone else might argue against?” Also, while the Argument Essay necessitates a longer, more detailed response than the other free-response question types, it does not require a formal introduction; in fact, writing a lengthy introduction can take up valuable time and frustrate the AP reader who is scoring your essay. Assert your thesis as soon as possible, and then move into the rest of your response.

It is important to note that the Argument Essay’s topic and prompt wording will always intentionally allow for multiple positions. Therefore, you should be strategic and choose the position that you can best back up with evidence. You may even advocate for a different position than the one you personally agree with! To that end, no matter how strongly you feel about a topic, always present your evidence and claims in a balanced manner. Throughout your essay, even and especially when responding to an alternative viewpoint, avoid wording that makes it seem like your argument is simply your personal opinion (e.g., “I think” or “I believe,” or any language that is overly emotional).

With all of this in mind, a high-scoring writer might write the following outline:

Thesis: Trustee is the best model (ideals of Constitution)

• Madison’s fear: large country + big gov’t = factions (many groups disagree)
• Trustee can mediate, come to concl, act in best interests
• Needed trustee model to make change
• Civil rights and women’s rights movements
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965

Response to alternative view: Anti-Feds would fear large repub (Brutus), but pol system in place would keep trustee honest

Step 3: Action! Write Response & Step 4: Proofread

Sample high-scoring response.

The trustee model of legislative representation is the best reflection of the founders’ intentions in setting up American democracy because it offers the best hope for what the Preamble to the Constitution calls “a more perfect union,” one that will bring together war- ring factions and increase harmony.

As James Madison pointed out in Federalist 10, it is inevitable that a republic will contain many groups which vehemently disagree. The bigger a country grows, the more frequent and violent factional clashes are likely to become. Madison was looking ahead to the U.S. that would burst the bounds of the original colonies and create more factionalism. This vision of an expanding, clashing nation makes the trustee model very appealing. A trustee Congressperson is one who will listen to all sides, make an independent judgment, but then go on to explain it so that opponents may be persuaded to change their minds, thus bringing resolution to conflicts.

A trustee is a representative willing to do the principled thing even if the public thinks otherwise. Many issues in our history have seemed so polarized that they were beyond resolution and could not wait for popular consensus. This was the case with civil rights issues and legislation in the 1960s. Technically, African Americans had the right to vote since the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870. However, this right was violently suppressed through intimidation tactics and a variety of restrictive measures such as poll taxes and literacy tests. It was not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that substantial voting protections were extended to all black people. The Voting Rights Act outlawed literacy tests and other tactics; under this act, federal officials were sent to the South to ensure that African Americans were allowed to vote free from fear and intimidation, and the election practices of local governments were held under greater scrutiny. Civil rights movement leaders had challenged discriminatory practices for decades, but due to intense polarization in society, there was no public consensus on how to address racism in voting practices or even agreement as to whether to address it at all. Legislators had to go against the opinions of the majority in order to act in a way that advanced American ideals for all citizens, and the public eventually caught up.

Similarly, legislators pushed through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was supported by people within social movements but not by the general populace. Additionally, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 touched on the goals of not just the civil rights movement but also the women’s rights movement; for example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibited sex discrimination in public accommodations. Members of these movements had been working for years to get society at large to expand rights and protections to all people. However, if legislators had waited to act until a majority of their constituency approved of these civil rights bills, the bills may never have passed. In this way, the trustee model can be used to uphold the rights of the minority despite majority resistance.

The trustee idea would have been opposed by Brutus and other Anti-Federalists. Brutus 1 warns that a large republic would necessarily be disconnected from its people. Following this logic, a concern with the trustee model would be that the representative would deviate too far from the will of the people and become despotic. But it is important to note that the people have the ultimate voice if they disagree with the trustee’s judgments: the power of the ballot. The legislator’s desire to stay in power is a strong check on him or her, acting as an incentive to listen to constituents.

All in all, the trustee is in the best position to reduce the intense factionalism Madison feared. Even before the advance of mass media, the trustee had many means to learn of the people’s different views and to explain why the legislator was voting a certain way, or advancing this or that philosophy. This give and take of ideas surely helped to get the republic through its rocky early decades, and also helped the country to recover from the volatile growing pains and changes in the mid-twentieth century by finding ways to bring people together and advance equal rights for all.

Sample Response Explanation and Scoring

• Thesis (0–1 pt): The writer sets up a clear X because Y sentence to introduce the thesis, which could be paraphrased as, The trustee model brings about harmony. Everything that follows is connected to the founders’ ideal of harmony. The writer would therefore earn 1 point for Thesis.
• Support (0–3 pts): There is more than enough evidence to gain the full 3 points for Support, as the writer explains Madison’s argument in Federalist 10 and elaborates upon relevant historical examples of disharmony that those acting as trustees helped to fix through assertive actions. In addition, the references to the Constitution and Brutus 1 (while unnecessary for earning full credit in Support) show a strong command of course material.
• Reasoning (0–1 pt): The writer earns the 1 point for Reasoning by clearly explaining how a trustee offers the best hope for Madison’s vision. Specifically, the writer asserts in paragraphs 3 and 4 how trustees could not wait for public opinion in order to act.
• Reply to Alternative Viewpoint (0–1 pt): There is a whole paragraph at the end dedicated to rebutting the Anti-Federalists’ objections. In this way, the writer makes it clear that this requirement has been met and earns the final 1 point.

Question-Specific Rubric: 6 points (1 + 3 + 1 + 1)

Learn more about the other free response questions on the AP U.S. Government and Politics exam. Concept Application   •   Quantitative Analysis   •   SCOTUS Comparison

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Writing in Government

How do i write a gov paper .

Expos teaches you about the fundamentals of writing an analytical argument. As you write papers in Gov, you are adapting the elements of argument to a particular audience: readers in the social sciences. These readers have specific expectations about how to present arguments and supporting evidence. Writing successfully in Gov requires you to identify those expectations in assignment prompts and then  respond to them by making well-supported and clearly reasoned arguments.

__________________________________

"Everybody's work has to stand or fall on the basis of the arguments presented and the evidence." - Prof. Eric Nelson

Do the Exercise

In these exercises, you have two goals: to identify the common elements of essay prompts, and to learn strategies for developing arguments that respond effectively to the expectations presented by a given prompt. 

Decoding Prompts

Developing a thesis.

What to Do:

• Prepare  by reading about the elements of paper prompts in the "Tips" tool to the right.
• Read  the three sample prompts below and select one to work with.
• Answer  the questions in the text boxes below the sample prompts.
• Write  a 1-sentence version in your own words of the prompt you have selected. You can do this in the first “Re-write” box below the questions.
• Try re-writing  the other two prompts in a single sentence. 

Please note that these forms are not monitored; no feedback will be sent at this time.

Sample Prompts

1. The traditional definition of democracy is captured by Schumpeter’s statement that democracy is the “institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote.” Is Schumpeter’s “free competition for the free vote” a sufficient conceptual and normative definition of “democracy”? What else, if anything, would you add to this definition?

2. The majority of Gov 97 has focused on state actors, but the Internet is a whole new non-state world that currently has little to no formal governance. Should the Internet be governed democratically? What does it mean to have democratic governance of the Internet? (Will there be elected bodies? Will the Internet be governed by democratic principles?) If you were on a committee to develop Internet governance, what democratic processes (if any) would you recommend? Why?

3. How do new technologies affect democratic politics? We have read a number of accounts of traditional forms of democratic participation and democratic institutions – choose one topic or outcome (e.g. elections, campaign finance, regime change, economic institutions, the welfare state, democratic peace etc.) that we have read about, and think about how new technologies challenge or add to traditional theories about that outcome.

( Taken from Gov 97, Spring 2015)

Understanding Prompts

Design and purpose.

Instructors have two main goals with most prompts: First, they want to test how well you’ve understood assigned material for the course and gauge your progress over the term. Second, they want to encourage you to think about certain questions in a way that may not be directly covered in the course materials themselves. In this way, prompts facilitates guided learning through writing.

In most cases, the instructor will have both of these goals in mind. Depending on the assignment, though, one goal may carry greater emphasis than the other. 

Central Question

This is the main question that the instructor wants you to answer. It may be a yes/no question, where you need to agree or disagree with a given statement. Or it may be an open-ended question, where you need to develop your own line of argument. Either way, the central question is the core of the paper, i.e., the question your instructor is asking in order to test your knowledge about material from the course or to encourage you to develop a reasoned opinion based on that material. Your thesis statement should respond directly to this central question.

Example of a central question:

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship?

Example of a multi-part central question:

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship? Does it translate from ancient democracy to the present; does it apply today?

Supporting Questions

In addition to the central question, prompts typically include additional points to consider as you write your paper, and these points often come in the form of secondary or supporting questions. Supporting questions are meant to prompt your thinking and can help remind you of important debates that may exist within the topic you are writing about.  

That being said, prompts made up of more than one question can be harder to decode. For one thing, the first question in the prompt is not always the central question, and it might be possible to interpret more than one of the questions as the central question. This ambiguity might be intentional (to allow students to write a range of essays), or it might be unintentional. For these reasons, it is always helpful to try putting the prompt in your own words. What is the central question being asked? And what is the central question your paper is answering with its thesis? What are the supporting questions being asked? And how will your paper answer those questions in relation to your thesis?

In the following example prompt, notice how the first set of questions (greyed out and in italics) form a multi-part central question about an idea of Aristotle and its relevance to the present day. The subsequent supporting questions provide a number of possible directions in which to elaborate on this question, but none of these supporting questions should be the main focus of an argument responding to this particular prompt.  

Example:        

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship? Does it translate from ancient democracy to the present; does it apply today? How do modern democracies define citizenship? Do modern democratic institutions (representation, voting and elections, political parties) and/or the organized groups of civil society (voluntary associations, demonstrations, social movements) provide arenas for political participation? If so, how and why is participation valued? If not, why not, and how is the division of political labor justified?

Additional Cues

Prompts often provide cues about what should or shouldn't be the focus of a writing assignment. For instance, there may be debates or themes that have been raised in the course, but which are not meant to be the particular focus of the paper at hand. In the following excerpt from a prompt, you can see that Aristotle's definition of "citizen" is crucial, but the goal of the essay is to  use  the definition to make a further point, rather than getting bogged down in the definition itself. 

Example from a Gov prompt:

In the Politics , Aristotle defined a citizen as someone who takes turns in ruling and being ruled, identified who was eligible (and ineligible) for citizenship, gave an account of citizens’ judgment, and set out reasons for popular political participation.

Restrictions

Prompts often include additional requirements that either guide or limit a writing assignment. These restrictions are usually straightforward requirements for the essay's form (how long it should be) or for its content (what question(s) it should answer and which sources or cases it should use). 

• You must analyze Aristotle’s text
• You may pick just one or two government institutions or civil society groups to 
illustrate your answer.
• You must refer to at least two authors (in addition to Aristotle) in composing your 
response. 
• Prepare by reading about the elements of thesis statements in the "Tips" tool to the right.
• Read the sample prompt below.
• Answer the questions in the text boxes below the sample prompts.  

Sample Prompt & Theses

Making reference to the cases of Rwanda and Yugoslavia, construct an argument that addresses the following questions: When you consider the various theories you've encountered about the emergence of ethnic politics in your readings as well as in lecture, how well (or how poorly) do specific elements of these two cases fit those theories? What is the strongest explanation overall for why ethnic violence broke out in these two cases and eventually assumed the proportions it did? Does the same answer apply to both cases, or do different answers best explain Rwanda and Yugoslavia separately?

• The Rwandan and Yugoslav genocides were similar in some ways. In other ways, though, they were different. 
• Ethnic politics leads to the emergence of ethnic violence.
• I argue that ethnic politics is important for understanding violence in Rwanda and Yugoslavia and for explaining the genocides there.
• Rwanda and Yugoslavia both experienced similar levels of ethnic politics and ethnic violence during the 1990s and followed similar paths to genocide.
• Ethnic politics does not always lead to ethnic violence, but in cases where the state collapses like it did in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, the path from ethnic politics to genocide will be similar.

Taken from Gov 20, Fall 2015

What is an Argument?

In the social sciences, an argument typically make claims about the way the world works. It argues that the world is one way rather than another, and explains why it is that way .

The first part of the bolded statement above is really important. In social science courses, you will rarely be asked to just summarize a set of facts. You will instead be asked to make assertions about how something came to be or how some phenomenon caused another.

This implies a counterfactual , which is a statement about how the world would have been, if something else had happened. For example, you might argue that polarization in American politics is caused by people moving to areas where most people share their political beliefs. This implies that if people didn't move to neighborhoods or cities with like-minded people, there wouldn't be polarization. But they do , so there is .

The first part of the bolded statement above also implies that you will give evidence to show us that your argument is correct.

The latter part of the statement, in turn, implies that you will show us the "why" of the phenomenon you're looking at: how exactly does it work?

Thesis Requirements

A thesis statement will be in response to a specific question, whether that question is explicitly asked in a prompt or is a question you have yourself developed in response to course readings or class discussions. Therefore, your thesis statement should clearly be an answer to a question!

Your answer should not just contain a "what is" statement, but a statement of "how" your argument works. What is the "mechanism" of your argument? If you say that wealth causes democracy, make sure the “how” or “because” is also clearly previewed in your thesis.

This is also your introduction to the reader of what the paper’s really about, and it is your chance to explain how the paper will work. It should prepare them for the direction the paper is going, so they know what kinds of evidence they should expect.

In college-level papers, thesis statements can be more than one sentence long. Being concise is good, but it's ok to have a slightly longer thesis statement if your thesis is somewhat complex, e.g., if there are two or three steps in the "how" part of your paper. 

Scope Conditions

Most papers are not about making universal arguments that showcase  everything you know, but about making an valid argument within a set of parameters that are either provided by the assignment itself, or that you decide to keep your argument clear and effective.

In writing, be clear: what are the “scope conditions” of your argument? In other words, under what conditions or in which cases is your argument valid?

Example: “In democracies,” i.e., not for every country we’ve looked at, but only for democracies.

Example: “Among late developers” i.e., only in those countries that developed recently.

Make sure your these boundaries are clearly stated in your thesis statement . Do you think it will be intuitive to the reader why you used these scope conditions in particular? If not, you may need to briefly explain why you're using them, either in the thesis statement itself or just before (or after) your thesis statement.

Evaluating Theses

Can readers take your thesis statement and test it like they would a hypothesis? Would they know what to look for in order to evaluate how well your argument is made? If so, it's probably a strong thesis.

A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested . For example, in the statement "wealth leads to democracy," we can imagine testing it by looking for wealthy countries that aren't democratic.

If readers can look at your thesis statement and come up new evidence to refute your claim, it might mean there's room for healthy debate on the topic--and it might mean there's a genuine weakness in your argument--but it also means you probably have a clearly written thesis statement! 

A really common thesis-related problem for students is that readers don't know how to evaluate whether the argument is right or wrong . This idea of being able to test arguments against new evidence is what makes political science "scientific."

Additional Tips

Be direct, and own your answer. Don’t say, “The purpose of my paper is to show that economic development causes democracy.” Say, “Economic development causes democracy, because…”

But it is OK to use the first-person voice in political science! (Example: "Wealth is a necessary condition for democracy. I show this by examining all countries with an average GDP above $6,000 per year")

Make it clear where your thesis statement is. You don’t have to put the thesis statement at the end of a short, first paragraph...but this is common, because it keeps you from writing too much/too little introduction, and it’s often where your reader will look first (because it is so common!)

Avoid the word “prove,” which implies definitive proof (which is rarely possible in social sciences)

Avoid overly stylized language in your thesis statement, and keep it as clear, specific, and unambiguous as possible.

It’s ok to argue that sometimes things work one way, and sometimes another. For example, “wealthy countries are usually democratic, but sometimes they aren’t.” However, it’s much stronger to try and make this difference part of your argument---”Wealthy countries are usually democratic because [reason], but oil-rich countries are an exception because [reason].”

AP US Government

AP Gov Free Response Questions (FRQ) – Past Prompts

12 min read • Last Updated on July 11, 2024

Fatima Raja

We’ve compiled a sortable list of a bunch of the AP US Government & Politics past prompts! The AP Gov essays (or all written portions) are 50% of the exam including short-answer questions (SAQs) and an Argument Essay. It’s important that you understand the rubrics and question styles going into the exam. Use this list to practice! 

By practicing with previously released free response questions (FRQs), you’ll build critical-thinking and analytical skills that will prepare you for the exam. These past prompts have been designed to help you connect concepts and ideas to each other while applying your knowledge to real-life scenarios.

The AP Gov curriculum was  updated in 2018 to focus more on primary documents and have more specific course content outlines, but the past prompts are still a good resource to practice with!

If you need more support with AP Gov,  join us live for reviews, concept explanations, practice FRQs, and more!

All credit to College Board.

👉 2019 AP Gov FRQs

Qualitative Analysis

Interactions among branches of government (congress, policy-making, interest groups).

Since 2008 the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian interest group, has promoted an annual event known as Pulpit Freedom Sunday. On this occasion, pastors are encouraged to challenge a provision of the tax law known as the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits political activity by certain nonprofit organizations, including religious organizations. While the Johnson Amendment does not restrict religious leaders from speaking out regarding social issues, it does prohibit them from contributing money to political campaigns or speaking out in favor or against candidates running for political office. 

On Pulpit Freedom Sunday, as an act of civil disobedience, pastors and religious leaders preach openly about the moral qualifications of candidates seeking office.

• Describe an action Congress could take to address the concerns of the interest group in the scenario.
• In the context of the scenario, explain how partisan divisions could prevent the action described in part A.
• Explain why the Alliance Defending Freedom might argue that their constitutional rights are threatened by the Johnson Amendment.

What are they actually asking?

To carefully read the provided passage and then use the information provided to describe responses that Congress could take, potential partisan obstacles, and how an interest group could argue their rights are being threatened by the scenario.

Mean Score: 1.84/5

Quantitative Analysis

American political ideologies and belief (political parties, polls).

• Identify the political affiliation of people who are most likely to believe elected officials should compromise.
• Describe the difference between Democrats and Republicans on their attitudes of whether government officials should stick to their principles, based on the data in the bar graph.
• Explain how the data in the bar graph could influence how a Republican candidate would shift his or her campaign positions after securing the Republican nomination for president.
• Explain how the data in the bar graph could affect policy making interactions between the president and Congress.

Using the graphic provided and your knowledge of the AP Gov course, analyze the data provided and apply it to the situations provided.

Mean Score:  2.3/5

Supreme Court Case

Civil liberties and civil rights (civil rights, fourteenth amendment).

In the 1950s, Pete Hernandez, a Mexican American agricultural worker, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison by an all-white jury in Jackson County, Texas. Hernandez’s defense claimed that people of Mexican ancestry had been discriminated against in Jackson County. They pointed to the fact that no person of Mexican ancestry had served on a jury in 25 years and that the Jackson County Courthouse itself practiced segregation in its facilities. The five jury commissioners, who selected the members of the grand jury, testified under oath that they selected jurors based only on their qualifications and did not consider race or national origin in their decisions.

In the ensuing case,  Hernandez v. Texas  (1954), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Hernandez, deciding that evidence of discrimination against Mexican Americans existed in Jackson County and that the Constitution prohibits such discrimination.

• Identify the clause in the Fourte enth Amendment that was used as the basis for the decision in both Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and  Hernandez v. Texas (1954).
• Explain how the facts in both  Brown v. Board of Education and  Hernandez v. Texas led to a similar decision in both cases.
• Explain how an interest group could use the decision in  Hernandez v. Texas to advance its agenda.

Using your knowledge of the 14th Amendment and  Brown v. Board of Education , explain the decision and explain how you would apply it to  Hernandez v. Texas .

Mean Score:  1.74/5

Argument Essay

Foundations of american democracy (federalism).

The United States Constitution establishes a federal system of government. Under federalism, policy making is shared between national and state governments. Over time, the powers of the national government have increased relative to those of the state governments.

Develop an argument about whether the expanded powers of the national government benefits or hinders policy making.

Use at least one piece of evidence from one of the following foundational documents: 

• The Articles of Confederation
• The Federalist 10

Using one of the documents listed and additional outside evidence, argue whether or not the expanded powers of the federal government is good or bad for policy-making.

Mean Score: 3.34/5

👉 2018 AP Gov FRQs

Political Participation (political parties, third-parties)

Political parties seek to win elections to control government

• Identify two activities that political parties do to win elections.
• Describe one way third parties can affect elections.
• Explain how single-member districts make it difficult for third parties to win elections.
• Explain how electoral competition is affected by gerrymandering.

What are they actually asking for?

Demonstrate your understanding of how electoral competition affects third-parties and is affected by gerrymandering.

Mean Score:  2.84/5

Political Participation (polls)

Public opinion polls are commonly used by politicians and the media.

• Identify two characteristics of a reliable scientific public opinion poll.
• Describe two ways polling results are used by politicians.
• Explain how frequent public opinion polls impact media coverage of political campaigns.

Demonstrate your understanding of polling by explaining what makes a poll reliable and how they are used.

Mean Score:  3.22/5

Quantitative Reasoning

Interactions between branches (vetos).

The United States Constitution gave Congress and the president specific legislative powers. As a result, the interactions between the two are dynamic and complex.

• Describe the constitutional principle of checks and balances.
• Describe EACH of the following presidential powers in the legislative process: 1. Veto1. State of the Union address
• Using the data in the chart, describe the relationship between the number of presidential vetoes and the number of congressional overrides.
• Explain how Congress can reduce the likelihood of a presidential veto.

Demonstrate your understanding of checks and balances by explaining the relationships between vetos, the State of the Union Address, and congressional overrides.

Mean Score:  3.21/5

Interactions Between Branches (republicanism)

In a democracy, what the majority wants should influence public policy. The opinion of the majority is sometimes, but not always, reflected in policy change.

• Explain how interest groups reduce the influence of public opinion on policy.
• Explain how EACH of the following increases the likelihood of policy change. 1. Newly elected president1. National crisis
• Describe the role of EACH of the following institutions in the policy process. 1. The courts1. The media

Demonstrate your understanding of the policy-making process by explaining the influence of interest groups, the media, and public opinion and explain how different situations can affect it.

Mean Score:  2.42/5

👉 2017 AP Gov FRQs

Foundations of Democracy (Supreme Court)

The framers of the Constitution intended the Supreme Court to be politically insulated. Despite this intent, the Supreme Court is not completely insulated from political influences.

• Describe one constitutional provision that seeks to insulate the Supreme Court from public opinion.
• Identify a power exercised by the Supreme Court that acts as a check on another branch of the federal government.
• Explain how each of the following can limit the independence of the Supreme Court. 1. Congress1. President
• Explain how the Supreme Court protects its political independence.

Explain how the Supreme Court maintains its independence from public opinion and how Congress and the President can limit it.

Mean Score:  1.78/5

Political Participation (Interest Groups)

Interest groups play an important role in the political process.

• Identify the primary goal of interest groups.
• Describe EACH of the following strategies used by interest groups. 1. Lobbying1. Amicus curiae
• Explain how EACH of the following hinders the success of interest groups in obtaining their primary goal. 1. Separation of powers1. Bureaucratic discretion

To describe the functions and goals of interest groups in policy-making.

Mean Score:  2.49/5

Interactions Among Branches of Government (Federal Spending)

Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare are all mandatory spending programs, also known as entitlement programs.

• Identify a change in federal spending between 1970 and 2023 (projected) based on the chart above.
• Describe the difference between entitlement programs and discretionary programs.
• Describe one demographic trend that has contributed to changes in entitlement spending.
• Explain why changes in entitlement spending make balancing the federal budget difficult.
• Explain how deficit spending affects the projected trend in net interest.

To describe how federal spending, including entitlement and discretionary programs, functions and is affected by different factors.

Mean Score: 2.27/5

Interactions Between Branches of Government (federalism)

The balance of power between the United States national government and state governments is shaped by the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings.

• Describe EACH of the following constitutional provisions.1. Supremacy clause1. Tenth Amendment
• Explain how ONE of the following court rulings changed the balance of power between the national government and state governments.1. United States v. Lopez 1. Obergefell v. Hodges
• Describe TWO advantages of federalism for the creation of public policy in the United States.

To explain how the relationship between the state and federal governments is shaped by constitutional clauses and has changed over the years.

Mean Score: 1.86/5

👉 2016 AP Gov FRQs

Political Participation (linkage institutions)

Linkage Institutions - such as political parties, the media, and interest groups - connect citizens to the government and play significant roles in the electoral process.

• Describe one important function of political parties as a linkage institution in elections.
• Describe the influence of the media on the electoral process in each of the following roles. 1. Gatekeeping/agenda setting1. Scorekeeping/horse race journalism
• Describe two strategies interest groups use to influence the electoral process.
• Explain how, according to critics, interest groups may limit representative democracy.

Describe the relationships between interest groups, political parties, and the media as linkage institutions and the federal government and how they affect elections and policy-making.

Mean Score:  3.28/6

Political Participation (Demographics and Elections)

The United States is experiencing a dramatic change in the makeup of its population. These changes have political consequences for political institutions.

• Identify a trend depicted in the chart.
• Assuming that recent voting patterns continue, explain how the trend identified in (a) is likely to affect the electoral success of either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.
• Explain how the demographic changes shown in the chart above are likely to affect the way in which parties operate in Congress.
• Describe two specific actions that presidents can take to respond to the demographic changes in the chart above.

Describe how demographic changes will affect political parties and the electoral process.

Mean Score:  1.77/5

Interactions Between Branches of Government (policy-making)

The public policy process involves interactions between Congress and the bureaucracy.

• Identify the primary role of Congress in the policy process.
• Explain how divided party control of Congress can make the policy process difficult.
• Identify the primary role of the bureaucracy in the policy process.
• Explain how one of the following increases the power of the bureaucracy in the policy process. 1. Rule making1. Bureaucratic discretion
• Explain how each of the following enables Congress to limit the power of the bureaucracy. 1. Oversight hearings1. Power of the purse

Describe the policy-making process, its challenges, the bureaucracy's role within it, and how Congress conducts oversight over the bureaucracy.

Mean Score:  2.47/6

Interactions Between Branches, Political Participation (federalism, voting)

The Constitution limited the power of the national government and restricted popular control; however, citizen participation has changed over time.

• Explain how each of the following constitutional features protects against the concentration of power in the national government. 1. Checks and balances1. Federalism
• Explain how one of the following features of the Constitution limited the people’s ability to influence the national government. 1. Electoral college1. Selection of senators before the Seventeenth Amendment
• Describe a constitutional amendment that increased suffrage.
• Describe the effect of one of the following laws on citizen participation in elections. 1. Voting Rights Act of 19651. National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (Motor Voter Act)

Explain how the power of the federal government is limited, how people's influence on the federal government was limited, how suffrage increased, and how the passage of certain legislation affected voter participation.

Mean Score:  2.93/5

👉 2015 AP Gov FRQs

Interactions Among Branches of Government (presidential roles)

American politics has often been called an "invitation to struggle." Although in recent years the president has been thought to have an advantage in policy making, there are still constraints on the power of the president.

• Describe a power of the president in each of the following roles. 1. Chief legislator1. Chief bureaucrat or chief administrator
• Explain how each of the following limits the president’s influence in policy making. 1. Civil service employees1. The Supreme Court
• Describe the influence of divided government on the policy-making process.

Explain how the president can influence policy-making as well as the limits that the Supreme Court, civil service, and a divided government could place on. them.

Mean Score: 2.5/5

The framers of the Constitution devised a federal system of government that affected the relationship between the national and state governments.

• Compare state sovereignty under the Articles of Confederation and under the Constitution.
• Explain how each of the following has been used to expand the power of the federal government over the states. 1. Commerce clause1. Mandates
• Explain how each of the following has played a role in the devolution of power from the national government to the states.1. Block grants1. Supreme Court decisions

Describe how the relationship between the federal and state governments has changed and how different branches have played a role in that change.

Qualitative/Visual Analysis

Political participation (electoral college).

The framers created the electoral college to elect the president of the United States. This system influences the campaign strategies of presidential candidates.

• Describe one reason that the framers chose to use the electoral college as the method to elect the president.
• Describe the message the cartoon above conveys about presidential elections.
• Explain why California, Texas, and New York do not appear prominently in the cartoon above.
• Describe two campaign tactics presidential candidates use to win the key states identified in the cartoon above.

Explain the electoral college, how it functions, and how it affects presidential campaigns.

Mean Score: 2.37/5

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (civil rights and liberties)

The Fourteenth Amendment protects civil rights and civil liberties.

• Describe the difference between civil rights and civil liberties.
• Identify the primary clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that is used to extend civil rights.
• Describe a specific legislative action that extended civil rights to each of the following. 1. Women1. Persons with disabilities
• Identify the primary clause of the Fourteenth Amendment that is used to extend civil liberties.
• Explain how civil liberties were incorporated by the Supreme Court in two of the following cases. 1. Gideon v. Wainwright 1. Mapp v. Ohio 1. Miranda v. Arizona

Demonstrate your understanding of civil rights and liberties, the Fourteenth Amendment, and Supreme Court cases affected by it.

Mean Score: 2.41/7

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AP US Government Free Response: Argument Essay Example

After answering the  AP Government Argument Essay FRQ , you can evaluate this sample response, which would receive a perfect score:

Sample Student Response

Federal government systems best protect the people’s liberties because the Constitution gives the federal government the power to enforce due process and equal protection at the national level. The 14th Amendment allows Congress to enforce its provisions such as due process. Therefore, Congress (a branch of the federal government) can pass laws protecting people’s civil liberties and, once it does so, apply those laws to the entire nation more effectively than state governments. As discussed in Federalist No. 51, written by James Madison, a federal government is broken up into three different branches of government – the executive, legislative, and judicial branches – and each branch has the ability to check the power of the other branches of government. Therefore, people’s liberties are best protected at the national level since the federal government, by its own design of checks and balances, will check its own powers. Although some may argue that state governments are better at protecting civil liberties because they understand the interests and needs of their own citizens better than the federal government, this argument fails when one looks at how states violated people’s liberties through laws that enforced literacy tests, and it was the federal government that passed legislation restoring citizens’ rights.

You can use the detailed scoring guidelines below to review your answer to this free response question:

When you are done reviewing this AP Gov Argument Essay example and rubric, you can use the button below to return to the main menu.

Sample Prompts for the Argument Essay FRQ- AP government

Below are 16 topics, each of which includes:

• A sample essential question which introduces the prompt
• A draft prompt including three founding documents that could help shape the students’ arguments.

Each prompt is crafted to encourage deep analysis and aligns with key AP Government concepts, ensuring your students are well-prepared for exam success.

AP Government Argument Essay Samples

• NEW ! Media censorship: Should the government play an active role in the censorship of social media?  
• Independent judiciary:   Is an independent judiciary a threat to or a savior for democracy?  
• Congressional roles:   Does the delegate or trustee model of Congressional representation best serve the needs of the people as the Framers intended?  
• Federalism in the Age of Coronavirus:  Should the federal government or the states be most responsible for responding to the Coronavirus outbreak?  
• Political Parties:  Do political parties hinder or promote democracy?  
• Congressional oversight :  Is congressional oversight healthy or unhealthy for our system of government?
• Interest groups: Do interest groups hinder or promote democracy? 
• Civil Rights:  Should the federal government have power over states in the shaping of civil rights policies?
• Citizen participation: Does citizen participation really matter? 
• Photo IDs and federalism:   Do states have the authority to pass photo identification laws which restrict people’s ability to vote?  
• Presidential power:   Do executive orders give the president too much power?      
• Gridlock:   Is gridlock healthy or unhealthy for our system of government?
• Term limits:   Do congressional term limits violate or honor popular sovereignty?
• Primaries and caucuses: Is the presidential nominating process democratic? 
• Social Media :  Is social media a healthy way for citizens to participate in our political system?  
• Electoral College:   Should the electoral college be abolished?
• Representative versus direct democracy: Which is a better vehicle to serve citizen needs– a representative or direct democracy?  

Enhance Your Classroom Experience! You understand the challenges of keeping students engaged and preparing them for the AP exam. Our carefully curated essay prompts are designed to align with AP standards, fostering critical thinking and discussion in your classroom. Get ready to inspire your students with materials that cater to the dynamic world of government and politics.

For more resources for AP government, visit HERE

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