AP United States Government and Politics Samples and Commentary from the 2019 Exam Administration: Free-Response Question 4

2019

United States

Government and Politics

Sample Student Responses

and Scoring Commentary

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Inside:

Free Response Question 4

R Scoring Guideline

R Student Samples

R Scoring Commentary

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

2019 SCORING GUIDELINES

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Question 4

6 points

Row A: Articulate a defensible claim or thesis that responds to the prompt and establishes a line of

reasoning.

0 points

1 point

Responds to the prompt with a defensible claim or

thesis that establishes a line of reasoning.

Decision Rules and Scoring Notes

Responses that do not earn this point:

• The intended claim or thesis only restates the

prompt.

• The intended claim or thesis does not make a

claim that responds to the prompt.

Examples that do not earn this point:

Restates the prompt:

• “Because of my knowledge of the United States

Government, I believe the expanded powers of the

national government benefit policy making.”

Does not respond to the prompt:

• “The federal government has expanded power over

time.”

Responses that earn this point:

• The claim or thesis responds to the prompt

rather than restating or rephrasing the prompt

and establishes a line of reasoning.

• The response includes a defensible claim or

thesis that establishes a line of reasoning about

whether the expanded powers of national

government benefits or hinders policy making.

Examples that earn this point:

• “The expanded powers of the national government

have made it more efficient, and if states had more

power it would be dangerous.”

• “The expanded powers of the national government

benefit policy making because of the strength of the

Constitution, the increase of cooperative

federalism, and the advantages of fiscal

federalism.”

Additional Notes:

• The claim or thesis must consist of one or more sentences that may be located anywhere in the

response.

• A claim or thesis that meets the criteria can be awarded the point whether or not the rest of the

response successfully supports that line of reasoning.

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Question 4 (continued)

Row B: Support your claim or thesis with at least TWO pieces of accurate and relevant evidence.

0 points

1 point

Provides one piece of

evidence that is

relevant to the topic of

the prompt.

2 points

Uses one piece of

specific and relevant

evidence to support the

claim or thesis.

3 points

Uses two pieces of specific and

relevant evidence to support the

claim or thesis.

Decision Rules and Scoring Notes

Responses that

do not earn

points:

• Do not

provide any

accurate

evidence

• Provide

evidence that

is not

relevant to

the topic

Responses that earn

1 point:

• Must provide one

piece of evidence

relevant to the topic

of the prompt

• May or may not

have a claim or

thesis

Response that earns 2

points:

• Must provide one

piece of specific and

relevant evidence

that supports the

claim or thesis. This

evidence can come

from one of the

foundational

documents listed in

the prompt, any

other foundational

document, or from

knowledge of course

concepts.

Response that earns 3 points:

• Must provide two pieces of

specific and relevant

evidence that support the

claim or thesis. One of these

pieces of evidence must

come from a foundational

document listed in the

prompt. The other piece of

evidence can come from a

different foundational

document or from knowledge

of course concepts.

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Question 4 (continued)

Example that earns 2

points:

• “The U.S. has

already tried giving

states more power

than the national

government, and it

has proved to be

ineffective. The

Articles of

Confederation are a

prime example of

why a strong

national government

is better. With the

Articles, the

government could do

very little. It made the

states more

independent by

allowing them to

have their own

currency and impose

their own taxes.”

Example that earns 3

points:

• “According to

Federalist 70, a

strong executive

benefits the country

because it is easier

for one person than a

group to make

decisions, and

someone is held

accountable.”

Additional Notes:

• To earn 2 or 3 points in Row B, the response must have a defensible claim or thesis (earned the point in

Row A).

• To earn 3 points, the response must use one of the foundational documents listed in the prompt.

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Question 4 (continued)

Row C: Use reasoning to explain why your evidence supports your claim or thesis.

0 points

1 point

Explains how or why the evidence supports the claim or

thesis

Decision Rules and Scoring Notes

Responses that do not earn this point:

• Include evidence but offer no reasoning to

connect the evidence to the claim or thesis

• Restate the prompt without explaining how

the evidence supports the claim or thesis

Response that earns this point:

• Must explain the relationship between the evidence

provided and the claim or thesis

Examples that earn this point:

• “The Articles of Confederation made it harder to pass

laws because each state has very different agendas,

and it required over a majority of them to agree. To

amend, it required a unanimous decision. This makes

it nearly impossible to add a new amendment to

change policy.”

• “This efficiency and accountability from a strong

executive benefits policy making.”

Additional Notes:

• To earn this point, the response must have a defensible claim or thesis (earned the point in Row A) and

support that argument with at least one piece of specific and relevant evidence (earned at least 2 points

in Row B).

• The explanation of the relationship between one piece of evidence and the claim or thesis is sufficient to

earn this point.

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Question 4 (continued)

Row D: Respond to an opposing or alternative perspective using refutation, concession, or rebuttal.

0 points

1 point

Responds to an opposing or alternate perspective using

refutation, concession, or rebuttal

Decision Rules and Scoring Notes

Responses that do not earn this point:

• Restate the opposite of the claim or thesis

• May identify or describe an alternate

perspective but do not refute, concede, or

rebut that perspective

• Refute a foundational document rather

than an alternate perspective to the

provided claim or thesis

Response that earns this point:

• Must describe an alternate perspective AND refute,

concede, or rebut that perspective

Example that earns this point:

• “Some people may argue that the federal government

is too large, and that states are best suited to address

the needs of their people without interference from the

federal government. However, this is not true. The

state governments are not equipped to handle all of

the problems they face without the federal

government. The federal government can act with

uniformity to affect all states, to ensure everyone is

guaranteed the same protections as everyone else.”

Additional Notes:

• To earn this point, the response must have a defensible claim or thesis (earned the point in Row A).

• Responses that demonstrate an incorrect understanding of the alternate perspective do not earn this

point.

A score of zero (0) is assigned to an answer that is off-task or is attempted but earns no points.

A score of NR is assigned to a blank essay. A score of NR cannot be assigned to only one task within the

essay. If an NR is assigned, it must be applied to all four tasks.

1 of 3

Sample 4A

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2 of 3

Sample 4A

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3 of 3

Sample 4A

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1 of 2

Sample 4B

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2 of 2

Sample 4B

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1 of 2

Sample 4C

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2 of 2

Sample 4C

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UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

2019 SCORING COMMENTARY

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Question 4

Note: Student samples are quoted verbatim and may contain spelling and grammatical errors.

Overview

This question expected students to demonstrate an understanding of federalism and its impact on policymaking

as well as an understanding of foundational documents related to the concept of federalism (the Articles of

Confederation, The Federalist #10, and Brutus 1).

Students were expected to articulate a defensible claim/thesis and establish a line of reasoning, support the

thesis with evidence from a foundational document or the course, use reasoning to explain why the evidence

provided supports the thesis, and respond to an alternate perspective using refutation, concession, or rebuttal.

Students were expected to write in the form of an argumentative essay, demonstrating each of the skills

mentioned above.

Sample: 4A

Score: 6

Row A: Claim/Thesis

Score: 1

The response earned 1 point for articulating a thesis by stating that “[t]he expanding powers of the national

government benefits policymaking overall, because it prevents delays such as states making conflicting laws,

or states violating federal laws and civil rights laws.”

Row B: Evidence

Score: 3

The response earned 3 points for supporting the claim with two pieces of accurate and relevant information by

first stating that “[i]n the United States' first government, the Articles of Confederation, the national

government was much weaker than the state governments. … One of the weakest points of the AOC was the

inability of the federal government to raise taxes.”

Secondly, the response states that “[a]nother benefit to the expanded powers of the national government is the

ensuring that Civil Rights are not infringed by the states. Throughout history, several states have implemented

segregational policies against minorities without check.”

Row C: Reasoning

Score: 1

The response earned 1 point for using reasoning to explain why the evidence supported the claim by stating

that “[t]his was a detriment to the country, as the National Government was unable to afford a standing Army.

… The AOC is a strong reasoning that increased federal power is beneficial, because the lack of one caused

rebellions within the country that were unable to be put down due to a weak federal government and selfish

states.” This appears at the end of the paragraph discussing the Articles of Confederation.

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

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Question 4 (continued)

Row D: Evidence

Score: 1

The response earned 1 point for responding to an opposing perspective using refutation, concession, or

rebuttal by stating that “[a]though some states-righters may claim that expanding the powers of the National

government is harmful, or could infringe on the rights of the individual, as stated in Brutus 1, this simply

wouldn't happen as often as some claim. Within the federal government, there exists several forms of checks

and balances, and separation of powers, like Fed. 51 points out. These separation of powers would prevent

many of the fears such as the president becoming too king-like.”

Sample: 4B

Score: 4

Row A: Claim/Thesis

Score: 1

The response earned 1 point for articulating a thesis by stating that “[t]he expanded powers of the national

government hinders policy making by ignoring regional differences between states and by ignoring how

specific states vote.”

Row B: Evidence

Score: 2

The response earned 2 points for supporting the claim with one piece of accurate and relevant information:

“The first issue with the expanded national government is the state-by-state differences which cannot be

addressed at a national level. … For example, if the National government were to decide that it would provide

clean energy everywhere, that seems like a good thing. Until you realize that by doing that, anywhere that has

a large oil or coal industry will become poverty stricken due to there being no jobs.”

The response did not earn a third point for supporting the claim, because the response does not provide

specific and relevant evidence from a foundational document listed in the prompt. While it mentions Brutus 1

at the end of the second paragraph, there is not sufficient information to demonstrate an understanding of

Brutus 1.

Row C: Reasoning

Score: 1

The response earned 1 point for explaining why the evidence supported the claim by stating that “[n]ational

policy ignores how regions are affected by issues in different ways.” This appears in the second paragraph

when the response discusses state-by-state differences.

Row D: Evidence

Score: 0

The response did not earn this point because it does not attempt to provide an alternate perspective.

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

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Question 4 (continued)

Sample: 4C

Score: 2

Row A: Claim/Thesis

Score: 1

The response earned 1 point for articulating a thesis by stating that “[t]hese powers of the national government

hinders policy making since it gives too much will and power which takes away from the power of state

governments."

Row B: Evidence

Score: 0

The response did not earn any points for evidence because it does not provide any accurate and relevant

information. The content related to Brutus I relates to horizontal separation of power and does not address the

federalism aspect of the prompt.

Row C: Reasoning

Score: 0

The response did not earn a reasoning point because it did not earn any points in row B.

Row D: Evidence

Score: 1

The response earned 1 point for the alternative perspective because it states that “[o]n the other hand, some

people believe the expanded power of the national government benefits policy making since the president can

make policy (through executive order). … However, the power to make policy unchecked is dangerous and

takes away from the people’s voice in policy making.”