Cracking the AP U.S. government & politics exam

482 Pages·2012·3.3 MB·English

by  Tom Meltzer

Editorial
Rob Franek, VP Test Prep Books, Publisher
Seamus Mullarkey, Associate Publisher
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Heather Brady, Editor
Random House Publishing Team
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The Princeton Review, Inc
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The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.
Copyright © 2011 by The Princeton Review, Inc.
Cover design © 2011 by Random House, Inc.
Cover art © 2011 Daniel Kaesler/ Alamy
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of
Canada Limited, Toronto.
eISBN: 978-0-30794450-4
ISSN: 1097-2757
Editor: Calvin Cato
Production Editor: Stephanie Tantum
Production Coordinator: Deborah A. Silvestrini
2012 Edition
v3.1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank all the great Princeton Review teachers I’ve worked with
over the years. They are quite simply the brightest, most creative, and
most energetic group of people I’ve ever come across, and they are
undoubtedly The Princeton Review’s greatest asset.
Special thanks also go to Richard Strean, Matthew Polazzo, and John
Hoj for their expertise. Finally, thanks to my family, the guys in my band
—5 Chinese Brothers—and most especially to Lisa.
—Tom Meltzer The Princeton Review would like to thank John
Moscatiello for his work updating the 2012 edition of this book.
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART I: THE TEST AND HOW TO CRACK IT
1 About the Advanced Placement Program
2 Being a Good Test-Taker
3 Cracking the Multiple-Choice Section
4 Cracking the Free Response Section
PART II: AP U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS REVIEW
5 The Constitutional Underpinnings
Practice Questions
6 Public Opinion and the Media
Practice Questions
7 Political Parties, Interest Groups, PACs, and 527 Groups
Practice Questions
8 Elections
Practice Questions
9 Institutions of Government
• Congress
• The President
• The Judiciary and the Law
• The Bureaucracy
Practice Questions
10 Public Policy
Practice Questions
11 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Practice Questions
12 Answers and Explanations to Chapter Quizzes
PART III: THE PRINCETON REVIEW AP U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS PRACTICE
TESTS AND EXPLANATIONS
13 Practice Test 1
Section I
Section II
14 Practice Test 1: Answers and Explanations
15 Practice Test 2
Section I
Section II
16 Practice Test 2: Answers and Explanations
Glossary
The Constitution of the United States of America
Index
About the Author
I
NTRODUCTION
WHAT IS THE PRINCETON REVIEW?
The Princeton Review is an international test-preparation company with
branches in all major U.S. cities and several cities abroad. In 1981, John
Katzman started teaching an SAT prep course in his parents’ living room.
Within five years, The Princeton Review had become the largest SAT
prep program in the country.
Our phenomenal success in improving students’ scores on standardized
tests is due to a simple, innovative, and radically effective philosophy:
Study the test, not just what the test claims to test. This approach has led
to the development of techniques for taking standardized tests based on
the principles the test writers themselves use to write the tests.
The Princeton Review has found that its methods work not just for
cracking the SAT, but for any standardized test. We’ve already
successfully applied our system to the GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, and GRE, to
name just a few. Obviously you need to be well versed in government
and politics to do well on the AP U.S. Government & Politics Exam, but
you should remember that any standardized test is partly a measure of
your ability to think like the people who write standardized tests. This
book will help you brush up on your political knowledge and prepare for
the exam using our time-tested principle: Crack the system based on how
the test is created.
We also offer books and online services that cover an enormous
variety of education and career-related topics. If you’re interested, check
out our website at PrincetonReview.com.
PART I
The Test and
How to Crack It
1
A A
BOUT THE DVANCED
P P
LACEMENT ROGRAM