Final Assignment for AP Government Students

Part A: Three Articles – Due Friday, May 22

You should find three separate news articles or editorial columns that illustrate three of the following topics. The articles that you select should be meaty and not just brief snippets. If you have any doubt, just send them to me for approval. You will need to pick three separate topics, not three stories on the same topic. You can also pick a different topic if you get it approved by me ahead of time.

1. Procedures in Congress

2. The role of congressional leaders

3. Parties: strong or weak?

4. Power and pathologies of the bureaucracy

5. Tensions between the state and central government due to federalism

6. The politics of judicial nominations

7. The powers and weaknesses of the presidency

8. Judicial interpretation of civil liberties and rights

9. The role of media in politics

10. The influence of interest groups in politics

11. The difficulties in enacting new policies

Once you have selected your stories, for each one write:

1. A summary of the story

2. An analysis of how this story either reflects or refutes what we have talked about this year on this topic. Is this an example of a principle that we’ve discussed that I could use next year or is an exception that contradicts what we’ve studied? If you were teaching the class next year and talking about this particular topic, how would you use this story?

Part B: Write your own AP Essay Question – Due Friday, May 22

1. Write your own essay question for one of the units we’ve studied this year. Write it in the style of AP essay questions that you’ve seen all year long with several parts. Do not repeat one that you’ve already seen either on tests or that I’ve given you to look at throughout the year. Feel free to make it a graphic question.

2. Make up the rubric for how your question will be graded. Figure out how many points each section of the question should be worth.

3. For each section give as many possible suggested acceptable responses. If there is anything that you think a student might put down that would be unacceptable indicate so.

Part C: For this section, you will work with the rest of the students who don’t have to take the EOC to prepare a review game for the rest of the class. As a group, you will write 40 multiple choice questions to help the rest of the students prepare for the economics sections of the EOCs. You will put them together into one document to submit to me digitally. I suggest that you guys work closely together in crafting your questions. – Due Tuesday, May 19

Here are some possible areas for questions: government and the market place, factors of production, scarcity and opportunity costs, supply and demand, division of labor, diminishing returns, command economy, comparative advantage, GNP, types of taxes, tariffs, international trade, role of labor, personal finance, profit incentives, equilibrium prices, the Federal Reserve, price floors and ceilings, the business cycle, the impact of automation, or the role of advertising

1. These questions should be multiple choice with four possible choices.

2. You will need to submit your group’s 40 questions to me digitally at least four days in advance so that I can approve them. – by Friday, May 15

1. In which type of economic system would the profit motive be strongest? A. command economy B. free market economy* C. mixed economy D. traditional economy	2. What is usually the greatest cost of running a business? A. parking expenses B. price to buy shares of stocks C. membership dues to organizations D. wages, rent, and interest on loans*
3. Globalization is reflected in which of the following? A. North Carolina’s key trading partners B. North Carolina’s loss of manufacturing jobs C. North Carolina’s growing share of direct foreign investment D. All of the above*	4. A new technology increases the sped of computers without increasing production costs. What is the likely effect of this technology? A. the price of new computers will decline. B. The price of new computers will increase. C. The demand for new computers will decline. D. The demand for new computers will increase.*

Name________________

Rubric – This will count as a test grade

	Possible Points	Your Points
Article One: Summary	5
Article One: Analysis	10
Article Two: Summary	5
Article Two: Analysis	10
Article Three: Summary	5
Article Three: Analysis	10
A good AP essay-style question that doesn’t repeat one you’ve already seen	14
A rubric that awards points for each section	2
Detailed answers of what you’re looking for in the response and all the acceptable responses	14
Group Grade for your 40 practice EOC questions	25
Total	100

Attach this rubric to the front of your assignment.