2021 AP Exam Administration Sample Student Responses - AP U.S. Government and Politics Free-Response Question 4: Set 1

2021

United States

Government and Politics

Sample Student Responses

and Scoring Commentary

Set 1

Inside:

Free Response Question 4

Scoring Guideline

Student Samples

Scoring Commentary

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AP® United States Government and Politics

2021 Scoring Guidelines

Question 4: Argument Essay 6 points

Reporting

Category

Scoring Criteria

Row A

Claim/Thesis

(01 points)

0 points

Does not meet the criteria for one point.

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:

• Only restate the prompt.

• Do not make a claim that responds to the prompt.

Responses that earn this point:

• Respond to the prompt rather than restating or rephrasing the prompt and

establish a line of reasoning.

• Provide a defensible claim or thesis that establishes a line of reasoning about

whether the federal government should be primarily responsible for managing

environmental policy or if it should be the responsibility of the states.

Examples that do not earn this point:

Restate the prompt

• “There is a debate about whether the national or state governments should

take the lead in environmental policy.”

Do not respond to the prompt

• “There are times when states do things that help their citizens out better

than the national government.”

Examples that earn this point:

• “State governments are better at making environmental policy because they

are closer to the people.”

• “State governments can customize policy better because they act as

laboratories of democracy.”

• “The federal government is better at making environmental policy because

environment issues in one state can impact other states.”

• “The federal government is better at making environmental policy because

policy needs to be the same nationwide.”

• “The federal government is better at making environmental policy

because the federal government has more resources (financial or

institution).”

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.

AP® United States Government and Politics 2021 Scoring Guidelines

Reporting

Category

Scoring Criteria

Row B

Evidence

(0-3 points)

0 points

Does not meet the criteria

for one point.

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:

• Provide one piece of

evidence relevant to the

topic of the prompt.

• May or may not have a claim

or thesis.

Responses that earn 2 points:

• 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

Category

Scoring Criteria

Row C

Reasoning

(0-1 points)

0 points

Does not meet the criteria for one point.

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.

Responses that earn this point:

• Explain the relationship between the evidence provided and the claim or thesis.

Examples of reasoning that explains how the evidence supports the claim or thesis:

• “Brutus I would support the idea that states should be in charge of

environmental policy because too much federal power will curtail liberty/fail to

address local concerns.”

• “Because the environment is central to ‘promoting general welfare’ through the

health and well-being of citizens, the federal government should address issues

such as the environment.”

• “Competing interests within a large republic require the federal

government to mediate between these interests because this competition

can result in improvement to policy overall.”

• “The federal government can make treaties on environmental issues. As

environment policy requires international cooperation, the federal government

should have the authority over environmental policy.”

• “The necessary and proper clause allows the federal government to take

action, making policy uniform and expedient.”

• “Policy diffusion/laboratories of democracy allow state innovation on the

environment to spread to other states or the federal government.”

• “The supremacy clause establishes that federal laws and treaties made in line

with the Constitution constitute the ‘supreme law of the land’ and take priority

over conflicting state laws.”

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 two 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.

AP® United States Government and Politics 2021 Scoring Guidelines

Reporting

Category

Scoring Criteria

Row D

Responds to

Alternate

Perspectives

(0-1 points)

0 points

Does not meet the criteria for one point.

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.

Responses that earn this point:

•

Must describe an alternate perspective AND refute, concede, or rebut that

perspective.

Examples of responses that do not earn the point:

Restate the opposite of the claim or thesis

• “Some argue that states should control environmental policy.”

Describe an alternate perspective but do not refute, concede, or rebut

that perspective

• “Some people say that the federal government is better in developing

environmental policy.”

Examples of acceptable responses to an alternate perspective may include:

• “Some people say that the federal government is better, but federal policies are

‘one size fits all’ and do not always meet local needs.”

• “While some argue that states should control environmental policy, the federal

government has better resources/mediates competition to improve policy/can

interact with foreign nations on the issue.”

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.

4A 1 of 4

4A 2 of 4

4A 3 of 4

4A 4 of 4

4B 1 of 2

4B 2 of 2

4C 1 of 1

United States Government and Politics 2021 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 environmental

olicymaking, as well as an understanding of foundational documents (Brutus 1, The Federalist 10, and the

Preamble of the United States Constitution) related to the concept of federalism all while taking a position on the

topic of the prompt.

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

hesis 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

Claim/Thesis: 1

Evidence: 3

Reasoning: 1

Alternative Perspectives: 1

The response earned the thesis point for taking a position: “it is imperative that the federal government is

held primarily responsible for managing environmental policy” and by establishing a line of reasoning: “In

order to support the health, safety, and sustainability of the American people in the future.”

B. The response earned 2 evidence points for accurately describing Federalist 10 by stating, “Federalist 10

introduces the necessity of a large republic in order to get all voices and points of view considered in

legislation.” These points were earned because the description supports the thesis that the federal government

should be responsible for environmental policymaking. The response earned a third evidence point for

providing a second piece of evidence that supports the thesis by accurately describing the Necessary and

Proper Clause: “The Necessary and Proper clause ... mandates that Congress can expand its authority outside

of its enumerated powers.”

C. The response earned the reasoning point for explaining how the evidence supports the thesis by stating that

“it is clear that a unified approach is necessary in order to maintain a sense of consistency in protecting all

people and their planet and its resources.”

The response earned the alternate perspective point by describing an alternative perspective: “Some may

argue ... it may take away discretion from the states” and by rebutting the claim: “However, it is abundantly

clear that the federal government has the resources and the platform.”

Sample: 4B

Claim/Thesis: 1

Evidence: 2

Reasoning: 1

Alternative Perspectives: 0

A. The response earned the thesis point for taking a position: “The federal government should take the

United States Government and Politics 2021 Scoring Commentary

Question 4 (continued)

primarily lead on environmental regulation” and by establishing a line of reasoning: “because of funding, and a

better delogation of resources.”

B. The response earned 2 evidence points for accurately describing resources by stating, “Congress controlls

he finaces of the US.” These points were earned because the description supports the thesis that the federal

government should have more responsibility on environmental policymaking. The response did not earn the

third evidence point because it does not present a second piece of evidence that supports the thesis. Although

Federalist 10 is mentioned, it is used incorrectly.

C. The response earned the

reasoning point by explaining how the evidence (resources) supports the thesis by

stating, “As the federal gov tackles enviromental issues the funding and other bills have to be approved for

them to work.”

D. The response did not earn the alternative perspective point because it does not describe an alternate

perspective and respond with refutation, concession, or rebuttal.

Sample: 4C

Claim/Thesis: 1

Evidence: 0

Reasoning: 0

Alternative Perspectives: 0

A. The response earned the thesis point for taking a position: “the federal government should be primarily

esponsible” and by establishing a line of reasoning: “because they should be the ones to handle the big

problems that address everyone.”

B. The response did not

earn the evidence points because it does not provide correct evidence from one of the

provided documents or course concepts.

C. The response did no

t earn the reasoning point because it does not provide any evidence that supports the

thesis.

D. The response did not earn the alternative perspective point. Although the response attempts to introduce an

posing viewpoint, “Some people would say that it should be the responsibility of the states because it only

addresses some states not all states,” this is not clear enough to describe an alternate perspective. While the

response does respond to an alternate perspective, it could not earn a point for alternate perspective without

first providing an accurate description.

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