AP Am. Govt. Curriculum Outline

Below is an outline of the major content areas covered by the AP Exam in United
States Government and Politics. The multiple-choice portion of the exam is devoted to
each content area in the approximate percentages indicated. The free-response
portion of the exam will test students in some combination of the six major categories
outlined below. The outline is a guide and is by no means an exhaustive list of topics
or the preferred order of topics.

I. Constitutional Underpinnings of United States Government. (5–15%)
A. Considerations that influenced the formulation and adoption of the
Constitution
B. Separation of powers
C. Checks and balances
D. Federalism
E. Theories of democratic government

II. Political Beliefs and Behaviors. (10–20%)
A. Beliefs that citizens hold about their government and its leaders
B. Processes by which citizens learn about politics
C. The nature, sources, and consequences of public opinion
D. The ways in which citizens vote and otherwise participate in political
life
E. Factors that influence citizens to differ from one another in terms
of political beliefs and behaviors

III. Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media. (10–20%)
A. Political parties and elections
1. Functions
2. Organization
3. Development
4. Effects on the political process
5. Electoral laws and systems
B. Interest groups, including political action committees (PACs)
1. The range of interests represented
2. The activities of interest groups
3. The effects of interest groups on the political process
4. The unique characteristics and roles of PACs in the political process
C. The mass media
1. The functions and structures of the news media
2. The impacts of the news media on politics
3. The news media industry and its consequences

IV. Institutions of National Government: The Congress, the Presidency, the
Bureaucracy, and the Federal Courts. (35–45%)
A. The major formal and informal institutional arrangements of power
B. Relationships among these four institutions and varying balances
of power
C. Linkages between institutions and the following:
1. Public opinion and voters
2. Interest groups
3. Political parties
4. The media
5. State and local governments

V. Public Policy. (5–15%)
A. Policymaking in a federal system
B. The formation of policy agendas
C. The role of institutions in the enactment of policy
D. The role of the bureaucracy and the courts in policy implementation
and interpretation
E. Linkages between policy processes and the following:
1. Political institutions and federalism
2. Political parties
3. Interest groups
4. Public opinion
5. Elections
6. Policy networks
VI. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties .( 5–15%)
A. The development of civil liberties and civil rights by judicial
interpretation
B. Knowledge of substantive rights and liberties
C. The impact of the Fourteenth Amendment on the constitutional
development of rights and liberties

The Exam
The AP United States Government and Politics Exam is 2 hours and 25 minutes long.
It includes a 45-minute multiple-choice section consisting of 60 questions and a 100-minute free-response section consisting of 4 questions.