AP
®
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
2019 SCORING GUIDELINES
© 2019 The College Board.
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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.
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.