SUZANNE BAILEY: Hello.
Are you looking for practice in the conceptual analysis
question for AP comparative government and politics?
Well, you're in the right place.
My name is Suzanne Bailey, and I teach this course
at Virgil Grissom High School in Huntsville, Alabama.
I've been a comparative reader for over 20 years,
and I'd like to share with you today,
some of the strategies that I use with my own students
that I've learned from being at the reading.
So come on.
Let's get started.
First of all, the conceptual analysis free response
is the first one you're going to see
when you get that test booklet after you
finish your multiple choice.
It's the shortest of the four that you're
going to given with a suggested time of only 10 minutes.
When you look at the question itself, right?
I'm going to pull up one here.
This is actually from last year.
What you'll notice is there's no country specific information
required.
This is really about concepts.
So it's a great way to get warmed up because you're
going to need concepts with all your free response questions.
So this is a nice way to just start with that.
I think my first strategy is that you
want to treat each of these four points separately.
You want to make sure you do a complete answer for each one.
So that's the-- my approach that I'm
going to do with this video is we're
going to look at each one of these as we go through.
But first of all, do notice that I suggest--
I tell my students to circle or underline these task verbs.
They're really important to me as a reader
and what you'll notice as we go through
is that there are similarities between describe and explain.
So watch for that in the video as we go through.
Now my suggestion is that you could pause the video
and try to answer this question if you wanted,
and then use it kind of like as a kind of a paired check
as we go through this.
Or there'll be a PDF available at the end of the video
that you can download and then practice and see how you do.
You really need to write these yourself,
but listen to the hints that I have and see if that helps.
So first of all, let's look at A. A
generally is going to be a describe or define.
So we're going to start off on this kind of scaffolding
approach to the concepts with do you understand this one
basic concepts?
This really important concept.
Which you'll notice the verb, to me,
though, is it's much more than define.
So if we look at this question--
when you think about your answer,
a description of an action is what we're looking for.
So a little legislature in a parliamentary system
can take to limit executive power.
So that in particular, a reader needs to see in your response,
like what is a parliamentary system, and how
do parliamentary systems limit executive power, right?
It's a fundamental unit two question.
So part of the way I do it is to try
to train you to think like a reader,
is to give you some examples.
So if you were to look at this one,
for example, would you give this a point?
Does this answer the question?
In a parliamentary system, the legislature
may take a vote of no confidence.
Well, hopefully you would say, no.
And the idea is what--
how does a vote of no confidence limit executive power?
Remind yourself.
To limit executive power has to have
some reference to the prime minister
or the cabinet in a parliamentary system.
Those are your main executives.
So let's look at a second example.
If you notice here then this is going
to get the point because not only are you saying
what a legislator is, you're telling specifically
the exact--
the specific executive position that's going to be limited.
So the first one, right?
A vote of no confidence is a great identification
of the check of the legislature on the prime minister,
but they didn't mention prime minister.
That's just-- it was implied, right?
I'm certain that the person who wrote that knew it,
but you have to write it.
So that's the other strategy.
Be very specific in your answer.
Now what you'll notice with B is that it
gets a little bit more complicated because you
have an explain question.
Explain how-- it's usually explain how or why,
requires analysis.
And so in this case, how does a presidential system
lead to an inefficient legislative process?
So think to yourself, what's a legislative process?
That's about passing laws.
So let's look and see at a sample response.
This is-- in a presidential system,
the legislature and executive can be
dominated by different parties.
Well, that's true, but how does that
make it inefficient, right?
I wouldn't give this a point because I have
that question still on my mind.
How does different parties make it inefficient?
I need a specific reference to a legislative process.
So if I were to look at this example
in a presidential system, the legislature
can be dominated by different parties leading
to conflict and stalemates.
There's the inefficiency.
So this would earn a point.
But to be honest with you, I would like
something more explicit, right?
So what I would try to get my students to do
is like when you think about an inefficient legislative
process, tell me that it makes it hard to pass a law.
So here's another answer that would get a response,
but think about it.
Part of it is I'm making sure the reader knows that I know
what a presidential system is.
That it's a separation of executive and legislative
branches.
But also, that I know that it's going
to be difficult to pass a law.
Inefficient legislative process means
it's difficult to pass a law.
And then my reasoning is what I find in the middle.
So I need that--
so I need that reasoning to get the explained point.
If we have a look at C, notice, again, the task word
is the same, but the job is different.
In this case, I'm supposed to talk
about why a legislative process is often
less efficient in a presidential system
than in a parliamentary system.
So notice how this question nicely takes, kind of, A and B
and wants me to put it together with some more analysis.
But this is an explicit comparison.
So what I need to do, in this case, is make sure
the reader knows that I know what--
or that what you're writing is that a presidential system--
what a presidential system is and what
a parliamentary system is and that there's
some explicit comparison.
So this one would get a point, but notice
that the student who wrote this made their thinking visible.
They specifically said, right, we're
trying to focus on this less efficiency.
They gave a comparison word here to make
sure that a parliamentary system,
where they there's a fusion of powers,
they're going to more likely agree.
Whereas on the other hand, right, there's the comparison,
the separation of powers are going to be less--
they're more likely to not agree, right?
And that's going to be less efficient.
I think what's important here-- and the hint
about separating these out is when I'm reading C,
I'm looking for a complete answer
in C. I'm not carrying what you said in A and b down to here.
So treat C is a separate thing.
Even if you feel like you've written it before,
make this a complete answer.
All right.
Last but not least.
This is another explain how.
And another hint that I have is when you have explained--
I just-- I have a big sign in my class, right?
Explain means because.
You certainly don't have to use the word because,
but it's about signaling that you're
about to do some analysis.
So notice here that the fourth task
verb is going to have you take what you've been talking
about which is legislative efficiency
and then add it another term to it, right?
So it's a more difficult thing to do.
I like that they added here to democratic systems.
So notice, they didn't--
the question doesn't say how legislative efficiency affects
political efficacy.
They want you to reference democratic systems as well.
So that's a very difficult question.
I do want you to know that affects--
I'm looking for a direction, right?
Affects could be something that helps or hinders the process.
You have a choice, but I am looking for a direction.
So this is a response that would earn a point,
but let's break down where are all the points, right?
Like I need to see, first of all, legislative efficiency,
right?
So what I chose in this case, actually
was to look at the democratic systems.
Democratic systems are about a system of government that's
responsive to the people.
So I've made sure I'm specifically talking
about democratic systems.
Legislative political efficacy-- definition
of that is that people will believe they
have more ability to create change.
So now that I've done the new words that I'm looking at,
see then I've focused on the legislative efficiency aspect.
So in order to get one point, a reader
needs to see that you have referenced all three
of these concepts.
So that's what makes it the most difficult of the questions.
In the end, in general, right?
To summarize my strategies for answering a concept question,
you, number one, want to read it completely.
See the progression.
See if you can see how A, B and C is building on each other
and the D is adding a new concept.
Annotate the question.
Write in that test booklet.
Circle those task verbs.
Understand the level of complexity I'm looking for.
Underline the concepts.
Make sure you're explaining those concepts.
Thoroughly answer each section of the question.
They're graded separately.
So it's not that you're carrying down information
from one to the other, answer each question carefully.
I didn't show examples here because you
don't have to but you could add country specific information,
if you had time.
I certainly would hope that you would be thinking about it when
you are writing to help you answer,
but you don't have to mention a country, but you can.
It's really up to you.
The caveat is you've got to remember that 10 minute time
period.
Finally, it's so important that you know your concepts.
They're going to be in all four free responses.
They're in all your multiple choice.
Concepts are the key to comparing.
So thank you for watching this video
and I hope you'll watch the other sessions.
Thank you.