FRQ Speedrun

​FRQ Speedrun
Answer all questions in bullet-points

Open Ended

1. Respond to all parts of the question. In your response, use substantive examples where appropriate.

A. Describe the role of Congress in passing a constitutional amendment.

B. Explain how the states affect the process described in Part A.

C. The Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress but never ratified by the states. Many other proposed

amendments have shared the same fate. Explain how the high bar in passing amendments, as illustrated in this

example, reflects the Framers’ ideas about government.

Open Ended

2. Presidents are generally thought to have advantages over Congress in conducting foreign policy because of the

formal and informal powers of the presidency.

(a) Identify two formal constitutional powers of the President in making foreign policy.

(b) Identify two formal constitutional powers of Congress in making foreign policy.

(c) Identify two informal powers of the President that contribute to the President's advantage

over Congress in conducting foreign policy.

(d) Explain how each of the informal powers identified in (c) contributes to the President's advantage over

Congress in conducting foreign policy.

Open Ended

3. Respond to all parts of the question. In your response, use substantive examples where appropriate.

Use the pie charts to answer the following questions.

A. Identify the percentage of the budget that was mandatory spending in 1968.

B. Describe a change over time in the pie charts.

Open Ended

4. The federal bureaucracy as part of the executive branch exercises substantial independence in implementing

governmental policies and programs. Most workers in the federal bureaucracy are civil-service employees who are

organized under a merit system.

(a) Describe one key characteristic of the merit system.

(b) For each of the following, describe one factor that contributes to bureaucratic independence.

• The structure of the federal bureaucracy

• The complexity of public policy problems

(c) For each of the following, explain one Constitutional provision that it can use to check the bureaucracy.

• Congress

• The courts

• Interest groups

Open Ended

5. Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted,

politicians often engage in gerrymandering.

(a) Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states.

(b) Define congressional redistricting.

(c) Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting.

(d) Describe two limits that the United States Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting.

Open Ended

6. Using the information in the figure above and your knowledge of United States politics, complete the following

task.

(a) Describe what the figure above demonstrate about the distribution of government benefits over time.

(b) Identify two politically relevant factors that affected the changing distribution of government benefits between

children and the elderly.

(c) Explain how each of the two factors identified in (b) has affected the changing distribution of government

benefits.