Voter Turnout by Age and Education
FRQ 2 Part A and B must come directly from the data — don't bring in outside knowledge. Parts C and D require you to apply AP Gov concepts to explain or connect the data. Never skip a part.
Parts A & B are usually straightforward. Parts C & D require application — most points are lost here. Use this scaffold.
- Identify the exact number, year, or label asked for
- State the direction of the trend (increasing / decreasing / fluctuating)
- Include specific numbers from the data — never describe vaguely
- What is the trend? (state it briefly)
- Which actor would care about this? (interest group, candidate, party, Congress)
- What specific action would they take? (lobby, run ads, pass legislation, file suit)
- Who is the target? (Congress, an agency, voters, the president)
- Name the specific agent of socialization or concept (NOT just 'political socialization happened')
- Explain HOW that agent produces the trend shown — family → children adopt views; media → exposure changes beliefs
- Tie the direction of the trend to the mechanism
"Interest groups would use this data to influence policy."
"Because the percentage of Americans concerned about climate change rose from 25% to 38% between 1997 and 2008, an environmental interest group could use this upward trend to lobby Congress for stricter emissions regulations, arguing the data shows growing public demand for action."
Use the data provided above to answer the following questions about voter participation in the United States.
Describe ONE trend shown in the age group data.
Describe ONE pattern shown in the educational attainment data.
Explain how the concept of political efficacy helps account for the age-based turnout gap shown in the data.
Describe ONE structural barrier to voting and explain how removing it could affect the turnout patterns shown in the data.
Each response needs at least 40 words before you can submit.
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