Product Description
CliffsAP study guides help you gain an edge on Advanced Placement* exams. Review exercises, realistic practice exams, and effective test-taking strategies are the key to calmer nerves and higher AP* scores. CliffsAP U.S. Government and Politics is for college-bound students who are preparing to take the AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam, which is one of the increasingly popular subject exams that the College Board administers in cooperation with high schools and colleges across the country. This helpful guide gives you an overview of what you need to know about the U.S government and American politics, including the following: - The Constitution, including such principles as separation of powers and federalism
- Political beliefs and behaviors
- The role of political parties, interest groups, and the media play in politics
- The structure of the U.S. government — Congress, the Presidency, the bureaucracy, and the courts
- Public policy and how it is formulated
- Civil rights and civil liberties
The exam contains both a multiple choice section and a free response (essay) section. The two full sample practice tests in this guide clue you in on what to expect in these two sections of the exam. As you work your way through this guide, you will gain - A sound knowledge of the key facts and concepts in U.S. government and politics
- An understanding of the relationships between the various elements of the political process
- An ability to analyze and draw conclusions from data related to American politics
- An ability to write intelligently about the U.S government and American politics
This comprehensive guide offers a thorough review of key concepts and detailed answer explanations. It’s all you need to do your best — and get the college credits you deserve. *Advanced Placement Program and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse this product.
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 Prepares well
This book prepared me well for the AP exam so I would and did recommend it to friends. Cliffnotes makes a great study tip but be warned of the mistake in the court case review. It's Map Vs Ohio not Illinois. But that's the only draw back.
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 An "Almost Perfect" Review Book for the AP U.S. Government Test ( genelouie )
This 356-page book was written in the traditional narrative style of CLIFF NOTES and READER'S DIGEST condensed books. If the large over-sized fonts were reduced to standard and if the empty white spaces were eliminated, the contents would have been condensed to 256 pages. This made the information very manageable for studying.
The vocabulary and writing style were simple enough for a high school sophomore or junior to handle. Also, the information was very well organized and concise. As an example, let us exam the chapter on the U.S. Constitution. The ten pages summarized and condensed 37 pages of GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA, the standard text used in high school AP Government classes. Basic information with a sprinkling of details and updated examples was covered. Subtopics were sectioned off, and important terms and vocabulary were bold printed for the reader to focus. After the topic discussion, there was a 15 multiple-choice question test. The questions were constructed in the same style as the items in the actual AP test. Following these exercises were three sentence explanations on each of the answers. All in all, the format as described above was used for all other chapters that followed.
After the subject reviews, there were two sample practice tests. Again, the multiple-choice answers were explained in detail. More impressive was the author's treatment of the Free-Response Section. On each of the essay questions, he provided scoring guidelines, sample essays, and analyzes of the written works.
Appendixes were located at the end of the book. These contained a glossary of key terms, a copy of the U.S. Constitution, a listing of important U.S. Supreme Court cases, and an eight page listing of internet sources.
My only criticisms of this book focused on the second and third items in the Appendixes. Instead of a copy of the U.S. Constitution, a better alternative was to provide an annotated and simplified version. This document was very hard to understand with its 18th Century prose and "high level" vocabulary. Fortunately such a simplification does exist. It is located in the latest Compton Encyclopedia under "Constitution." Secondly, the U.S. Supreme Court case listing needed to be better organized. The cases should to be individually grouped by Constitutional issue and sub-grouped by whether they expanded or limited the specific civil liberty.
As a suggestion, buy Pamela K. Lamb's 5 STEPS TO A 5 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS to accompany Soifer's text. Instead of a narrative approach, the contents was arranged in outline format. In other words, the information presented in U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS was further condensed in outline form by Lamb. This arrangement made it easier for studying.
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Yet another great Cliffs AP prep book ( georgas1 )
This is another great Cliffs AP book which will help you get your college credit. It really is a help for reviewing the branches of the government, how a bill becomes a law, the Constitution, the amendments, elections, and civil rights. Those are the main, "must know," topics you need to review to get a 5.
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Amazing
Paul Soifer strikes again with his gorgeous portrait of the US Government, and preparation for the AP exam. I think I met Paul one time, albeit not for long, and he sold me on the book. I then took the book and have studied with it. I am assuming I will get a 5 on the test. Doc, This buds for you!
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Excellent Resource
This book is a great, concise prep for AP US Government. It has a clear well-organized layout and cuts out all the extraneous information so you know exactly what you need to know for the AP Test. I could not recommend it more highly.
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