2. 1. There are sixty multiple-choice questions which are
to be answered in seventy minutes.
2. Each question has five potential answers.
3. You are not penalized for any wrong answers so you
should make an educated guess at the correct
answer when you are not sure.
4. It is important to watch your pace, as you have just
over one minute to answer each question.
5. Be careful to not overanalyze questions. Many
times on multiple-choice exams, students initially
choose the correct answer only to return to the
question and change the answer. Unless you have
misread the question or have missed a better
answer among the choices, trust your first decision.
3. 1. Calculators are not allowed in the AP economics
exam. While you will be asked to perform
calculations for some questions, the math is
relatively simple if you understand the
principles involved and remember how to set up
the equations.
2. Colored pencils and markers are not allowed for
drawing graphs: all free response writing must
be in blue or black pen.
4. 1. The second portion of the exam consists of 3 free-
response questions, with half the score given for
the first question and the other half divided
between the other two questions.
2. You will have sixty minutes on this section: a
mandatory ten-minute reading period, during which
you may begin outlining your answers and sketching
graphs. You will then have the remaining fifty
minutes to write your answers. It is suggested to
spend 25 minutes on the first question and about
12 ½ minutes on each of the other two responses.
3. The long free-response question generally involves
interconnections among several different concepts
central to the course, which the shorter responses
generally focus on one specific concept or a pair of
related concepts.
5. 1. Free response questions generally consist of a
series of questions and sub-questions that can
be answered in several sentences. Responses
should directly answer the questions asked.
2. Keep in mind the economic concept of
efficiency and apply that to your free-response
writing. Be complete but be efficient about it.
Directly answer the questions asked, and
explain why that answer is correct. Some of the
best answers use the appropriate terms and the
clearest language to explain the
situation, causes and effects, and reasoning.
The readers want to see a clear analysis and
your reasoning.
6. 3. It is very important to understand what the
question is asking you to do. One big clue is to
look for the verbs:
“define”, “identify”, “explain”, “label”, or “using
a graph, show”. Try to visualize what the rubric
looks like, what are the readers looking for from
each part of the question?
4. Answer each part of the question in the order it
was asked, clearly labeled as instructed. If you
refer to a graph in your writing as “as you can
see in Graph A”, then make sure the graph is
clearly labeled Graph A.
7. 5. It is very important that you correctly label your
graphs. Write an appropriate title, and your axis
labels should be clear: Price and Quantity, not P
and Q.
6. If you want to indicate a shift in a curve, be sure to
draw arrows between the curves to show the
direction of movement, and label the second curve
differently (for example, D1 and D2).
7. Draw equilibrium points where appropriate and
indicate those equilibrium prices or quantities on
the axes of your graph.
8. Remember that the readers want to award you
points for every correct portion of your response, so
make their job as easy as possible.
8. 1. Once you finish your free-response questions, it
is essential that you carefully read your answers
again.
a. Have you specifically answered each part of each question?
b. Have you made links to explain why your answer is correct?
c. Have you labeled all axes and curves on each graph, illustrating
equilibrium points and showing the direction of shifts in
curves?
2. Very often, easy points are lost because of a
moment of carelessness in missing a sub-
question or drawing an arrow facing the wrong
direction. Give yourself credit for your hard
work!
9. 1. Take a moment to consider that your reader will be
taking a week of their summer time to read
thousands of free-response answers to the same
question, over and over, for eight hours a day.
2. Do you really want to challenge that reader with
handwriting that is difficult to read or understand?
3. It is in your best interest for the reader to
understand what you have to say.
4. Try printing, or cursive, or block letters, or capital
letters, anything that will ensure that you have the
best possible chance that your reader will be able to
accurately find your correct answers to grant you
the score that your deserve!
10. 1. Because rubrics are so precise, multiple points
can be awarded through each free response.
2. For example, if in a problem about a hurricane
wiping out an orange crop, you respond that the
apple juice prices would increase (correct) but
give the reason that the hurricane also
destroyed the apple trees, you might receive
one point for identifying that the apple juice
price will increase, but not receive the second
point for correct reasoning.
11. 1. When a response involves a chain of events, an
error at the beginning of one chain might cause
all the following answers to be wrong, even
though your logic is correct.
2. Sometimes rubrics may be set in a way that if
the initial response is wrong, but the rest of the
answers flow correctly based on that initial
answer, you will lose the point for the initial
answer, but may still receive partial credit for
the rest of your answers, but don’t depend on
this happening.
12. 1. While it is important to explain any answer you
give, avoid rambling!
2. Don’t write as though you’ve swallowed a
dictionary, reaching for complex language and
unnecessary difficulty.
3. Don’t carry a question on if it is not required.
Remember, you have limited time and must be
efficient. For example, if a question is asking about
a short-run situation, don’t take it to the long-
run, unless required to do so in another question.
4. You might make a mistake while rambling, which
would deduct points from your score instead of
adding to it.
5. Remember: Readers will be impressed with clear
analysis and reasoning.
13. The multiple-choice section will be scored
electronically, while readers score the free-response
sections. After applying a weighing formula and
combining the raw multiple-choice and free-
response scores to create a composite score, you
will be awarded one of the five final scores:
» 5 – Extremely well qualified
» 4 – Well qualified
» 3 – Qualified
» 2 – Possibly qualified
» 1 – No recommendation
