AP Biology FRQ Writing Strategies

• At LAMP expect 1 FRQ quiz per week.

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AP Biology

Free Response Question Types

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• This section includes two long free response questions (worth 8-10 points each) and 4 short free response questions worth 4 points each.
• The two long free response questions each typically require answers that are 2-3 solid paragraphs long.
• Free Response Question 1 will always deal with “Interpreting and Evaluating Experimental Results”. This question will require students to: A) Describe and explain biological concepts, processes, and/or models, B) Identify experimental design procedures, C) Analyze data, D) Make and justify predictions.
• Free Response Question 2 will always deal with “Interpreting and Evaluating Experimental Results With Graphing”. Students will be given a scenario and a table of experimental data and will be asked to: A) Describe and explain biological concepts, processes, or models, B)Construct a graph, plot, or chart and use confidence intervals or error bars, C) Analyze data, D) Make and justify predictions.

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AP Biology

Free Response Question Types

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• Each of the 4 short free response questions can usually be answered in a single solid paragraph.

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• Free Response Question 3 will deal with “Scientific Investigation”. The question will provide students with a description of a lab investigation scenario and ask them to: A) Describe biological concepts or processes, B)Identify experimental procedures, C)Predict results, D) Justify predictions.
• Free Response Question 4 will deal with “Conceptual Analysis”. The question will provide students with a scenario of a biological phenomenon with a disruption. The question will ask students to: A)Describe biological concepts or processes, B)Explain biological concepts or processes, C)Predict the causes or effects of a change in a biological system, D)Justify predictions.
• Free Response Question 5 will require students to “Analyze Models or Visual Representations”. The question will assess students’ abilities to: A) Describe characteristics of a biological concept, process, or model represented visually, B)Explain relationships between different characteristics of a biological concept or process represented visually, C)Represent relationships within a biological model, D)Explain how a biological concept or process represented visually relates to a larger biological principle, concept, process, or theory.
• Free Response Question 6 deals with “Data Analysis”. The question will present students with data in a graph, table, or visual representation . The question will ask students to: A)Describe the data, B)Use data to evaluate a hypothesis or prediction, C)Explain how experimental results related to biological principles, concepts, processes, or theories.

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AP Biology

FRQs—The Basics

• 1. Follow the directions. Address everything the question asks you to do and nothing else.
• 2. Responses must be written in complete sentences. There is no need for introductions or conclusions. Answer the question and move on. Be clear and succinct.
• 3. Answers must be written in black or blue ink. For graphs/charts, do your work in pencil. When you are sure everything is correct, trace over your work with a pen.

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AP Biology

FRQ Success Tip #1

• Read each question carefully.
• Annotate the prompt.
• Pay specific attention to the task verbs

used in the question.

• Be sure to address those verbs completely

in your answer.

• Attempt to answer each part of the question. Don’t give up on an entire question if you don’t know how to answer a particular section. Stick with it.

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AP Biology

Know your Task Verbs!

• Success depends on students identifying the TASK VERBS that are required, KNOWING WHAT THEY MEAN, and correctly answering each prompt with the appropriate level of detail for the verb

• Calculate: Perform mathematical steps to arrive at a final answer, including algebraic expressions, properly substituted numbers, and correct labeling of units and significant figures. Be sure to show all of your work. Annotate your work where appropriate.
• Construct/Draw: Create a diagram, graph, representation, or model that illustrates or explains relationships or phenomena. Labels may or may not be required. Be sure to complete the drawing on the provided (in the answer booklet) diagram, chart, or graph.
• Describe: Provide relevant characteristics of a specified topic. This verb requires you to address at least 2 characteristics/quantities.
• Determine: Decide or conclude after reasoning, observation, or applying mathematical routines (calculations).
• Evaluate: Judge or determine the significance or importance of information, or the quality or accuracy of a claim. Make sure that your judgment or opinion is clearly stated.

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AP Biology

Task Verbs Continued

• Explain: Provide information about how or why a relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome occurs, using evidence and/or reasoning to support or qualify a claim. Explain “how” typically requires analyzing the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome; whereas, explain “why” typically requires analysis of motivations or reasons for the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome.
• Identify: Indicate or provide information about a specified topic, without elaboration or explanation.
• Justify: Provide evidence to support, qualify, or defend a claim, and/or provide reasoning to explain how that evidence supports or qualifies the claim. If the question includes a data table, chart, or graph, be sure to specifically refer to the provided information to justify the claim.
• Make a claim: Make an assertion that is based on evidence or knowledge. Typically, the claim should be based on evidence/data/graphs provided in the question prompt.
• Predict/Make a prediction: Predict the causes or effects of a change in, or disruption to, one or more components in a relationship, pattern, process, or system.
• Represent: Use appropriate graphs, symbols, words, illustrations, and/or tables of numerical values to describe biological concepts, characteristics, and/or relationships
• State (the null/alternative hypothesis): Indicate or provide a hypothesis to support or defend a claim about a scientifically testable question. When stating a null hypothesis indicate that there is no statistically significant difference between the treatment groups or that the treatment has no effect.
• Support a claim: Provide reasoning to explain how evidence supports or qualifies a claim. Refer to specifics provided in the question’s data tables, charts, and/or graphs.

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AP Biology

FRQ Success Tip #2: Answer the Prompt!

Many students make one or both of these mistakes:

• Insufficient Detail (assuming the reader will “know what they mean” when they say something too general)
• Laundry List (dumping everything they know about a topic, ignoring the instructions of the prompt, hoping something “sticks”)

Readers cannot make inferences about what you might mean. They can only score what is EXPLICITLY STATED:

• Always state the obvious
• Imagine the reader knows NOTHING about the topic, and make it clear to them that you understand the science

Don’t just write everything that you know about the topic:

• Answer the prompt that is provided, not the one you wish they had asked.
• If it asks for 1 example, give 1 example. Extras will not be graded.
• This is not an English essay: no introductions or conclusions are necessary. Avoid “stream of consciousness” writing. Get to your point quickly and clearly.
• Read your response before moving on: draw a clear line through anything you don’t like (Readers will ignore it) There is no need to blackout or try to erase mistakes.

AP Biology

FRQ Success Tip #3 = Organize Your Response!

• Many questions on the AP Biology exam will consist of multiple parts/sections (a, b, c, etc…).
• Label your answers by sub-part, such as (a), (b), (c), etc. Clearly answer each question subpart in its indicated section. This will assist you in organizing your thoughts, as well as helping to ensure that you answer all the parts of the free-response question.
• This will also make it easier for the Reader to:
• Find your responses
• Follow your reasoning
• Credit for each part of a question is awarded independently, so you should attempt to answer each part. For example, you may receive no credit for your answer to part a, but still receive full credit for part b, c, or d. If the answer to a later part of a question depends on the answer to an earlier part, you may still be able to receive full credit for the later part, even if that earlier answer is wrong.
• Be sure to answer the easy parts of each question. Start with those first. Just be sure to clearly label which section of the question you are addressing.

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AP Biology

FRQ Success Tip #4 = Show Your Work and annotate your work with words.

• Show all the steps you took to reach your solution on questions involving calculations.
• Annotate your calculations with words. Explain why you are using the equation you chose. Be sure to show the values you are plugging into the equation.
• Include units on every numerical answer.
• If you include a drawing in your answer, be sure to label and annotate the drawing.

AP Biology

FRQ Success Tip #5 = Graph Essentials

• Free response questions will often ask you to construct a graph.
• Be sure to construct your graphs on the grids provided in the exam answer booklet. Your entire graph (including error bars) must fit inside the provided grid. Make sure that everything fits before you draw the graph. Pre-plan.
• Graph everything in pencil. When you finish and are sure everything is correct, then trace over your work with a black or blue pen.
• Line graphs should be used when both the independent and dependent variables consist of numerical/continuous data. Bar graphs should be used when one of your variables is categorical while the other is numerical/continuous data.
• If the provided data includes standard errors of the mean or standard deviations, you must plot error bars on your graphs. Unless the prompt tells you differently, create error bars that represent +/- 2 SEMs or SDs.
• If the question doesn’t tell you to construct a specific type of graph (line or bar), use a scatterplot (simply plot the points without lines or bars). This type of graph meets the requirements of both line and bar graphs. Error bars can be included directly on each plotted point.
• Plot the independent variable on the x axis and the dependent variable on the y axis. Label each axis and include the units in parentheses.
• There may be times when you need to graph a variable against time (even though time isn’t the independent variable). If time is included in your graph, plot it along the x-axis.
• Don’t extend your lines past the provided data (in either direction). Only represent the data you are given.
• If your graph includes multiple lines, clearly label each line.

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AP Biology