The AP Psychology exam was revised for the 2024-25 school year, and the free-response section changed with it. Instead of the two open-ended prompts that used to define the FRQ block, there are now two structured question types: The Article Analysis Question (AAQ) and the Evidence-Based Question (EBQ). Both are more scaffolded than the old FRQs, which is good news, because the rubrics are more predictable and the tasks are more explicit.
Both question types share a design principle: You're being asked to reason about psychological research (a study description, a data set, or a set of sources) rather than just recall content. That shift rewards students who understand the scientific method and the vocabulary of research design, not just the content of the units. This guide walks through each question type, the rubric points on each, and the moves that reliably score.
What the FRQ section actually is
The FRQ section on AP Psychology is 70 minutes long, worth about a third of the total exam score, and made up of two questions: One AAQ (7 points) and one EBQ (7 points). Total 14 raw points.
College Board's suggested timing is 25 minutes for the AAQ and 45 minutes for the EBQ. The EBQ is longer because it's an argument-style question with three sources you need to read and integrate; the AAQ is a focused analysis of a single research study.
You're not permitted a calculator, and both questions are graded analytically against a fixed rubric. Every rubric point is tied to a specific task; you either did the task or you didn't. There's no holistic "quality of writing" score.
The AAQ: Article Analysis Question
The AAQ gives you a summary of a real, peer-reviewed psychological study, including its key results. You then answer six parts (A-F) that walk you through the study's design and implications.
The rubric has 7 points: Parts A-E are worth 1 point each and Part F is worth 2.
| Part | What it asks | How to score |
|---|---|---|
| A: Research method | Identify the method (experiment, correlational, case study, etc.) | Name the method AND give a one-sentence reason from the study |
| B: Operational definition | State how a variable was operationalized | Quote or paraphrase the specific measurement used |
| C: Statistic | Describe what a reported statistic (e.g., a significant difference in means) indicates | Refer to the specific groups and values in the study |
| D: Ethical guideline | Identify an ethical guideline applied in the study | Name a specific guideline (informed consent, debriefing, confidentiality) and tie it to the study |
| E: Generalizability | Explain the extent to which the findings generalize | Use specific participant or sample details from the study |
| F: Support or refute (2 points) | Explain how a finding supports or refutes a stated psychological idea | Use a specific result AND explain the connection |
The pattern that scores across all six parts: Name the specific psychological concept, tie it to a specific element of the study, and use full sentences. "The study is an experiment because researchers randomly assigned participants to conditions" scores; "experiment" alone doesn't.
The EBQ: Evidence-Based Question
The EBQ is closer to an argument essay. You're given a question about psychology and three sources (summaries of peer-reviewed studies), and asked to propose a claim and support it with evidence from two different sources.
The rubric has 7 points.
| Part | Points | What earns it |
|---|---|---|
| A: Claim | 1 | A defensible claim that responds to the question |
| B(i): Evidence | 1 | Specific, relevant evidence from one source, cited |
| B(ii): Explanation | 2 | Explains how the B(i) evidence supports the claim using a psychological concept, theory, perspective or research finding |
| C(i): Evidence | 1 | Specific evidence from a different source, cited |
| C(ii): Explanation | 2 | Explains how the C(i) evidence supports the claim using a different psychological concept than B(ii) |
The most common way to lose EBQ points is treating the sources as summaries rather than evidence. "Source 1 says X" can earn, at most, the evidence point; "Source 1's finding that X supports the claim because...", tied to a named psychological concept, is what earns the explanation points. Every source citation needs a follow-up sentence explaining what the evidence does for your argument.
The reasoning points reward you for connecting evidence back to a psychological concept from the CED (Course and Exam Description). If your prompt is about memory, name the specific memory concept (encoding, retrieval, working memory, long-term potentiation) that your evidence illustrates. Vague reasoning caps your score.
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The old FRQ format for students on the pre-2024 course
If you're studying from older materials, the pre-2025 FRQ section had two questions worth 7 points each: a Concept Application question and a Research Design question (which described a study and its data). You had 50 minutes total.
That format has been retired. The current exam (from May 2025 onwards) uses only the AAQ and EBQ. If your prep book is more than about two years old, check the CollegeBoard AP Psychology CED for the current structure before you commit to a study plan; a lot of practice material floating around still references the old format and will steer you wrong on the FRQ rubric.
College Board publishes the current CED, released FRQs, and scoring guidelines free on apcentral.collegeboard.org. If you're picking one drill to run before the exam, it's a released AAQ or EBQ scored against the official rubric.
Common mistakes that cost points
Summarizing sources instead of citing them as evidence on the EBQ. Every source citation needs a follow-up sentence explaining how the evidence supports your specific claim. Restating the source loses the reasoning point.
Vague psychological vocabulary. "The brain processes it" doesn't score. "The hippocampus consolidates the memory during sleep" does. Rubric points reward specific concept names from the CED.
Ignoring the statistics on the AAQ. Part C is a full point tied to interpreting a reported statistic, and it's usually quick to earn if you read the results carefully. Underline specific values and reference them.
Skipping parts. Every sub-part is independently scored, so a blank part is a guaranteed zero. Even a one-sentence attempt naming the correct concept can score.
Timing plan for the 70 minutes
A workable structure:
Minutes 0-2: Read both prompts and note which one you feel stronger on.
Minutes 2-25: AAQ. College Board suggests about 10 minutes of that on reading the source. Aim to finish in 20 if you can, and bank the 5 minutes for the EBQ.
Minutes 25-70: EBQ. College Board suggests using the first 15 minutes to read all three sources, sketch a claim, and decide which two sources you'll use for Parts B and C. Then write.
Minutes 65-70: Check for skipped parts. Add specific values or concept names to any part that looks thin.
If you're a slower reader, do the AAQ first because the source material is shorter. If you're stronger at argument writing than research analysis, start with the EBQ while your mind is fresh.
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