Think broadly about the following specific items. I might add a few things over the next week - so don't limit yourself to these items - but this list should help you perform at least adequately if you fully understand the concepts and terms below:
Current events – 10 to 15 questions pulled from the blog
The subject matter of each of the articles of the Constitution – especially the first 3
The delegated, reserved, implied, and denied powers
The police powers
The denied powers
The elastic clauses and their consequences
The purpose and content of the Bill of Rights
The basic principles within the Constitution
The impact of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
The equal protection clause
The privilege and immunities clause
The history of the equal protection clause, including Plessy v Ferguson and Brown v Board of Education
The expressed and inherent powers of the president
The commander in chief powers
Judicial review
Gerrymandering
The mechanisms which separate - and maintain the separation - of powers
The origin and purposes of political parties
The party eras
The winner take all system and its consequences
The factions within the major parties
The marketplace of ideas
The role of free speech in a free society
The rationale behind public education
The self-evident truths
The substantive liberties
The procedural liberties
Agency capture
The definition of democracy
The checks and balances
Ideology
What are the respective bases of liberalism and conservatism?
Strict scrutiny, intermediate review, rational basis review
The argument contained in the Declaration of Independence
Key phrases in the Federalist Papers
Voter turnout – rates
The debate over interpreting the Constitution
Judicial Review
What is public policy?
The nature of religious liberty
The basic purpose and goals of social welfare, foreign, and economic policy
The nature of apportionment and the drawing of districts
The pros and cons of political parties
The role of state and local governments
The basic design of elections and appointments to national office
The development of judicial review
Rulemaking
Lobbying
Iron Triangles
The revolving door
Constitutional governments
Winner take all elections
The two party system
Debates over interpreting key phrases in the Constitution
The debate over the powers of the president
Unified and divided government
The basic principles in the Magna Carta
The basic principles in the British Bill of Rights
Baker v Carr
The unitary executive
