Over the break ,Matthew completed 3 AP essay practice questions addressing interest groups, the media, and political parties. During class, we reviewed Matthew's essays and discussed how to expand on his very good answers by explaining his reasoning and using more specific language . In that regard, I noted how the AP questions employ the word "explain", and I provided models on the form of explanation required. By discussing these essay answers, we were also able to incorporate into today's lesson, how political parties influence policy, the role of political parties, and how polarization has increased the importance of parties since party members are now reluctant or unwilling to cross party lines when voting on a bill.