This will be my third time. The AM section is the harder of the two sections for several reasons.
First, unlike a multiple choice question, you can’t hope to guess an answer. That is, you have to really understand the stuff enough to have it be nearly memorized.
Second, you have to realize that it is not as much of an essay as you think. There is really a definite answer taken straight out of the pages of the books. You may not agree with the approach in the books, but you have to know them for the exam. So don’t get creative and make up what you think is a reasonable answer. Every “justify”, “list one”, or “list two” type question is not soliciting your opinion. It is asking for something straight out of the pages of the books. If you are asked about about risk tolerance, then you look at ability to take risk, willingness to take risk, and from these two, come up with an overall risk tolerance assesment (below, average, above average). You can’t just say “high” ability to take risk because you “feel” it someway or another. It has to be done in accordance with the framework of how the Readings teach you about individual (or intitutional) IPS.