Basic Principles of the AP Essay Rapert/AP Lit

Format & Content 3 Essays MUST WRITE IN PEN 1. Prose passage response 2. Poetry passage response 3. Open essay: chosen topic supported by your own reading MUST WRITE IN PEN 2 hours total to complete the entire essay section

Subject/Pacing/Score Balance of time periods, male/ female authors, multi-cultural perspectives Pacing 2 hours total for all 3-you are responsible for own pacing 40 minutes each is highly suggested Score Essays equally weighted 55% of total score Essay points add up fast (27 total points) [1 extra point on each essay is a 10% improvement]

Ways to do well… Understand the style desired Total stranger is the audience Opposite of writing instruction you’ve learned: No revision Timed No prior instruction Calls for speed reading and composing Slackers have an advantage

Scoring broken down- Zero to Nine Scale Holistic Scoring 65% of scores fall within 4-6 9 is the best, but only 1% earn it Holistic Scoring One AP Test Reader reads once to get an overall impression No checklist of points/no rubric—period Sorry, but yes it is subjective Readers are teachers

What does the Reader want from you? AN essay that is easy to grade Be obviously above average Generic gets a 4 or 5—most are blah, generic Blah w/multiple mechanical errors gets a 4 Blah craftily worded may get a 6 Depth and insight solidly written gets a 7 Clarity is everything—clear gets at least a 7 GOAL===7 KNOW THE SCORING GUIDE

Easy ways to a better score Neatness counts: PRINT Large, dark block print Readers will become frustrated, meaning lower score Messy automatically says messy content/unprepared Indent Eases reading Avoid mechanical errors If you are in doubt of spelling of a word, don’t use it Don’t try any fancy punctuation But don’t panic—small “typos” are expected

Easy ways to a better score contd. Use snappy verbs and tasty nouns Jazz up your writing A LITTLE to make it stand out and show you possess VOICE and STYLE Avoid entangling the reader, however, in convoluted vocabulary and sentence structure Clarity and simplicity help flow ELEGANCE IS KEY Use ACTIVE VOICE NO HUMOR!!!

Easy ways to a better score contd. ABOVE ALL ANSWER THE QUESTION Many students forget to answer the question ANSWER IT THOROUGHLY!!! NEVER, EVER, EVER SUMMARIZE Answer all essays, but feel free to answer them out of order

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