Format and Content of the Essay Section Ms. Olson

 Section I 45%: 55 Multiple Choice Questions in 60 minutes  Section II 55%: 3 Essays--15 minute reading period, 120 writing period That means about 40 minutes per essay

 Beginning with the May 2011 AP Exam administration, there was a change to the way AP Exams are now scored. Total scores on the multiple-choice section are now based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points are no longer deducted for incorrect answers and, as always, no points will be awarded for unanswered questions.  So…Answer ALL the questions! Use process of elimination and take a guess.

 3 essay questions Synthesis Analytical/expository Argumentative  55 percent of your score  2 hours, 15 minutes—you may not write until the first 15 minutes are up  The AP reader has never read one of your essays.

8-9: well-organized, well-written essays that CLEARLY address the prompt 6-7: like the high-level essays but may be less precise and not as well supported 5: superficial; basically on topic but miss the complexity of the essay; mechanical, no personal voice 3-4: attempt to address the prompt, but incomplete treatment of it

 Adequate but adequate is not your goal  On topic but basically boring  Typical 5-paragraph form with a conclusion that does nothing more than repeat the introduction  Overly generalized  Poorly organized  Simplistic

 Find a way to make your essay stand out  Introduction with something different Creative approach Personal touch Personal experience Pizzazz  Supporting evidence  Sentence variety

 Neatness counts!!! Think before you write. Prewrite for 5 minutes. Organize your thoughts.  Indent Too often is better than not enough Balance paragraph sizes  Write in present tense.  2-3 pages per essay

 Write perfectly for the first two sentences  Try to avoid simply rewriting the prompt as your first sentence.  Write like you enjoy writing! PRETEND!  Use precise, colorful language (esp. verbs and nouns) Examples: Car? Walk?  Avoid contractions, abbreviations, symbols  Avoid tangled, awkward sentences.

 Budget your time (40 minutes per essay with 15 minutes of reading time for synthesis)  Organize through a rough outline or prewriting—you do not have time to do a formal outline  Let your reader know where you are going in your introduction using about 3 sentences  Conclusion—short but not repetitive; leave your reader with something to think about, a final thought

 Usually results in a typical essay  AP readers are not looking for typical  Often get 4-5 as scores because they don’t stand out in the crowd  HOWEVER, they are obviously organized which is a plus.  If you have always relied on it, use it, but dress it up with varied sentence structures and diction.

 Work the prompt: what is the question?  Read the prompt again: circle clues or key elements—who wrote it? When? Do you know anything about the author or the time period in history? Is it a speech or an essay? What was the likely purpose of it?  Read passage carefully to gather your information and look for strategies used.

Strategies  Organization  Point of view  Diction  Syntax including strategies like parallelism, antimetabole, anaphora, etc.  Literary elements Focus of most prompts  Author’s purpose  Intended or probable effect  Author’s tone

 Read the prompt: what are the directions?  Read the prompt again, making sure you can take a position  Use first-person here and present tense  Refute: disagree  Support: agree  Qualify: agree but disagree

 Relax and concentrate on what you want to say, not what you think the readers want to hear  Take a clear stand using evidence from outside sources (literary, personal, historical, etc.)  Use appropriate specific examples  Write clearly and precisely

 Read prompt and underline key instructions and terms  Support, refute, or qualify based on 3+ sources  Don’t try to use all of the sources; determine as you read which sources agree and which refute

 Remember that this is persuasive  Determine as you read which sources agree and disagree  Underline points that support your position

 Imagery  Hyperbole/understatement  Simile  Metaphor/extended metaphor  Symbol  Paradox  Bombast—overly pompous language

 Circumlocution—talking “around” a word or subject  Make your points and back them up with evidence  Draw your conclusions clearly

 Verbal irony—sarcastic sometimes, saying one thing but meaning something else  Satire—something is portrayed in a way that’s deliberately distorted to achieve comic or bitter effect

 Antithesis—balanced pair of opposites  Antimetabole—balanced pair of rearranged words  Asyndeton—absence of conjunctions  Polysyndeton—overuse of conjunctions  Epistrophe—repetition of word or words at end of sentences/phrases  Anaphora—repetition of word or words at beginning of sentences/phrases

 language-released-exam-2007-scoring-worksheet.pdf language-released-exam-2007-scoring-worksheet.pdf AP SCORE QUALIFICATION 5 Extremely well quali fi ed 4 Well quali fi ed 3 quali fi ed 2 Possibly quali fi ed 1 No recommendation AP Exam scores of 5 are equivalent to A grades in the corresponding college course. AP Exam scores of 4 are equivalent to grades of A–, B+ and B in college. AP Exam scores of 3 are equivalent to grades of B–, C+ and C in college.

 Friday May 9 – 8a.m.

 Exam Information Exam Information  Course Description (Page 1-48) Course Description