1. BIGGEST MISTAKES STUDENTS MAKE ON AP ESSAYS

2. 10DOES NOT PUT THESIS IN INTRODUCTION Inside Info: If you discover a better thesis as you write your Essay, go ahead and put it in the end.

3. 9DOES NOT DEAL INDIVIDUALLY WITH ALL THE DOCUMENTS “Documents 2 and 4 address growth of trade in the Indian Ocean while documents 3 & 5 discuss decline in trade in the South China Sea.” What point does the following quote get and why does it not get points for individually addressing the documents? Inside Info: Refer to documents parenthetically by number

4. 8MINIMIZES THE RUBRIC The rubric is a minimum bar; always reach beyond the minimum If the rubric calls for 2 or 3 groupings, Provide 3 If the prompt calls for 3 examples Of POV, offer 4 If the question calls for one additional document, develop two

5. 7DOES NOT EXPLAIN CONTINUITIES Get beyond The “duh”

6. 6WRITES LIKE IN AN ENGLISH CLASS IT’S A BRIEF... NOT GREAT LITERATURE IT’S “MEAT AND POTATOES”... NOT CRÈME BRULEE YOU’RE TRYING TO CONVINCE JUDGE JUDY... NOT WILL SHAKESPEARE

7. 5FORGETS ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT Again, get beyond the obvious Be sure to offer the reason why it would be helpful Inside Info: Discover the additional document from the opposite Viewpoint of a previously discovered POV

8. 4PROVIDES ATTRIBUTION, NOT POV A Sunday school hymn composed for the English Sunday school movement, which was largely guided by members of the Middle Class: How doth the busy little Bee Improve each shining hour And gather honey all the day From every opening flower. In works of labor or of skill I would be busy too; For Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do. From Isaac Watts, Divine and Moral Songs for Children, 1869 POV answers The question “WHY”

9. 3DOES NOT BUDGET TIME

10. 2DOES NOT SPEND ENOUGH TIME UNDERSTANDING, BRAINSTORMING, AND ORGANIZING THE ESSAY BEFORE BEGINNING TO WRITE For the period from 1500 to 1830, compare North American racial ideologies and their effects on society with Latin American/Caribbean racial ideologies and their effects on society.

11. 1NO THESIS Analyze similarities and differences in methods of political control in TWO of the following empires in the classical period. Han Empire (206 BCE – 220 CE) Maurya/Gupta empires (320 BCE – 550 CE) Imperial Rome (31 BCE – 476 CE)

12. SO, THE MAIN GENERAL POINTS ARE RECOGNIZE THE READER IS HUMAN AND HELP THEM WITHOUT INSULTING THEM THE RUBRIC IS STANDARD BUT IT GETS MASSAGED ANSWER THE QUESTION