AP Essay Intro

8/12/2019 AP Essay Intro

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Tips for Writing AP Biology Free Response Questions (FRQ)

DO

1. The rst thing that you should do is carefully read the uestion! Be sure that you ans"erthe uestion as#ed$ that you ans"er all parts of the uestion$ and that you follo" the

directions "ithin the uestion pro%pt.

&. Ta#e a %inute to outline'plan your ans"er to aoid confusion and disorganiation. Thin#ing

ahead helps to aoid scratch outs$ s#ipping around$ and ra%*ling.

+. Write an essay, use co%plete thoughts and sentences. -utlines and diagra%s$ no %atter

ho" ela*orate and accurate$ are notappropriate free response ans"ers and "ill not earn any

points.

. /ene your ter%s. 0ay so%ething a*out each of the ter%s that you use. Assu%e the

reader #no"s -T234! /e%onstrate your #no"ledge of *iology!

5. Ans"er the uestion parts in the order as#ed for *y the uestion.

6. AP *iology free response ans"ers should *e concise. They are NOTli#e the essays you

"rite in 7nglish class! Free response state%ents are a"arded points$ so you start "ith 8 points

and earn 1 point for each correct state%ent$ denition$ e9planation or e9a%ple. 7ery

sentence should earn one point and you shouldn:t hae to "rite %ore than a page to earn a

perfect score of 18 points.

;. Write clearly and neatly. 3t "ould *e foolhardy to antagonie the reader "ith lousy

pen%anship. 3f the reader cannot co%prehend your hand"riting$ you cannot earn points for it!

. 3f you cannot re%e%*er a "ord e9actly$ ta#e a shot at it$ get as close as you can. 3f you

can:t recall the na%e of a concept$ descri*e the concept.

18. Write using a *lac# *all point pen "ith dar# in#.

11. Re%e%*er that no detail is too s%all to *e included as long as it is to the point.

1&. ?arefully la*el your diagra%s (they get no points other"ise) and place the% in the te9t at

the appropriate place@not detached at the end. Be sure to refer to the diagra% in your essay.

1+. Widen your %argins a little. This "ill %a#e reading the essay neater.


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1. Bring a "atch to the e9a% so that you can pace yourself. ou hae four free response

uestions to ans"er in >8 %inutes$ so spend a*out && %inutes for each ans"er.

15. Practice outlining your free response ans"ers on your tests during the year.

16. nderstand that the e9a% is "ritten to *e hard. The aerage "ill *e a*out 58C correct$ or

5 out of a possi*le 18 on an essay. 3t is ery li#ely that you "ill not #no" eerything. 3t is

e9pected$ so rela9 and "rite the %ost thorough ans"er you are capa*le of.

1;. nderline #ey ter%s used in your response to dra" attention to the%! 0o%eti%es$

e%phasis helps the reader identify infor%ation that "ill earn you points!

2ere are so%e direction@"ords used in free response uestions.

a. COMPARE, 0ho" the si%ilarities *et"een t"o eents$ periods$ ideas$ theories$ or the li#e.

(0o%e people use the ter% :co%pare: to descri*e diDerences as "ell as si%ilarities$ so *e

careful!)

*. CONTRAST, 0ho" the diDerences *et"een t"o or %ore eents$ periods$ ideas$ or theories.

c. DEFINE, 0tate the %eaning of a "ord or phrase. 79a%ple, /ene science.

d. DESCRIBE, Proide the characteristics of so%ething. 79a%ple, /escri*e the functions of

the ATP'A/P syste%s.

e. DISCUSS, 0tate the pros and cons on an issue$ eent$ process$ theory$ or techniue.

79a%ple, /iscuss ho" /A

f. ENUMERATE, Eist a nu%*er of reasons or attri*utes of so%ething. 79a%ple, 7nu%erate the

stages of %itosis.

g. EVALUATE, a#e a =udg%ent or for% an opinion$ or supply reasons "hy so%ething is as it

is. 79a%ple, 7aluate the eDects of Genner:s e9peri%ents "ith co"po9.

h. EXPLAIN, 0upport or ualify a gien generaliation "ith specic facts and ideas. 79a%ple,

79plain "hat is %eant *y the Hscientic %ethod.H

i. INTERPRET, Analye critically or e9plain so%ething not clear.

=. PROVE or SHOW, /e%onstrate the truth or a state%ent. 79plain the reasons for eents

turning out as they did$ or speculate on "hat %ight *e the eDects of certain causes. 79a%ple,

0ho" "ith diagra%s ho" the eye is li#e a ca%era.


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DON'T

1. /on:t ra%*le@@get to the point!

&. /on:t "aste ti%e on *ac#ground infor%ation unless the uestion calls for historical

deelop%ent or historical signicance. Ans"er the uestion.

+. /on:t shoot the *ull@@"rite "hat you #no". ou can al"ays co%e *ac# to a uestion "hen

you re%e%*er so%ething else.

. /on:t use a pencil. eer use a felt@tip pen *ecause the in# seeps through the page and

%a#es *oth sides of the paper hard to read.

5. /on:t panic or get angry *ecause you are unfa%iliar "ith the uestion. ou pro*a*ly hae

read or heard so%ething a*out the su*=ect@@*e cal% and thin#.

6. /on:t scratch out e9cessiely. -ne line through the un"anted "ord(s) should *e suIcient.

;. /on:t "rite in the %argin.

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AP Essay Intro