Format and Content of the Essay Section Ms. Olson Slide 2
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 Slide 3 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. SoAnswer ALL the
questions! Use process of elimination and take a guess. Slide 4 3
essay questions Synthesis Analytical/expository Argumentative 55
percent of your score 2 hours, 15 minutesyou may not write until
the first 15 minutes are up The AP reader has never read one of
your essays. Slide 5 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 Slide 6 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 Slide 7 Find a way
to make your essay stand out Introduction with something different
Creative approach Personal touch Personal experience Pizzazz
Supporting evidence Sentence variety Slide 8 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 Slide 9
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. Slide 10 Budget your time
(40 minutes per essay with 15 minutes of reading time for
synthesis) Organize through a rough outline or prewritingyou do not
have time to do a formal outline Let your reader know where you are
going in your introduction using about 3 sentences Conclusionshort
but not repetitive; leave your reader with something to think
about, a final thought Slide 11 Usually results in a typical essay
AP readers are not looking for typical Often get 4-5 as scores
because they dont 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. Slide 12 Work the prompt: what is the question? Read the
prompt again: circle clues or key elementswho 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. Slide 13 Strategies Organization Point of view
Diction Syntax including strategies like parallelism, antimetabole,
anaphora, etc. Literary elements Focus of most prompts Authors
purpose Intended or probable effect Authors tone Slide 14 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 Slide
15 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 Slide 16
Read prompt and underline key instructions and terms Support,
refute, or qualify based on 3+ sources Dont try to use all of the
sources; determine as you read which sources agree and which refute
Slide 17 Remember that this is persuasive Determine as you read
which sources agree and disagree Underline points that support your
position Slide 18 Imagery Hyperbole/understatement Simile
Metaphor/extended metaphor Symbol Paradox Bombastoverly pompous
language Slide 19 Circumlocutiontalking around a word or subject
Make your points and back them up with evidence Draw your
conclusions clearly Slide 20 Verbal ironysarcastic sometimes,
saying one thing but meaning something else Satiresomething is
portrayed in a way thats deliberately distorted to achieve comic or
bitter effect Slide 21 Antithesisbalanced pair of opposites
Antimetabolebalanced pair of rearranged words Asyndetonabsence of
conjunctions Polysyndetonoveruse of conjunctions
Epistropherepetition of word or words at end of sentences/phrases
Anaphorarepetition of word or words at beginning of
sentences/phrases Slide 22
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/english-
language-released-exam-2007-scoring-worksheet.pdf
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/english-
language-released-exam-2007-scoring-worksheet.pdf AP SCORE
QUALIFICATION 5 Extremely well quali ed 4 Well quali ed 3 quali ed
2 Possibly quali 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. Slide 23 Friday May 9 8a.m. Slide 24 Exam Information Exam
Information Course Description (Page 1-48) Course Description
