Hi,
I have written about 3 timed writings for the argument essay so far and keep consistently scoring around 5. I have been reading online essays, improving vocab, but my score isn’t improving so far. Would anyone who has taken Ap lang or is taking it give me some suggestions or tips on what I should do to improve my essay and what I should be including in my essays.Thanks.
Writing a good essay is hard in general, especially because all teachers have a different grading style, preference, and may take a subjective view, even when they try not to. I had an extremely hard English adv. teacher last year that was almost impossible to get an A on essays, but man, did it help me learn to write. I’m now in AP Lang, pulling off a high A with As on the last four essays I wrote.
It really, really, truly takes practice. It’s going to take low scores and tons of feedback to improve. Ask your teacher if you can go over your essay one on one and see what you can improve, what you need to add, because writing an essay is so broad. There’s so many things to do wrong and to do right. I can only give you vague guidelines:
Familiarize yourself with rhetorical devices and how to use/argue with them for your essay (important). Include EVIDENCE of course, tons of it, but relevant evidence. Be concise – this is important. Being concise is strong in an essay. Take out all unnecessary phrases and fluffy language, replace two words with maybe one word, cut down on run-on sentences . . . Vagueness can dock you off points; you may think you’re not being vague, but you may still be doing it. Simply stating, “The author uses pathos to sway the emotions of the audience”, for example, is way too vague. Always try to find loopholes in your essay. Think of how your teacher might counter your argument and make sure they CAN’T.
Your thesis should always go at the end of the intro, and beginning of the conclusion. Your introduction should be setting up the question you are answering with your thesis, and your conclusion shouldn’t just be a summary of your thesis. It synthesizes main points, AND tells us why should we even care. (Don’t say “This is important because . . . .”).
Most importantly, be strong on your argument. Don’t waver or be vague because you’re afraid your answer ‘might be wrong’. You’re wrong if you waver or write vague, anyway, so might as well be strong on your position.
Again, this is probably advice you’ve heard of before, because essay skills are personal. Talk with your teacher!