Tips on getting a 5 in AP Lang and Comp?

CTMorris1999
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 20:32:38 +0000

Here’s some specific advice for each essay

SYNTHESIS: I like to read the docs first before doing any essays, even if I don’t do synthesis first, so my mind can kind of let my ideas simmer. After annotating the question, I read each doc and I underline maybe 3-5 key phrases, and then I write a little blurb at the top of the document. Once I finish, I try to see which documents will work best in a cohesive essay, and then I pick which 3 (don’t do less than 3 and not get credit, but don’t go overboard and do 6, b/c you won’t get any bonus points…it’ll probably just hurt your essay.) I identify which 3, and come up with a central idea and outline with which three I use, and move to whatever essay I’m gonna write first.

My essays typically follow this structure:

1. Intro- why is this issue important. Transition into thesis at the end of paragraph

2. Body 1- I have a topic sentence, I incorporate Doc 1 ( I don’t use actual quotes, just the ideas expressed, and i cite it.) Transition and incorporate doc 2

3. Body 2- Topic sentence. Generally I try to expand or extend my idea into something broader. Incorporate Doc 3

4. Closing paragraph- I try to write a paragraph just to tie my ideas together. Only about 2-3 sentences long…don’t wanna waste time

RHET ANALYSIS: I annotate the passage, specifically looking for rhetorical devices (see why these are important to know!) and I get a feel for the general idea behind the passage. Then I look over the devices I’ve found, and I try to find at least two examples of each device. The examples I find MUST have something to do with the question, or author’s purpose for writing. Alliteration is a rhetorical device, but it’s a stretch to say that this stylistic choice has any real purpose in a speech or letter.

Structure:

1. Intro- Why was this written, define purpose, etc, anything relevant to note. Transition into thesis. Try to extend argument beyond what is being said.

2. Body 1- Strategy 1, identify it (I do quote these as evidence) and explain how it contributes to argument. Ex: diction- the author includes x diction (use a strong adjective) to highlight blah blah blah.

3. Body 2- Strategy 2, same as body one. I typically don’t do 3 body paragraphs, bc I do a really in-depth analysis in each of my 2 bodies.

4. Conclusion- nothing too long

ARGUMENT: I try to come up with evidence from from the same field. Ex: if I choose to write an essay using example history in one paragraph, I won’t switch to literature in the middle of the essay, and end with politics. Keep one topic to support a cohesive argument. And make them somewhat connected to each other. Don’t do US slavery and then great depression. For example in my actual essay, I did US government in encouraging military affairs, and in the first body, I discussed propaganda for WWI recruiting, and in the second body, I did the US exploiting 9/11 to support war on terrorism. The more related, the better. Be sure to connect evidence back to a central argument

Structure:

1. Intro- sometimes I like to begin with an abstract idea not necessarily related to my evidence to start. One essay, I began with “In mathematics, when two positives are multiplied, the resulting number is still positive; however, when a positive is multiplied by a negative, the answer is negative, no matter the magnitude of either respective number.” The prompt was something about how its dangerous to be right when people in power are in the wrong. Just be sure you connect the abstract idea back to the prompt. End with a thesis

2. Body 1- Evidence 1. Be sure to focus on explaining the evidence’s relevance to the topic

3. Body 2- Evidence 2. Same as 1…except try to extend out to a broader idea if possible.

4. Conclusion.

Sorry for my long spill, I hope this is helpful.

If you want, be sure to message me, and I’ll show you my essays that I wrote for the 2017 AP exam (our teacher gets our essays back, so I can send you these if you want them). Any other questions, feel free to ask!