Which is better to write: a "beautiful" or "straightforward" essay?

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
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1

<p>AP Lang</p>

<p>I know that your points when answering the prompt should be clear but is it better to sacrifice more “beautiful and fancy” diction in order to be more straightforward and concise (possibly using simpler words and sentence structures)? I would love to incorporate both but it just takes a little too much time for me to grasp the right word, and that may be a minute too much.</p>

<p>Like today I was trying to think of the word “materialize” for one of my essays but I just could not remember it, even though I “felt” it. Haha, you know… when a word is at the tip of your tongue.</p>

<p>I just want to know what to focus on. Being able to convey my point in an effective, albeit bland essay or using colorful language that might potentially risk obscuring my point a little (ie. you might have to re-read the sentence to fully grasp it, even though it correctly says basically the same thing as the bland, straightforward sentence).</p>

2

<p>I think they expect ‘beautiful’, or as they say it, mature prose to get the 8s and 9s… but it’s hard to pull off well and consistently.</p>

3

<p>I’d focus on writing a straightforward essay with colorful prose and interesting examples/support.</p>

4

<p>Just write stuff that sounds pretty in the intro paragraph. They only skim the rest so just make sure that it fits your thesis and make the closing sentence in each paragraph sound nice.</p>

5

<p>Control the essay. Take the opportunity to write with style, but don’t worry about trying to make it pretty over deep thought. The clarity and depth is what gets you to an 8. A 9 is an 8 that is prettier. a 7 is a pretty 6.</p>

6

<p>If the way that you’re writing is obscuring your point, then don’t do it. When you use “beautiful and fancy” diction you should be using it to make your point clearer, not ambiguous and hard to follow. Use a “fancy” word because it is more concise and more clearly conveys what you’re trying to communicate (i.e. “synthesize” versus “make”). If you use such a word without having a need for it, then it won’t help your writing.</p>

<p>With that said, I ALWAYS focus on simply getting my point across when it comes to things like timed essays. An essay that is very well thought out with insightful points can get you an 8 even if the voice and style is lacking, but a stylistic essay with great word choice cannot get you an 8 if your content is shallow and lacking insight.</p>