(40 minutes recommended per essay)
3 free response questions
55%
AP English Literature multiple-choice questions are grouped in sets. You will be given 5 passages or poems to read, with 8-13 multiple-choice questions to assess your reading comprehension. Each multiple-choice question has 5 answer choices (A through E). That’s a lot of reading then recalling, understanding, and interpreting. Use your time effectively and wisely!
AP scores are reported from 1 to 5. Colleges are generally looking for a 4 or 5 on the AP English Literature exam, but some may grant credit for a 3. (Here's a quick overview of AP credit policy .) Each test is curved so scores vary from year to year. Here’s how AP English Lit students scored on the May 2022 test:
|
|
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5 | Extremely qualified | 16.9% |
4 | Well qualified | 27.3% |
3 | Qualified | 33.7% |
2 | Possibly qualified | 14.1% |
1 | No recommendation | 7.9% |
Source: College Board
AP classes are great, but for many students they’re not enough! For a thorough review of AP English Literature content and strategy, pick the AP prep option that works best for your goals and learning style.
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Writing is central to the AP English courses and exams. Both courses have two goals: to provide you with opportunities to become skilled, mature, critical readers, and to help you to develop into practiced, logical, clear, and honest writers. In AP English, writing is taught as “process”—that is, thinking, planning, drafting the text, then reviewing, discussing, redrafting, editing, polishing, and finishing it. It’s also important that AP students learn to write “on call” or “on demand.” Learning to write critical or expository essays on call takes time and practice.
Here are some key guidelines to remember in learning to write a critical essay:
If you acquire these skills—organizing ideas, marshalling evidence, being logical in analysis, and using the text judiciously—you should have little trouble writing your essays on the AP Exam. Practice in other kinds of writing—narrative, argument, exposition, and personal writing—all have their place alongside practice in writing on demand.
As you study and practice writing, consider the following points.
Reading and writing are intertwined. When you read what published authors have written you are immersed not just in their ideas, but in the pulsing of their sentences and the aptness of their diction. The more you read, the more that the rhythm of the English language will be available to influence your writing. Reading is not a substitute for writing, but it does help lay the foundation that makes good writing possible.
When you have penned what you think is a great sentence or a clean, logical paragraph, read it over to yourself out loud. Enjoy it. Delight in the ideas, savor the diction, and let the phrases and clauses roll around in your mind. Claim it as part of your self. You may discover you have a voice worthy of respect.
He is reputed to have said that he never knew clearly what it was he thought until he spoke it; and once he had said it, he never knew clearly what it was that he said until he had written it down. Then, Forster noted, he could play with it and give it final form. Be like Forster: think, speak, write, analyze your writing, then give it final shape.
Think of them as elements that you can order to clean up your ideas, to sharpen your statements, to make your words and sentences glisten and stick.
Writers and critical readers have a “technical vocabulary” they use when talking about the language of drama, poetry, and fiction. Compile a list of such words. Notice writing that uses such vocabulary. Here are some of the words you should already know: syntax, tone, rhetoric, attitude, antecedent, denouement, exposition, climax, atmosphere, voice, speaker, stock character, thesis, ideology, persuasion, paradox, allusion, ambivalence, syllogism, and aphorism.
Your teachers may specify an audience that you are supposed to keep in mind when writing a paper. Most of us in daily life are not writing for a particular person or audience, but rather for someone called “the general reader.” The general reader is someone, anyone, who possesses an average intelligence and has a fairly sound general education. This general reader is interested in the events of the day and in the world as a whole. He or she has a good measure of sympathy for humankind, appreciates the happy as well as the unhappy accidents of life. This reader also is blessed with a good sense of humor and the ability to listen to others; to writers like you, in fact. Keep the general reader in mind when you write.
Pay close attention to the task verbs used in the free-response questions. Each one directs you to complete a specific type of response. Here are the task verbs you’ll see on the exam:
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March 30, 2024
AP Lit Prose Essay Examples – The College Board’s Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Course is one of the most enriching experiences that high school students can have. It exposes you to literature that most people don’t encounter until college , and it helps you develop analytical and critical thinking skills that will enhance the quality of your life, both inside and outside of school. The AP Lit Exam reflects the rigor of the course. The exam uses consistent question types, weighting, and scoring parameters each year . This means that, as you prepare for the exam, you can look at previous questions, responses, score criteria, and scorer commentary to help you practice until your essays are perfect.
In AP Literature, you read books, short stories, and poetry, and you learn how to commit the complex act of literary analysis . But what does that mean? Well, “to analyze” literally means breaking a larger idea into smaller and smaller pieces until the pieces are small enough that they can help us to understand the larger idea. When we’re performing literary analysis, we’re breaking down a piece of literature into smaller and smaller pieces until we can use those pieces to better understand the piece of literature itself.
So, for example, let’s say you’re presented with a passage from a short story to analyze. The AP Lit Exam will ask you to write an essay with an essay with a clear, defensible thesis statement that makes an argument about the story, based on some literary elements in the short story. After reading the passage, you might talk about how foreshadowing, allusion, and dialogue work together to demonstrate something essential in the text. Then, you’ll use examples of each of those three literary elements (that you pull directly from the passage) to build your argument. You’ll finish the essay with a conclusion that uses clear reasoning to tell your reader why your argument makes sense.
But what’s the point of all of this? Why do they ask you to write these essays?
Well, the essay is, once again, testing your ability to conduct literary analysis. However, the thing that you’re also doing behind that literary analysis is a complex process of both inductive and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning takes a series of points of evidence and draws a larger conclusion. Deductive reasoning departs from the point of a broader premise and draws a singular conclusion. In an analytical essay like this one, you’re using small pieces of evidence to draw a larger conclusion (your thesis statement) and then you’re taking your thesis statement as a larger premise from which you derive your ultimate conclusion.
So, the exam scorers are looking at your ability to craft a strong thesis statement (a singular sentence that makes an argument), use evidence and reasoning to support that argument, and then to write the essay well. This is something they call “sophistication,” but they’re looking for well-organized thoughts carried through clear, complete sentences.
This entire process is something you can and will use throughout your life. Law, engineering, medicine—whatever pursuit, you name it—utilizes these forms of reasoning to run experiments, build cases, and persuade audiences. The process of this kind of clear, analytical thinking can be honed, developed, and made easier through repetition.
Because the AP Literature Exam maintains continuity across the years, you can pull old exam copies, read the passages, and write responses. A good AP Lit teacher is going to have you do this time and time again in class until you have the formula down. But, it’s also something you can do on your own, if you’re interested in further developing your skills.
Let’s take a look at some examples of questions, answers and scorer responses that will help you to get a better idea of how to craft your own AP Literature exam essays.
In the exam in 2023, students were asked to read a poem by Alice Cary titled “Autumn,” which was published in 1874. In it, the speaker contemplates the start of autumn. Then, students are asked to craft a well-written essay which uses literary techniques to convey the speaker’s complex response to the changing seasons.
The following is an essay that received a perfect 6 on the exam. There are grammar and usage errors throughout the essay, which is important to note: even though the writer makes some mistakes, the structure and form of their argument was strong enough to merit a 6. This is what your scorers will be looking for when they read your essay.
Romantic and hyperbolic imagery is used to illustrate the speaker’s unenthusiastic opinion of the coming of autumn, which conveys Cary’s idea that change is difficult to accept but necessary for growth.
Romantic imagery is utilized to demonstrate the speaker’s warm regard for the season of summer and emphasize her regretfulness for autumn’s coming, conveying the uncomfortable change away from idyllic familiarity. Summer, is portrayed in the image of a woman who “from her golden collar slips/and strays through stubble fields/and moans aloud.” Associated with sensuality and wealth, the speaker implies the interconnection between a season and bounty, comfort, and pleasure. Yet, this romantic view is dismantled by autumn, causing Summer to “slip” and “stray through stubble fields.” Thus, the coming of real change dethrones a constructed, romantic personification of summer, conveying the speaker’s reluctance for her ideal season to be dethroned by something much less decorated and adored.
Summer, “she lies on pillows of the yellow leaves,/ And tries the old tunes for over an hour”, is contrasted with bright imagery of fallen leaves/ The juxtaposition between Summer’s character and the setting provides insight into the positivity of change—the yellow leaves—by its contrast with the failures of attempting to sustain old habits or practices, “old tunes”. “She lies on pillows” creates a sympathetic, passive image of summer in reaction to the coming of Autumn, contrasting her failures to sustain “old tunes.” According to this, it is understood that the speaker recognizes the foolishness of attempting to prevent what is to come, but her wishfulness to counter the natural progression of time.
Hyperbolic imagery displays the discrepancies between unrealistic, exaggerated perceptions of change and the reality of progress, continuing the perpetuation of Cary’s idea that change must be embraced rather than rejected. “Shorter and shorter now the twilight clips/The days, as though the sunset gates they crowd”, syntax and diction are used to literally separate different aspects of the progression of time. In an ironic parallel to the literal language, the action of twilight’s “clip” and the subject, “the days,” are cut off from each other into two different lines, emphasizing a sense of jarring and discomfort. Sunset, and Twilight are named, made into distinct entities from the day, dramatizing the shortening of night-time into fall. The dramatic, sudden implications for the change bring to mind the switch between summer and winter, rather than a transitional season like fall—emphasizing the Speaker’s perspective rather than a factual narration of the experience.
She says “the proud meadow-pink hangs down her head/Against the earth’s chilly bosom, witched with frost”. Implying pride and defeat, and the word “witched,” the speaker brings a sense of conflict, morality, and even good versus evil into the transition between seasons. Rather than a smooth, welcome change, the speaker is practically against the coming of fall. The hyperbole present in the poem serves to illustrate the Speaker’s perspective and ideas on the coming of fall, which are characterized by reluctance and hostility to change from comfort.
The topic of this poem, Fall–a season characterized by change and the deconstruction of the spring and summer landscape—is juxtaposed with the final line which evokes the season of Spring. From this, it is clear that the speaker appreciates beautiful and blossoming change. However, they resent that which destroys familiar paradigms and norms. Fall, seen as the death of summer, is characterized as a regression, though the turning of seasons is a product of the literal passage of time. Utilizing romantic imagery and hyperbole to shape the Speaker’s perspective, Cary emphasizes the need to embrace change though it is difficult, because growth is not possible without hardship or discomfort.
When it comes to scoring well, there are some rather formulaic things that the judges are searching for. You might think that it’s important to “stand out” or “be creative” in your writing. However, aside from concerns about “sophistication,” which essentially means you know how to organize thoughts into sentences and you can use language that isn’t entirely elementary, you should really focus on sticking to a form. This will show the scorers that you know how to follow that inductive/deductive reasoning process that we mentioned earlier, and it will help to present your ideas in the most clear, coherent way possible to someone who is reading and scoring hundreds of essays.
So, how did this essay succeed? And how can you do the same thing?
On the exam, you can either get one point or zero points for your thesis statement. The scorers said, “The essay responds to the prompt with a defensible thesis located in the introductory paragraph,” which you can read as the first sentence in the essay. This is important to note: you don’t need a flowery hook to seduce your reader; you can just start this brief essay with some strong, simple, declarative sentences—or go right into your thesis.
What makes a good thesis? A good thesis statement does the following things:
If you’re sitting here scratching your head wondering how you come up with a thesis statement off the top of your head, let me give you one piece of advice: don’t.
The AP Lit scoring criteria gives you only one point for the thesis for a reason: they’re just looking for the presence of a defensible claim that can be proven by evidence in the rest of the essay.
While the thesis is given one point, the form and content of the essay can receive anywhere from zero to four points. This is where you should place the bulk of your focus.
My best advice goes like this:
It will seem a little counterintuitive: like you’re writing your essay from the inside out. But this is a fundamental skill that will help you in college and beyond. Don’t come up with an argument out of thin air and then try to find evidence to support your claim. Look for the evidence that exists and then ask yourself what it all means. This will also keep you from feeling stuck or blocked at the beginning of the essay. If you prepare for the exam by reviewing the literary devices that you learned in the course and practice locating them in a text, you can quickly and efficiently read a literary passage and choose two or three literary devices that you can analyze.
Once you’ve located two or three literary devices at work in the given passage, use scratch paper to draw up a quick outline. Give each literary device a major bullet point. Then, briefly point to the quotes/evidence you’ll use in the essay. Finally, start to think about what the literary device and evidence are doing together. Try to answer the question: what meaning does this bring to the passage?
A sample outline for one paragraph of the above essay might look like this:
Romantic imagery
Portrayal of summer
Contrast with Autumn
Recognition of change in a positive light
Speaker recognizes: she can’t prevent what is to come; wishes to embrace natural passage of time
By the time the writer gets to the end of the outline for their paragraph, they can easily start to draw conclusions about the paragraph based on the evidence they have pulled out. You can see how that thinking might develop over the course of the outline.
Then, the speaker would take the conclusions they’ve drawn and write a “mini claim” that will start each paragraph. The final bullet point of this outline isn’t the same as the mini claim that comes at the top of the second paragraph of the essay, however, it is the conclusion of the paragraph. You would do well to use the concluding thoughts from your outline as the mini claim to start your body paragraph. This will make your paragraphs clear, concise, and help you to construct a coherent argument.
Repeat this process for the other one or two literary devices that you’ve chosen to analyze, and then: take a step back.
Once you quickly sketch out your outline, take a moment to “stand back” and see what you’ve drafted. You’ll be able to see that, among your two or three literary devices, you can draw some commonality. You might be able to say, as the writer did here, that romantic and hyperbolic imagery “illustrate the speaker’s unenthusiastic opinion of the coming of autumn,” ultimately illuminating the poet’s idea “that change is difficult to accept but necessary for growth.”
This is an original argument built on the evidence accumulated by the student. It directly answers the prompt by discussing literary techniques that “convey the speaker’s complex response to the changing seasons.” Remember to go back to the prompt and see what direction they want you to head with your thesis, and craft an argument that directly speaks to that prompt.
Then, move ahead to finish your body paragraphs and conclusion.
In this essay, the writer examines the use of two literary devices that are supported by multiple pieces of evidence. The first is “romantic imagery” and the second is “hyperbolic imagery.” The writer dedicates one paragraph to each idea. You should do this, too.
This is why it’s important to choose just two or three literary devices. You really don’t have time to dig into more. Plus, more ideas will simply cloud the essay and confuse your reader.
Using your outline, start each body paragraph with a “mini claim” that makes an argument about what it is you’ll be saying in your paragraph. Lay out your pieces of evidence, then provide commentary for why your evidence proves your point about that literary device.
Move onto the next literary device, rinse, and repeat.
Finally, you’ll want to end this brief essay with a concluding paragraph that restates your thesis, briefly touches on your most important points from each body paragraph, and includes a development of the argument that you laid out in the essay.
In this particular example essay, the writer concludes by saying, “Utilizing romantic imagery and hyperbole to shape the Speaker’s perspective, Cary emphasizes the need to embrace change though it is difficult, because growth is not possible without hardship or discomfort.” This is a direct restatement of the thesis. At this point, you’ll have reached the end of your essay. Great work!
A final note on scoring criteria: there is one point awarded to what the scoring criteria calls “sophistication.” This is evidenced by the sophistication of thought and providing a nuanced literary analysis, which we’ve already covered in the steps above.
There are some things to avoid, however:
Remember to develop your argument with nuance and complexity and to write in a style that is academic but appropriate for the task at hand.
If you want more practice or to check out other exams from the past, go to the College Board’s website .
After earning a BA in Journalism and an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa, Brittany spent five years as a full-time lecturer in the Rhetoric Department at the University of Iowa. Additionally, she’s held previous roles as a researcher, full-time daily journalist, and book editor. Brittany’s work has been featured in The Iowa Review, The Hopkins Review, and the Pittsburgh City Paper, among others, and she was also a 2021 Pushcart Prize nominee.
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Ap english literature and composition course and exam description.
This is the core document for the course.
Starting in the 2024-25 school year, AP English Literature and Composition multiple-choice questions (MCQs) will have four answer choices instead of five. This change will take effect with the 2025 exam. All resources have been updated to reflect this change.
AP English Literature and Composition is an introductory college-level literary analysis course. Students cultivate their understanding of literature through reading and analyzing texts as they explore concepts like character, setting, structure, perspective, figurative language, and literary analysis in the context of literary works.
This is the core document for this course. Unit guides clearly lay out the course content and skills and recommend sequencing and pacing for them throughout the year.
Ap english literature and composition course overview.
This resource provides a succinct description of the course and exam.
Learn more about the CED in this interactive walk-through.
Excerpted from the AP English Literature and Composition Course and Exam Description, the Course at a Glance document outlines the topics and skills covered in the AP English Literature and Composition course, along with suggestions for sequencing.
Learn the similarities and differences between these two courses and exams.
The course content is organized into units that have been arranged in a logical sequence. This sequence has been developed through feedback from educators as well as analysis of high school and college courses and textbooks. The units in AP English Literature and Composition scaffold skills and knowledge through three genre-based, recurring units. This course framework provides a description of what students should know and be able to do to qualify for college credit or placement.
The AP English Literature and Composition curriculum is made up of nine units. Teachers have the flexibility to organize the course content as they like.
Units 1, 4, and 7: Short Fiction | 42%–49% |
Units 2, 5, and 8: Poetry | 36%–45% |
Units 3, 6, and 9: Longer Fiction or Drama | 15%–18% |
The AP English Literature and Composition framework included in the course and exam description outlines distinct skills that students should practice throughout the year—skills that will help them learn to read texts critically.
Explain the function of character. | 16%–20% |
Explain the function of setting. | 3%–6% |
Explain the function of plot and structure. | 16%–20% |
Explain the function of the narrator or speaker. | 21%–26% |
Explain the function of word choice, imagery, and symbols. | 10%–13% |
Explain the function of comparison. | 10%–13% |
Develop textually substantiated arguments about interpretations of a part or all of a text. | 10%–13% |
Higher education professionals play a key role in developing AP courses and exams, setting credit and placement policies, and scoring student work. The AP Higher Education section features information on recruitment and admission, advising and placement, and more.
This chart shows recommended scores for granting credit, and how much credit should be awarded, for each AP course. Your students can look up credit and placement policies for colleges and universities on the AP Credit Policy Search .
The AP Program is unique in its reliance on Development Committees. These committees, made up of an equal number of college faculty and experienced secondary AP teachers from across the country, are essential to the preparation of AP course curricula and exams.
Nervous about the 'free response prompt' on AP Lit? Don't be. We broke it down into manageable steps!
This year, if you’re taking the AP English Literature exam, you’ll be responsible for responding to three questions, which the College Board calls “free response prompts.” First , you’ll write a literary analysis of a poem. Second, you’ll write a literary analysis of a piece of fiction, which could be an excerpt from a play. Third , you’ll analyze a major literary aspect—a theme or a literary device, for example—of a literary work of your choosing.
The last of these prompts attracts perhaps the most attention and, by extension, produces the most anxiety among students. Anyone would admit that such a capacious (‘open, roomy’) question is challenging, especially when a year of AP Lit has taught you to focus on the details of the book you’re reading. And it certainly doesn’t help that this question comes at the very end of the essay, and you and your fingers are about as tired as they could possibly be!
But if you approach the prompt with enthusiasm, it can be the cherry on top of your exam, not the straw that breaks the camel’s back (getting creative with metaphors is always important in AP Lit!).
Here are five tips to help you write a great essay response to the third prompt on the AP Lit exam.
Wait a minute—you can write about anything under the sun, as long as the College Board defines it as “a work of literary merit?” How is that even possible? In truth, your evaluators are using this prompt as a way to gauge your analytical abilities no matter the text. You’re not going to be judged for the work you select, as long as it’s substantial enough to ensure your analysis can be rich and meaningful. A good rule to live by: if a work pops into your head and you don’t immediately have at least a few different ideas for how to answer the prompt with it, toss it out of your brainstorming process. You want to find a work that is challenging and complex in order to show that you’re capable of effectively analyzing such works.
You have two main options for selecting the perfect work, both equally effective. The first is probably the most common: choose a book, play, or other literary work you read in AP Lit. Because you read it in class, you will almost surely be familiar with its themes and literary devices. Your second option is to pick a work you’ve read on your own, which could be anything from a novel you adored over summer break or the Shakespeare play you starred in at school. We recommend creating a short list of works you’d like to write about before you take your AP Lit exam, just to have your options at hand. As you’ve learned to do in class, consider each work’s rhetorical situation. This way, if you’re on the fence about whether a work is really “of literary merit,” you can ask your teacher or someone else in the know for an expert second opinion!
You don’t know what the third free-response prompt will be, but you know that it will be! The College Board’s AP Lit exam page is only one of a gazillion easily accessible resources online that compile prompts from past years and devise hypothetical ones, too. These are great places to look. In the weeks leading up to the exam, we recommend selecting three to seven prompts—the more diverse in content, the better—and practicing with your list of works of literary merit. We recommend practicing with a work no more than two or three times—it’s great to know a text inside and out, but you don’t want to be a one-trick pony in case the prompt on the exam doesn’t lend itself to an essay about that text.
Whether for AP exams , the SAT , or the ACT , you’ve heard the dictum a million times—outlines make better essays, even when your time feels extremely limited! When it’s time for the test, this can feel a little bit trite, but we challenge you to find one soul in the grand history of the AP English Literature exam who hasn’t benefited from creating even a rough outline. This is the place where your reasoning and organization come alive. We recommend devoting 5-7 minutes to your outline—the lower end if you’re confident you know the text inside and out and just need to nail down your claims and evidence, and the higher end if you need to jog your memory and give your thesis a bit more time to gestate.
What should your outline include? Keep it clear and concise. You definitely want to write your thesis; plan the topics of your body paragraphs, including potential topic sentences; and—a helpful, oft-forgotten third part—remind yourself why the work you’ve chosen is the best for the prompt. This last part won’t be formally integrated into your essay, but it’s extremely helpful as you try to stay focused and pointed while writing what can feel like an impossible broad essay.
The third free-response prompt, and the AP Lit exam in general, is extremely structured. It can feel downright constricting. The little-known truth about the last essay is that it’s the most creative part of the whole exam. You not only get to choose the prompt, but within the roughly five-paragraph structure of the essay you’re penning, you get to be quite creative with what you say in each paragraph. There are so many ways to explain to your readers how, say, a symbol illuminates an important theme in a text. We find this knowledge incredibly liberating; paired wisely with the organization that the outline and the essay require, this creative approach can lead to a top-notch essay.
We’ve all been there—time is nearly up, you’ve put the period at the end of your conclusion, and now it’s time to make sure you haven’t written an incoherent jumble of nothingness. This is the last, crucial step before handing in your AP Lit exam and never reading again (just kidding!)
Because you’re so exhausted from hours of test-taking, proofreading your third free-response essay can feel like a chore—a hurdle you have to jump to reach the finish line. But it can also be an opportunity to make sure your argument, your analysis, and your claims and evidence are coherent . We don’t mean that you should restructure your thesis—there isn’t time for that, and we’re sure it’s great, anyway!—but we encourage you to make sure that every sentence is as clear, concise, and (reasonably) creative as possible. Proofreading is the time to read every sentence with a fundamental question in the back of your head: What is this sentence doing, and what are the words that form it doing? If something feels like it’s not pulling its weight, don’t hesitate—change or delete it. Now that you’ve nailed the bigger picture, you must demand only the best from the details.
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How to approach ap® english literature free-response questions.
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What content is covered in the free-response section of ap® english literature.
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Focus on critical reading, utilize your syllabus, take notes as you read, carefully consider principal ideas, explore the context, read out loud, reread when necessary, consult your dictionary, thesaurus or encyclopedia, write, review, and rewrite regularly, how to answer ap® english literature free-response questions.
Outline your essay, write clearly and eloquently, what are ap® english literature free-response questions like.
Looking for ap® english literature practice, interested in a school license, 2 thoughts on “how to approach ap® english literature free-response questions”.
Are you expected to have read the actual work previously for free response question #1 and #2? (For instance, would the test writers expect you have read Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) for 2016 essay?)
Can you still pull out score 5, even if you haven’t read the work before and write your response solely based on the given passage?
Hi Jen, you would not have had to have read the passage before. You’d be expected to be able to interpret from the passage provided — this is how they assess you on your analysis skills.
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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, writing an ap lit literary argument essay: what are the key elements.
Hi! I'm taking AP Lit this year and I need some help with the literary argument essay. Can someone give me some guidance on the key elements I need to include, like thesis statement, evidence, structure, etc., to have a strong essay? Thank you so much!
Hey! Here are some key elements to include in your essay for a strong result:
1. Introduction: Start with a hook to engage the reader. Introduce the work you'll be discussing (including the title and author). Provide any necessary context or background info.
2. Thesis statement: In a clear, concise sentence, state your overall argument or claim. This should appear towards the end of your introduction.
3. Body paragraphs: In each body paragraph, present a specific point that supports your thesis. Begin with a topic sentence, provide textual evidence (like quotes), and then analyze the significance of that evidence. Make sure to connect each point back to your thesis.
4. Structure: Make sure your essay follows a logical structure. Each paragraph should flow smoothly into the next, and your ideas should be organized in a coherent manner.
5. Conclusion: Restate your thesis (in slightly different words) and summarize your main points. Finish your essay with a final thought that connects your argument to a broader context or theme.
Good luck with your essay, and I hope this helps!
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by Heather Garcia
Many students are far too familiar with multiple-choice tests and they know, relatively, what to expect when they sit down to take one. Even though the AP ® English Literature Exam has multiple-choice questions that are a little more intense than other tests, it is still, at its core, a multiple-choice test. For many kids, that isn’t too scary. (But seriously, all literature and no non-fiction can be a bit daunting, especially when you hit those sonnets. Phew!)
When taking the AP ® English Literature exam, the part that intimidates many students is the Free-Response section. In other terms, the essay section. The AP ® English Literature exam has an essay section where you get the opportunity to show the readers, AP ® English Literature teachers and college professors from around the nation, what you can do. The readers are looking to see how well you read, how well you think, and how well you write in a timed setting. This is your chance to prove to the world (or to the readers) that you have thoughtfully prepared for this exam and you are ready for college-level literary analysis.
The AP ® readers are not expecting perfection in the essays you write. You are writing under a time constraint and the readers are completely aware of this. However, they do expect you to write three essays in two hours, spending approximately 40 minutes on each essay. The three essays are quite different, so it helps to start preparing early for each type of essay. Timed essay writing can certainly improve, but only with repeated practice and constructive feedback (or intense analysis of previously-scores samples).
The three essay types that you will be asked to write are: poetry analysis , prose analysis , and a literary argument .
For each essay that you write, it is my suggestion that you annotate the prompt. Read the prompt once. Then read it again and annotate how many separate tasks the prompt is asking you to perform. Sometimes you only need to identify the purpose and the devices being used. Sometimes there are four components of the prompt you need to address. Either way, number them so you can be certain when you are writing that you aren’t leaving anything important out.
Beyond that, each of the three essays requires a slightly different approach during the testing period. Below you will find specific suggestions for each one:
In this essay, you will be given a poem that you most likely have never read. I am surprised every year by which poem the test writers choose. They work diligently to ensure that they find poems that are rich in interpretive opportunities and that are not frequently included in textbook anthologies. They want students to have an interpretation that isn’t filtered through a textbook company or a teacher. They want thought and analysis from you, the student.
When you approach this essay, it is best to read and annotate the prompt, but also to give the poem a solid first read before you try to do any interpretation. On the first read-through, check to see if you can determine the tone, the purpose, and a general gist of what the poem is about. Then go back and re-read the prompt and poem again. In this read-through, you should start underlining and circling, making quick notes about what you notice so that you have fodder to write about. This should take you about 7-8 minutes.
The next step is to complete a quick, and I mean quick , outline. I use the word outline loosely. This could be a scribbled list of topics you want to cover with arrows pointing to the textual evidence you plan to use. It could be a brain map with lines and bubbles and arrows. It could be just placing numbers beside your annotations so you know what order you want to tackle them in. Regardless of the method you choose, it is important that you choose one. So many students think they are beyond pre-planning for an essay, and sadly, it shows. The essays lack the finesse that they could have had if they had taken the three or four minutes to jot down a map of where the essay was headed.
The final step is to write the essay. This part should take about 30 minutes. It may seem like an impossible task, but with a specific direction to head and with the poem already analyzed, the essay should flow smoothly. You aren’t writing a 200 page dissertation. You are writing a 2 to 4 page essay. In pen. In your best handwriting. Saving a few minutes at the end for proofreading. No problem. Right?
This is just the first essay. There are two more. (See why I said preparing early is key?)
This essay is similar to the poetry essay in many respects. You will be given a passage that you most likely have never seen before, and you must respond to a prompt asking you about it. The main difference is that this excerpt will not be a poem. It will be an excerpt from a novel, a short story, or a play. Again, most likely one you haven’t read or even heard of, but that is half the fun.
Similar to the poetry essay, you will begin by reading the prompt and annotating it, but for this essay, you most likely won’t have time to read the passage in its entirety twice.
You will want to annotate and respond to the prompt as you go. Speed is as essential as analysis. You don’t want to spend more than 10 minutes reading and making notes. You need to save 3 or 4 minutes for a pre-write, just like you did with the poetry prompt. Then, you will spend about 25 minutes writing. Quickly. I like that this essay is in the middle of the Free Response section of the test because even though you can write the essays in any order you choose, if you keep this one in the middle, your brain is already in analysis mode, your hands are warmed up, but not yet beyond achy, and this essay can run smoothly.
This, by far, is my favorite essay. This essay asks you to respond to an open prompt about a novel you read and analyzed deeply. College Board asks that you write about books that are worthy of college-level analysis and that you only write about a single book, but other than that, the options are open. College Board will provide you a list of book titles that would fit the prompt, but you are certainly not limited to that list.
Even though this essay appears last in the test packet, I always encourage my students to write this essay first. My students usually spend the last couple of weeks prior to the exam reviewing specific scenes from their favorite novels, refreshing themselves on the themes, symbols, and how to spell the characters’ names (you think I am kidding, but some of those names are tricky). When they get to the essay section, they feel like their brains are going to explode with all of the information, so they write this essay first. They get it out of the way before the other passages fill them up with more themes and symbols to contend with.
When writing this essay, it is still important to annotate the prompt and to make a pre-writing plan, but there is no text to cite from. You only have your brain. When you choose the book to write about, ensure that you include the full title and the author’s name in the introductory paragraph. Without that the reader is just guessing at your book. And don’t worry if you choose an obscure book. Your reader will most likely have read it. And if not, they will pass the essay on to someone who has read the book.
DO NOT spend time summarizing the plot of the book you choose. It is a waste of time and space and does nothing to influence your score positively. Instead, assume the reader has read your chosen book, and use a phrase to ground them in the plot before jumping into analysis. Instead of giving three sentences to describe a scene, just say, “in the part where Jane and Rochester kiss under the chestnut tree” or “in the section of the play where King Lear cuts Cordelia out of her inheritance.” Nothing more is needed that that. The readers will jump right into the plot with you.
You have to remember that the readers are there to reward what you do well, not bash you on the moments where you might mess up. On test day, it is important to remember to have fun with each of the essays. If you are enjoying the process of writing them, the readers will enjoy the process of reading them. Find interesting perspectives, make cogent observations, and dazzle the readers with your insight and thought-provoking arguments. But leading up to test day…PRACTICE!
While the AP ® English Literature free-response questions can be challenging, practicing will ease your stress on test day!
Heather Garcia is an English teacher at Charlotte High School, Florida, where she teaches AP English Literature and AP ® English Language. She is a professional development leader in her district, running annual new-teacher trainings and is now the Curriculum and Instructional Specialist for her district for grades 6-12. After 16 years of hands-on experience, Heather has developed a series of strategies to help her students navigate challenging texts. Her favorite book is the Steinbeck classic, East of Eden .
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So, I was told that apparently I have to write about 1000 words per essay on the English exam when each essay is like 40 minutes. I physically can't write that quick. Usually, I'd write like 400-600 words in that range. Is that bad? If so, around how many words should I aim for?
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Advanced Placement (AP)
With the 2023 AP English Language and Composition exam happening on Tuesday, May 9, it's time to make sure that you're familiar with all aspects of the exam. In this article, I'll give a brief overview of the test, do a deeper dive on each of the sections, discuss how the exam is scored, offer some strategies for studying, and finally wrap up with some essential exam day tips.
The AP Language and Composition exam tests your rhetorical and composition skills. Essentially, how do authors construct effective arguments in their writing? What tools do they use? How can you use those tools to craft effective writing yourself? That is the essence of rhetorical analysis.
The exam has two parts: the first section is an hour-long, 45 question multiple-choice section. It includes five sets of questions, each based on a passage or passages. In this section, there will be 23-25 rhetorical analysis questions which test your rhetorical skills. There will also be 20-22 writing questions which require you to consider revisions to the texts you're shown.
The second section is free response. It starts with a 15-minute reading period, and then you'll have 120 minutes to write three analytical essays:
You will have about 40 minutes to write each essay, but no one will prompt you to move from essay to essay—you can structure the 120 minutes as you wish.
In the next sections I'll go over each section of the exam more closely—first multiple choice, and then free response.
The multiple-choice section tests you on two main areas. The first is how well you can read and understand nonfiction passages for their use of rhetorical devices and tools. The second is how well you can "think like a writer" and make revisions to texts in composition questions.
You will be presented with five passages, about which you will receive a small amount of orienting information, e.g. "This passage is excerpted from a collection of essays on boating" or "This passage is excerpted from an essay written in 19th-century Haiti." Each passage will be followed by a set of questions.
There are, in general, eight question types you can expect to encounter on the multiple-choice section of the exam. I've taken my examples from the sample questions in the " Course and Exam Description ."
Magic eight-ball says there are eight types of multiple-choice questions!
These questions are focused on verifying that you understood what a certain part of the passage was saying on a concrete, literal level. You can identify these questions from phrases like "according to" "refers," etc. The best way to succeed on these questions is to go back and re-read the part of the passage referred to very carefully.
These questions take reading comprehension one step further—they are primarily focused on what the author is implying without directly coming out and saying it. These questions will have a correct answer, though, based on evidence from the passage. Which interpretation offered in the answers does the passage most support? You can identify questions like these from words like "best supported," ‘"implies," "suggests," "inferred," and so on.
These questions ask about overall elements of the passage or the author, such as the author's attitude on the issue discussed, the purpose of the passage, the passage's overarching style, the audience for the passage, and so on.
You can identify these questions because they won't refer back to a specific moment in the text. For these questions, you'll need to think of the passage from a "bird's-eye view" and consider what all of the small details together are combining to say.
Some questions will ask you to describe the relationship between two parts of the text, whether they are paragraphs or specific lines. You can identify these because they will usually explicitly ask about the relationship between two identified parts of the text, although sometimes they will instead ask about a relationship implicitly, by saying something like "compared to the rest of the passage."
These questions will ask you about the deeper meaning or implication of figurative language or imagery that is used in the text. Essentially, why did the author choose to use this simile or this metaphor? What is s/he trying to accomplish?
You can generally identify questions like this because the question will specifically reference a moment of figurative language in the text. However, it might not be immediately apparent that the phrase being referenced is figurative, so you may need to go back and look at it in the passage to be sure of what kind of question you are facing.
Still other questions will ask you to identify what purpose a particular part of the text serves in the author's larger argument. What is the author trying to accomplish with the particular moment in the text identified in the question?
You can identify these questions because they will generally explicitly ask what purpose a certain part of the text serves. You may also see words or phrases like "serves to" or "function."
These questions will ask you to identify a rhetorical strategy used by the author. They will often specifically use the phrase "rhetorical strategy," although sometimes you will be able to identify them instead through the answer choices, which offer different rhetorical strategies as possibilities.
This is the newest question type, first seen in the 2019/2020 school year. For these questions, the student will need to act as though they are the writer and think through different choices writers need to make when writing or revising text.
These questions can involve changing the order of sentences or paragraphs, adding or omitting information to strengthen an argument or improve clarity, making changes to draw reader attention, and other composition-based choices.
Some very important stylish effects going on here.
The free response section has a 15-minute reading period. After that time, you will have 120 minutes to write three essays that address three distinct tasks.
Because the first essay involves reading sources, it is suggested that you use the entire 15-minute reading period to read the sources and plan the first essay. However, you may want to glance at the other questions during the reading period so that ideas can percolate in the back of your mind as you work on the first essay.
For this essay, you will be briefly oriented on an issue and then given anywhere from six to seven sources that provide various perspectives and information on the issue. You will then need to write an argumentative essay with support from the documents.
If this sounds a lot like a DBQ , as on the history AP exams, that's because it is! However, this essay is much more argumentative in nature—your goal is to persuade, not merely interpret the documents.
Example (documents not included, see 2022 free response questions ):
In the second essay, you'll be presented with an excerpt from a nonfiction piece that advances an argument and asked to write an essay analyzing the rhetorical strategies used to construct the passage's argument. You will also be given some orienting information—where the passage was excerpted from, who wrote it, its approximate date, where it was published (if at all), and to whom it was directed.
Example (excerpt not included, see 2022 free response questions ):
In the third essay, you will be presented with an issue and asked to write a persuasive essay taking a position on the issue. You will need to support your position with evidence from your "reading, experience, and observations."
This doesn't look like a very well-constructed argument.
The multiple-choice section of the exam is worth 45% of your score, and the free-response section is worth the other 55%. So each of the three free-response essays is worth about 18% of your score.
As on other APs, your raw score will be converted to a scaled score of 1-5. This exam has a relatively low 5 rate. Only 10% of test takers received a 5 in 2022 , although 56% of students received a score of 3 or higher.
In terms of how the raw score is obtained, the multiple-choice section is similar to other AP multiple-choice sections: you receive a point for every question you answer correctly, and there is no penalty for guessing.
The grading rubrics for the free-response questions were revamped in 2019. They are scored using analytic rubrics instead of holistic rubrics. For each free-response question, you will be given a score from 0-6. The rubrics assess three major areas:
#1: Thesis (0 to 1 points): Is there a thesis, and does it properly respond to the prompt?
#2: Evidence and Commentary (0 to 4 points): Does the essay include supporting evidence and analysis that is relevant, specific, well organized, and supports the thesis?
#3: Sophistication (0 to 1 points): Is the essay well-crafted and does it show a sufficiently nuanced understanding of the prompt?
Each scoring rubric broadly assesses these three factors. However, each task is also different in nature, so the rubrics do have some differences. I'll go over each rubric—and what it really means—for you here.
0 | For any of the following: | |
1 |
EVIDENCE AND COMMENTARY
0 | ||
1 | AND | |
2 | AND | |
3 | AND | |
4 | AND |
SOPHISTICATION
0 | ||
1 | Responses that earn this point may demonstrate sophistication of thought and/or a complex understanding of the rhetorical situation by doing any of the following: |
Time to synthesize this dough into some cookies.
0 | ||
1 | AND | |
2 | AND | |
3 | AND AND | |
4 | AND AND |
Examine your texts closely!
The best kind of frenzy is a puppy frenzy!
Unlike its cousin, the AP English Literature and Composition exam, the AP Language and Composition exam (and course) have very little to do with fiction or poetry. So some students used to more traditional English classes may be somewhat at a loss as to what to do to prepare.
Luckily for you, I have a whole slate of preparation tips for you!
A major thing you can do to prepare for the AP Lang and Comp exam is to read nonfiction— particularly nonfiction that argues a position , whether explicitly (like an op-ed) or implicitly (like many memoirs and personal essays). Read a variety of non-fiction genres and topics, and pay attention to the following:
Thinking about these questions with all the reading you do will help you hone your rhetorical analysis skills.
Of course, if you're going to be analyzing the nonfiction works you read for their rhetorical techniques and strategies, you need to know what those are! You should learn a robust stable of rhetorical terms from your teacher, but here's my guide to the most important AP Language and Composition terms .
You also need to practice argumentative and persuasive writing. In particular, you should practice the writing styles that will be tested on the exam: synthesizing your own argument based on multiple outside sources, rhetorically analyzing another piece of writing in-depth, and creating a completely original argument based on your own evidence and experience.
You should be doing lots of writing assignments in your AP class to prepare, but thoughtful, additional writing will help. You don't necessarily need to turn all of the practice writing you do into polished pieces, either—just writing for yourself, while trying to address some of these tasks, will give you a low-pressure way to try out different rhetorical structures and argumentative moves, as well as practicing things like organization and developing your own writing style.
Not the most auspicious start to an argumentative essay.
Finally, you'll need to practice specifically for the exam format. There are sample multiple-choice questions in the " AP Course and Exam Description ," and old free-response questions on the College Board website.
Unfortunately, the College Board hasn't officially released any complete exams from previous years for the AP English Language and Composition exam, but you might be able to find some that teachers have uploaded to school websites and so on by Googling "AP Language complete released exams." I also have a guide to AP Language and Composition practice tests .
Once you're prepped and ready to go, how can you do your best on the test?
Here are four key tips for test-day success.
You are one hundred percent success!
When you are reading passages, both on the multiple-choice section and for the first two free-response questions, interact with the text! Mark it up for things that seem important, devices you notice, the author's argument, and anything else that seems important to the rhetorical construction of the text. This will help you engage with the text and make it easier to answer questions or write an essay about the passage.
Similarly, with every passage you read, consider the author's overarching purpose and argument. If you can confidently figure out what the author's primary assertion is, it will be easier to trace how all of the other aspects of the text play into the author's main point.
The single most important thing you can do for yourself on the free-response section of the AP English Language exam is to spend a few minutes planning and outlining your essays before you start to write them.
Unlike on some other exams, where the content is the most important aspect of the essay, on the AP Language Exam, organization, a well-developed argument, and strong evidence are all critical to strong essay scores. An outline will help you with all of these things. You'll be able to make sure each part of your argument is logical, has sufficient evidence, and that your paragraphs are arranged in a way that is clear and flows well.
Another thing you can do to give your free responses an extra boost is to identify counterarguments to your position and address them within your essay. This not only helps shore up your own position, but it's also a fairly sophisticated move in a timed essay that will win you kudos with AP graders.
Address counterarguments properly or they might get returned to sender!
The AP Language and Composition exam tests your rhetorical skills. The exam has two sections.
The first section is an hour-long, 45 question multiple-choice test based on the rhetorical techniques and composition choices.
The second section is a two-hour free-response section (with a 15-minute initial reading period) with three essay questions: one where you must synthesize given sources to make an original argument, one where you must rhetorically analyze a given passage, and one where you must create a wholly original argument about an issue with no outside sources given.
You'll receive one point for every correct answer on the multiple-choice section of the exam, which is worth 45% of your score. The free-response section is worth 55% of your score. For each free-response question, you'll get a score based on a rubric from 0-6. Your total raw score will be converted to a scaled score from 1-5.
Here are some test prep strategies for AP Lang:
#1 : Read nonfiction with an eye for rhetoric #2 : Learn rhetorical strategies and techniques #3 : Practice writing to deploy rhetorical skills #4 : Practice for the exam!
Here are some test-day success tips:
#1 : Interact with each passage you encounter! #2 : Consider every text's overarching purpose and argument. #3 : Keep track of time #4 : Plan your essays #5 : Identify and address counterarguments in your essays.
With all of this knowledge, you're ready to slay the AP English Language and Composition beast!
Noble knight, prepare to slay the AP dragon!
Want more AP Lang review? We have a complete collection of released AP Language practice tests , as well as a list of the AP Lang terms you need to know and a guide to the multiple choice section .
Taking the AP Literature exam? Check out our ultimate guide to the AP English Literature test and our list of AP Literature practice tests .
Taking other AP exams? See our Ultimate Guides to AP World History , AP US History , AP Chemistry , AP Biology , AP World History , and AP Human Geography .
Need more AP prep guidance? Check out how to study for AP exams and how to find AP practice tests .
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The AP Literature Exam is a three-hour exam that contains two sections in this order: An hour-long, 55-question multiple-choice section. A two-hour, three-question free-response section. The exam tests your ability to analyze works and excerpts of literature and cogently communicate that analysis in essay form.
Starting in the 2024-25 school year, AP English Literature and Composition multiple-choice questions (MCQs) will have four answer choices instead of five. This change will take effect with the 2025 exam. ... Students write essays that respond to 3 free-response prompts from the following categories: A literary analysis of a given poem;
The Best AP® English Literature Review Guide for 2024. Scoring a 5 on the AP® English Literature and Composition exam is no easy task. In 2019, for example, only 6.2% of students earned a 5 on the test. While this statistic may be discouraging at first glance, it does indicate that a perfect score is possible for those willing to do extra ...
The first section of the AP Literature exam is one hour long and consists of 45 multiple-choice questions—23-25 Reading questions and 20-22 Writing questions. The multiple-choice questions are grouped in five sets of questions, with each set linked to a passage of prose fiction or poetry that contains between 8 and 13 questions.
Total questions: 55. 45% of exam score. The multiple choice section is computer-graded, and it makes up 45% of your total exam score. The 55 questions in this section consist of: 5 passages of prose fiction, drama, or poetry of varying difficulty. 5 sets of questions for each passage, with 8-13 questions per set.
Hey there! In AP Lit, the essay length ultimately depends on the depth and quality of your analysis and how effectively you can communicate your points. However, as a general guideline, most high-scoring AP Lit essays tend to be around 2-3 pages double-spaced (approximately 600-900 words). This allows you to provide a thorough analysis while being concise enough to stay focused on the main points.
A prose passage of approximately 500 to 700 words and a prompt will be given to guide your analytical essay. Worth about 18% of your total grade, the essay will be graded out of six points depending on the quality of your thesis (0-1 points), evidence and commentary (0-4 points), and sophistication (0-1 points).
The AP English Literature and Composition exam is 3 hours long and consists of two sections: multiple-choice and free-response. The multiple-choice section is worth 45% of the exam score and consists of 55 questions that students have 1 hour to complete. The free-response section is worth 55% of the exam score and consists of 3 questions that ...
3. Review literary terms and techniques commonly used in literature. 4. Develop strong essay writing skills by structuring your responses with clear introductions, well-supported arguments, and insightful analysis. 5. Manage your time effectively during the exam to allocate enough time for each question. 6.
In AP English Literature and Composition, you'll examine how authors and poets create meaning through their rich, purposeful use of language. ... As you write and refine essays about literature, you'll develop the skills of analysis and composition that will allow you to communicate your interpretation effectively. New for 2024-25: MCQs ...
The AP English Literature & Composition exam takes 3 hours to complete and consists of two sections: a multiple-choice section and a free response section. Timing. Number of questions. % of Exam Score. Section 1. 60 minutes. 55 multiple-choice questions. 45%. Section 2.
The AP® English Literature and Composition exam is designed to test your ability to think critically and analyze literary excerpts. The test is three hours long and consists of a multiple-choice portion (worth 45% of your grade) and a free response portion (worth 55% of your grade). The best way to score a 5 on the AP® English Literature exam ...
For more tips, Marco Learning's AP ® Literature teacher, Heather Garcia, has some excellent advice on How to Crush It on the AP ® English Literature Exam Essays. #4: Find resources that work. When it comes to studying for your exam, there is no "one size fits all".
In AP English, writing is taught as "process"—that is, thinking, planning, drafting the text, then reviewing, discussing, redrafting, editing, polishing, and finishing it. It's also important that AP students learn to write "on call" or "on demand.". Learning to write critical or expository essays on call takes time and practice.
Fifth: Give each literary device its own body paragraph. In this essay, the writer examines the use of two literary devices that are supported by multiple pieces of evidence. The first is "romantic imagery" and the second is "hyperbolic imagery.". The writer dedicates one paragraph to each idea. You should do this, too.
Course Skills. The AP English Literature and Composition framework included in the course and exam description outlines distinct skills that students should practice throughout the year—skills that will help them learn to read texts critically. Skill Categories. Exam Weighting (Multiple- Choice Section) Explain the function of character. 16% ...
Here are five tips to help you write a great essay response to the third prompt on the AP Lit exam. 1. Select the perfect work. Wait a minute—you can write about anything under the sun, as long as the College Board defines it as "a work of literary merit?".
It is comprised of three free-response essays and 55 multiple-choice questions. The free-response section accounts to 55% of your score. You will be given two hours to complete three free-response essays. The first will correspond to a given poem. The second will be regarding an excerpt from prose fiction or drama.
1. Introduction: Start with a hook to engage the reader. Introduce the work you'll be discussing (including the title and author). Provide any necessary context or background info. 2. Thesis statement: In a clear, concise sentence, state your overall argument or claim. This should appear towards the end of your introduction.
The final step is to write the essay. This part should take about 30 minutes. It may seem like an impossible task, but with a specific direction to head and with the poem already analyzed, the essay should flow smoothly. You aren't writing a 200 page dissertation. You are writing a 2 to 4 page essay.
For AP lit, I think I wrote ~700-800 words in 40 mins 3x for 3 essays. 600 definitely isn't bad, but try to get it to at least 700 just to ensure your analysis is strong. 1000 definitely isn't necessary, imo. Reply.
With the 2023 AP English Language and Composition exam happening on Tuesday, May 9, it's time to make sure that you're familiar with all aspects of the exam. In this article, I'll give a brief overview of the test, do a deeper dive on each of the sections, discuss how the exam is scored, offer some strategies for studying, and finally wrap up ...
With an average time of only 40 minutes per essay for your AP English Language and Composition exam, you should divide your time as follows. Spend about 10 minutes reading the topic and the passage carefully and planning your essay. This organizational time is crucial to producing a high-scoring essay. Consider following these steps: