Cracking the AP Prompt, Lecture notes of Technical English

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Cracking the

AP Prompt

AP = “Attack the Prompt!”

Scoring

• Essays will be scored using a NEW “6-point” rubric.
• CB has narrowed down the scoring to three categories: Thesis (1 point), Evidence (4 points), and Sophistication ( point)
• It is unclear, at this point, what CB will consider “passing”.
• CB has not provided any old samples that have been scored using this new rubric — yet.

Essay Questions 1 & 2

Question 1: Poetry

Question 2: Prose

Objective: To build a defensible literary argument using and discussing evidence from the text as support. ✓They will tell you who wrote it, when it was published and something about the context or big ideas of the text. ✓They will ask you to identify what meaning the writer establishes in the text and how the writer develops that meaning (devices/techniques) ✓You will need to figure out the HIDDEN QUESTION—this is what the prompt isn’t asking but they still want you write about it

Sample Prompt # In the following poem “Plants” by Olive Senior (published in 2005), the speaker portrays the relationships among plant life and the implied audience. Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well- written essay, analyze how Senior uses poetic elements and techniques to develop those complex relationships.

Sample # The following excerpt is from The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (published in 1751) by Tobias Smollett. In this passage, Mr. Pickle encounters Godfrey Gauntlet, the brother of his beloved Emilia. Consider how the two men confront their own uncontrolled emotions and yet attempt to abide by their social norms. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well- written essay, analyze how the author uses literary devices and techniques to explore the complex interplay between emotions and social propriety.

The Thesis Statement: What + Verb + Idea

• What = what you are exploring or analyzing in your writing
  • Name the work + author
    • Poems and short stories in “quotations”
    • Longer works underlined or italicized
  • Be specific
  • Complex relationship?
  • A type of narration?
  • A shift in tone?
  • A motif?
  • A characterization? In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain contrasts the river and shore scenes...

The Thesis Statement: What + Verb + Idea

• Idea = the unique and individual direction of your paper
  • This is your interpretation of the work
  • Make sure to address the hidden question
  • You could quote from the passage or work
  • This may be the “meaning of the work”/theme/universal idea
  • It’s not cliched

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain contrasts the river and shore scenes

to suggest that to find the true expression of American democratic ideas, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

In contrasting river and shore scenes in Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideas, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

The Thesis Statement: What + Verb + Idea

• Idea = the unique and individual direction of your paper
  • This is your interpretation of the work
  • Make sure to address the hidden question
  • You could quote from the passage or work
  • This may be the “meaning of the work”/theme/universal idea
  • It’s not cliched

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain contrasts the river and shore scenes

to suggest that to find the true expression of American democratic ideas, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

In contrasting river and shore scenes in Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideas, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

In the following poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson (published in 1867), the speaker reflects on the process of growing older. Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Emerson uses poetic elements and techniques to convey the speaker’s complex perspective on aging. In the poem, “Terminus,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the speaker has a complex perspective on the process of aging.

In the following poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson (published in 1867), the speaker reflects on the process of growing older. Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Emerson uses poetic elements and techniques to convey the speaker’s complex perspective on aging. Throughout his poem “Terminus” Emerson coveys his perspective that aging is a time to settle down through an extended metaphor, similies, metaphors, diction, imagery and personification. Emerson explores the idea that aging is a calm time at the end of a chaotic life.

In the following poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson (published in 1867), the speaker reflects on the process of growing older. Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Emerson uses poetic elements and techniques to convey the speaker’s complex perspective on aging. While many people view aging as a progression toward the pain and loss of death, the speaker in Emerson’s poem “Terminus” views aging as “well worth the cruise” as death approaches and the ship of life comes home to port.

In the following poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson (published in 1867), the speaker reflects on the process of growing older. Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Emerson uses poetic elements and techniques to convey the speaker’s complex perspective on aging. The poem describes aging as a lengthy, and a rather daming process. However, aging and death should not be feared, the speaker views it as returning home.