<p>Disregarding the pathetic title of this thread, is anyone else currently freaking out about the AP exam? Does anyone who previously received a five have any advice for the essay section? Thanks:)</p>
<p>I’m taking it, but I feel adequately prepared… or as prepared as you can be for an english exam.</p>
<p>Oy vey. I’m self-studying this one, but haven’t actually studied at all. I’m hoping just studying the weekend before it will suffice.</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to it. We took a practice test in class over the course of a week, and I got a 5 
I’m averaging about five wrong on the multiple choice, and I nearly always get a 6-7 on the essays.</p>
<p>yeah, i am just not confident in my essays, i suppose</p>
<p>I got a 5 on the AP exam last year. Don’t stress about this one. As long as you are a good English student and a decent writer, you’ll get a good grade. For the Synthesis question, remember you only need cite 3 sources and get full points for that aspect (citing more doesn’t get you extra points). Also, form an opinion and then use the sources to back up that opinion. The sources should be secondary to what you think and you should use them for support. In short, don’t try to base your opinion around the sources, base the sources around your opinion. For essay 2, analyse the sample they give you, but don’t overload them with lit terms like diction, syntax, imagery, rhetorical question, allusion, anaphora, parallelism, etc. Graders need you to only say this once or twice and over-repetition sounds forced and not very analytical, as if you’re just throwing terms at them you think they want to see. Use circumlocution to make your point. For the last essay (I ran out of time on this one :P), just give your opinion and support it logically. Draw in real life examples (that don’t actually have to be real :P). Work in a book or two and you’ll be fine (you can generally apply Great Gatsby to just about anything). Don’t worry about this exam. It’s not much you can study for. Also, writing style can weigh huge on the grade readers give you, so if nothing else, write well( if not substantively)! Everything will be okay! :)</p>
<p>thanks!!!</p>
<p>MiHa nailed it! Tie everything you write to the big issue of the essay: author’s purpose, tone…</p>
<p>MiHa has great advice.</p>
<p>I received a 5 on AP English Language last year as well. English was not my first language and has never been my strongest subject. I could barely write before I took this course. My teacher was an essay grader and the best teacher I’ve ever had.</p>
<p>For the synthesis questions, the recommended number of sources you should use varies prompt to prompt. It’s not an APUSH DBQ…you don’t need to use them all. Just use however many they ask for (whether it be 2, 3, or 4). Pick opposition in the sources and use them to your advantage to create a persuasive essay with counterarguments. Don’t let your essay be based on the sources, but rather let your sources only support your points.</p>
<p>As for the literary analysis essay, first make sure to figure out the author’s purpose and tone. As you read, actively circle/underline whatever rhetorical strategies are used by the author to show their purpose and tone. This way, you’ll have no problem finding them later and won’t waste time. You SHOULD name whatever rhetorical devices you are referring to, so the reader actually knows what you’re talking about. but instead of trying to fit in 5 different examples in one paragraph, focus on 2 or 3 and explain completely how they connect to purpose/tone. Don’t just say “there is juxtaposition;” explain why it’s used. Examples of things you can analyze are diction, syntax, organization, figurative language, logos, pathos, ethos, etc. And remember that certain specific rhetorical devices are associated with certain overarching strategies. (i.e. paralellism or enumeration with syntax, oxymoron with diction, juxtaposition with organization, synecdoches or metaphors with figurative language, etc). For example, last year, I wrote 2 body paragraphs I think on Diction and Syntax and proceeded to provide specific examples in each. Diction is one you can pretty much always use since writers always choose their words with purpose! You don’t have to write 3 body paragraphs with 3 examples at least in each as most of us were taught. It’s better to do 2 body paragraphs with 2 examples in each and make them strong points (what I did). Plus, if you’re rushing, it’s likely that you will run out of time and not do a proper analysis. Oh, and if you run out of time, at least restate the thesis as your conclusion. They don’t read the conclusion really but just do it so you don’t seem incomplete and you can sum up your analysis. At the same time, don’t ever write more than like 3 sentences for your conclusion. Really, they don’t spend much time on it at all.</p>
<p>For the open-ended question, it’s collegeboard’s way of checking if you are a well-informed citizen. The questions can be very vague, but they can be specific to something that was in the news in the year or months leading up to the test. Books and historical examples are good, but current event examples are better! My teacher made us watch a current event news clip at the start of every class and debate/discuss it. However, make sure you don’t write about anything that may be sensitive (i.e. don’t rave/rant about Obama’s victory or California’s Prop 8), as you don’t want to offend your reader. Ultimately, the point is to formulate an argument and support it clearly, and sometimes the best way to do so is through counterarguments as well. My teacher would tell us not to ‘sit on the fence’ or not choose a side because those essays usually tend to be weaker, and it can get messy. Don’t worry, the open-ended question won’t be an overly controversial question anyway so take a side! For my essay last year, I couldn’t think of any good examples, so I argued it as best as I could but in a slightly sarcastic tone. haha (topic was about companies advertising in schools. I was sarcastic in saying that it’s not an ideal situation but with education not being enough of a priority on our lawmakers’ agendas, schools really have no option but to allow companies to advertise for funds. I’m assuming that the teacher who scored my essay agreed as he/she were probably directly impacted by budget cuts.)</p>
<p>Another tip for all the essays:
AP English Language is a course in which students are supposed to learn how to analyze writing and rhetorical strategies. However, it’s even more impressive if you can show that you not only can spot them, but use them in your own writing as well (as I did in my open-ended essay). Don’t go overkill with it, but the best student essays are always the ones that have a clear purpose/tone and have a couple purposeful rhetorical devices woven into them. If you aren’t confident in doing this though, don’t risk it! Don’t force it in! haha</p>
<p>Practicing writing essays or at least outlining them is the best way to prepare. I did so many that I became very comfortable with each type of essay and had no problem diving in. Know your literary terms and whatnot so you know a variety and will have no problem identifying any in the literary analysis essay. Also, try to raise that MC score if you can as that is a large percentage of the score too!! But in the end, I’d say it’s much easier to learn how to write than to master those crazy MC questions.</p>
<p>Good luck! It’s really not that bad, and I actually kind of enjoyed it! :)</p>