My experience was meh. Multiple choice was pretty easy since I had about 4 full days to prepare for this test. Essay prompts was way easier than I expected. I feel as of my essays were lacking in a way and I’m pretty optimistic about getting a high score. At best, I’m hopeful for a 3 but I doubt it.
I think I did pretty good on the multiple choice. I also feel as though I did well on the essays. I know I at least got a 5 on them at the very bare minimum. Overall, I am confident I got a 4, a 5 if I’m lucky and a 3 at the least. 
Hmm I am worried about the 3rd as I took it from a psychological and sociological pov instead of a community based one, the first I referenced but did not directly talk about my school but my guess is that they won’t be too harsh
Hey guys, for the second essay do you think I could at least get a 5 if I accidentally thought that he was more stressing his message on nonviolent resistance to the people for greater social equality and justice than necessarily for only improving the poor? And for some stupid reason I accidentally kept stating how he was conveying the message to his fellow african americans when he isn’t even one? However, I really mentioned what he used to get the point across, how he made the audience feel, historical allusions, reference to God because audience was religious people, etc? Despite I could’ve at least gotten a 5 right?
Don’t know why I didn’t see there was a whole other half to Source F…
@ros12122 actually, i don’t think you can even get a passing grade for that essay… sorry 
what you were supposed to do is find RHETORICAL STRATEGIES to explain Chavez’s main point. Possible rhetorical strategies that my classmates and I found were parallel syntax, anaphora, empowering diction,etc. the other stuff you wrote about (especially the allusion to God) were not really dominant devices into the passage. But readers are usually lazy, so if you constructed your argument well enough, you can pull a 5 or a 6.
After rereading the argument prompt now that it’s posted, I’m pretty sure that the culture/community piece probably won’t be necessary to even get an 8 so long as you wrote well and still answered the other aspects of the prompt. It does not say to choose a specific community/culture which if it wanted you to do that I feel like it would have emphasized that piece more.
Just my take on it though. Could I have failed? Yeah but that’d be a bummer because I’m pretty sure my essay was solid apart from not having that community piece in there
Okay, free responses are posted here: https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_english_language.pdf , so now, we’re officially free to discuss.
Here’s a brief summary of the essay I wrote for each prompt.
Essay 1:
I was confused by the your school phrase in the prompt- I didn’t really mention my school but rather argued about honor codes in general (I hope that’s okay). My argument was essentially that honor codes can be helpful in creating a community of trust and respect, yet they alone are insufficient and that student involvement is key. My first paragraph was about how it’s key that students help to develop the honor code (I used source B). My second paragraph was about how students ought to be actively involved with the honor code once it’s in place (I used sourcesc & F). I concluded with source A, saying that it satirizes honor codes and is the kind of culture which is harmful to students.
Essay 2:
I had three rhetorical strategies which I mentioned. The first was contrast between violence and non-violence (it was organized in a contrast structure). I mentioned how this had the effect of encouraging people who may be oppressed and tempted to act emotionally to think rationally instead.
The second strategy was writing from the we perspective (as Chavez always used we and not I). I said that this was had the effect of seeming more inclusive and as if the movement had more followers than just Chavez himself.
The third strategy was invoking mythos. I talked about how he invoked Dr. King and also ideals like freedom and democracy. By appealing to these other figures and prominent ideals, he contextualizes his argument in terms of showing that it fits in with these other great figures and ideals.
Essay 3:
I too agree that this was a strange prompt. I also didn’t mention a specific culture/community (I hope that’s alright). What I did was the following:
I firstly looked at myself by saying that I’m from England where such phrases aren’t as abundant. I said that coming here, these phrases really helped in making deeper social connections.
My second paragraph (probably inspired by the last essay) was on racial equality. I said that before the Civil Rights movement, African American people were forced into being overly civil to Caucasian people, and in return Caucasian people were able to invoke derogatory language against African American people. Thus, such language wasn’t used inter-racially but rather only intra-racially. At the point where such language began being used inter-racially, it symbolized a rights progression. Even if people held internal biases/ were bigoted or racist, this language was a start , and later, the attitudes followed.
My third paragraph was about making connections with other societies/cultures . I mentioned how the first thing that any foreign language learner learns is probably many of these phrases. When someone finally has the opportunity to travel or use this language on a native speaker, it really helps in forming bonds and getting more acquainted with that culture.
My point through all of these examples was basically that polite language alone might seem trivial, but in reality, it really helps in making social connections which is a key part of the human condition. I invoked the analogy of roots of a tree in my conclusion, saying that just like tree roots, these phrases are the beginning to deep, meaningful relationships.
So that was what I did. I think these essays got continually worse from essay 1 to essay 3 as I became more tired. I think I’m hoping for either one 8, one 7, and one 6 (which would average out to a 7) or 7’s across the board (which would also average a 7).
Multiple choice: first passage was difficult and time consuming; second and third were a breeze; fourth was easy since I knew what androgynous meant (thank you psych) but I had to make educated guesses for the last four questions because of time.
- My school should revise its honor code because it is inefficiently enforced (documents A, C, E), is susceptible to a diffusion of responsibility (documents B, C, E), and would ultimately improve both the school and its student body (documents B, D, F) (counterargument was really good). Synthesis: cake. I devoutly hate cheaters so this was such a great essay topic. It did specifically say "your school" in the essay topic so I did occasionally write "my school" but it was General AF. I don't think one deserves a score above a 5/9 if he/she didn't mention his/her school, whether it was mentioned once or various times.
- Chavez tactfully develops his argument about nonviolent resistance through personification, metaphors, and a sense of ethos. Rhetorical device: I thought it wasn't as easy as my friends thought. I used personification (because I couldn't write an entire paragraph on the Ghandi allusion), metaphors, and ethos.
- Polished diction in a high school setting is preferable because it allows for superordinate goals to be met, makes way for equality to be achieved, and strengthens one’s argument (counterargument was really good). Argument: it did say specifically in a culture/community you're familiar with so like it did restrict me to personal anecdotes rather than any other examples. I talked about how polite speech helps in high school because it promotes equality, allows for super ordinate goals to be met, and strengthens one's argument (counterargument was that most may think polite speech is pusillanimous and inefficient). I don't think one deserves a score above 5/9 if he/she didn't mention a culture/community, whether it was mentioned once or various times.
Overall: 35~40/55; 9; 6-7; 7-8. I think I got a 5 but wouldn’t be disappointed with a 4.
- This was the first real synthesis essay I wrote all year, but based off everyone else's responses, I think I did alright on it. I took the stance on how we need to revise the system to prevent our moral ethics from deteriorating and leaking out into the traditional society. I used Harvard as a "model" for us to follow, saying that every high school should simulate their use of students to decide the fate of their peers who break the rules. I also talked about how using students would end till trust among each other, yada yada yada. I remember that I was able to use two of the sources to acknowledge the counterargument and help prove my point. Is that a good thing? I do remember one sentence from my essay was something along the lines of "The fault of a deviation from our honor codes is often blamed on the system, but is it truly the system—or is it that the students themselves have conformed to this system?" And it seems out of place, but a key point I was trying to make is that colleges care about grades a lot more than anything else, and often times even the smartest students can find themselves breaking the rules for their grade. I even acknowledged the workload students have to undergo, especially when they find themselves taking a multitude of Advanced Placement classes.
- I think the rhetorical analysis was my strongest essay out of the trio. I mentioned anaphora, personification, the appeal to ethos, parallelism, the variety of syntax, the diction of "seethe," hypophora, and I forgot what my last one was. This was the first rhetoric analysis I could actually see syntax's impact. I'm proud my final rhetorical analysis was a good one.
- I was feeling okay about this one, but when I read it I honestly thought it was a joke at first. Most people probably went along with how the polite language and speech helps society, but I took the opposite route and said that we should not be polite to people if we do not truly mean it. My personal experience/community was my high school, wherein I mentioned two handed comments and how girls feel the need to compliment each other when they don't mean it (not sexist, was one of the only things I could think of). I also talked about 1984 and how if we adjusted our language that our words would be meaningless to those we truly want to make feel better. My final point was a focus on Ghandi and MLK, where I said peace and polite speech is important for a successful revolution, but the fact of the matter is that we are ordinary citizens that are just trying to live their lives; we are not Ghandi or MLK. Hoping the readers like it because it's a change of pace from the majority saying that polite speech is necessary. Reflecting back, I think my essays were a little better than I wanted to admit. My guesses are 7-8, 8-9, and 6-9 (scared my essay might come off sardonically, but I did take a stance and provide convincing evidence.) overall, I predict a 4-5. Really wanting a 5 because it was my teacher's first year teaching the course and she was like a second mother to me. Guess I'll find out in July.
Why can’t I find the anafora
Ok so I guess I can now say exactly what I wrote about
Esaay 1- My main argument was that honor codes should be exempt because no one takes them seriously and they’re rather useless. I also talked about how students care more about the letter grade rather than the information itself, thus driving them to cheat. I feel like this is my strongest one but my counterarguments might be a little weak just because the sources were a lil difficult to work with, hoping for an 8 still though.
Essay 2- I knew this would be my weakest one and it was. I was running out of time and knew I needed time to finish the argument essay so I really rushed this one. I only used two rhetorical devices- cause & effect and appeals to history. For cause and effect I talked about how he showed the effects of nonviolence vs violence and for appeals to history I talked about MLK & Gandhi. It really wasn’t a great essay at all and was too focused on quotes rather than analysis so I’m just hoping I squeezed out a 5 or 6.
Essay 3- Assuming the culture/community part wasn’t essential, this essay also was pretty strong imo. I took a pretty unique approach to it by saying that no one ever gives out polite speech with 100% pure intentions. My main idea was that people are only friendly to strangers because society has socially constructed them to think that if they aren’t they’re bad people and we all want to feel good about ourselves- basically that humans never do anything unless it directly benefits them. I used my dog’s death as an example (I know) but I felt like that paragraph was strong because I got very passionate with it and connected it by saying “Do I actually miss him for him or do I miss the way he used to make me feel? Even in death humans are the most selfish creatures- we mourn what they aren’t able to do for us anymore, rather than mourning the soul itself” and then I connected that idea to how we don’t say polite things to anyone solely for their benefit. I was really strapped for time by this point so my second example wasn’t nearly as good- I just connected the idea that high schools force students to do community service and now students do it but before this no one was at all interested in community service. I know… pretty weak. It ended up getting a lil repetitive and I wish I had brought another idea to the table but I just needed something on the table but I’m hoping my first example is strong enough to outweigh the second example. Hoping for a 7 or 8
I couldn’t really tell on the MC, I felt good about it but eh. Hoping for a 5. I would be a little disappointed with a 3 or a 4.
@RamenUniversity For the synthesis prompt, I mentioned similar stuff you did but didn’t explicitly say in my high school. Do you think I could’ve still gotten at least a 6 if it was a good essay?
@amck4321 For the synthesis prompt, I mentioned similar stuff you did but didn’t explicitly say in my high school. Do you think I could’ve still gotten at least a 6 if it was a good essay?
@ros12122 I definitely think so. It was such a minor detail and the readers are looking at how well you write, not necessarily what you write. I know that the AP graders read hundreds of essays before they create a rubric so if they see that a bunch of people talked about school in general, they will have no problem giving you a 7 or 8.
@amck4321 Thank You, I was freaking out because people were telling me the highest I could get was a 5 
@amck4321 But do you know if a lot of kids talked about school in general? Like from your own school??
Wow. I just read the prompts again, and I have to say. They managed to throw a curveball from everything I’ve practiced. I’m lucky to have been able to get a hit on this one, these essay prompts should’ve had me stumped, especially the last one.
Did anyone out celebratory for one of the answers?
@valedictoriangod I did