THE AP LANG FREE RESPONSE ARGUMENT QUESTION DISSECTED

All Question 3 prompts come in two parts, some with a third.

Context The prompt will begin with the context required to complete the assignment.

Sometimes that context is situational, sometimes biographical. It has been provided to guide your

thinking. Note any relevant features such as descriptors of people or exigency.

The Assignment The prompt will then guide you to write the essay. The assignment itself has three parts

that we will examine after viewing sample prompts.

The Passage Some prompts contain a small passage for you to read beyond a short quotation that

might be found in the context portion of the prompt. Consider it a sub-assignment. Treat it as any

reading, worthy of close and careful reading. The instruction is to do just that: “Read the passage

carefully.” The assignment will likely ask you to consider some aspect of the passage.

Dissecting the passages provided on 4.17.14

PROMPT OPTION 1

Shown As:

The following passage is from Rights of Man, a book written by the pamphleteer Thomas Paine in 1791. Born in England, Paine was an

intellectual, a revolutionary, and a supporter of American independence from England. Read the passage carefully. Then write an essay that

examines the extent to which Paine’s characterization of America holds true today. Use appropriate evidence to support your argument.

YOU MUST DISSECT THE PROMPT AND PARAPHRASE

CONTEXT: The following passage is from Rights of Man, a book written by the pamphleteer

Thomas Paine in 1791. Born in England, Paine was an intellectual, a revolutionary, and a supporter of

American independence from England. Read the passage carefully.

ASSIGNMENT: Then write an essay that examines the extent to which Paine’s characterization of

America holds true today. Use appropriate evidence to support your argument.

PASSAGE If there is a country in the world, where concord, according to common calculation,

would be least expected, it is America. Made up, as it is, of people from different nations, accustomed to

different forms and habits of government, speaking different languages, and more different in their

modes of worship, it would appear that the union of such a people was impracticable; but by the simple

operation of constructing government on the principles of society and the rights of man, every difficulty

retires, and all the parts are brought into cordial unison. There, the poor are not oppressed, the rich are

not privileged. . . . Their taxes are few, because their government is just; and as there is nothing to

render them wretched, there is nothing to engender riots and tumults.

PROMPT OPTION2

Shown as

Contemporary life is marked by controversy. Choose a controversial local, national, or global issue with which you are familiar. Then, using

appropriate evidence, write an essay that considers the opposing positions on this controversy and proposes a solution or compromise.

YOU MUST DISSECT THE PROMPT AND PARAPHRASE

CONTEXT Contemporary life is marked by controversy. Choose a controversial local, national, or

global issue with which you are familiar.

ASSIGNMENT Then, using appropriate evidence, write an essay that considers the opposing positions

on this controversy and proposes a solution or compromise

FOCUS FOR WRITING

The Essay The prompt will guide you to write an essay... obviously. However, take that seriously. An

essay is a short piece of analytical writing. The points live in the analysis and you have about 40 minutes.

Have a thesis, have claims, BUT focus on analysis.

The Focus The prompt will give you the topic of your argument. Each prompt is unique. Some ask you to

defend, challenge , or qualify. Some ask you to compare and contrast then declare a winner. Some ask

you to conduct a problem analysis and provide a solution. Note the specific form of argumentation and

the topic you will be writing about.

The Evidence The prompt will remind you to provide appropriate evidence. There are two keys in that

statement. Actually provide evidence. You are bringing the evidence, it is not supplied. Consider the

type of evidence best suited to the argument (form and function) you are making.

• “Then write an essay that...” • “In a well-written essay, examine...” • “Then, using appropriate evidence, write an essay that...” • “... examines the extent to which Paine’s characterization of America holds true today.” • “... examine the extent to which Mencken’s observation applies to contemporary society, ...” • “... write an essay that considers the opposing positions on this controversy and proposes a solution or compromise.” • “Use appropriate evidence to support your argument.” • “... supporting your position with appropriate evidence.” • “Then, using appropriate evidence, ...”

Here is the Reader’s Prompt(YOU DO NOT SEE THESE – But they are all very similar)

Essays earning a score of 9 meet the following criteria:

Effectively examine the extent to which Paine’s characterization of America holds true today. The

evidence and explanations used are appropriate and convincing, and the argument is especially

coherent and well developed. The prose demonstrates a consistent ability to control a wide range of the

elements of effective writing but is not necessarily flawless (8). For a (9), add…’And, in addition, are

especially sophisticated in their argument, thorough in their development, or particularly impressive in

their control of language.’

Commentary on a 9 paper Sample: 3A Score: 9

Beginning with an introductory paragraph that demonstrates a consistent sophistication of style, this essay effectively examines the extent to which Paine’s characterization of America is true today. The student uses a seamless blend of evidence and commentary throughout to build a convincing argument. For example, the student contends that “[e]ver since Lyndon Johnson loosened the quota system in 1965, every year thousands, if not millions of people from all backgrounds pour into America,” but these newer immigrants never fully adopted American values, so Paine’s “… ‘principles of society and the rights of man’ no longer serve … in uniting the American people.” In another example, the student plays with Paine’s use of the word “concord,” illustrating the country’s “discord” by citing “[t]he recent budget standoff.” Each example provided is thoroughly developed, and the essay’s control of its language, organization, and thinking is especially impressive. For example, “the ‘tomato soup’ analogy” works well to start building the student’s argument. The essay is stronger than those that received a score of 8 because of its impressive control of language (despite a few lapses here and there) and its exceptionally cohesive argument.

SCORE GUIDELINE ( you do not see)

Commentary on a 9 paper Sample BB