AP Test Tips! Compiled by AP Readers 2007 / Condensed by L. Thornton

Write a Conclusion Summarize your argument / message Restate (in a different, interesting way) the most salient point of your argument

ORGANIZE! Paragraph (don’t just write two gigantic paragraphs; organize your thoughts)! 1 idea per paragraph

DO NOT… Summarize! AACK! –Summary is a waste of time –and I quote, “Summary is DEATH.”

DO NOT… Do NOT DEFINE! –Your reader will know what a villanelle is or what an apostrophe is. It is a waste of time to write, “John Donne uses the apostrophe to personalize his poem about death. An apostrophe is when a poet speaks to something or someone who really isn’t there.”

Use EVIDENCE! Use the text! Use the words! Use the poem! Use the passage! SHOW!!

Literary Merit Use a BIG WORK of LITERARY MERIT for Q3. –NO MOVIES –NO SHORT STORIES –NO “current, popular” BOOKS

Do NOT… Do NOT Use line numbers…briefly quote. DON’T: In line 13, the poet uses blood imagery to assert the evilness of the boy’s thoughts. DO: With the poet’s use of blood imagery, such as “clot,” “burgundy fluid,” and “flow,” he ….

Don’t moralize or judge the quality of the work.

Avoid Purple Prose! Avoid long, flowery (purple prose), showy, catchy introductions. stick to a few sentences and get to the point (aka your thesis).

Creative writing is not academic writing. –NEVER USE A FRAGMENT, even to make a point. NEVER.

Reeeeepeeaaattttt…. Avoid the re-run. –DON’T BE REPETITIVE!! –DON’T Say the SAME THING over and over again! –DON’T be a RE-RUN!

NO TITLE Do not TITLE your essays.

Some Writing Tips :) Write fairly big, but don’t cram lines from top to bottom. Don’t use :) or hearts, or circles for your i s WRITE NEATLY. No Kidding. Use BLACK PEN

AP… Means ANSWER THE PROMPT!

Address the Work as a WHOLE… YYes, here’s imagery in the first stanza…how does it affect the work as a WHOLE???

In a poem, the title is part of the text, also. Don’t forget about it…USE IT!

Compare / Contrast Compare or contrast MEANING, not device usage

Don’t be a SHOW-OFF Don’t write about anything that cannot be related to the PROMPT and the THEME. Don’t refer to OTHER works, EVER, it diminishes your major argument.

If you… Think a passage is too easy? Look again.

Don’t write… “the poems are the same and different.” “vivid” “uses diction” - the readers are sick of these…:(

Blech to Jargon! Do not use high-fallutin’ jargon…simple, clear language is fine…and usually better. Pretentious writing is pompous writing…and turns your reader OFF. Good vocabulary is ONE THING…and being pedantic is another.

The play’s the thing… A play is a play. A poem is a poem. A novel is a novel. A poet writes poems. An author writes novels. A writer writes plays.

Misssspellling… DON’T misspell –Titles –Authors –Characters –YES, it is important and reflects your knowledge of the work.

Feelings…nothing more than…feelings… Avoid saying how something makes the reader FEEL. Avoid feelings altogether:

…and more feelings… Don’t talk about the effect something has on the reader’s feelings or emotions. In fact, avoid the word feel altogether. Example: “to make the reader feel” “a story-like feel versus a rhythmic feel…” “As one reads, it will make the reader flow through the poem and feel like he is there.”

Jelloishy Don’t make up new words.

AVOID… Similar Different Unique Negative Positive Good Bad …these are WEAK WORDS!! Look at your lists!

No “vivid diction” The readers are tired of seeing this. What does it really MEAN? Vivid diction? Vivid how?

Leave me out of it… USE the poem, the passage, the text. LEAVE TODAY’S SOCIETY out of it. LEAVE IT AT HOME!!

Words, words, words… Are not poetic devices :) Diction is not a poetic device :)