AP Lit Exam Q2 Essay: The Prose Prompt Strategies and Notes

Analyzing the Prose Passage  Look for answers to these three questions:  What is the passage about?  How does the author view the subject— what is the tone of the passage? How does the author use language and literary devices to create meaning and tone?  What is the importance of this passage? What does the author want us to understand about the subject?

Then annotate the passage Pay attention to the prompt as you do so: what should you notice according to what you are being asked to do?

Now Plan Your Writing  What is the dramatic situation?  What literary devices are used (what are you being asked to look for?)  How do these tie to the dramatic situation?

The Dramatic Situation  In poetry: That is, who is the speaker (or who are the speakers)? Is the speaker a male or female? Where is he or she? When does this poem take place? What are the circumstances? Sometimes you'll be able to answer all of these questions: For example, the speaker is a male psychopath living in a remote cottage, probably in Renaissance Italy, who has strangled his mistress and is sitting with her head propped upon his shoulder (Browning's Porphyria's Lover). Sometimes you'll be able to answer only a few, and sometimes only vaguely: The speaker is unnamed, unplaced, and is addressing an audience that's unknown. No matter. You've begun to understand the poem.(teachers.ausd.net/classfile 42435)  In prose : what is happening? Who is involved? What is the tension or conflict? What is the dynamic between characters?

As you plan (Briguglio)  Consider how you will respond precisely to the question that is asked. The questions offer a logical and focused approach to the literary passage. Accept the guidance the question is offering you; it is designed to help you write an effective response. Stick to the question, focusing on ways to interpret and illustrate each of its elements.

As you plan and write  Think through the framework for your whole essay before you begin, but also be open to new insights that arise from your process of thinking and writing. Connect continually and logically to your thesis, your central idea, thus yielding a unified essay.

Things to consider  The beginning/opening should demonstrate that you understand the prompt and set the tone of your essay. In the first sentence, the lead sentence include the author’s name and title of the work along with the dramatic situation. Do not parrot the prompt. Take ownership and address the prompt.