1. JE Q3 Prompt Feedback
Your peers did a really great job identifying areas of strength and need. Please look at the comments carefully. Most scores were also close to accurate, so great job!

2. MOST IMPORTANT MOST students did NOT address the entire prompt.
The first part is easy, and most of you did a great job with the deception and motive.
The second part was either:
Completely ignored
Misunderstood
What does “meaning of the work as a whole” mean?

3. From an AP readers reflection
“Another thing that soon became apparent as I worked through the essays was that many students didn’t understand the phrase “the meaning of the work as a whole” means THEME. So many students would actually use that exact phrasing but discuss how it affected the plot, or they would just leave out that part completely (exactly what happened with you essays). In order to score in the mid to upper range, it is essential that the students not only discuss a theme, but that they articulate it clearly and do so throughout the entirety of the essay. In other words, it can’t only be in the thesis statement or at the end; it needs to be woven throughout the essay and related back to the character in the prompt.”

4. From another AP readers reflection
“Essays that scored in the upper half did a better job at presenting the overall meaning of the work in the introductory paragraph and in every paragraph that followed. Many students still followed the order of the prompt to organize their essays; the theme was clearly stated in the introduction in a solid thesis statement, and each paragraph explicitly stated how the mysterious or unusual origins helped to establish the theme. They included apt and specific textual evidence and explicitly explained how it helped the author to create meaning.”

5. From another AP readers reflection cont’d
“Length matters. I don’t think I scored a single essay that was under a page and a half (front and half of the back) higher than a 4. They just weren’t long enough to go into any kind of detail in textual evidence or really explain how the origins affected the character, other characters, and overall meaning. However, in regards to length, I also read plenty of 4-page essays that were all plot summary. They just retold the story–so they got a 3. Or maybe a 4 if they had a hint of a theme in there somewhere. Make sure if you go into plot that you are doing so only because it supports what the prompt is asking and illustrates the overall meaning that is the basis for your argument.”

6. Themes in JE
As reference, here is a list of the thematic topics we discussed. You will have to develop the topic into a theme (i.e., what is the author saying about this topic?):
Love/Marriage
Social Class
Religion
Gender roles (inequality)
Isolation/Family
Coming of age
Others- there are others, and you are free to use them. Just make sure it is a theme and not a motif of characteristic of the literature (e.g. gothic/romantic)

7. Other issues Intro author and work Underline work
Have a clear thesis statement that addresses entire prompt
Organize ideas (paragraph breaks are necessary)
ALWAYS ask yourself how what you are writing supports your thesis

8. HOW TO SCORE HIGHER
You need to apply these changes to your essays if you want to score above a 3/4/5. There’s just no other way.
SO, for your next Q3 prompt (for OR), please keep this in mind. Make these changes, so we can pull up your scores. 