AP Test Essay Suggestions

• Answering essay questions generally requires a good deal of training and practice. Students too often begin to write immediately, creating a string of disconnected, poorly planned thoughts. You need to learn to attack questions methodically and to plan your answers before putting pencil to paper.
• Carefully analyze the question, thinking through what is being asked, and identify the elements that must be addressed in the response. Others require you to consider all the similarities between people or events, and then to think of all the ways they are different.
• After you have determined what is involved in answering the question, consider what evidence you can incorporate into your response. Review the evidence you learned during the year that relates to the question and then decide how it fits into the analysis. Does it demonstrate a similarity or difference? Does it argue for or against the generalization that is being addressed?
• Whenever you offer evidence to illustrate contrast or similarity, clearly state your intent. Then, with additional information or analysis, elaborate on the ways in which these pieces of evidence are similar or different. If there is evidence that refutes a statement, explain why it argues against the statement. Your answer should reflect an understanding of the subtleties of the questions.
• Begin writing only after you have thought through the evidence you plan to use, and have determined what your thesis statement will be. Once you have done this, you will be in a position to answer the question analytically instead of in a rambling narrative. You will also know whether you are going to argue on a side that supports or refutes the statement, and whether similarities outweigh the differences.
• Learn how to present your thesis statement: describe your overarching framework and then position your supporting evidence so that it is obviously directed to the question—not just a string of abstract generalizations. State your points as clearly as possible, not leaving it to the reader to infer what is meant or how something illustrates a point.
• If you have done the analytical work required prior to writing, you should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of the question. You should be able to state your thesis, introduce the elements that support the thesis, and demonstrate the logic that led you to link the elements in support of the thesis. By applying these ideas you will construct an excellent essay.
• While essay writing in general is a valuable exercise, you may wish to work specifically on free-response questions from previous AP Examinations. This will allow you to compare your own responses with those that have already been scored and evaluated by faculty consultants. Free-response questions are available through the Advanced Placement Program^® in numerous formats.