Tips for writing an AP English essay.
Read. Read constantly, obsessively, intensely. In the car, on the bus, in the bath, in boring classes. Don't whine about it, it's good for you. And the great part is, you can read anything you want! Loathe the nasty, wordy classics? Make it your goal to read one every semester, but then read young adult fiction, or mysteries, or even news magazines likeTime or US News and World Report. When you read, you soak up the words, the syntax, the way that the author conveys the tone. With a good author, you don't have to be consciously paying attention to absorb their skill.
Study your grammar. No, you don't have to spend hours diagramming sentences. If you have accomplished step one, you should have already learned by osmosis why some sentences sound or look right, and others don't.
Pick your topic. Now that you've dressed yourself in great vocabulary and an understanding of grammar and syntax, it's time to pick a decent restaurant; your topic, or in the case of rhetorical analysis or persuasive, your stance.
Build your paragraphs. Now we're to the "meal"--the most fun, but also the trickiest part. You're going to cut it up and eat it; that is you're going to let the inspiration flow and build up paragraphs around your thesis.
Study your grammar. No, you don't have to spend hours diagramming sentences. If you have accomplished step one, you should have already learned by osmosis why some sentences sound or look right, and others don't.
Pick your topic. Now that you've dressed yourself in great vocabulary and an understanding of grammar and syntax, it's time to pick a decent restaurant; your topic, or in the case of rhetorical analysis or persuasive, your stance.
- Write with passion. If it's an open essay, make sure you write about something you are passionate about. If you're bored, it will show in your writing.
- Ask for help. Ask your instructor whether your thesis is good enough. Your entire essay will be built around this, everything must relate to it.
- Make sure you are answering the prompt. If you do not answer the prompt if given one, you will get at most a 4. Misreading the prompt is a 5, and writing at a standard writing level answering the prompt is a six.
Build your paragraphs. Now we're to the "meal"--the most fun, but also the trickiest part. You're going to cut it up and eat it; that is you're going to let the inspiration flow and build up paragraphs around your thesis.
- Be creative. Teachers have already read your essay, you don't have to summarize it again. Revisit some points, but don't retell it.
- Don't reinvent. Definitely don't bring up anything new. If you've found yourself doing this, probably make it a whole different paragraph.
- Make a general point. If you can find some way to be novel, wise, or basically make yourself sound worldly, do so. Somehow relate all that you've written to the universe.
TPCASTT Method
T-title: The meaning of the title without reference to the poem.
P-paraphrase: Put the poem, line by line, in your own words. DO NOT READ INTO THE POEM. Only read on surface level.
C-connotation: looking for deeper meaning.
S-shifts: Looking for shifts in tone, action, and rhythm. Don’t just write the number. Discuss how the shift(s) affects the poem.
T-title: reevaluate the title as it pertains to the poem
T-theme: What does the poem mean? What is it saying? How does it relate to life?
P-paraphrase: Put the poem, line by line, in your own words. DO NOT READ INTO THE POEM. Only read on surface level.
C-connotation: looking for deeper meaning.
- Diction and symbolism
- Imagery
- Metaphors and similes
- Rhyme scheme
- End rhymes and internal rhymes
- End stop
- Enjambment
- Alliteration
- Assonance
- Consonance
- Mood
- Allusions
- Punctuation
- Personification
S-shifts: Looking for shifts in tone, action, and rhythm. Don’t just write the number. Discuss how the shift(s) affects the poem.
T-title: reevaluate the title as it pertains to the poem
T-theme: What does the poem mean? What is it saying? How does it relate to life?
SIFT Method
SIFT is an AP strategy designed to help a reader explore how a writer uses literary elements and
stylistic techniques to convey meaning and/or theme.
SIFT stands for:
S – symbol – examine the title and text for symbolism (a symbol is any object, person, place, or
action that has both a meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself, such as a
quality, attitude, belief, or value – example: a dove in a story isn’t just a bird, it often symbolizes
peace)
I – images – identify images and sensory details (how does something look, feel, taste, smell,
sound? Why is this important?)
F – figures of speech – analyze figurative language and other devices (examples: simile,
metaphor, personification, hyperbole, apostrophe, oxymoron, paradox, pun, etc.)
T – tone AND theme – discuss how all devices reveal tone and theme (tone – writer’s/speaker’s
attitude toward a subject, character, or audience; conveyed through author’s diction and details –
theme – central message of a literary work; usually expressed as a statement. Ex: Power is hard
to control.)
stylistic techniques to convey meaning and/or theme.
SIFT stands for:
S – symbol – examine the title and text for symbolism (a symbol is any object, person, place, or
action that has both a meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself, such as a
quality, attitude, belief, or value – example: a dove in a story isn’t just a bird, it often symbolizes
peace)
I – images – identify images and sensory details (how does something look, feel, taste, smell,
sound? Why is this important?)
F – figures of speech – analyze figurative language and other devices (examples: simile,
metaphor, personification, hyperbole, apostrophe, oxymoron, paradox, pun, etc.)
T – tone AND theme – discuss how all devices reveal tone and theme (tone – writer’s/speaker’s
attitude toward a subject, character, or audience; conveyed through author’s diction and details –
theme – central message of a literary work; usually expressed as a statement. Ex: Power is hard
to control.)
S.O.A.P.S. Tone
This technique is a useful way to help you enter a piece of literature. Identifying these elements or components will help you organize your thinking as you tackle unfamiliar work.
Speaker: Who is speaking in the work? (It is almost never the poet or the author)
Occasion: What event has prompted the speaker to utter or write these words?
Audience: To whom are these words directed? (Yes, the reader is meant to hear or take in these words, but might someone else be the listener? Who might that other listener/reader be? Might the speaker be talking to himself?)
Purpose: What is the speaker's purpose in delivering these words? Does the speaker wish to tell, amuse, persuade, inform, reflect, examine, or rant?
Subject: What is the subject or theme of this work?
Tone: What is the tone or attitude of the speaker? What is the mood of the piece? What devices are used to convey the tone?
Speaker: Who is speaking in the work? (It is almost never the poet or the author)
Occasion: What event has prompted the speaker to utter or write these words?
Audience: To whom are these words directed? (Yes, the reader is meant to hear or take in these words, but might someone else be the listener? Who might that other listener/reader be? Might the speaker be talking to himself?)
Purpose: What is the speaker's purpose in delivering these words? Does the speaker wish to tell, amuse, persuade, inform, reflect, examine, or rant?
Subject: What is the subject or theme of this work?
Tone: What is the tone or attitude of the speaker? What is the mood of the piece? What devices are used to convey the tone?