Third essay on the AP test Will give you either a statement or a short passage to read You must write an argument in which you take a position on that statement
1. Passage or statement 2. In a well-written essay, examine the ideas in the passage, supporting your position with appropriate evidence 3. Write an essay in which you defend, challenge, or qualify the ideas in the statement/passage. Support your argument with appropriate evidence. 4. In a well-written essay, develop a position. Support your position with reading, observation, and/or experience.
Defend = agree completely Challenge = disagree completely Qualify = sort of agree, sort of disagree Make you position clear in your thesis DO NOT say I defend/challenge/qualify in your thesis! May say, I agree/disagree More sophisticated without I
Need several examples Reading = books, documentaries, articles Observation = news, history Experience = personal experience No more than one personal experience in an essay Avoid too many I think or I feel statements Focus on the experience
Intro w/thesis Paragraphs on your position with examples Two or three Body paragraphs need: topic sentence examples or quotes analysis/discussion Refutation Paragraph discussing and then refuting counterargument Conclusion One sentence is plenty!
Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant. Horace Consider this quotation from Roman poet Horace. Then write an essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies Horace s assertion about the role that adversity (financial or political hardship, danger, misfortune, etc) plays in developing one s character. Support your argument with appropriate evidence from your reading, observation, or experience.
I agree with the Roman poet Horace in that adversity has a way of rousing talent from slumber. Adversity can stimulate, force, and sharpen a person in ways prosperity cannot therefore there is, then, value in hardship. 8 score From personal experience as well as from reading the novel The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, I absolutely agree with this statement. 6 score
Write down three comments about each essay Either on what the essays does well or where it falls short
Do make multiple points/discuss multiple reasons for your argument Do not try to illustrate the same point several times with multiple examples Paper 1 It is ethical to offer incentives for donating to charities because both sides benefit Example, example, example Paper 2 It is unethical because it devalues the charitable spirit Example It is unethical because it creates a capitalist system, i.e. paying for grades Example It is unethical because the poorer students cannot receive benefits, i.e. an aristocracy is created Example
Do make sure your thesis is an argument, not a statement of fact Do not make everyone s entitled to their own opinion types of statements Do discuss exactly how your example supports your claim Do choose the side you can argue the best, even if it is not really your personal belief Do not say I defend/challenge/qualify in your thesis Do not repeat the prompt exactly in you thesis
Defensible Has valid points Based on logic, facts Can prove it Arguable Is an argument, not a statement of fact or common knowledge Some people would disagree with the argument
Thesis: Not Defensible Arguable and Defensible Not Arguable The Vote: Nearly 0% agree Mixed responses Almost 100% agree Responses The Essay You re crazy No way Strained logic Gets off track Fakes evidence Tell me more Can you prove it? Finds good evidence Supports a thesis Argues like a debater So what? Well, duh Summarizes A mere report Obviously true Examples Everyone should smoke cigars Many people should smoke cigars Some people smoke cigars Twilight is a better movie than Harry Potter Lord of the Rings is a better movie than Harry Potter Harry Potter is a better movie than Twilight
Should schools be able to search your personal belongings (lockers, backpacks, cars)? Is it both arguable and defensible? Trade with someone near you Evaluate someone else s thesis and stick it in appropriate column on board
Should schools be able to enforce a dress code? Is it both arguable and defensible? Trade with someone near you Evaluate someone else s thesis and stick it in appropriate column on board
40 minute timed writing Bring paper, pen or pencil Major grade 15% Graded on AP scale Prompt says support, refute, qualify