Advice from a Lang Teacher/Grader
I've been teaching Lang for 8 years and have been a grader the past two (synthesis one year, argument the next). Stumbled on this subreddit as I was looking up something for class and just wanted to throw in my two cents:
The philosophy of the AP graders is to ADD points, not take away points. What I mean by this-- we treat your essays like you start out at zero, and calculate the scores up from there. Thesis? +1, first piece of evidence (quote for RA, source for synthesis, example for argument) will bump you up on the E&C portion of the rubric.
There's no need to panic if you didn't write a counterargument- it's not required.
No need to panic if you didn't fit 2 pieces of evidence in one body paragraph- it's not required.
There's no need to panic if you said "illicit" instead of "elicit" 😄 - we are not docking points for spelling/grammar UNLESS it makes your essay unreadable/impacts the clarity of your writing.
The rubrics are very general and holistic; aside from a few areas (like having 3 sources in the synth essay), they are not nitpicky in their requirements. An essay with a thesis and two body paragraphs can score a 6-- I know because I HAVE scored essays with a thesis and 2 body paragraphs as a 6. I would suggest spending some time really looking at the rubrics if you haven't already.
A few concrete tips:
- For ARG, make sure your evidence is SPECIFIC. Try to use proper nouns (people, places, movements, historical events, etc.). Totally OK to use personal experience, but make that personal experience specific (ex: if you were discussing overcoming failure, don't just generally describe a time you were overwhelmed with school; describe a time where you struggled on the American Revolution unit test in your history class.)
- For synthesis, it REALLY is important for you to use 3 sources. If you don't, unfortunately, your grader can only give you a 1/4 on evidence and commentary.
- Practice multiple choice-- they are tricky, but not impossible. The best way to improve MC is to do more MC. Do the progress checks on AP classroom and whatever other MC your teacher has assigned to you/opened to you. If your teacher hasn't opened these, I think you're absolutely OK to politely ask 😄
I'll check on this periodically, so let me know if you have any questions! (But no, sorry, I will not grade your essays for you... I have enough of my own to grade!)
Good luck to you all next week!!!