u/Entire-Rise-3515 — reddlx

I think my teacher has been WAY too lenient this year with our essays. Havent scored below a five yet even though my commentary honestly sucks. I rly need an objective opinion and advice from anyone taking ap lang or took it before. I really need a five since I want to study communications in college

This is the argumentative prompt: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap23-frq-english-language-set-1.pdf I used the one from 2023 set 1 and spent roughly 45 minutes on it.

Kingston’s claim on the importance of creating a community of voices is true. A community of voices can speak more truth because they are a big force than an individual person and because they provide spaces where people are empowered, uplifted, and encouraged to shout louder.

A community of voices proves to be more powerful than the individual since they stand out as a bigger force to be reckoned with. During the Gilded Age, workers faced intense working hours and dangerous working conditions despite being paid mere pennies. To combat this, union organizations were formed such as the Knights of Labor. They engaged in strikes and protests until the factory owners increased their wages. If the workers simply fought this battle on their own, no one would listen. If you were a factory worker, why would you give in to the demands of the underdogs, the nobody’s, the ones who were easily replaceable. Thus, this idea of collective bargaining was a power move. People realized that if they worked together, so much more could be achieved because their collective strength was undeniable. A community of voices speaking out against a corrupt and greedy corporate owner was much stronger than an individual one. This also stems from the fact that people would naturally respond to issues more if it impacted the majority. Afterall, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. This is exactly the trolley problem. The famous dilemma of whether you should pull the lever to save five people or one. Most people would instinctively answer, “I’d save the five people over the one!” Because there were more people at stake, one would rather save a group of people and more lives than an individual. Now, if that individual would have been a loved one or someone who had the potential to cure cancer, that would be a whole different discussion. But the fact that the majority of people would save five lives over the one speaks volumes upon how important size plays into the power of communities. Thus, being part of a large community makes it undeniable to the public eye their strength and ability to achieve change.

However, some may argue that being in too big of a community can actually drown out individual voices. School, for instance, is a community of learners and educators. While schools should be a safe space for every child to be in, it is not always the case. Bullying is a rampant problem in schools across the nation and in the world. Being part of the school community also means risking the chance of being bullied by your peers because of the way you look or act. Therefore being part of a community in this sense, does not seem ideal. While there is some truth towards this perspective, communities are places where individuals can be unapologetically themselves. When someone finds themselves to be unhappy in a certain community, they are simply in the wrong one. Communities engage, uplift, and empower their members. Take online writing communities for example. Vellichor Literary is an online literary magazine meant to create a safe space for writers and the general public to bond over their love for poetry and prose. What started out as a small project a few years ago turned into a massive undertaking with them gaining two hundred thousand followers and even winning a Chill Subs award (one of the most prestigious awards for literary magazine). Through Vellichor Literary, high schoolers found a platform where they were not ignored but rather celebrated for their craft and creativity over the English language. Being part of this community of writers allows people to speak more truth because it gave them a platform to do so. It’s easy to find solace with a group of people you can easily relate to. From LGBTQ+ groups on reddit gi to Marvel or DC fan bases on social media that have their friendly debates, social media has paved the way for communities to easily gather despite being hundreds and thousands of miles apart from each other. The founding of the world wide web in itself is a testament to how versatile and powerful communities can be even if they are not physically near each other. The support they provide for each other endures and transcends beyond borders.

Even more so, you can find communities that do the same within the four walls of a classroom. The Speech and Debate community is one that encourages and empowers students through the power of speech. From delivering persuasive ten minute speeches on social issues to debating the benefits of sports gambling, the speech and debate community has always empowered students to create purpose through their voices and stories. It is a platform that has fostered the growth of TV personalities like Oprah or actors like Josh Gad and even US Supreme Court Justices. The speech and debate community is proof that even the voices of the youth matter so much in a society that often overlooks them. This community encourages students to share their own story because every single one matters and can inspire change in the minds of their judges, competitors, and fellow friends. Communities like speech and debate are a safe haven for people to open up and be themselves, and therefore have the courage to speak their own truth despite being surrounded by many other voices.

Communities inspire change because of the people that are in it. The heart of a community lies in the individual willing to collaborate and fight for their own people. So before even considering the power of a community, one must also consider the power of the individual that makes up the community because that is where the true power of the group lies. In the hearts of those willing to help and uplift others.