The AP English Literature Essays
Three Essays (40 minutes each)
• Question 1 – Poem or Pair of Related Poems
• Question 2 – Prose: usually fiction or drama
(excerpt or complete short story)
• Question 3 – Analysis of student-selected novel,
play or epic poem in response to an openended framing question
Question 1, 2009
• In the following speech from Shakespeare’s play
Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey considers his sudden
downfall from his position as advisor to the
king. Spokesmen for the king have just left
Wolsey alone on stage. Read the speech
carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in
which you analyze how Shakespeare uses
elements such as allusion, figurative language,
and tone to convey Wolsey’s complex response
to his dismissal from court.
Question 2, 2009
• The following selection is the opening of Ann
Petry’s 1946 novel, The Street. Read the
selection carefully and then write an essay
analyzing how Petry establishes Lutie Johnson’s
relationship to the urban setting through the use
of such literary devices as imagery,
personification, selection of detail, and figurative
language.
Question 3, 2009
• A symbol is an object, action, or event that
represents something or that creates a range of
associations beyond itself. In literary works a
symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or
enlarge literal meaning.
• Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol,
write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions
in the work and what it reveals about the
characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do
not merely summarize the plot.
Suggested Works for Question 3
• You may choose a work from the list below or
another novel or play of comparable literary merit.
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As I Lay Dying
The Awakening
Beloved
Bleak House
Cat’s Eye
The Cherry Orchard
The Color Purple
Crime and Punishment
The Crossing
How the Essays are Scored
• Essays are scored using a 9 point holistic
rubric.
• Writers are rewarded for what they do
well, rather than points being deducted
for errors.
Scoring Rewards…
• Insight (original ideas about a text)
• Apt and relevant evidence,
• Competent, persuasive analysis
• Fluency and effective control of
language (which includes diction,
syntax, tone)
Steps to Success
• Make a plan.
• Begin quickly and directly.
• Use paragraphs and topic sentences.
• Use quotations and explain them.
• Create variety through sentences.
• Find the right word.
Just for Fun…
•The following slides are actual
excerpts from real AP
Literature Exam essays. Don’t
be this writer!
•Language has always
been a major part of
literature.
•The three classic
characters of high class
society: the snoob, the
niave, and the knows
better sarcastic.
•A feeling of
disillusionment is
created in the reader’s
bowels.
•By just reading this you
can cut it with a butter
knife.
•Willy Loman committed
suicide several times.