AP English Language and Composition
Free Response Question
Defend, Qualify or Refute
Carefully read the excerpt from the website of American Association of School
Administrators. Then write an essay in which you support, qualify, or refute the
following claim. Use appropriate evidence to develop your argument.
Drug testing in WHHS should be instituted
Drug use is an important issue in
have utilized a variety of tools: drug
today’s schools. Regardless of recent
testing, metal detectors, closed circuit
public and judicial attention given to
cameras and sniff dogs. Drug testing
the issue of drug testing in schools—
has been an attractive strategy to
including U.S. Supreme Court
some administrators, who see it as a
decisions supporting mandatory
reliable and objective way of detecting
random drug testing of students—
student drug use.
many schools and administrators find
themselves without a drug testing
policy and questioning the merits of
implementing one in their district. In
an effort to combat drug use and
enforce zero-tolerance policies, schools
________________________________________________________________________
9 Essays earning a score of 9 meets the criteria for 8 essays in addition are especially sophisticated in their explanation
and argument or demonstrate impressive control of language
Effective
8 Essays earning a score of 8 effectively develop a position on the use of mandatory drug testing. The evidence used is
appropriate and convincing. The prose demonstrates an ability to control a wide range of the elements of effective writing but is
not necessarily flawless.
7 Essays earning a score of 7 fit the description of 6 essays but have a more complete argument or demonstrate amore more
mature prose style.
Adequate
6 Essays earning a score of 6 adequately develop a position on mandatory drug testing. The evidence used is appropriate. The
writing may contain lapses in diction or syntax, but generally the prose is clear.
5 Essays earning a score of 5 develop a position on mandatory drug testing. These essays may, however, provide uneven,
inconsistent, or limited explanations or evidence. The writing may contain lapses in diction or syntax, but it usually conveys the
student’s ideas.
Inadequate
4 Essays earning a score of 4 inadequately develop a position on mandatory drug testing. The evidence used may be insufficient
the prose generally convey the student’s ideas but may suggest immature control of writing.
3 Essays earning a score of 3 meet the criteria for a score of 4 but demonstrate less success in developing a position on the use
of mandatory drug testing or in providing evidence to support that position. The essays may show less control of writing.
Little success
2 Essays earning a score of 2 demonstrate little success in developing a position on mandatory drug testing. The students may
misunderstand the prompt or substitute a simpler task by responding to the prompt tangentially with unrelated inaccurate or
inappropriate evidence. The prose often demonstrates consistent weaknesses in writing.