The Poetry Essay
To understand the text and
analyze those techniques the poet
uses to achieve his or her
purpose.
Kinds of questions asked:
How does the language of the poem reflect the
speaker’s perceptions, and how does that
language determine the reader’s perceptions?
How does the poet reveal character? (i.e., diction,
sound devices, imagery)
Discuss the similarities and differences between
the two poems. Consider style and theme.
Contrast a speaker’s views toward a subject in two
poems. Refer to form, tone, and imagery.
Discuss how poetic elements, such as language,
structure, imagery, and point of view, convey
meaning in a poem.
Planning Your Time
1-3 minutes reading and “working the
prompt”
5 minutes reading and making marginal
notes – try to isolate two references that
strike you.
10 minutes preparing to write
Highlight, underline, circle
20 minutes to write your essay
3 minutes to proofread.
Working the Prompt
Once you know what is expected, you will
read in a more directed manner.
Once you internalize the question, you will
be sensitive to the details that will apply as
you read the poem.
Once you know all the facets that need to
be addressed, you will be able to write a
complete essay that demonstrates
adherence to the topic.
Highlight, circle, or underline essential
terms and elements used in the
poem(s).(refer to handouts)
Writing the Opening Paragraph
Sets the tone and raises the
expectations of the reader.
Make certain your topic is clear
Include the poet and title
Address the portraits, contrasts,
insights
Specifically mention the techniques
you will refer to in your essay
Sample Opening
The observer and the observed. One has
control over the other. In her poem, “On
the Subway,” Sharon Olds asks her
readers to enter the mind of a white woman
who observes a young, black man as they
travel together, neither knowing the other.
Using poetic devices, imagery, and
organization, Olds takes the reader on a
ride through the contrasts and images that
spark the imagination of the white
onlooker.
Analysis of Sample
Immediately reveals the writer’s
confidence and mature writing style.
The prompt is addressed in an
interesting manner, letting the reader
know the tone of the essay.
Sample Opening Two
“And he is black and I am white”
establishes the basic content and conflict in
Sharon Old’s poem, “On the Subway.”
Through imagery, organization, and poetic
devices, Olds creates two contrasting
portraits. The narrator’s confrontation
becomes the reader’s also as she reveals
her troubling fears and insights through her
images and comments concerning her
encounter with the black youth.
Writing the Body
Present your interpretation and the points you
wish to make that are related to the prompt
Use specific references and details from the poem
(refer directly to the original – don’t always
paraphrase; place quotation marks around those
words and phrases that you extract)
Use “connective tissue” to establish adherence to
the question (use repetition of key ideas from
opening; try using “echo words” – insight =
inference/observation/perception – fear =
apprehension/insecurity; create transitions from
one paragraph to the next
**See Handout
Rapid Review
Review terms and techniques
Become familiar with types of poetry
prompts (questions)
Highlight the prompt to make certain you
are aware of required tasks
Time your essay carefully
Read the poem a couple of times
Spend sufficient time “working the poem”
before writing
Mark up the poem
Rapid Review continued
Create a strong opening paragraph,
including prompt information
Refer often to the poem for concrete details
and quotes to support your ideas
Always stay on topic
Avoid simply paraphrasing
Include transitions and echo words
Practice – vary the prompt and your
response
Consult models and rubrics for selfevaluation
The Prose Passage Essay
Generally, this is a one-page excerpt
from a work of fiction or nonfiction.
More often than not, the selection will
be from a novel or short story. The
nonfiction selection may include
essays, biographies, autobiographies,
and articles from periodicals. Be
aware that the exam may also
present an excerpt from a drama.
First, the purpose of this essay is for the
College Board to determine your facility in
reading and interpreting a sustained piece
of literature. It requires you to understand
the text and to analyze those techniques
and devices the author uses to achieve his
or her purpose.
Second, it allows you to demonstrate your
ease and fluency with terminology,
interpretation, and criticism.
Third, it determines your ability to
make connections between analysis
and interpretation. For example,
when you find a metaphor, you should
identify and connect it to the author’s
intended purpose or meaning. You
should connect everything to your
interpretation.
Types of Prose Passage Essay
Questions:
Analyze narrative and literary
techniques and other resources of
language used for characterization.
How does narrator reveal character?
(i.e., tone, diction, syntax, point of
view)
Analyze style and tone and how they
are used to explore the author’s
attitudes toward his or her subject.
Don’t be thrown by the complexity of
the passage. Remember, you choose
the references you wish to
incorporate into your essay. So, even
if you haven’t understood everything,
you are still able to write an intelligent
essay – as long as you address the
prompt and refer to the parts of the
passage you do understand.
Reading and Notating the Prose
Passage
Read quickly to get the gist of the
passage (1-3 min.)
Reread, using the visual and marginal
notes (annotation - 5 min.)
10 min. to plan
20 min. to write
3 min. to proofread
Prose Passage Practice
Read “The Dead”. Look for ways
Joyce reveals Gabriel’s character.
Annotate.
Use this method next:
Concept:
Technique/Device:
Words/Phrases from the text:
Conclusion:
Types of Free-Response
Prompts
The journey as a major force in a work
(Gulliver’s Travels, The Kite Runner)
Descent into madness/hell (Medea, Heart
of Darkness)
An ironic reversal in a character’s beliefs or
actions (Heart of Darkness, Oedipus)
The role of the fool, comic character, or
wise servant who reveals _____ (King
Lear)
How a minor character is used to
develop a major character.
How time is a major factor.
The analysis of a villain with regard to
the meaning of the work.
Parent/child or sibling relationships
and their significance.
The conflict between character and
society.