Question 3: The Open-Ended
Essay Question
Analyzing the “Big Picture”
How would you approach this
prompt?
In many works of literature, a physical
journey – the literal movement from one
place to another – plays a central role.
Choose a novel, play, or epic poem in which
a physical journey is an important element
and analyze how the journey adds to the
meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere
plot summary.
WHAT IS AN OPEN-ENDED ESSAY?
• Like an FRQ in other AP classes.
• This essay is based on a provocative
prompt that highlights specific insights
applicable to a broad range of literary
texts.
• The question provides for varied personal
interpretations and multiple approaches.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE OPENENDED ESSAY?
• Your professors, the College Board, and I
want to assess your ability to analyze a
work of literature in a particular context.
The illustrations you include in your essay
will demonstrate your insights and critical
thinking as well as your writing ability.
– Do you know how the parts of a book relate to
the overall whole?
WHAT MAKES THE ESSAY “OPEN”?
• Although the prompt is the same for all
students, you have the freedom to choose
the piece of literature to which you will refer.
• Once chosen, you have total freedom to
select the specifics that will support your
thesis.
• Unlike the other essays, which have rubrics
based on certain concrete interpretations
and directions of the text, your open-ended
essay will be uniquely your own.
WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS OF THE OPENENDED ESSAY?
• Providing only plot summary instead of
analysis
• Providing illustrations and examples that
are obvious or superficial instead of using
ones that are relevant, convincing, and
insightful
WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS OF THE OPENENDED ESSAY?
• Depending on memory rather than on
preparation
• Rambling on in vague and unsupported
generalities or providing incorrect
information
• Wasting too much time pondering on
which work to use
• MERE SUMMARY!
WHAT WORK SHOULD I USE?
• You will be asked to choose a full-length
work, such as a novel or play. You may
never use a film.
• A list of works will be provided with the
open-ended prompt, but you DO NOT
have to choose a work from that list!
WHAT WORK SHOULD I USE?
• Avoid trilogies or series (i.e. Harry Potter,
Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia,
Wheel of Time, Hunger Games, etc.)
• You may not use the Bible.
• It is recommended that you use a major
work that you have read within the last
year or so and know very well—
especially ones that you have studied in
AP Literature class.
WHAT WORK SHOULD I USE?
• The College Board prefers works from the
literary canon because they exhibit
breadth and complexity. Don’t fight these
requirements! You will do yourself a
disservice trying to outwit or beat the
system.
EXAMPLE PROMPT: 2006, Form B.
In many works of literature, a physical journey –
the literal movement from one place to another –
plays a central role. Choose a novel, play, or epic
poem in which a physical journey is an important
element and analyze how the journey adds to the
meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot
summary.
1. What is the topic of the prompt?
2. What are each of the tasks that the prompt
requires you to complete?
3. Select a text to answer the prompt. How could
you organize the body of your paper?
Books You Have Probably Read
•
•
•
•
•
•
Odyssey
Lord of the Flies
To Kill a Mockingbird
Siddhartha
The Iliad
All Quiet on the
Western Front
• Things Fall Apart
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Great Gatsby
The Grapes of Wrath
The Scarlet Letter
The Crucible
Oedipus Rex
SHAKESPEARE!
Tools of Analysis
P1s (Whole):
• Complex
Characterization
• Critique/Promote/
Purpose
• Theme
• A Central Question
P2s (Parts):
• Settings
• Ironies
• Conflicts
• POV/Writing Style
• Characters
• Plot Events
• Motifs/Symbols
P3s (Evidence): Apt and specific textual
support from the novel/play
Examples of P1s (Whole):
• Complex Characterization
– Over the course of Heart of Darkness, Marlow’s
psychological deterioration and moral revelation results from
directly witnessing the inhumane horrors of imperialism.
• Critique/Sanction/Purpose
– In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the tragic figure of Jay
Gatsby to express the futility of an overly naïve belief in the
American Dream.
• Theme
– Through the dynamic characters of John and Bernard,
Huxley’s Brave New World offers a relevant warning of the
self-destruction incurred by escapism and conformity.
• A Central Question
– Shakespeare’s eponymous protagonist as well as his tragic
effects on others begs the supreme question of the play –
How much doubt is too much?
So
many
essays
Sample Essay Shell
Prompt: Analyze how a scene of violence functions
to support the meaning of the work as a whole.
• Thesis: The final catastrophic scene of Hamlet
reinforces the play’s conclusion of the essential
pyrrhic quality of revenge.
• Para 2: Establishing how Hamlet’s revenge against
Claudius leads to the deaths of innocents,
Gertrude and Laertes; considering poison as
means of violence
• Para 3: Characterizing Hamlet and his own demise
because of his final action of revenge
• Para 4: Showing the implications of revenge to the
entire political sphere
Tips for the Open-Ended Essay
• Go beyond “X drives the plot”
– Consider effects on theme, purpose,
characterization, foreshadowing, development of
motifs/ideas, creation of conflict, establishment of
mood, promotion of suspense
• Your thesis statement should include
Answer to the prompt
+
Overall meaning (theme, purpose, characterization,
etc. from list above)
e.g.: The moment of revelation in which the truth of Algy and
Jack’s actual names functions as a criticism of Victorian
manners regarding marriage.
• Don’t just summarize!
– You can elaborate on plot details, but
you should integrate them into analytic
sentences
• WEAK: Hamlet has the opportunity to kill
Claudius but his hesitation and doubt
prevents this.
• STRONG: Hamlet’s character flaws of
hesitation and doubt surface when he fails
to kill Claudius at prayer, reinforcing the
play’s general condemnation of inaction.
• Use present tense when talking about things that
happen in novels/plays/poems.
– NO: Hamlet killed Laertes by stabbing him.
– YES: Hamlet kills Laertes by stabbing him.
• Literary themes are not one word.
– Motif: Revenge
– Theme: Revenge leads to self-destruction.
• Punctuation!
– Novels are underlined. Epic poems are, too. Hey, so are plays.
– “Poems” and “Short Stories” are in quotation marks.
• Avoid speculation in writing. Think speculatively, but
don’t write that way.
– NO: If Hamlet had been more decisive, he would have killed Claudius
and we wouldn’t have the play.
– YES: Hamlet’s indecision to kill Claudius leads him down a slippery slope
of doubt, illustrating the paralytic potential of questioning and the delay of
his revenge.
• No contractions!
– Contractions aren’t good things to use in your
formal essays.
• Don’t praise the work!
– Hamlet is an excellent play that…
• Be assertive!
– NO: Hamlet somewhat fits the tragic hero
archetype
– YES: Hamlet’s nobility, hamartia, and
confrontation of fate establish him clearly
within the tragic hero archetype.
• Don’t just repeat the text of the prompt.
– PROMPT: Choose a novel or play that depicts a
conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and
a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you
analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how
the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.
Avoid plot summary.
– DON’T: Throughout the play, Hamlet experiences a
conflict with his parental figure that affects the
meaning of the work.
– DO: Throughout the play, Hamlet’s struggle for
power and revenge against his uncle Claudius
provides for motifs of incest and betrayal as the
tragedy develops.
• Walk your reader through your interpretations.
– NO: The opening scene’s setting is outside and contributes
to the motif of invisibility. Polonius’s death shows this idea,
too. These events contribute to the theme of the seen vs.
unseen.
– YES: The dark and obscured outdoor setting of the
opening scene immediately establishes questions of the
seen/unseen, later recycled in the death of the seemingly
hidden Polonius at the hands of vengeful Hamlet.
• Avoid the cliché hook!
– NO: Death is the ultimate unknown. Hamlet
addresses this by…
– YES: The ubiquity of death as the ultimate mystery
serves as perhaps the most essential question of
Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet.
• Your thesis statement should still have the following:
– a P1 that gives an overall meaning (theme,
purpose, characterization, etc.) RELATED TO THE
PROMPT
– some P2s that give elements of the novel/play
which support your P1
• Plot events, characters, settings, ironies, shifts
• You must be able to connect your P2s to your P1
• Remember to SHOW! don’t tell
– Telling: Shakespeare uses scenes that show Hamlet’s mental paralysis to
demonstrate that the prince was a hesitating avenger who cannot kill Claudius.
– Showing: In scenes such as Hamlet’s “The Play’s The Thing” soliloquy,
Shakespeare demonstrates that the prince functions as a hesitating avenger
who cannot kill Claudius because Hamlet must find undeniable proof of
Claudius’ guilt before he commits the act of murder and revenge for his father’s
murder.
More showing vs. telling
• TELL: The ghost affects the action of the play by
inciting Hamlet’s revenge and saving Gertrude’s life.
This shows the importance of protecting family
honor.
• SHOW: By inciting Hamlet’s revenge and saving
Gertrude’s life, the ghost reinforces the importance
of protecting family honor to the audience.
• TELL: Hamlet’s death is a prime example of tragedy.
• SHOW: Coming from Hamlet’s hamartia of
indecisiveness, his delayed revenge ultimately
suggests that achieving certainty beyond all doubt
yields a sort of paralysis in the face of adversity.
Be Specific!
• For short (2 page) papers, avoid fillers and vague
sentences. You have much to prove in little time, so
be specific!
• VAGUE: Although the ghost only shows up three
times, he plays a major role.
• SPECIFIC: Although the ghost appears only three
times, he serves as a supernatural reminder for
Hamlet to execute his revenge.
• VAGUE: Ophelia’s flowers are symbols that show
her character.
• SPECIFIC: Ophelia reveals her subversive character
when she distributes flowers, symbolic of different
vices, to the royal court - especially when she gives
rue (regret) to Gertrude.
BE SPECIFIC!
• In Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison the plot is centered around the story
of Milkman Dead and the physical and psychological journey he embarks on
to reveal the necessity of self-exploration and to articulate the importance of
knowing one’s cultural roots.
• The love that Milkman experiences in that moment inspires him to
leap out across the open space between himself and Guitar. This
leap is symbolic of Milkman’s gratitude towards his aunt, as he is
leaping out in order to take revenge on his former best friend.
Furthermore, the leap is symbolic of Milkman’s discovery and
appreciation of his family’s history. Like his great-grandfather,
Solomon, Milkman is destined for greatness that goes beyond the
constraints of gravity. Though the novel does not specify, if Milkman
does, in fact, fly, the leap he makes suggests his surrender and his
ultimate release from the inhibitions he has endured throughout life,
including wealth, a dysfunctional family, and racism. The moment
Milkman leaps combined with his aunt’s death indicates the
conclusion of Milkman’s self-discovery and the beginning of his
P1 (answer to prompt) must be
INFERENCE-based
• Connect your P1 to a theme, purpose,
complex characterization,
• NO - Hamlet’s indecision leads him to put
off taking revenge against Claudius.
• YES – Hamlet’s indecision reveals the
complexity of action, and the play’s
general criticism of skeptical attitudes.
Read the prompt and
grade the sample
essays. Note strengths
and weaknesses of
each.