Writing Tips
Insider ideas
from AP essay readers
Compiled at the 2007 AP English reading in Kentucky
Structure
 Plan your essay! Ten minutes of
planning is time well spent.
 Fully develop your essay; write at least
two pages.
 Leave a few lines blank for an
introduction; add one later that is
focused and concise.
Structure
Quotations provide evidence for your
analysis. Show, don’t tell, and be sure you
 Gracefully integrate each quotation
 Give your interpretation of its meaning
 Provide a clear explanation of the
quotation’s relevance to your analysis.
What is its significance to the work,
your thesis and the prompt?
Structure
 When writing about literature, verb tense
should be PRESENT.
 Why? Because every time one reads the
story/play/poem, the same actions take
place: Raskolnikov confesses, Lear dies,
Dante descends into Hell.
Structure
 Make sure your essay has a clear,
arguable thesis statement.
 Make sure your thesis precisely
reflects what the prompt asks without
simply restating the prompt.
 Be specific, not general.
Structure
 Spend more time thinking about and
analyzing the entire text rather than
paraphrasing the text in your response.
 Look for ambiguities and ambivalence in
the selection.
Structure
 All claims must have support AND
 All support must be the best the text has
to offer.
Structure
 The conclusion should be a separate
paragraph, even if it is just one
sentence.
 A good conclusion could restate the
thesis (but please, not word for word),
emphasize significant aspects of the
essay, and end with a provocative
thought (not a sermon).
Structure
 Avoid the formulaic five-paragraph
essay, BUT
 Also avoid one or two GIGANTIC
paragraphs.
 Readers need clues as to where ideas
begin and end so as to judge the essay’s
coherence.
Structure
 “Plot summary is
DEATH.”
Structure
 Avoid formulaic writing and clichés,
especially in the opening paragraph.
 If your essay is the 283rd that begins
“There are many similarities and
differences between…,” well, good-bye
nine.
 Don’t be wacky, either: “Hamlet is like a
pizza with many layers and a variety of
toppings.”
Structure
 Do not use line numbers; briefly quote instead.
 Why? Line numbers never substitute for the
actual words when supporting a point, and
MOST readers will not go back to the text to
see the lines to which you refer.
 For the same reason, do not quote first and last
words with ellipsis in between. Use the exact
words that are most important to making your
point.
Structure
 Take the time to consider point of view
and intended audience before you write.
 Many essay writers confuse the actual
purpose of the text by not thinking about
or ignoring POV and audience.
Structure
 For the free response, COVER UP THE
LIST of suggested titles while you read
the prompt.
 Write about ANY work of literary merit
that you know well and that fits the
particular prompt.
Structure
 Avoid lists: “The writer uses words such
___, ___ and ____ to show ___.”
 Avoid fluff. Your opinion on the Iraq war
and your unreasonable parents have
nothing to do with the task.
 Avoid sweeping generalizations.
 Avoid judgmental adjectives (this one is
worth repeating).
Style
 Avoid purple prose: long and flowery is
not as persuasive as concise and direct.
Style
 Do NOT judge the work: “I really like this
poem.”
 Do NOT comment on the author:
“Dickens was a great 19th century
novelist” or “Milton does a great job.”
 Use literary analysis to convey your
(implied) opinion.
Style
 All writing requires creative thinking, but
creative writing is not academic writing.
Style
 Avoid the affective fallacy, which argues
that the reader’s response to a poem or
novel is the ultimate indication of its
value.
Style
 Your response does not need a title.
Some readers actually dislike titles.
 Try to write legibly—and increase your
font size! Readers do their best to read
every word, but stumbling through an
ILLEGIBLE essay written in tiny font would
test the patience of any reader.
Structure
 It is a good use of time to spend the last
few minutes editing your work.
 Try not to make changes within the
sentence, drawing little arrows and so
on. Neatly cross out the whole sentence
and start over.
Focus
 Your focus is the PROMPT
 AP = Address the Prompt
 Make sure you have a clear
understanding of what the prompt asks
before you plunge in; don’t twist it to suit
what you want to write about.
 Too many great essays go down in
flames because the student simply did
not respond to the prompt.
Focus
 Your analysis should be as specific as
possible with reference to the prompt.
 Do not generalize.
 Generalizations do not make good
evidence.
 Generalizations do not support
assertions.
Focus
 Don’t simply list devices.
 Focus on a few devices and show HOW
and WHY they are used: what the device
adds to the meaning of the text.
 Literary devices are tools the author
uses to create meaning. Ask “So what?
What purpose does this [rhyme scheme,
apostrophe, metaphor, …] serve?
Focus
 Especially when responding to poetry,
explain how form relates to content.
 A sonnet, for example, will have at least
one turn, and often more than one if it is
Shakespearean.
 Any discussion of form should include
content, and any discussion of content
should include form.
Focus
 Literary terms should be used correctly
and appropriately.
 If you are not sure what a term means,
don’t use it in your essay.
 Don’t define literary terms: English
teachers read the essays, and I assure
you they know what the terms mean.
 Focus on HOW the device is effectively
used.
Focus
 When you analyze a work, assess it from
start to finish as an organic whole.
 Evaluate how the work builds to a
conclusion.
 Don’t write a paragraph on each device.
Focus
 Don’t forget what are often the most
important parts of a text, especially in a
poem: the TITLE and the ENDING.
Focus
 When asked to compare and contrast,
remember that because one text uses
devices x, y and z does not mean that
the second text uses the same device.
 Look at overall meaning and how the
author achieves that meaning regardless
of the devices involved.
Focus
 Do not write about ANYTHING that
cannot be related to the prompt.
 Do not allude to other works you may
have read or studied: doing so almost
always diminishes your other
observations.
Focus
 When working with poetry, try to discuss
rhyme, structure, meter and so on—but
ONLY if you know what you are talking
about.
 In other words, if you simply observe the
poem’s use of iambic pentameter or
ababcc rhyme scheme, do it quickly.
 It is preferable to analyze the effect of
iambic pentameter, rhyme scheme, etc.
Focus
 If the selection appears too simple or too
easy—look again! Can there be multiple
meanings?
 On the other hand, don’t force
symbolism into your analysis. It’s better
to miss symbolism than to distort the
meaning of the work by creating symbols
that do not exist.
Vocabulary & Word Choice
 Diction does NOT mean word choice.
 Diction DOES mean the level of formality
and degree of correctness of the
language.
 Writers don’t “use” diction; they don’t
“use literary terms.”
 All sentences have diction and syntax.
The question is what kind and WHY.
 Don’t write that “The author uses diction
(or syntax) to show his or her meaning.”
Vocabulary & Word Choice
 Avoid clichés.
 Avoid general, master-of-the-obvious
statements (“There are many similarities
between the passages” or “These texts
are the same and different.”)
Vocabulary & Word Choice
 Eschew obfuscation. Chances are your
readers know the big words, and may, in
fact, use them better than you do. And if
you misuse a “big word,” you will look
silly.
 Simple, clear, direct writing is preferable
to pretentious, highfalutin’ gobbledygook.
Vocabulary & Word Choice
 Do not misspell the names of authors! It
looks sloppy. If you aren’t sure, and if the
name hasn’t been provided, “author” is
safe.
 Poems are not plays, plays are not
novels, and novels are not poems.
 Strong mechanics, including correct
grammar (NO RUN-ONS) strengthen an
essay.
Vocabulary & Word Choice
 Know the difference: what is meant by
analyzing, explaining, paraphrasing,
summarizing, describing, and so on.
 “Simplistic” does NOT mean “simple.”
Words to avoid
 Weasel words: very, many, few,
amazing, basically, seems
 Empty words: Use, flow, feel, different,
similar, huge (unless you are talking
about size)
 Judgmental adjectives: beautiful,
remarkable, superb, awesome, unique
(especially “more unique”—gag!!)