AP Mind Torn Asunder Essays
Reading and Revising Your Essays
The best way to see the comments would be to download your essay from this folder. If you have Microsoft Word, download the essay in that format and you can click on each of the comments to see exactly what the problem area was. If not, download the PDF version, which will allow you to see the comments more cleanly than the B&W print version.
Revisions are due in class on Wednesday. Please attach the original draft with comments to the new version. I do not want revisions to be sent in electronically. Remember, they are due in class.
A Sample of an ‘A’ Paper
If you would like to see what an A paper looks like on this prompt, you can certainly check this one out. The goal is not for you to replicate the style of this writer, but to match the organization, detail, and clarity.
Some General Thoughts About the Essays
- They certainly can be short, but be careful that you are doing an adequate job of development. A paper that doesn’t reach one page is just very unlikely to do the job.
- Thesis statements need a great deal of work. They should be clear and complete. If you have questions about thesis statements, check out the writing guide resource on writing them.
- Plot summary is the bane of effective analysis. You should assume that the reader has read the work in these, and all the essays we write this year. Don’t relate the events of the story; demonstrate a mastery of the way the author uses those events to make his/her argument.
- Introductions tended to be quite bland. We’ll spend some time Monday or Tuesday discussing them.
- Topic sentences need to be arguments, not statements of the plot. Make sure that your topic sentences advance the thesis and present a clear argument for the paragraph that will follow.
