Detailed Outline of the Open Response

General Information

This guide is meant as a starting point. You can certainly experiment with form and I do not intend to constrain your writing, but until you’ve mastered the basic concepts of this response, this sample outline should provide a strong foundation. This sample outline uses the novel Huck Finn to answer the prompt that follows:

The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Stern wrote, “nobody, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.”
From a novel or play choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict within one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.

Introduction

Sentence 1: Specific reference from the book: Huck’s experience with the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons

Sentence 2: Broaden this to address the theme/prompt

Sentence 3: Thesis: Although Huck is raised in a Southern culture that demands conformity to the idea that African-Americans are less than human, the conflict Huck faces between these values and his own friendship with Jim reveals the importance of following one’s own conscience.

You can always refer to this guide as well.

Body Paragraph 1: Southern Society

Topic Sentence: Huck has been raised to believe that African-Americans are nothing more than property to be owned and sold.

Subtopic 1: The culture uses the law and education to enforce the idea of black inferiority.

–Detail, Detail, analysis

Subtopic 2: Even the morally upright people that Huck knows teach him that slavery is necessary and morally correct.

–Detail, Detail, analysis

Strong Closing Sentence

Body Paragraph 2: His Own Conscience

Topic Sentence: Despite the powerful influece of his upbringing, Huck’s mind is soon torn between these values and his own conscience that tells him slavery is wrong.

Subtopic 1: Huck rejects the idea of slavery.

Detail, Detail, analysis

Subtopic 2: Perhaps more importantly, he begins to realize a more powerful truth: not only is slavery wrong, but Jim is as much a human being as he is.

Detail, Detail, analysis

Strong Closing Sentence

Body Paragraph 3: Meaning as Whole

Huck’s conflict between what he has been taught to believe and what he knows to be right are at the center of Mark Twain’s critique of the way that we allow society to shape our morality in dangerous ways.

Detail, analysis.

Conclusion

It’s easiest to return to the structure of the introduction. Three sentences, reversed order. Ideally, you can offer a new twist/spin/clarification on the original story.

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AP Style Introductions

Things to Avoid in Your Introductions

  1. Avoid opening with questions, especially rhetorical questions. You want to open with a powerful, specific statement, not a weak question.
  2. Do not open with a quotation as the opening line. You may use a brief (2-3 word) phrase, especially in poetry essays, but a whole quote belongs as evidence in the body of the essay.
  3. Do not open with a general statement about humankind or the nature of the universe. (Human beings often struggle with the idea of change.)
  4. Do not open with a general statement about literature. (Poets often write about feelings.)
  5. Do not use the author and title as the opening of your essay. They should appear in the introduction, but not in the opening sentece, especially not the opening words.

What Should Your Introductions Be Like?

  1. They should let the author of the original piece do the heavy lifting. Use his/her ideas or words to give the introduction quality.
  2. They should be short. The focus of your essay must be on the argumentative body, not the introduction. 4 sentences is a good maximum.
  3. They should open with action oriented verbs or powerful adjectives that will immediately engage the reader.
  4. They should be brief, interesting and contain some punch.
  5. They should be based on a specific point of analysis, one that you do not intend to return to in the body of your essay.

Sample Introduction for the Free Response Essay

Battered blind in a boxing ring, the Invisible Man soon discovers that the true nature of blindness lies within himself.

 

Sample Introduction for the Poetry Response

Black, slack, earthsoup: poet Mary Oliver’s rich, evocative language forces the reader to examine the question of the nature of life, using the most unlikely symbol, a swamp. Using figurative language and tone, Oliver effectively conveys the profound idea that, while life may appear to bind and even trap us, it always offers the potential for renewal and hope.

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Multiple Choice Strategies

Download the PDF file.

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Writing the Poetry Response

What Does It Mean To Explicate a Poem?

  1. The most important task is to analyze the meaning of the poem. Explore and explain its theme, as well as any sub-themes that appear.

  2. Analyze poetic devices and their use.

  3. Explain summarize the meaning of the poem.

Some Strategies to Successfully Explicate a Poem

  1. As you read, look for unusual, distinct or clever phrasing of words or phrases. If a poet violates an expectation of language or presents an idea in an entirely new way, there is likely a reason that you can explore.
  2. Look for powerful phrases that have an impact, because of meaning or sound quality. Look for metaphor, symbolism, sound devices.
  3. Identify “cool” ideas that you can write about. In other words, if a poem references a historical event or philosophical ideal that you are familiar with, you certainly want to write about it.
  4. Don’t fixate on the things that you don’t know; focus on the things that you do. In a poetry explication where you are only given ten minutes to read a poem, there is no way that you can expect to get everything. Emphasize your strengths and focus on those.
  5. Weave in the use of poetic devices; don’t force them in. You want to demonstrate knowledge of the devices and their application, but they are tools, not the focal point of your writing.
  6. Don’t write excessively about sound devices, meter, and rhythm unless you a) have little else to write about or b) are very good at it. They can be really powerful tools for analysis, but are often over-used and trite observations.
  7. Make sure that you do more than identify particular devices and techniques. Readers of the essays expect analysis of how the devices function in the piece.
  8. You are proving a thesis in a poetry explication. Don’t forget to write your paper with the central thesis in mind.

Patterns of Organization in Poetry Explication

  1. Organize by Natural Divisions of the Poem. (Stanzas (if they are present), divisions of poetic forms like sonnets, or natural cleavages (sub-themes)
  2. Organize by literary device.
  3. Organize by sub-thesis.
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Writing the Prose Response Essay

The Ten Commandments of the Prose Response

I.Read the Prompt Closely and Carefully

Make sure to look for the specific requirements of the prompt. Circle or underline them before you read the actual passage. If a prompt demands specific analysis of a particular device, you must do it. If it suggests a particular device, I recommend writing about that device if you can, because the scoring guides often reference those suggested devices.

II.Frame Your Argument Correctly. The Author’s Action Are Key.

When writing (especially thesis statements and topic sentences), make sure that you frame the argument around what the author does in the passage, not the plot or characters. That will help avoid plot/character summary. Consider the following thesis statements:

  1. The characters in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton are rich and complex. (character driven)
  2. The characters in Mary Barton are depicted as rich and complex by Elizabeth Gaskell. (passive voice–avoid)
  3. In her work Mary Barton, Elizabeth Gaskell depicts rich and complex characters. (active, author-driven, good)

III.Writing About Tone is Delightful

  1. Remember, tone is the author’s point of view towards his/her subject. Characters can also have tone towards one another in their dialogue, but you need to be precise in your analysis.
  2. Tone is often one of the easiest things to write about.
  3. When writing about tone, don’t forget the WILDS Model. (Word choice, imagery, language, detail, syntax)

IV.Writing About Point of View

  • Point of view is an objective evaluation of the author’s position relative to the text. It’s not some vague or amorphous thing, Make sure to identify what it specifically is.Check the Point of View handout to review the different forms it can take.
  • When writing about point of view, keep it short and focus on the impact on the reader.
  • You can further explore point of view in terms of the narrator’s position, i.e. whether or not he/she is detached/close/interested, etc. This is secondary to the objective detail.

V.Broad Social Themes/Modern Issues Are Not For You

Unless the prompt specifically demands it, do not make the essay a persuasive exposition about social issues or current events. Stay focused on literary analysis.

VI.Details, Details, Details

Use specific details to show the reader how smart you are, or to give the illusion of your intelligence. 🙂 General, surface essays do not score as well. Details are the proof for your claims, and you can’t leave them out.

VII.Don’t Get Fixated on One Detail, Though

  • As good as detail analysis is, don’t get carried away on any one particular detail. It’s easy to slip into spending a whole paragraph on one detail–but that will not prove that you understand the whole passage.
  • A 2-3 sentence limit on any one particular detail is a good guideline.

VIII.Combining Details Is Helpful

  • You can combine details to give your analysis more depth. If two examples have similar function, including both, though you only have time to analyze one, will give your analysis more power.
  • You might write a sentence like this: Whether it is Moreen’s soiled gloves or her fine leather boots, James demonstrates…

IX.Try Not to Use ‘Use’ All the Time

  • Uses is a fine word with many uses; I just wish you would use it less.
  • Utilize is even worse. It’s one of those signals of sloppy, thesarus-driven writing.

X.Introduction, What’s Your Function?

Introductions are critical for first impressions. If you have time, please review the introduction for spelling, grammar, sentence errors and parallelism.

Organizational Strategies

The most important part of writing the essay is to determine the natural divisions that occur in the piece. Finding these divisions will make it easier to write about the sections of the poem as arguments. Typically, a poem or prose piece on the AP exam is divided in one of the following ways:

  1. narrative shifts–changes in the story
  2. tonal shifts
  3. point of view shifts.
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