Timed Writing Strategies: Analysis Essay



Timed Writing Strategies: Analysis Essay

From 5 Steps to a 5: AP English Language (McGraw-Hill)

Section II

Total Time – 2 hours (plus 15 minutes of reading time)

Number of questions – 3

Percent of Total Grade – 55

Each question counts one-third of the total section score.

You will start with a 15 minute block of time in which you should read the sources that accompany the synthesis question. You should also save some time to skim the other two prompts as well.

Notice, you will have a total of 2 hours in which to write, which you may divide any way you choose. However, each essay carries the same weight, so do NOT spend an inappropriate amount of time on any one question. 40 minutes per essay is a good rule of thumb.

Tip: You may be extremely lucky and find a familiar piece by a familiar author. This certainly can enhance your comfort level. But, don’t try to plug into the question everything you know about that author or selection if it does not fit the prompt. Likewise, do not be rattled if you are unfamiliar with the work. You will be familiar with the approaches necessary to analyze it. Remember, this exam reaches thousands of students, many of whom will be in a similar situation and equally anxious. Be confident that you are thoroughly prepared to tackle these tasks and have fun doing so.

Just What Is an AP English Language Analysis Essay?

Generally, the student is presented with a prose passage that can be drawn from various genres and time periods. Although the specific tasks asked of the student may vary year to year, they almost always involve the analysis of language, including rhetorical strategies and stylistic elements.

What Is the Purpose of the Analysis Essay?

The College Board wants to determine your facility with reading, understanding, and analyzing challenging texts. They also want to assess how well you manipulate language to communicate your written analysis of a specific topic to a mature audience. The level of your writing should be a direct reflection of your critical thinking.

AP is looking for connections between analysis and the passage. What is the author’s purpose and how is it achieved? Don’t just list items as you locate them.

What Kinds of Questions Are Asked in the Essay of Analysis?

• Analyze an author’s view on a specific subject.

• Analyze rhetorical devices used by an author to achieve his or her purpose.

• Analyze stylistic elements in a passage and their effects.

• Analyze the author’s tone and how the author conveys that tone.

• Compare and/or contrast two passages with regard to style, purpose, or tone.

• Analyze the author’s purpose and how he or she achieves it.

• Analyze some of the ways an author recreates a real or imagined experience.

• Analyze how an author presents him or herself in the passage.

• Discuss the intended and/or probable effect of a passage.

Tip: Don’t be thrown by the complexity of the passage. You choose the references you want to incorporate into your essay. So, even if you haven’t understood everything, you can write an intelligent essay – AS LONG AS YOU ADDRESS THE PROMPT and refer to the parts of the passage you do understand.

Watch for overconfidence when you see what you believe to be an easy question with an easy passage. You are going to have to work harder to find the nuances in the text that will allow you to write a mature essay.

How Should I Plan to Spend My Time Writing This Type of Essay?

Remember, timing is crucial. With that in mind, here’s a workable strategy:

• 15 minutes reading the prompt, analyzing the passage and creating an outline IN THAT ORDER

• 20 minutes writing your essay

• 5 minutes proofreading and correcting any errors that you find

What Should I Include in the Body of This Analysis Essay?

1. Obviously, this is where you present your analysis and the points you want to make that are related to the prompt.

2. Use specific references and details from the passage.

a. Don’t always paraphrase the original. Refer directly to it.

b. Place quotation marks around those words/phrases you extract from the passage.

3. Use “connective tissue” in your essay to establish adherence to the question.

a. Use the repetition of key ideas in the prompt and in your opening paragraph.

b. Try using “echo words” or synonyms to tighten the essay itself.

c. Use transitions between paragraphs.

Rapid Review:

o Analysis is the deconstruction of a passage into its components in order to examine how a writer develops a subject.

o The AP English Language exam requires the analysis of structure, purpose, and style.

o Discourse is conversation between the text and the reader.

o Rhetoric is a term for all of the strategies, modes, and devices a writer employs.

o There are four major modes of discourse:

1. exposition

2. narration

3. description

4. argumentation

o Rhetorical strategies are used to develop the modes of discourse:

1. example

2. comparison and contrast

3. definition

4. cause and effect

5. process

6. analysis

7. classification

o Style is the unique writing pattern of a writer.

o Style comprises:

1. subject matter

2. selection of detail

3. organization

4. point of view

5. diction

6. syntax

7. language

8. attitude

9. tone

o “Connective tissue” that holds writing together includes:

1. transition

2. subject consistency

3. tense consistency

4. voice consistency

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