AP Lang FAQ UPDATED

Summary

In this engaging video, Coach Hall Writes addresses some of the most frequently asked questions about the AP Language exam. Key advice includes flexibility with the number of body paragraphs, the optional nature of conclusions, and effective time management strategies. The video emphasizes quality over quantity, suggests approaches to tackling multiple-choice and essay questions, and offers practical tips for writing rhetorical analyses and argumentative essays. Coach Hall also provides guidance on using personal experience in essays and how to address counterarguments effectively.

Highlights

• Choose between writing 2 or 3 body paragraphs, but prioritize depth and clarity! ✍️
• Conclusions aren't required but can enhance your argument if you have time. 🕒
• Manage your time wisely for multiple-choice questions and essays! ⌛
• Finding rhetorical choices involves looking at what the writer does—think strategically! 🤔
• Use personal experience wisely in argument essays to strengthen points! 📝

Key Takeaways

• Focus on quality over quantity for your body paragraphs! 🎯
• Conclusions aren't mandatory, but a well-rounded argument ends strong! 🚀
• Time management during the exam is crucial—plan ahead! ⏰
• Using real, defensible evidence can strengthen your argument essays. 💪
• Balance rhetorical analysis by explaining the writer's choices and their purposes. 🔍

Overview

The video kicks off with Coach Hall highlighting the importance of setting realistic expectations for the AP Language exam. Instead of focusing on the number of body paragraphs, students should concentrate on developing thorough, well-supported arguments. The flexibility of writing two or three body paragraphs is emphasized, with the quality of content being more important than the sheer quantity.

Coach Hall discusses the role and impact of conclusions in essays. While they are not mandatory according to the rubric, a well-crafted conclusion can add strength to an argument. However, if time is limited, it is crucial to prioritize body paragraphs over a hasty conclusion. The advice to zoom out and leave readers with a thought-provoking ending is also provided for those with the time to craft a conclusion.

Time management is a crucial theme, with suggestions for handling both the multiple-choice and essay sections of the exam effectively. The video outlines strategies for pacing, encouraging students to plan how they will allocate time to reading, analyzing prompts, and writing. Coach Hall provides a detailed breakdown of utilizing rhetorical strategies and evidence effectively, reminding students to rely on real, defensible examples in their argument essays to build credible and compelling essays.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction In the introduction of the video titled 'Introduction', the host of 'Coach All Writes' welcomes the audience back and sets the stage for the content to follow, which will address frequently asked questions as the AP Lang exam nears. The host encourages viewers to subscribe and enable notifications to stay updated with more AP Lang content. One of the top questions to be addressed is about the appropriate number of body paragraphs to write in an essay.
• 00:30 - 03:00: Body Paragraphs Strategy The chapter titled 'Body Paragraphs Strategy' discusses how students generally write either two or three body paragraphs in their essays. The discussion highlights that while most students write two thorough paragraphs, some are required to write three shorter ones due to different teaching guidelines. The emphasis is on achieving the same level of analysis whether using two or three paragraphs. The recommendation for students is to plan their body paragraphs effectively for exams.
• 03:00 - 05:00: Conclusion in Essays The chapter discusses strategies for writing conclusions in essays. It emphasizes the importance of planning before writing, specifically deciding on the number of body paragraphs—two or three—based on the time available. The focus should be on the quality of writing rather than quantity, ensuring that each paragraph has clear topic sentences and well-developed evidence and commentary. The chapter advises that if time becomes a constraint and the writer planned for three body paragraphs, it is better to focus on creating two well-developed paragraphs instead of three uneven ones, as the rubric prioritizes balanced development.
• 05:00 - 10:00: Pacing Strategy for Multiple Choice and Essays The chapter provides strategies for effectively managing time during exams, specifically when tackling multiple choice questions and essay writing. It advises students to monitor their timing and suggests that omitting a body paragraph is acceptable if it means ensuring the completion of the essay. The chapter emphasizes that two well-developed body paragraphs can suffice, and a conclusion, though not mandatory, can enhance the essay.
• 10:00 - 15:00: Rhetorical Analysis and Argument Essay Strategies This chapter focuses on strategies for writing rhetorical analysis and argument essays. It emphasizes the importance of situating arguments within a broader context by answering significant questions like 'so what?' or explaining the current relevance of the message in question. The chapter advises against writing one-sentence conclusions that merely restate the thesis, suggesting that these can be less impactful, although they may not necessarily affect the student’s score. Overall, the guidance aims to enhance the depth and engagement of the student’s writing.
• 15:00 - 20:00: Using Personal Experience in Essays The chapter emphasizes the importance of having a strong final sentence for body paragraphs instead of a rushed conclusion in essays. The advice given is to prioritize body paragraphs during exams, suggesting that if there is no time for a conclusion, one should not be written. If time allows, the focus should be on writing a conclusion that enhances the essay rather than just recapping main points.
• 20:00 - 25:00: Addressing Counterarguments and Improving Commentary In this chapter titled 'Addressing Counterarguments and Improving Commentary,' the speaker emphasizes the importance of crafting a thought-provoking conclusion in essays. However, during time-constrained exam situations, they suggest prioritizing content over conclusion and returning to it if time permits. The speaker advises against getting stuck and shares strategies for managing time effectively in exams, especially highlighting the division of time between multiple choice and essay sections.
• 25:00 - 30:00: Order of Writing Essays The chapter titled 'Order of Writing Essays' appears to discuss strategies for allocating time effectively across question types in a test, likely focusing on writing essays or answering MCQs. It suggests spending roughly one minute per question, but recognizing that some questions may require more time, while others less. An example strategy is for students who are strong in writing multiple-choice questions (MCQs) to begin with passages 3, 4, and 5. These usually start around question 24 or 25, allowing students to tackle their strengths first.
• 30:00 - 31:00: Conclusion and Final Tips In the final chapter titled 'Conclusion and Final Tips,' various strategies for approaching test-taking are discussed. The emphasis is on managing time wisely during the test, especially for multiple choice questions. Some students prefer to tackle the most challenging questions first while others work through the test sequentially, which is also acceptable. Regardless of the strategy, it is advisable not to exceed a minute and a half per question since each question has equal weight. It is essential to avoid spending too much time on challenging questions to prevent losing valuable time for other questions.

AP Lang FAQ UPDATED Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Hey everybody, welcome back to Coach All Writes. In today's video, I'm going to be answering some of the most commonly asked questions that I receive as the AP Lang exam approaches. Before I get started, let's be sure to stay in touch. So, be sure to subscribe and turn those notifications on. That way, you don't miss any upcoming AP Lang content. Probably one of the top questions I am asked is, "How many body paragraphs should I write? So, it's important to
• 00:30 - 01:00 recognize that there's no fixed number, but in general, students tend to write either two or three body paragraphs. Most of my students only write two body paragraphs, but they are very thorough. That being said, some of my tutoring students have teachers who encourage three body paragraphs, so their body paragraphs might be a bit shorter, but holistically with three body paragraphs, they are achieving the same level of analysis. My best advice for students taking the exam is to plan out your body
• 01:00 - 01:30 paragraphs before you start writing and determine in advance whether you're going to try two or three body paragraphs. Focus on quality over quantity. So, be sure to aim for clear topic sentences plus developed evidence and commentary in each paragraph. If time is running out and you had planned to write three body paragraphs, but you simply don't have time for that third body paragraph, because the rubric asks for evenly developed body paragraphs, it
• 01:30 - 02:00 might be better to omit that body paragraph if you don't have time to finish it. So, on exam day, keep an eye on your timing, but please don't feel like you absolutely must write three body paragraphs because in many cases, two well-developed body paragraphs is enough. Another commonly asked question is, do I need a conclusion? And the simple answer is that a conclusion is not required. It is not a required component of the rubric. That being said, a brief conclusion can strengthen
• 02:00 - 02:30 your argument, especially if you are able to answer the question, so what? Or for rhetorical analysis, if you can explain how the message is relevant today, that will help situate the issue in a broader context. Personally, I don't love to see the one-s sentence conclusions that are technically just a thesis restated. A lot of times, in my opinion, those kind of fall flat. While it doesn't necessarily impact the student's score, I do think that sometimes it's nicer to see a student
• 02:30 - 03:00 have a strong final sentence that wraps up their last body paragraph as opposed to a single sentence conclusion or even a very rushed conclusion. So, my advice to you is this. On exam day, if you do not have time for a conclusion, don't write one. You should prioritize your body paragraphs. Now, if you do have time for a conclusion, rather than merely recapping your main points, which in my opinion falls flat oftentimes
• 03:00 - 03:30 because the essays are so short, instead try to zoom out and leave your reader with a thought-provoking ending. But on exam day, if you feel like you are rushing and you feel like you are behind, you have more essays to write, I would skip the conclusion and move on to those other essays. And then if you have time for it, you can come back to it. Some students have asked me, "How do I pace myself?" Remember that there are two parts to the exam. So, for the multiple choice section, you have one hour to answer 45 multiple choice
• 03:30 - 04:00 questions. This is going to amount to approximately 1 minute per question. Keep in mind that some questions might require a little bit more time, whereas others you might be able to answer more quickly. One strategy that some of my students use is if they are noticeably stronger with the writing MCQ, which is passages 3, four, and five, they will go to that section first, which is usually approximately around question 24 or 25 to the end of the test because they like to make sure that they're answering their strongest questions without being
• 04:00 - 04:30 rushed. And they save their weaker multiple choice questions, which are the reading ones, for last. That being said, I have other students who like to take the test in order. they do not like to jump around and that's perfectly fine too. I would just say that in general you don't want to spend more than a minute and a half on a question simply because all questions are worth one point. You don't get any bonus points for answering the harder questions correctly. It can be very easy to linger on a difficult question and waste time. In those situations, I would recommend
• 04:30 - 05:00 making an educated guess, ideally by using the process of elimination, flagging the question, and coming back to it if there's time. Don't leave any questions blank. For the essays, the College Board recommends that you spend 15 minutes reading and then 40 minutes for each of the three essays. In general, my students kind of alter this approach because they don't necessarily feel like they need 15 minutes for synthesis. Instead, they want to bank a little bit of that time for rhetorical analysis. So, I've put some time
• 05:00 - 05:30 suggestions here. I think it's important for students to make a plan before exam day. So, how long do you intend to spend reading and planning? How long do you intend to spend writing each essay? And which order are you going to write the essays in? Now, as far as which order you should write the essays in, I will be addressing that question later on in this video. But if you have not done any kind of mock exam or practice essays, I would definitely encourage you to do that before the test to make sure that
• 05:30 - 06:00 you understand your own pacing and timing. So, if you're practicing on your own, make sure that you use a watch or a timer to stay on track. I'm not suggesting that you write a ton of essays on your own, but if your school doesn't offer a mock exam, it can be very helpful to go look at some College Board released questions and practice the pacing on your own. On exam day, there will be a timer or a counter on your screen. Admittedly, I'm not super familiar with Blue Book yet, but I was
• 06:00 - 06:30 told that the timer counts down. If that is somehow incorrect, someone let me know in the comments. But even so, you're going to want to know approximately how long you intend to spend reading and planning before you write and how long you intend to spend writing each essay because it can be very easy to spend too long on one essay and then not have enough time for another. For more tips on this, be sure to check out my AP Lang game plan video. I'll link it in the description below. For rhetorical analysis, I think a lot
• 06:30 - 07:00 of students fear the inability to find rhetorical choices. A lot of students will ask, "What are the most common rhetorical choices?" I've done a couple videos on this, so I will link those in the description box below as well in case you want that list. It's important to realize that a choice is what the writer is doing. So, if you cannot find any overt choices, ask yourself, what is the writer doing? And you could use verbs like presents, showcases, acknowledges. If you're really unsure,
• 07:00 - 07:30 here are a couple options for a starting point. Looking at the structure, you could look for shifts or contrast, repetition. You can look for the appeals. I prefer that students don't actually write about logos, ethos, and pathos. I have a separate video on this that explains why and gives you alternatives. So, if you're interested, be sure to check that out. I'll link it in the description below. But basically the reason is that we need to remember that choices create appeals. So if you
• 07:30 - 08:00 see logos for instance, ask yourself what is the writer doing that makes this logical. Are they providing examples? Are they using conditional sentences? That's the choice that you should write about. Technically speaking, all passages are going to have both diction and tone. So that can be a good starting point if you're stuck. And some passages will have figurative language as well. However, depending on the passage, that might be more challenging to write about. If you're really unsure about the choices present, start by identifying
• 08:00 - 08:30 the writer's purpose, then trace how they build toward that purpose. One of the biggest stressors for question three, the argument essay, is students worry that they will not be able to think of evidence on command. And honestly, if that's you, I just want to affirm that that is a valid fear. But there are some strategies to help you come up with evidence. One is to use some kind of acronym or pneummonic. I like chores, but there are other ones out there like rehugo and chelps. So if
• 08:30 - 09:00 your teacher uses a different one and you're more familiar with that, use whatever acronym works for you. Chores stands for current events, history, outside knowledge, reading, experience, and science. You do not need to come up with examples in all of these categories. The purpose of these categories is to help you brainstorm real world evidence. So once you've read your topic, you can write chores on your scratch paper or you can type it in your notes if you want to and just start
• 09:00 - 09:30 asking yourself, okay, for this topic, what current events come to mind? What historical events come to mind? Do I have any outside knowledge like sports or pop culture or theater? This approach can work really well for some students. However, other students like to sort of reverse engineer it. Basically, what this means is if there's a topic that you know really well, like let's say you're an expert on George Washington, ask yourself, how might George Washington be used as evidence for this prompt? Now, I can't promise that this
• 09:30 - 10:00 approach will work for every single prompt because, for instance, in 2024, there was a prompt about selfies. I don't really know how you would make that fit. I don't know, maybe Washington had portraits done and that would be kind of like a selfie for that era. I don't know, maybe you can make that work. However, the reverse engineering idea has worked for some of my students for several other prompts. So, it's just an approach that's worth knowing about in case it helps you on exam day. In general, you want to avoid hypotheticals or really overly dramatized fake
• 10:00 - 10:30 examples. Stick with what's real and defensible. Now, another question I'm often asked is, "Can I make up evidence? Will my reader know? Readers are not going to fact check you, but often times evidence that is made up is very easy for us to spot and you kind of lose a little bit of credibility if you do that. So, please do not try to make up facts or statistics. And please don't make up these overly dramatic stories. However, if you tell a plausible story and it really didn't happen to you, but it does advance your argument, then
• 10:30 - 11:00 that's on you. Nobody's going to fact check that. In general, if you are struggling to come up with evidence, just remember that there's got to be something you can write about. First of all, something is better than nothing. Plan ahead. That way, you're not changing your ideas or your argument halfway through. But if you are panicking about your evidence selection, take a moment to breathe. Really try to brainstorm and just trust yourself. Another question that I'm frequently asked is, can I write about personal experience? And the answer is yes for
• 11:00 - 11:30 certain essays. So for synthesis, you technically can because your outside knowledge or experience could be used to enhance your commentary. However, it should not replace the use of the sources. So for example, you are not a synthesis source. However, if I'm thinking of the food truck prompt from 2024, if you have a food truck in your town that you frequent and you have some personal experience that you could connect to one of those sources as
• 11:30 - 12:00 commentary, then perhaps it could work. So, I can't guarantee that you're always going to have personal experience that is relevant for synthesis, but if you do, try to connect it to a source and make it commentary. It's really important that you remember that for synthesis, you cite at least three sources to support your argument. My fear would be that if a student is trying to put in too much personal experience, maybe trying to go for that broader context, that they could lose
• 12:00 - 12:30 sight of the task at hand and that would reduce their essay score. So, please make sure that you have three sources for your synthesis essay. For rhetorical analysis, you want to stick to analyzing the text itself. Please don't include personal stories or outside examples. I have seen a few very rare exceptions where a student brought up something personal in a conclusion, but in general, that is not going to be an approach that will work for majority of students or majority of prompts. For rhetorical analysis, make sure that you
• 12:30 - 13:00 are analyzing how the writer makes choices to achieve their purpose, develop their argument, or convey their message. You're not being asked to critique the text in any way. and you're not being asked to make texttoelf connections. So, personal experience is not relevant to rhetorical analysis. For argument essays, which is Q3, you can absolutely use personal experience and outside knowledge as long as they're relevant and defensible. There are some prompts that genuinely lend themselves
• 13:00 - 13:30 to students writing about personal experience. And yes, when you're writing about personal experience, you can use first person pronouns like I, me, and my because you are writing about yourself. That being said, in other essays, we don't want to use first person to say things like in my opinion, I think, I believe, or in this essay I'm going to talk about. That is not a helpful or quite frankly an academically appropriate use of first person. But yes, when you're writing about personal experience and you're telling a personal
• 13:30 - 14:00 anecdote, that is a rhetorical choice you're making and you should use first person. Don't try to turn it into some kind of hypothetical. Students often want to know, do I need to address the counterargument? This is for both question one synthesis and question three argument. Please know that it is not required. Now, your teacher might require it for in-class assignments, but on exam day, it is not a required component of the rubric. However, it can, if executed well, enhance your argument. So, if you're going to address
• 14:00 - 14:30 the counterargument, make sure that you concede or refute effectively. Don't just like throw it in there. Addressing the counterargument can help show sophistication if it's done well. As I tell my students, if it's going to help your argument and you have the time, include it. But please don't try to force it. Another commonly asked question is, "How do I improve my commentary?" Please know that I have separate videos on this topic that go
• 14:30 - 15:00 into more detail, but here's a breakdown for each essay type. For synthesis, explain how the sources connect or contrast with each other. We're looking for that conversation of sources. Don't just restate your evidence or summarize the sources. Analyze the implications for rhetorical analysis. Avoid summarizing the text. Instead, explain why the rhetorical choice matters. Ask yourself why this choice for this audience on this occasion. For argument,
• 15:00 - 15:30 go beyond this proves my point and really explain why your example matters. You had to have chosen that evidence for a reason. Don't assume that your reader is going to know that. You have to connect the dots. So, you want to consider the consequences, significance, or larger context. So earlier in the video I mentioned that sometimes students want to know what order they should write the essays in. There's no required order. In my experience, most of my students have gone in order, which
• 15:30 - 16:00 is question one, two, and three. So synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and argument. Most of my students have said they like to get synthesis out of the way first because it's the most time consuming. And quite frankly, many of my students tend to prefer rhetorical analysis over argument or they just don't like to skip around, so they take the test in order. This ensures that they don't forget anything. That being said, I do have some students who like to start with their strengths. This means that they put their weakest essay last because if they're going to rush
• 16:00 - 16:30 any of the essays, they want it to be the one that they're not super confident in. Some students feel like they're very strong with one particular essay and then another essay is their weakest. So, for example, for some of my students, question three is their weakest, or at least it's the one that they don't feel as confident in. So, that's what goes last. If they felt like rhetorical was their weakest, that one would go last. For students who receive pretty even scores across the board, they might wait until exam day and they might read the
• 16:30 - 17:00 topics for each of the three essays and then decide which essay topic is going to be their weakest. It might not matter which FRQ it is. It might be the topic and that's how they decide which one goes last. Part of the reason why some of my students like to put their weakest essay last is not only because they don't want to rush a strong essay, but also they gain confidence as they approach the essays that they feel better about. For some students, question three can be the hardest because you're not relying on sources or
• 17:00 - 17:30 a passage. So sometimes you just need a little bit of time to gather that evidence since that one's the most open-ended prompt anyway. So, for some students, that one is easier to finish with because it also happens to be the essay that they can answer most quickly. So, whichever order you choose, stick with your timing plan and be sure that you address all three essays. Don't skip one. Make sure that you attempt them all. You need a thesis and really try for ideally two body paragraphs if you
• 17:30 - 18:00 can. Make sure that you have an attempted evidence and commentary. And like I said before, if you have more questions about this, I do have a game plan video that kind of breaks down how to decide which order you want to approach the test in if you're trying to be more strategic. So, feel free to check out that video. There you have it. Those are the most commonly asked questions that I receive as the exam approaches. Please be sure to subscribe here on YouTube and also if you are a
• 18:00 - 18:30 Tik Tok user, I would love a follow on that platform as well. As the exam approaches, I will be going live on both platforms to answer student questions. Thank you so much for watching and until next time, happy writing.