Tip: How to write an AP Lang and Comp timed persuasive essay
First, read the prompt. I mean, really analyze it. It is not worth it to save a few extra minutes by settling for skimming the prompt when the consequence could be receiving zero points because of misreading. If you can’t seem to understand the prompt, you must not forget to breathe. Look for context clues and repeated words or phrases to find the meaning of unfamiliar words or the main focus of the prompt. Then decide what position you want to develop on the subject. The position you take does not have ro be your own — feel free to play the devil’s advocate, if you think there is a well-developed argument to be expressed. When given someone else’s argument and told to support, oppose, or qualify, Mr. Shipman says, “Probably don’t try to qualify unless you are really good at this. It gets too confusing in a short essay.”
Once you have decided your position, it is time to write your introduction, which includes your thesis. Address the prompt in your introduction, but also try to spice it up a little with engaging language or allusion. Make sure to include your clearly stated thesis so that people, including you, know exactly what you are arguing. Then, think of two or three significant pieces of evidence that support your claim. Arrange them from weakest to strongest and get going!
“The evidence is the fun part,” says Mary, a high school junior, “Sometimes I get a current event or previously researched historical thing in there and I just go off.” It helps to have evidence you feel strongly about, as long as you stay on topic. This is why it is good to be caught up on history and current events — many persuasive essay prompts have obvious connections to important world events. Historical or current event-based evidence is the strongest type of evidence. Mary says, “Stories about your fifth-grade science field trip are kind of annoying unless you can explain how you experienced deep personal growth, which I guess is entirely possible.” Hypothetical evidence, or a what-if scenario, is not convincing. Write passionately about worldwide historical and news events, and make sure to put some reasoning in there connecting your evidence to your claim. Make sure every piece of evidence points to your claim. Your thesis is your guide. Your thesis is your North Star. Don’t forget about it.
Once you’ve finished laying out your evidence and explaining the structurally-sound connections between your thesis and each piece of evidence, it is time to wrap it up. At this point, you probably have five to ten minutes left of your 40 minutes of allotted time. If you are Mary, you “knock out a conclusion in three-ish minutes but the conclusion is really short and boring. Not ideal.” Though you should address the prompt in your conclusion, it is not great if your conclusion is two sentences — one to restate the prompt and one to restate the thesis. Instead, restate the prompt with different wording than you used in your introduction, then skim over your essay. Take this time to fix any mistakes. Once you have the prompt, your thesis, and your evidence fresh in your mind, restate your thesis with simple references to your pieces of evidence and the prompt’s global or historical significance. Make sure that your thesis has not changed from the beginning to the end, that your evidence supports your thesis, and that your thesis and evidence address the prompt. Then take a deep breath. It’s done.
