AP LANG: 40 Final Things About Q2 (REVISED)!

AP LANG Q2 SUGGESTIONS: 

You just really HAVE to discuss the rhetorical situation.

See GREAT things on rhetorical situation by LAURA BOWLES!

They are newly added at the bottom!

1. Identify the complete rhetorical situation in the intro, but you don't have to call it the rhetorical situation: speaker/author, subject, audience, purpose

2. If you don't talk about THIS audience, you won't score well. If it is a SPEECH or LETTER, the audience will be given directly in the prompt. 

2.5. If it is a memoir or another type of nonfiction, you have to FIGURE out the intended audience from content, context, and purpose. (Audience maybe won't be mentioned in the prompt, but you have to discuss the intended audience anyway.) (See Laura's info at the end.)

3. Just saying "affects the audience/reader" is NOT enough.

3. "Explains how multiple rhetorical choices in the passage contribute to the author's argument, purpose or message." (THIS IS FROM THE Q2 RUBRIC) Don't say "rhetorical choices" more than once. 

4. Don't say, "Another device the speaker uses..." just go straight to the actual device. 

5. End the essay talking about the last paragraph or the last sentences--the ending will ONLY offer or do one of four things:

    a. It will be different than the rest of the passage--why?

    b. It will emphasize the message once more

    c. It will leave us with a question to ponder

    d. It will be a call to action (40% of the time, yes)

6.  Talk about STRUCTURE. It's easy, and it shows THEIR Line of Reasoning and creates YOUR line of reasoning. You can't go wrong by acknowledging the structure through shifts.

7. Is there something written about parents or their childhood? It's probably an anecdote and an appeal to emotion (nostalgia, pity, sense of humor).

8. What makes a speaker relatable?

9. PRONOUNS--what do they do?

    a. "I" takes ownership or establishes ethos (credibility).

    b. "We" makes things inclusive.

    c. "You" asks the audience to consider or do something. Direct address.

10. If anything is repeated---even TWICE--you could (should) talk about what it emphasizes. An author or speaker never has to repeat anything, so if they do, there's a reason--it is making a point stronger. Why does THIS audience need this emphasized?

11. Whatever the prompt asks or tells you to look for and explain--it will BE THERE in the passage.  It will be the author's Argument, Purpose or Message

12. If you can recognize any TENSION in the piece, that's for the win.

13. Quote at least TWICE in each paragraph of your essay.  These can be short.  You can't create a point without evidence. QUOTES and specific details are the EVIDENCE of the 4 pt. EVIDENCE AND COMMENTARY section.

14.  If you discuss DICTION (which you should) always put a word in front of diction: playful diction, surprising diction, disconcerting diction--whatever. Some AP readers INSIST that's important.

15. If you mention DICTION, obviously you have to provide examples--put those words in  "quotation marks" and discuss them

16.  Do they QUOTE others?

    a. If it's someone famous it's an allusion. Why, why include this quote? 

    b. If it's just a regular person, what does this voice add for this audience? Authenticity? Relatability?

17. Ultimately, at the very end of your essay you could make a quick comment about how this is also a message for all of us: "Perhaps we could all consider ____________'s message: ______________________________________." (Something universal is there.) This is actually pretty cheesy--sorry.

18. If the time period makes a difference,  acknowledge that.

19.  What is the most serious part of the speech/essay?  Did the tone or topic shift?

20. What is the lightest part of the excerpt--why include this? Are there NO light moments? Why?

21. Don't call the audience of a speech the reader.

22.  Don't EVER define what a device does: A metaphor helps a reader make a comparison in their mind." (This is just ALL bad.) They KNOW what a metaphor is. Jump to the specifics.

23. It's better to go specific even if you're not sure you're "right." Specific evidence and specific commentary win the day. (You're smart, so you're probably right!)

24. What gives THIS speaker credibility? (ETHOS) experience? interviewing people? career? age? part of the group? leads an organization? has written an important book?  honorary degree/education?

25.  There are ONLY 2 reasons someone speaks at an event: 1) they are the perfect person chosen for this moment or audience OR b) the person felt COMPELLED to speak (or write about) about a topic. EXIGENCE--why do you think are they compelled to speak in the first place? 

26. There will be at least 1 thing worth mentioning in each paragraph; however, probably one or two paragraphs will have the BEST stuff.

28. Don't compliment the speaker/author or content: "beautiful speech" (NO) "powerful metaphor" (SURE)

29. Don't be repetitive--don't just restate the quote! Discuss its why and style (commentary).

30. Do they use QUESTIONS? What is the purpose of the inquiry? What do they want us to consider or are they emphasizing something? Is there something they don't know? 

31. You HAVE to talk about EXCLAMATION POINTS! (Why are they yelling?!) (Kidding) Why are they being so intense with this sentence?

32. Always, always talk about TONE!  (SoapsTONE). The passage has to have TONE! Check the shift--it may have a shifting tone!

33. SELECTION of DETAIL as a device is FINE! (It's just what they included--anything!)

34. Make the DEVICE the HERO! The author uses a metaphor, which is a rhetorical device; the author is explaining more about...." (TOO WORDY)  Do this: "This metaphor juxtaposes ________ and ________________ in order to ___________________." (THIS IS BETTER)

35. . You always have to talk about appeals, but you don't have to call them appeals.

36.  "The author appeals to the reader's emotion." Nope. Say WHAT emotion.

37. Talk about the low hanging fruit. If "150%" is mentioned four times, talk about why! Why is it important for THIS audience?

38. STRUCTURE, SHIFTS, TONE, EMOTIONAL APPEALS, CREDIBILITY (ethos), THIS Audience, the PURPOSE *and exigence. Oh, and REPETITION. Talk about these, for heaven's sake!

40. TRUST YOURSELF: know these and you're golden. Remember, you're a GREAT writer! Show off!

41. Exposition is a great word for the opening of a piece.

42.  Let's review colons and dashes! 

AP LANG instructor Laura Bowles put this on AP Lang facebook.  I will use it with my kids tomorrow!

"Basically, what I tell my students to do when the audience is unspecified (as will always be the case for a memoir or other nonfiction book excerpt) is to see what assumptions the speaker seems to be making about the audience's identity and needs/beliefs/values. That tells you what audience the speaker has in mind, or is writing for. Look at the Lab Girl excerpt on one of the practice exams - clearly, she is writing to laypeople, as she invites them into the world of biology and shows them what scientific thinking looks like."--Laura

THIS IS Laura's SPECIFIC ADVICE FOR THE SECOND OPTION Q2 2024 

Speaker - Simu Liu is a well-known actor and Chinese immigrant to Canada.

Purpose - Liu wants to inform the reader about his experiences as a child immigrating to Canada, in order to help them develop empathy for immigrants and/or better understand a formative experience in his life that led him to where he is today.

Audience - Readers are likely to be fans of Liu. Liu seems to assume that the reader is not an immigrant themselves, or familiar with the immigrant experience. In particular, they likely haven't considered that for a child, immigration may mean leaving behind the only parents/family they've ever known and going to live with strangers. Nevertheless, Liu's story will likely resonate with readers who are immigrants themselves.

Context - Liu has published his memoir after achieving fame as an actor. It is written in the modern era, in which immigration is a sensitive issue for many in the Western world.

Exigence - Liu may be motivated by a desire to share how his early experiences in life led him to where he is now.

Jyll Jacoby-Burns "We forget that the rhetorical situation includes perspective (potential bias), speaker's intentions, social and historical context."