q2 essay prompt examples

It’s All Happening Online —Useful Links

AP Central & YouTube -- Finding your way around the Advanced Placement website can be tricky. Direct links listed below (with some of those acronyms defined).

• AP Language Home Page -- Classroom Resources
• AP Language Exam -- CED (Course and Exam Description), 2021 FRQ (Free Response Questions), and Past Exam FRQs (from 1999).
• AP Literature Home Page -- Classroom Resources
• AP Literature Exam -- CED (Course and Exam Description), 2021 FRQ (Free Response Questions), and Past Exam FRQs (from 1999).
• AP Teacher Community (Skip Nicholson) -- Join the AP English community, a combined group for Language & Literature. New version of the old ListServ .
• AP Language YouTube Channel (Live Review) -- 11 videos
• AP Literature YouTube Channel (Live Review) -- 10 videos

AP English FaceBook Groups

• A P Language and Composition Teachers (Kristy Seidel)
• A P Literature and Composition (Brian Sztabnik)
• A P Literature and Composition Teachers (Michael Yeakey & Heather Davide Carlotz)

Teacher Sites -- Where have all the teachers gone? On sabbatical, into administration, to commercial sites, to retirement. So sorry.

• Gina Korteum’s Lit & More : Modest but masterful, Gina shares a wealth of free resources on her website and extensive affordable materials on Teachers Pay Teachers. Practical, adaptable jewels.
• Tim Freitas’ The Garden of English : Delightful, often surprising viewpoint. Sense of humor meets excellence. Love all the videos, handouts and posters.
• Susa n Barber’s and Brian Sztabnik’s Much Ado About Teachin g : The reincarnation of AP LIT Help. These gifted inspiring teachers have mastered the ability to explain everything AP clearly. Articles, videos, handouts are amazing.
• Beth Hall’s Coach Hall Writes offersmany free AP Language materials with links to Teachers Pay Teachers materials. Subscribe to her YouTube channel for excellent, focused videos.
• Brian Tolentino shares dozens of short videos on his YouTube Channel, Tolentino Teaching . SAT Vocabulary and Rhetorical Terms are especially helpful.
• Kristian Kuhn’s home page shares some excellent assignments. Teachers Teaching Writing , his YouTube channel has dozens of clever, useful videos for AP Literature.
• Susan Barber’s Teach with Class site offers Teacher Resources.
• Jerry Brown’ s website has buried treasure, well worth seeking.
• Don Pogebra’s Quixotic Pedagogue : Gorgeous website with generous materials. Retired.
• Ronnie Campagna’s DropBox is a wealth of materials. Please download; do not delete or move.
• Dawn Hogue’s Online English Resources provides a Teacher’s Toolbox and other online resources for AP and regular classes.
• M sEffie’s LifeSavers : Several ways to get there – Google “mseffie” [first hit], use the short domain router (mseffie.com). Mine. What can I say? Such a nerd!

Terminology

• Brian Tolentino Teaching includes 35 term specific videos
• Dictionary of Literary Terms (Joel Littauer)
• Literary History
• Handbook of Rhetorical Devices (Robert Harris)
• Oregon State Guide to English Literary Terms -- videos for more than 60 terms
• Poetic Terms (Robert Shubinsky)

Writing Help

• Elements of Style
• Guide to Grammar and Writing
• Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab )

Literary Theory and Criticism

• Literary Resources on the Net (Jack Lynch)
• Literary Theory and Criticism (Brigham Young University)
• Guide to Critical Theory (Dino Felluga)
• Introduction to Modern Literary Theory (Kristi Siegel)

Miscellaneous Resources -- $ Resource Requiring Payment

• TeachIt is a United Kingdom site (for their teachers) whose worksheets approach texts in a different way than we do. Though designed for their “regular” classes, the emphasis is usually on the kind of analysis we do in Advanced Placement classes. PDF files are free to download if you register. 
• Thought.Co Writing is the old About.com and offers a disorganized but intriguing mess of articles on language, literature, art, and more -- tips on grammar, sample paragraphs of every mode, suggestted topic lists, critical analyses, passages by well-known authors focusing on specific stylistic traits, and so on. The short introductions analyze each piece and help focus discussion.
• TED Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing -- Based upon the regular TED Talks and a library of original animated videos, TedEd provides a platform for teachers to share lessons based on the videos.
• CrackAP.com -- provides free access to 50+ practice multiple-choice exams on various passages, many of them from previous AP exams. A very awkward confusing site, but students get immediate assessment and explanations. Just IGNORE all the pop-ups & exterior clicks. AP Language Practices . AP Literature Practices .
• PrepScholar -- One-stop location for every AP Literature Practice Test available, free & official, including many older ones not available at AP Central. AP Language . AP Literature .
• $ Applied Practice -- Resource Guides for more than 100 titles. Each includes AP style multiple-choice and free response questions withy answers. With explanations of answers. Other stuff available, too.
• $ Prestwick House -- Reasonably priced packages include Activity Packs , Response Journals , Literature Teaching Units , AP Teaching Units , and Multiple Critical Perspectives , Response Journals , and Activity Packs . Samples available to download to check them out. (Free Crossword Puzzles and free Posters .)

Links to My Pages with Handouts & URLs for Specific Major Works

“The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

You may find other useful materials at Assignments , Handouts OR Yummy Bytes .

If you download or print anything from this site, please consider making at least a $10.00 donation through PayPal. I can maintain and expand this website only with your help.

Calculate for all schools

Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, tips for q2 essay on ap lit exam.

Taking AP Lit this year and I'm working on improving my Q2 essay skills. Any tips or advice on how to effectively analyze the prompt and choose the best works to write about? Really want to score high on the exam, so all help is appreciated. Thanks!

It's great to see that you're actively preparing for the AP Lit exam and focusing on the Q2 essay. Here are some tips to help you improve your skills:

1. Understand the prompt: Begin by reading the prompt carefully and underlining or highlighting key words and phrases. Make sure you fully comprehend what the question is asking before you start to brainstorm possible works and analyze them.

2. Familiarize yourself with the scoring rubric: Knowing how the essays are scored will help you understand what the graders are looking for and how to craft your response accordingly. For the Q2 essay, emphasis is placed on overall quality, thesis statement, evidence for your claims, and incorporation of literary terms and analysis.

3. Choose the right work: When selecting a work for the Q2 essay, it's important to choose one that you know well and have studied in-depth. Ideally, the work should lend itself well to the prompt and allow for a deep, thorough analysis.

4. Create a strong thesis: Develop a clear, concise, and arguable thesis statement that addresses the prompt. Your thesis statement should provide a road map for your essay, outlining the main points you plan to discuss in your analysis.

5. Use textual evidence: To support your thesis statement and analysis, provide specific examples from the work you've chosen to write about. Always incorporate quotations or key passages from the text to back up your claims.

6. Analyze literary techniques: As you write your essay, identify and discuss the literary techniques used in the work you've chosen, such as symbolism, imagery, characterization, tone, etc. Explain how these techniques contribute to the overall themes and meaning of the work.

7. Organize your ideas: Plan the structure of your essay and organize your thoughts before writing. Begin with an introduction that includes your thesis statement, followed by well-structured body paragraphs to support your main points, and finally, a conclusion that restates your thesis and summarizes your analysis.

8. Practice, practice, practice: The more you practice writing Q2 essays, the better you'll become at identifying the most appropriate work to analyze and crafting a well-organized, insightful response in a timely manner. Work with your teacher or classmates to exchange feedback and improve.

9. Review sample essays: To get a sense of what a high-scoring Q2 essay looks like, examine sample essays and the accompanying commentary from College Board or consult with your AP Lit teacher. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of these samples to apply them to your own writing.

10. Manage your time: During the exam, be mindful of time management. Allocate an appropriate amount of time to read the prompt, brainstorm, outline your essay, write, and revise if necessary.

By following these tips and dedicating time to practice, you're well on your way to improving your Q2 essay skills and achieving a high score on the AP Lit exam. Good luck!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.