AP English Language and Composition

• Identifying claims, the thesis and the evidence that supports them

  ≈ 5%1 h 5 min

  Reading skills 3.A and 3.B. Covers locating a writer’s claims and overarching thesis (stated or implied), classifying the evidence used for each claim, explaining the function that evidence serves, and judging whether it is relevant, sufficient and credible.

  • Identify the claims in an argument and the evidence offered for each (3.A)
  • Identify the overarching thesis, stated or implied, and any indication it gives of the argument’s structure (3.B)
  • Classify evidence (facts, statistics, anecdotes, examples, analogies, expert testimony, personal experience) and explain its function: to illustrate, clarify, exemplify, amplify, set a mood or create an association
  • Evaluate whether evidence is relevant, sufficient and credible for the claim it is meant to support
  • Distinguish a writer’s claims from the evidence, background and concessions around them

• Qualifying claims: modifiers, concession, counterargument and rebuttal

  ≈ 3.5%50 min

  Reading skill 3.C and writing skill 4.C. Covers how writers limit and strengthen claims with modifiers and qualifications, and how they acknowledge, concede, refute or rebut opposing views to build credibility. Also covers how to qualify your own claims in revision items and essays.

  • Explain how modifiers and qualifiers (often, some, may, in most cases) and limiting clauses narrow or strengthen a claim (3.C)
  • Identify concessions, counterarguments, refutations and rebuttals, and explain how each affects the writer’s credibility with the audience
  • Distinguish refutation (showing that an opposing claim is wrong) from rebuttal (offering a contrasting perspective without disproving the other)
  • Qualify your own claims and address alternative perspectives in essays and revision choices (4.C)

• Writing a defensible thesis and choosing the best evidence

  ≈ 4.5%1 h

  Writing skills 4.A and 4.B. Covers writing a thesis that needs proof or defence, building paragraphs that pair each claim with specific evidence, and answering revision items that ask which sentence best supports a claim, or whether a sentence should be added, kept or deleted.

  • Write a thesis statement that requires proof or defence and, when useful, previews the line of reasoning (4.B)
  • Develop a paragraph that states a claim and supports it with specific, relevant evidence (4.A)
  • Select the evidence that best supports a given claim in revision items, rejecting options that are accurate but off-point, too general or unsupported
  • Decide whether a sentence should be added, kept or deleted based on its relevance to the paragraph’s claim and the writer’s stated purpose
  • Distinguish a defensible thesis from a statement of fact, a summary of the prompt, or a list of topics

About 2 h 55 min of study, lessons and core practice

• Line of reasoning, organization and the function of parts

  ≈ 5%1 h 5 min

  Reading skills 5.A and 5.B. Covers how a writer sequences claims and evidence to support a thesis, how paragraphs and sentences function within the whole, and how organization creates unity and coherence. These are the frequent “function of paragraph 3” and “relationship between paragraphs” questions.

  • Describe a text’s line of reasoning and explain whether and how it supports the overarching thesis (5.A)
  • Explain how the arrangement of paragraphs and ideas creates unity and coherence and reflects a line of reasoning (5.B)
  • Identify the function of a sentence or paragraph within the whole: introduces, illustrates, qualifies, concedes, shifts, extends or concludes
  • Explain the relationship between two parts of a text and recognise shifts in argument, tone or focus

• Methods of development

  ≈ 2.5%40 min

  Reading skill 5.C and writing skill 6.C. Covers narration, description, comparison and contrast, definition, cause and effect, and exemplification (with classification and division), and how each helps a writer accomplish a purpose.

  • Recognise methods of development: narration, description, comparison and contrast, definition, cause and effect, exemplification, and classification and division
  • Explain how a method of development helps a writer accomplish a purpose for an audience (5.C)
  • Choose an appropriate method of development to advance an argument in an essay or a revision item (6.C)

• Commentary, transitions and coherence in writing

  ≈ 4.5%1 h

  Writing skills 6.A and 6.B. Covers developing commentary that explains how evidence supports a line of reasoning, using transitional elements to show logical relationships, and making the revision choices (sentence placement, transitions, combining ideas) that create coherent paragraphs.

  • Develop commentary that explains how and why evidence supports a line of reasoning, rather than summarising or repeating the evidence (6.A)
  • Choose transitional words, phrases and sentences that show the precise logical relationship between ideas: contrast, cause, concession, addition or example (6.B)
  • Decide where a sentence should be placed, or how sentences should be ordered, to create a coherent paragraph in revision items
  • Link each paragraph’s claim back to the thesis so that the line of reasoning is visible across an essay

About 2 h 45 min of study, lessons and core practice

• Word choice, comparisons and tone

  ≈ 4.5%1 h

  Skills 7.A and 8.A. Covers how diction, connotation, register and figurative comparisons (metaphor, simile, analogy, allusion) create tone and shape an audience’s understanding, how to name tone and shifts in tone precisely, and how to choose words that achieve a specific tone in revision items and essays.

  • Explain how word choice, connotation and register contribute to a text’s tone and the writer’s attitude (7.A)
  • Explain how comparisons (metaphor, simile, analogy, allusion) shape the audience’s understanding of a subject
  • Identify a writer’s tone and any shifts in tone with precise descriptors, and explain how the tone serves the purpose
  • Choose precise words and comparisons to convey a specific tone or style in revision items and essays (8.A)

• Syntax and sentence construction

  ≈ 3.5%55 min

  Skills 7.B and 8.B. Covers how writers create, combine and place independent and dependent clauses to show relationships between ideas, and the effects of syntactic patterns such as parallelism, periodic and cumulative sentences, repetition, antithesis, rhetorical questions and variation in sentence length.

  • Explain how writers create, combine and place independent and dependent clauses to show relationships between ideas: coordination, subordination and emphasis by position (7.B)
  • Explain the effect of syntactic patterns: parallelism, anaphora and repetition, antithesis, periodic and cumulative sentences, fragments, rhetorical questions and sentence length
  • Combine or revise sentences so that they convey ideas and relationships clearly (8.B)
  • Use varied, controlled syntax in essays to create emphasis without sacrificing clarity

• Grammar, mechanics and punctuation for clarity and effect

  ≈ 2%40 min

  Skills 7.C and 8.C. Covers how punctuation and mechanics (dashes, colons, semicolons, parentheses, italics, commas) contribute to clarity, emphasis and the effectiveness of an argument, and how to apply standard conventions in revision items and typed essays.

  • Explain how punctuation choices (dash, colon, semicolon, parentheses, italics) create clarity, emphasis or a particular effect in an argument (7.C)
  • Apply established conventions of grammar and mechanics in revision items: agreement, modifiers, pronoun reference and sentence boundaries (8.C)
  • Recognise when a mechanical choice changes meaning or emphasis rather than merely correctness

About 2 h 35 min of study, lessons and core practice

• Reading questions: passage approach, stem types and elimination

  ≈ 2.5%45 min

  How to read a dense nonfiction passage efficiently (headnote first, then track claims and shifts), recognise the recurring stem types (purpose, function, rhetorical choice, tone, relationship between parts), and eliminate options that are too broad, too extreme, only partly true or unsupported by the text.

  • Use the headnote and a first read focused on claims, shifts and purpose to map a passage before answering
  • Recognise the recurring stem types (primary purpose, function of a sentence or paragraph, “most likely in order to”, tone or attitude, relationship between parts) and the evidence each requires
  • Eliminate wrong options that are too extreme, too broad or narrow, true but irrelevant, or that reverse the writer’s position
  • Pace reading sets at about 1 minute 20 seconds per question, including reading time, and use flag-and-return in Bluebook

• Revision questions: meeting the writer’s stated goal

  ≈ 2%40 min

  How to handle student-draft sets quickly and accurately. Read the goal in the stem first, check each option against the goal and the surrounding sentences, and handle keep/delete, add/replace, placement, transition, evidence and “best version of sentence X” items.

  • Read the stated goal in the stem (“The writer wants to...”) before the options, and choose the option that meets that goal in context rather than the one that merely sounds best
  • Answer keep/delete and add/replace items by checking the sentence’s relevance to the paragraph’s claim and the draft’s purpose
  • Answer placement, transition and sentence-combining items by tracing the logical relationship to the sentences before and after
  • Complete a student-draft set in about 6–7 minutes by reading only as much of the draft as each question needs

About 1 h 25 min of study, lessons and core practice

• Reading and evaluating the six sources

  ≈ 4%1 h

  How to use the reading period to read the prompt and six sources, including charts, tables, images and cartoons. Covers judging each source’s position, credibility, date and limits; mapping where sources agree, disagree and complicate each other; and choosing the three to four sources that best serve a position.

  • Read the prompt’s issue and task precisely, then annotate each source for its claim, evidence, perspective, date and publication
  • Interpret visual and quantitative sources accurately (what the data show, and what they do not show)
  • Evaluate each source’s credibility, bias and limitations and use those judgments in the argument
  • Map relationships among sources (agreement, tension, qualification) to find a position with enough support and a productive counterpoint
  • Finish reading and planning within about 15 minutes

• Synthesis thesis and line of reasoning

  ≈ 4%55 min

  How to take a defensible position that answers the exact task in the prompt, and how to organise the essay by your own claims rather than source by source, so the sources become evidence in your argument instead of the subject of summary.

  • Write a defensible thesis that takes a clear position on the specific issue in the prompt, not a summary of the sources or a restatement of the question
  • Build a line of reasoning of two to four claims, each organised around an idea rather than around a single source
  • Place a qualification or counterpoint where it strengthens the position
  • Avoid thesis failures: vague positions (“there are pros and cons”), a thesis that only lists sources, or a position the body does not defend

• Using sources as evidence: integration, citation and commentary

  ≈ 6%1 h 15 min

  How to earn 3–4 points in Row B on the synthesis essay. Draw specific evidence from at least three sources to support every claim, cite the sources correctly, integrate quotations and data smoothly, and consistently explain how each piece of evidence advances the line of reasoning. Also covers the source-count thresholds that cap Row B.

  • Use specific evidence (brief quotations, paraphrase or data) from at least three different sources to support every claim in the line of reasoning
  • Cite sources clearly by letter or by author, in parentheses or in the sentence, and integrate quotations grammatically into your own sentences
  • Write commentary that explains how each piece of evidence supports the claim, and put sources in conversation (one extends, qualifies or challenges another)
  • Know the Row B thresholds: fewer than two sources cannot earn Row B points, two sources cap Row B at 1, and three or more sources are needed for 2–4
  • Supplement the sources with your own relevant knowledge without letting it replace the required source evidence

About 3 h 10 min of study, lessons and core practice

• Reading the passage: rhetorical situation, choices and shifts

  ≈ 4%55 min

  How to read the prompt’s introduction and the passage to establish the writer, audience, exigence and purpose, and then track the writer’s major rhetorical choices and the shifts in the argument in about 10 minutes of active annotation.

  • Extract the writer, audience, occasion, exigence and purpose from the prompt’s introduction and the passage
  • Identify the writer’s most significant rhetorical choices (appeals to values, evidence, comparisons, structure, diction, syntax, tone) rather than cataloguing every device
  • Trace how the passage moves: its shifts in focus, tone or strategy and what each section is doing for the audience
  • Select the three or so choices that best explain how the writer achieves the purpose

• Rhetorical analysis thesis and organization

  ≈ 4%50 min

  How to write a defensible thesis that analyzes the writer’s rhetorical choices in relation to purpose and audience, not one that lists devices or restates the prompt. Also covers organising body paragraphs by the writer’s moves, either chronologically through the passage or by choice.

  • Write a thesis that names the writer’s rhetorical choices, or the strategy behind them, and links them to the purpose and the audience
  • Organise body paragraphs around the writer’s rhetorical moves, choosing between a chronological structure and a choice-based one
  • Avoid thesis failures: a list of devices (“uses ethos, pathos and logos”), a summary of the passage, or a restatement of the prompt
  • Open with the rhetorical situation briefly and move quickly to analysis

• Rhetorical analysis evidence and commentary

  ≈ 6.5%1 h 20 min

  How to earn 3–4 points in Row B on the rhetorical analysis essay. Embed short, specific quotations and consistently explain how multiple rhetorical choices contribute to the writer’s argument, purpose or message for this audience. This is the difference between analysis and summary or device-spotting.

  • Embed short, specific quotations or precise references to the passage as evidence for each claim
  • Explain how and why each choice works on this audience in this situation, using precise verbs (reframes, undercuts, dignifies, implicates) rather than “shows” or “uses”
  • Explain how multiple rhetorical choices contribute to the writer’s purpose, the requirement for a 4 in Row B
  • Avoid the classic Row B failures: summary, naming devices without effect, quotations with no commentary, and general claims such as “to make the audience feel emotional”
  • Link each paragraph’s analysis back to the line of reasoning in the thesis

About 3 h 5 min of study, lessons and core practice

• Taking a defensible, nuanced position

  ≈ 4%50 min

  How to read the argument prompt’s claim or concept precisely and take a defensible position that answers it. The position can agree, disagree or qualify, and should be specific enough to argue in 40 minutes.

  • Identify exactly what the prompt asks you to evaluate (the extent to which, the value of, whether) and define key terms where needed
  • Write a defensible thesis that takes a clear position and, where useful, qualifies it by condition, degree or context
  • Plan a line of reasoning of two to three claims that each advance the position
  • Avoid thesis failures: restating the prompt, a thesis that is only a fact, or “it depends” without saying on what

• Specific evidence: finding, developing and using it

  ≈ 5%1 h

  How to support claims with specific evidence from history, current events, science, literature, the arts and personal experience, and how to develop each example in enough detail to carry an argument. Also covers building a reusable evidence bank before the exam.

  • Support every claim with specific, relevant evidence (named events, data, texts, people or detailed personal observations) rather than hypothetical or generic examples
  • Develop each example in enough depth (context, what happened, why it matters) to support the claim
  • Choose evidence that fits the audience and the prompt, mixing types for breadth
  • Build and rehearse a personal evidence bank of about 10–15 flexible examples across domains

• Commentary, counterargument and line of reasoning

  ≈ 4.5%1 h

  How to earn 3–4 points in Row B on the argument essay. Consistently explain how each piece of evidence supports a line of reasoning, address counterarguments with concession and rebuttal, and avoid faulty reasoning and repetition.

  • Write commentary that explains why each example proves the claim, not just what happened
  • Address a strong counterargument with concession, refutation or rebuttal to strengthen the position
  • Maintain a clear line of reasoning across paragraphs with purposeful transitions
  • Avoid faulty reasoning: overgeneralisation, false cause, and either/or thinking

About 2 h 50 min of study, lessons and core practice

• Earning the sophistication point (Row C)

  ≈ 4.5%1 h 5 min

  What readers reward with Row C on each essay type. For synthesis and argument: nuance and complexity, tensions, implications or limitations placed in a broader context, and persuasive style. For rhetorical analysis: the significance of the writer’s choices in the rhetorical situation, the function of the passage’s complexities or tensions, and a consistently vivid style. The skill must be sustained, not shown in one flourish.

  • Craft a nuanced argument that consistently identifies and explores complexities or tensions, across sources in synthesis or across perspectives in argument
  • Articulate the implications or limitations of an argument by situating it within a broader context
  • In rhetorical analysis, explain the significance or relevance of the writer’s choices given the rhetorical situation, or the purpose of the passage’s complexities and tensions
  • Use a consistently vivid, precise and persuasive style that strengthens the essay’s force
  • Recognise what does not earn Row C: a single sweeping sentence, a token counterargument, or elaborate vocabulary without insight

• Managing Section II: reading period, pacing and typing

  ≈ 2.5%40 min

  A minute-by-minute plan for the 135-minute free-response section. Covers using the reading period on the synthesis sources, about 40 minutes per essay, planning templates, choosing an essay order, typing efficiently in Bluebook, and proofreading so all three essays finish with a conclusion.

  • Use the 15-minute reading period to annotate the synthesis sources and sketch a plan
  • Keep to about 40 minutes per essay (roughly 5–8 minutes planning, 30 writing, 2–3 checking) and choose an essay order that protects your strongest essay
  • Plan an essay quickly: thesis, two to three claims, and assigned evidence
  • Type efficiently in Bluebook, and reserve time to fix errors that obscure meaning

About 1 h 45 min of study, lessons and core practice