What the exam asks
Every Free-Response Question (FRQ) prompt explicitly reminds you to “use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.” Examiners assess composition across two rubric rows:
- Row B (Evidence and Commentary): To earn 3 or 4 points, your commentary must build a clear line of reasoning showing how evidence supports your claims and overarching thesis. Decision Rule: If grammatical or mechanical errors persistently obscure meaning or interfere with communication, the essay cannot earn 4 points in Row B, no matter how insightful the literary analysis is.
- Row C (Sophistication): One of the four routes the scoring guidelines list for the sophistication point is a writing style that stays vivid and persuasive in every paragraph, not just in a few flourishes.
Core ideas
Paragraph unity and three-level coherence (LAN-1.M–Q)
A cohesive body paragraph focuses on a single interpretive claim stated in a topic sentence. Every piece of evidence and sentence of commentary in that paragraph must develop that claim and link back to your overarching thesis.
Coherence operates at three levels: within a sentence, within a paragraph, and across the whole essay. You build this logical flow using five devices:
| Device | How it creates coherence | Example in literary analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Logical arrangement | Orders claims chronologically (tracking a text’s shifts) or conceptually (from surface tension to deeper epiphany). | Analyzing a narrator’s initial confidence in paragraph 1 before examining their self-doubt in paragraph 2. |
| Transitions | Signals the logical relationship between sentences or paragraphs (contrast, cause, escalation). | Initially, In contrast, Consequently, Beneath this facade. |
| Repetition & synonyms | Echoes key conceptual terms from the previous sentence to stitch ideas together without sounding robotic. | “Chopin highlights Louise’s confinement... This domestic entrapment...” |
| Pronoun reference | Links back to an unmistakable antecedent (this, such, her). Never leave a pronoun without a clear noun attached. | “The narrator mocks the town’s rituals. This cynicism reveals...” |
| Parallel structure | Uses matching grammatical forms to show that two or more ideas share equal function or weight. | “He seeks to control her schedule, to silence her complaints, and to erase her agency.” |