AP Language and Composition is based fundamentally around the ability to argue. Now this may not be the type of argument you have with your brother or sister about shower time, or with your parents about curfew. AP Lang arguments take many form, and require one to form an educated opinion about the topic and support that opinion with concise, clear details and evidence. The majority of your year will be spent dissecting other authors' arguments and responding with your own. This skill creates the foundation for vitually all projects and assignments that you might face throughout the year.
Here's a piece of pure opinion that I wrote (though not entirely well written, it certainly gets the opinion across):
Of course, this selection is certainly not aimed at those of you who are reading this blog, but I hope it makes you want to live up to the standard of being an American student!
Having always been a fairly opinionated person, I have really enjoyed arguing and backing up my ideas with solid points. We developed our argumentation skills by first just responding to claims, then writing paragraphs, and eventually arguing with entire essays. Throughout each step, we tried to maintain a similar format so that our opinions could be communicated in a simple and straightforward way. This is a sketch of how a paragraph might take shape:
1. Introduce your idea with a captivating lead-in sentence.
2. State your argument.
3. Provide evidence and examples of your argument.
4. Provide insightful commentary on your example that show how they support your claim.
5. Address the issue, "So what?" Relate your argument to the wider context and tell the reader why they should care about what you have to say.
These are all steps that we took as we created our arguments. We began to expand and develop full length essays, especially by practicing timed writings to succinctly and quickly address the issue and support our opinions. My early attempts at argumentative timed writing were bot very high quality, but quickly improved as I grasped the concepts of an organized supporting structure of evidence. My scores jumped from 5s to 7s and some 8s (all on the 9-point AP grading scale). Practicing the method of argumentation will also help you to raise your writing levels and better your writing.
P.S. Please enjoy this hilarious Argument Clinic video.
Here's a piece of pure opinion that I wrote (though not entirely well written, it certainly gets the opinion across):
Having always been a fairly opinionated person, I have really enjoyed arguing and backing up my ideas with solid points. We developed our argumentation skills by first just responding to claims, then writing paragraphs, and eventually arguing with entire essays. Throughout each step, we tried to maintain a similar format so that our opinions could be communicated in a simple and straightforward way. This is a sketch of how a paragraph might take shape:
1. Introduce your idea with a captivating lead-in sentence.
2. State your argument.
3. Provide evidence and examples of your argument.
4. Provide insightful commentary on your example that show how they support your claim.
5. Address the issue, "So what?" Relate your argument to the wider context and tell the reader why they should care about what you have to say.
These are all steps that we took as we created our arguments. We began to expand and develop full length essays, especially by practicing timed writings to succinctly and quickly address the issue and support our opinions. My early attempts at argumentative timed writing were bot very high quality, but quickly improved as I grasped the concepts of an organized supporting structure of evidence. My scores jumped from 5s to 7s and some 8s (all on the 9-point AP grading scale). Practicing the method of argumentation will also help you to raise your writing levels and better your writing.
P.S. Please enjoy this hilarious Argument Clinic video.
