past ap gov argument essay prompts

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Lesson Plan: AP Government: Argumentative Essay Practice

The Federalist Papers

Boston College professor Mary Sarah Bilder gives a brief overview backgrounding the Federalist Papers

Description

This is intended as an end-of-course review activity for practice with the argumentative essay format included on the AP United States Government and Politics exam since the 2018 redesign. Eleven practice prompts are provided, reflecting content from Units 1-3.

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY PROMPT ANALYSIS

• Review the provided Argumentative Essay Prompts in either an individual or jigsaw format.
• Write a thesis statement for your selected prompt(s) and identify the selection you would make from the provided list and the second piece of evidence you would choose.
• If there are prompts for which you struggle to develop a thesis, or items on the bulleted lists with which you are not conversant, use the hyperlinked C-SPAN Classroom resources to extend your understanding of the required founding documents and SCOTUS cases that you found challenging.

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

• Chose one or more of the provided Argumentative Essay Prompts , as assigned, and use the planning and exploration you did above to write a full essay in response to your designated prompt(s) in 25 or fewer minutes , since that's the time limit you'll face on the AP Exam!
• Exchange essays with a classmate and evaluate each others' work.
• 1st Amendment
• Branches Of Government
• Constitution
• House Of Representatives
• Separation Of Powers
• Supreme Court

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the complete guide to ap us government frqs.

Advanced Placement (AP)

Free-response questions, or FRQs, on the AP US Government exam are more straightforward than those on some other AP tests, but they can still be tough if you're not ready for them. In this guide, we will lay out a simple step-by-step method for answering AP Government FRQs , go through a real example, and tell you where you can find additional practice resources.

AP Government Free-Response Section Format

The free-response section lasts one hour and 40 minutes and consists of four questions , each of which is worth 12.5% of your total score. So as a whole, the free-response section accounts for half your total AP Gov score (the other 50% comes from the multiple-choice section). Each FRQ is worth 3-6 raw points.

Here are the four types of FRQs you'll get on the AP Government exam:

• Concept Application (3 raw points)
• Quantitative Analysis (4 raw points)
• SCOTUS Comparison (4 raw points)
• Argument Essay (6 raw points)

The free-response questions will ask you to integrate your knowledge of the various content areas covered by the course. This includes analyzing political events in the US, discussing examples, and demonstrating your understanding of general principles of US government and politics. You'll also be asked to examine data from charts, define key terms, and explain the roles that different parts of our government play in the political system.

The following chart shows specifically what you must do for each FRQ on the AP Government test. All info below comes from the 2020 AP US Government and Politics Course and Exam Description .

AP Government FRQs: 5-Step Solution Process

This section provides a step-by-step process for answering any question on the AP US Government exam. Here's a sample question from the 2020 AP Gov Course and Exam Description that I'll reference throughout so you can see how these steps might work in practice:

Step 1: Read the Introductory and Concluding Sentences

Free-response questions #1 and #3 will include passages, while question #2 will have an image or a chart with data. Skim the first and final sentences of the passage (or title of the graphic for #2) before you get to the tasks (labeled A-C or A-D). This will help you get a rough sense of what to expect in the rest of the question.

It's a good idea to read the intros and conclusions to all the FRQs before choosing which one to begin with. Doing this might help build up your confidence and improve your efficiency to start with a question that's easier for you.

In the sample question above, you would read the title of the graphic ("Public Education Spending: Amount Spent per Pupil by State in 2014") and then skim the image itself to get a sense of what it's asking you to analyze.

Step 2: Identify (and Underline, If You Want) the Command Verb

For each task in each FRQ, you're given specific instructions on the type of answer that is expected; these instructions include command verbs that tell you what to do. It's important to be aware of exactly what the question is asking so you can earn full points.

These command verbs are the first words you should zero in on as you approach a question. If you think it'll help keep you focused, you can underline these verbs .

Here are the most commonly used task verbs, as described in the AP Gov Exam Description :

Compare: Provide a description or explanation of similarities and/or differences.

Define: Provide a specific meaning for a word or concept.

Describe: Provide the relevant characteristics of a specified topic.

Develop an argument: Articulate a claim and support it with evidence.

Draw a conclusion: Use available information to formulate an accurate statement that demonstrates understanding based on evidence.

Explain: Provide information about how or why a relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome occurs, using evidence and/or reasoning. Explain "how" typically requires analyzing the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome, whereas explain "why" typically requires analysis of motivations or reasons for the relationship, process, pattern, position, situation, or outcome.

Identify: Indicate or provide information about a specified topic, without elaboration or explanation.

In part A of the sample question, the command verb is "identify," indicating that you need to correctly interpret the data in the image. In part B, the command verb changes to "describe," which means you'll need to go one step further and interpret and analyze data in the graphic that you have found.

Part C starts with "draw a conclusion," meaning that you will need to tie together the evidence you found in part B to come up with a final (accurate) statement on what this means. Finally, part D begins with the task verb "explain," showing that you must make a clear connection between the data in this graphic as a whole and the principle of federalism.

Step 3: Know Where You'll Earn Your Raw Points

In general, each part in a question (A, B, C, and D) will correspond to 1 raw point , but not all questions are like this.

After finding the task verb in the part of the question you're answering, take note of how many examples or descriptions you need to provide , as each will likely correspond to a point in your raw score for the question. There might also be more than one task verb in a question, in which case you'll likely get at least 2 raw points for it.

As a reminder, here is the maximum number of raw points you can earn for each question (don't forget that each question is still worth the same percentage of your score: 12.5%):

Take care to answer the question thoroughly but directly , addressing all points in a way that will make it easy for graders to assess your response. Remember that you don't need to write an essay for the first three FRQs, so just go straight for the answer to avoid any ambiguity.

In the sample question, we know there will be 4 raw points you can earn. And since the tasks are divided into four parts (labeled A-D), we can assume that each part will be worth 1 raw point .

You can see more sample FRQs and how they're graded with the official scoring guidelines here .

Step 4: Reread Your Answer

Once you've come up with an answer, reread what you wrote to ensure it makes sense and addresses the question completely . Did you give the correct number of descriptions or examples asked of you? Does your answer directly respond to what the question is asking?

If you're satisfied, move on to the next part of the question and return to step 2!

Step 5: Pace Yourself

The final step is to keep track of time so you can be sure you're pacing yourself effectively and are not spending too much time on any one question. As a reminder, you'll have one hour and 40 minutes for the entire free-response section of the AP Government exam.

It's suggested that you spend the following amounts of time on each FRQ:

As you can see, you should spend about an equal amount of time on the first three FRQs and save most of your time for your essay , which will likely require the most effort of the four.

A Real AP Government FRQ Example + Analysis

Now, let's go through the answers to a real AP Government free-response question from the 2019 released questions to show you what your responses should look like. This question is an example of a Concept Application question on the exam, meaning it's worth 3 raw points (1 point each for parts A, B, and C).

This question is all about the Johnson Amendment, which does not allow religious organizations to engage in political activities and contribute money to political campaigns. As this passage explains, the Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious group, encourages pastors to challenge this law by participating in an annual event called Pulpit Freedom Sunday.

Below, we go through how to answer each of the three parts correctly using the scoring guidelines .

Part A—1 Point

Part A asks you to come up with an example of a specific action Congress could take to address the concerns of the Alliance Defending Freedom. In other words, what could Congress do to allow groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom to speak freely about political campaigns?

Note that the command verb used here is "describe," meaning you must "provide the relevant characteristics of a specified topic," or elaborate on what you're proposing and why it would work.

There are two possible answers you could put down here, according to the scoring guidelines:

• Congress could pass a law that would reverse the Johnson Amendment.
• Congress could pass a law to allow religious organizations to participate more directly in politics.

Part B—1 Point

Part B asks you to go into more detail about what you proposed in part A . You must talk about how partisan divisions (i.e., differences in political parties among politicians) could stop whatever you proposed in part A from going into effect (whether that's a new law altogether or a reversal of the original Johnson Amendment).

The task verb used here is "explain," so you must use evidence to show how the action you wrote down in part A could be blocked or reversed.

Here are two possible answers , according to the scoring guidelines:

• Partisan divisions make it more difficult to pass a law because parties adhere to different ideological points of view.
• If Congress and the president are from different political parties, the president might threaten to veto the legislation.

Part C—1 Point

The final part of this free-response question asks you to examine the scenario again, this time from the perspective of the Alliance Defending Freedom , or the religious group in question.

How might the Alliance argue that the Johnson Amendment, which prevents them from speaking on political issues and contributing money to political campaigns, is taking away their rights?

The key here is to first think about what rights these could be . Perhaps freedom of speech or freedom of religion? As you probably noticed, the task verb is "explain," so once again you must use plenty of evidence to show why this contentious relationship exists between the Alliance and the Johnson Amendment/the US government as a whole.

Here are examples of answers you could write, according to the official scoring guidelines:

• The Alliance Defending Freedom and other religious groups might argue that their First Amendment rights are being violated.
• The Alliance Defending Freedom and other religious groups might argue that their freedom of speech/religion is being violated.

Essential Resources for Practicing AP US Government FRQs

There are several resources you can use to hone your skills for answering AP Government FRQs.

Official College Board Resources

The College Board website hosts free-response questions from previous tests that you can use for practice. I recommend starting with the 2019 FRQs (unfortunately, they don't come with sample student responses), as these will look the most like the questions you'll get on test day.

Once you've used those, you can look at FRQs from the 2018 test and earlier; most of these come with sample student responses so you can see what a good response looks like.

If you're hoping to practice FRQs in the context of a full-length test, here are some links to past AP Government exams you can download (as always, prioritize the most recent tests):

• 2018 Practice Test
• 2013 Practice Test
• 2012 Practice Test
• 2009 Practice Test
• 2005 Practice Test
• 1999 Practice Test

These are by far the best sample AP US Government free-response questions you can get because they most accurately represent what you'll see on the real test.

AP Government Review Books

AP Government review books are also solid resources for free-response practice, though they vary a lot in quality.

The Princeton Review's prep book for AP Gov includes five full-length practice tests , so there should be tons of free-response questions you can use to hone your skills. Barron's AP US Gov review book also has some useful practice tests and free-response questions.

If you use these unofficial free-response questions for practice, just be sure to intersperse them with official questions from the College Board so that you maintain an accurate sense of what to expect on the real test.

Recap: Everything to Know About AP US Government FRQs

The four free-response questions on the AP US Government and Politics exam can be approached methodically to earn the maximum number of points.

Read the intro and conclusion to the question first so you can get your bearings. Then, for each of the separate parts, identify the task verb, figure out where you'll earn your raw points, and double-check your answer for any missing pieces or careless errors.

You should also pace yourself so that you're spending no more than 20 minutes each on the first three questions and 40 minutes on the essay.

I suggest practicing at least a few free-response questions before heading into the AP exam. The best resource to use is the College Board website, which contains an archive of past questions accompanied by scoring guidelines and sample student responses. These questions are pretty simple compared to the free-response questions on other AP tests once you get the hang of them!

What's Next?

Not sure where to begin in your AP prep? Our five-step plan will prepare you to take on any AP test .

If you're missing some of your notes that you need to study for AP Gov, check out this article with links to all the content you need to know for the test . You can also learn about the test as a whole with our comprehensive AP Government and Politics review guide .

Do you have a target score in mind for this exam? Learn more about what it takes to earn a 5 on an AP test and whether you should aim for one yourself.

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.

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AP® US Government

How to approach ap® us government frqs.

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

The AP® US Government & Politics exam has four FRQs, or free-response questions. You must answer all four of the FRQs, and you have 100 minutes to do so.

The essays test your ability to think critically, analyze the topics studied in the course and demonstrate an understanding of the connections between the various parts of government.

The questions you are asked will cover content, concepts, themes and issues from all six areas of the course:

1. Constitutional underpinnings

2. Political beliefs and behaviors

3. Political parties, interest groups and the mass media

4. Institutions of national government

5. Public policy

6. Civil rights and civil liberties

Be careful. Free-response is a bit misleading.  You are not free to write about whatever you choose in response to a topic. You need to provide specific answers to each part of the question to do well. (Fortunately, within the individual questions you will often be given choices. For example, “choose one of the three court cases listed.”)

But don’t worry, we’ll tell you how to answer the FRQs specifically and fully here. You may also like our updated video on how to approach AP® US Government FRQs below:

Before The Exam

During your AP® US Government course , be sure to read your textbook and supplementary texts, with a particular focus on how the various parts of government interact. (For example, how lobbyists influence lawmakers, or how the media influence elections.) You will be expected to discuss these dynamics in your essays.

Before You Begin Writing

Read over the questions.You should plan to budget 25 minutes for each question, for a total of 100 minutes, so that you do not have to rush on any question.

(For what it’s worth, AP® scorers say one of the biggest mistakes that students make on the AP® US Government FRQs is spending too much time on one or two questions at the expense of the others, or becoming fatigued after three good answers and skipping the fourth.)

It doesn’t matter in what order you complete the essays, so feel free to complete the essays you are most comfortable with first.

As you begin, read the essay question carefully. Figure out what the subject matter is. (i.e. Congress, or political parties.)

Next, pay close attention to the essay prompt you are given. The prompt vocabulary will tell you exactly what to do in your essay. Some common prompts are:

1. Evaluate or judge – discuss the value or wisdom of a belief or idea

2. Analyze – evaluate each part of the whole systematically

3. Identify – name something, typically members of a group

4. Define – explain what something means

5. Discuss – provide details and examples of something

6. Describe – create a picture of something with details and examples

7. Compare and contrast – point out similarities and differences

8. Categorize – sort into groups based on traits or features

9. Explain – tell how and why with reasons and examples

10. Determine cause and effect – decide what leads to an event/circumstance and what results from this event/circumstance

Once you know what you are supposed to argue, brainstorm.

The questions will be specific. So your answer must be focused. Spend a few minutes writing an outline at the start of each essay. Match the points in your outline to the rubric points in the question.

As You Write

You shouldn’t try to write a five-paragraph essay with introduction and conclusion paragraphs. Have clear topic sentences and write an organized argument, but do not feel the need to repeat information. So:

1. Don’t rephrase the question in your introduction.

2. Don’t write a conclusion paragraph that restates what you have already written.

Do not ramble. Do not be vague. Write clearly and concisely. You don’t need rhetorical flourishes.

Use structural indicators such as “First, second, finally” and back up your ideas with examples.

And remember these rules:

1. Don’t use words you are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with.

2. Don’t editorialize or moralize. Don’t put any personal opinions in your essays. Stick to fact-based analysis.

3. Don’t dump facts or create laundry lists simply to fill up space. Provide context for the data you provide.

4. Pay attention to dates and terms. If a question asks about the “modern presidency,” do not write about Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln.

5. Be as specific as possible.

After You Finish Writing

Some free-response questions will have multiple parts. After you finish writing, make sure you have addressed each part (in addition to checking for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors).

Also, you won’t lose points for an incorrect answer, so make sure you write at least something down for every question. The graders know that you might have to rush to finish the last question, so do not be afraid to abbreviate or write partial sentences if you must.

You should try to write at least three paragraphs if possible. Just be sure that you are clear and coherent.

Now, let’s look at a past exam question.

The Constitution states that “each House shall determine the rules of its proceedings.” Sometimes these rules impede the legislative process. In other cases the rules expedite the passage of laws. (6 pts.)

1. Define each of the following rules

2. The filibuster

4. Closed rule

5. Describe one way two of the above rules either impedes or enhances the legislative process.

6. Explain how the House Rules Committee affects the legislative process.

OK, so how do we tackle this question?

In (a) we’re asked to define three things: the filibuster, cloture and the closed rule.

So your first few paragraphs should be:

1. The filibuster is…

2. Cloture is…

3. The closed rule is…

No more than a few sentences are needed to answer each question. Be detailed, but don’t get lost in the intricacies—remember the old adage, “Just the facts, ma’am.”

Now we are asked to (b) describe one way two of the above rules impede or enhance the legislative process. So, pick two rules and provide one or the other for each. That’s it! You won’t get bonus points for providing more examples—so don’t. Make sure you are not answering more than you have to: time is of the essence.

The filibuster impedes the legislative process in the Senate by…

Cloture enhances the legislative process in the Senate by…

Again, you need only a few sentences to answer each of these questions.

Finally, we have to explain how the House Rules Committee affects the legislative process. You are not asked for a specific number of examples as in part (b), so you need to be disciplined. Use structural indicators (such as one, another, also, etc.) to keep yourself focused. Do not say more than is necessary.

One way the House Rules Committee affects the legislative process is…

Another way is…

The House Rules Committee also…

Most Importantly

Keep in mind we’ve shown you how to pace yourself, organize your argument, and avoid including superfluous information on your AP® US Government FRQ section. But you’ve got to know the content well to write a good response—so get back to studying!

If you’re looking for some pointers on tackling AP® US Government FRQs, check out the video below:

Looking for AP® US Government practice?

Kickstart your AP® US Government prep with Albert. Start your AP® exam prep today .

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Free-Response Essays on the AP® U.S. Government and Politics Exam

The AP ® U.S. Government and Politics exam covers a breadth of topics surrounding the cultural, political, and social changes in U.S. History. The exam itself contains four free-response questions that require students to write two essays. They are:

• Concept Application
• Quantitative Analysis
• SCOTUS Comparison
• Argument Essay

To make sure that you nail these essays, it’s crucial that you know what to expect from each one. That’s why we want to walk you through what exactly is on the AP ® U.S. Government and Politics exam, as well as what you’ll see in the free-response section.

What’s on the AP ® U.S. Government and Politics exam?

The AP ® U.S. Government and Politics exam tests students on their knowledge of the United States governing bodies, processes, policies, and history.

The course itself will go over five units covering the following topics:

• Foundations of American Democracy
• Interactions Among Branches of Government
• Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
• American Political Ideologies and Beliefs
• Political Participation

Students have 3 hours and 15 minutes to complete the exam. There is a 1 hour and 20-minute multiple-choice section, followed by a 1 hour and 40-minute free-response section. A full breakdown of each section is provided below:

Now that we know how the exam is broken down, let’s take a deeper look into the free-response essays on the AP ® U.S. Government and Politics exam.

Breakdown: Free-response essays on the AP ® U.S. Government and Politics exam

There are four questions students must answer with an essay on the AP ® U.S. Government and Politics exam.

The questions are:

• Concept Application. Students are given a political scenario and must explain the impact of a political “institution, behavior, or process.”
• Quantitative Analysis. Students are given a piece of quantitative data, and they must show how that data relates to a political process.
• SCOTUS Comparison. Students are tasked with comparing a non-required Supreme Court case with a required one and showing how they’re relevant to one another.
• Argument Essay. Students must craft an argument essay based on required documents and evidence.

College Board suggests that students take at least 20 minutes to answer each question during the allotted time.

Prepare with FREE practice tests

The best way to get better at something is by practicing.

That’s why it’s important that you take practice tests to help you get better at the AP ® U.S. Government and Politics Exam. Only then can you expect to get a good score and improve.

That’s why we want to help. Marco Learning has created a host of resources to help you prepare for AP ® exams, including video lessons, study guides, drills, and, most importantly, practice tests.

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Find what you need to study

AP Comparative Government Free Response Help - FRQ

4 min read • november 18, 2020

Fatima Raja

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The free-response section of the CompGov exam makes up 50% of your exam score. So, yeah, that means it's a good idea to do well on the FRQ section if you want to score well. Which, like, why wouldn't you? 🤔

Keep reading to learn how to ace the FRQ section!

FRQ Section Structure

You might be wondering what the FRQ section looks like, especially because every AP exam is slightly different. 🤮

The FRQ section of the CompGov exam has 4 questions, and each one of them is a different style of question. Here are the types of questions:

1 conceptual analysis question: In this question, you'll describe or explain a political concept in one of the six course countries.

1 quantitative analysis question: In this question, you'll address some kind of visual stimulus that you'll have to analyze to explain a trend or pattern that you can connect to the course concepts.

1 comparative analysis question: You'll compare and contrast political concepts/institutions/policies in different course countries.

1 argument essay: a new question type where you'll write an argument-based essay (P.S. you can get a general idea of what this may look like by looking at the US Government past exam questions 👀)

Each question may have a few different parts, and the structure of past CompGov questions look like that.

The vibes in this picture are immaculate ... Image Courtesy of Pixabay

Look at High-Scoring Examples

A good way to score well on the FRQ section is to know what the exam graders want from you.

What makes a good FRQ response? What will get you/lose you a point? 🤔 You can figure all of that out by looking at past student responses. Doing this will help you learn how pretty much game the system.

This is what every AP student looks like when they're wrapped up like a burrito and studying Image Courtesy of Pixabay

CollegeBoard actually releases the scoring guidelines for past FRQs, student samples, and how they scored, and the average scores for each FRQ. You can find all of that here .

If you've played a sport 🏄🏽‍♀️ or ever had any kind of hobby, you know that you may not have all the skills to do well at first, but you get better at it with practice. FRQs work pretty much the same way: you need to practice writing them to get good at writing them.

The good thing is that you can access past exam FRQs until 1999. That said, you should start practicing with the most recent prompts because they'll be the most similar to what will show up on your test.

Writing Games

I'll admit that practicing FRQs isn't my first choice of a fun activity to do. So, here are a couple of writing games you can do to make practicing slightly less boring.

Popsicle Stick Essays

Get a bunch of popsicle sticks or slips of paper and put a bunch of different political concepts/institutions, important vocab words, and the required countries. Make sure that you separate these things by color (ex. make the countries blue, the vocab words purple...) so you can tell them apart.

Draw a country, an important vocab term, and a concept out of the jar. Then, write about them. Explain how that term exists in the country you drew and what it means.

🚨 This exercise will help you know what gaps you have in your CompGov knowledge and allow you to practice writing about the concepts you're learning.

Snowball FRQs

Have a few friends or classmates make up their CompGov FRQ prompts. This will work better if they're also taking the class or have taken it in the past (because they'll hopefully know what they're talking about 😂).

Then, ball up your piece of paper and throw your snowball across the room (or at a friend 😉). Everyone should pick up a snowball for themselves and reply to the prompt they picked up.

If you want, you can have another mini snowball fight and have different people grade the responses. Make sure everyone writes their name on their response, so they can feedback on what they wrote.

Past Prompts

If you decide that you don't want to practice FRQs from 1999 because they're outdated and you run out of prompts to practice with, you can change up how they're structured.

Just choose a prompt, and draw a different country out of a hat 🎩. Then, respond to the prompt as if it's about the country you drew.

Closing Thoughts

Half of your CompGov score consists of the FRQs you write, so knowing how to do well in this section will help you ace the exam. Connecting the course content to the short answers you have to write may be a bit difficult at first, but you'll get the hang of it with some practice.

Key Terms to Review ( 1 )

Political Culture

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How to Write the AP Lang Argument Essay + Examples

What’s covered:, what is the ap language argument essay, tips for writing the ap language argument essay, ap english language argument essay examples, how will ap scores impact my college chances.

In 2023, over 550,148 students across the U.S. took the AP English Language and Composition Exam, and 65.2% scored higher than a 3. The AP English Language Exam tests your ability to analyze a piece of writing, synthesize information, write a rhetorical essay, and create a cohesive argument. In this post, we’ll be discussing the best way to approach the argumentative essay section of the test, and we’ll give you tips and tricks so you can write a great essay.

The AP English Language Exam as of 2023 is structured as follows:

Section 1: 45 multiple choice questions to be completed in an hour. This portion counts for 45% of your score. This section requires students to analyze a piece of literature. The questions ask about its content and/or what could be edited within the passage.

Section 2: Three free response questions to be completed in the remaining two hours and 15 minutes. This section counts for 55% of your score. These essay questions include the synthesis essay, the rhetorical essay, and the argumentative essay.

• Synthesis essay: Read 6-7 sources and create an argument using at least three of the sources.
• Rhetorical analysis essay: Describe how a piece of writing evokes meaning and symbolism.
• Argumentative essay: Pick a side of a debate and create an argument based on evidence. In this essay, you should develop a logical argument in support of or against the given statement and provide ample evidence that supports your conclusion. Typically, a five paragraph format is great for this type of writing. This essay is scored holistically from 1 to 9 points.

Do you want more information on the structure of the full exam? Take a look at our in-depth overview of the AP Language and Composition Exam .

Although the AP Language Argument may seem daunting at first, once you understand how the essay should be structured, it will be a lot easier to create cohesive arguments.

Below are some tips to help you as you write the essay.

1. Organize your essay before writing

Instead of jumping right into your essay, plan out what you will say beforehand. It’s easiest to make a list of your arguments and write out what facts or evidence you will use to support each argument. In your outline, you can determine the best order for your arguments, especially if they build on each other or are chronological. Having a well-organized essay is crucial for success.

2. Pick one side of the argument, but acknowledge the other side

When you write the essay, it’s best if you pick one side of the debate and stick with it for the entire essay. All your evidence should be in support of that one side. However, in your introductory paragraph, as you introduce the debate, be sure to mention any merit the arguments of the other side has. This can make the essay a bit more nuanced and show that you did consider both sides before determining which one was better. Often, acknowledging another viewpoint then refuting it can make your essay stronger.

3. Provide evidence to support your claims

The AP readers will be looking for examples and evidence to support your argument. This doesn’t mean that you need to memorize a bunch of random facts before the exam. This just means that you should be able to provide concrete examples in support of your argument.

For example, if the essay topic is about whether the role of the media in society has been detrimental or not, and you argue that it has been, you may talk about the phenomenon of “fake news” during the 2016 presidential election.

AP readers are not looking for perfect examples, but they are looking to see if you can provide enough evidence to back your claim and make it easily understood.

4. Create a strong thesis statement

The thesis statement will set up your entire essay, so it’s important that it is focused and specific, and that it allows for the reader to understand your body paragraphs. Make sure your thesis statement is the very last sentence of your introductory paragraph. In this sentence, list out the key points you will be making in the essay in the same order that you will be writing them. Each new point you mention in your thesis should start a paragraph in your essay.

Below is a prompt and sample student essay from the May 2019 exam . We’ll look at what the student did well in their writing and where they could improve.

Prompt: “The term “overrated” is often used to diminish concepts, places, roles, etc. that the speaker believes do not deserve the prestige they commonly enjoy; for example, many writers have argued that success is overrated, a character in a novel by Anthony Burgess famously describes Rome as a “vastly overrated city,” and Queen Rania of Jordan herself has asserted that “[b]eing queen is overrated.”

Select a concept, place, role, etc. to which you believe that the term “overrated” should be applied. Then, write a well-developed essay in which you explain your judgment. Use appropriate evidence from your reading, experience, or observations to support your argument.

Sample Student Essay #1:

[1] Competition is “overrated.” The notion of motivation between peers has evolved into a source of unnecessary stress and even lack of morals. Whether it be in an academic environment or in the industry, this new idea of competition is harmful to those competing and those around them.

[2] Back in elementary school, competition was rather friendly. It could have been who could do the most pushups or who could get the most imaginary points in a classroom for a prize. If you couldn’t do the most pushups or win that smelly sticker, you would go home and improve yourself – there would be no strong feelings towards anyone, you would just focus on making yourself a better version of yourself. Then as high school rolled around, suddenly applying for college doesn’t seem so far away –GPA seems to be that one stat that defines you – extracurriculars seem to shape you – test scores seem to categorize you. Sleepless nights, studying for the next day’s exam, seem to become more and more frequent. Floating duck syndrome seems to surround you (FDS is where a competitive student pretends to not work hard but is furiously studying beneath the surface just like how a duck furiously kicks to stay afloat). All of your competitors appear to hope you fail – but in the end what do you and your competitor’s gain? Getting one extra point on the test? Does that self-satisfaction compensate for the tremendous amounts of acquired stress? This new type of “competition” is overrated – it serves nothing except a never-ending source of anxiety and seeks to weaken friendships and solidarity as a whole in the school setting.

[3] A similar idea of “competition” can be applied to business. On the most fundamental level, competition serves to be a beneficial regulator of prices and business models for both the business themselves and consumers. However, as businesses grew increasingly greedy and desperate, companies resorted to immoral tactics that only hurt their reputations and consumers as a whole. Whether it be McDonald’s coupons that force you to buy more food or tech companies like Apple intentionally slowing down your iPhone after 3 years to force you to upgrade to the newest device, consumers suffer and in turn speak down upon these companies. Similar to the evolved form of competition in school, this overrated form causes pain for all parties and has since diverged from the encouraging nature that the principle of competition was “founded” on.

The AP score for this essay was a 4/6, meaning that it captured the main purpose of the essay but there were still substantial parts missing. In this essay, the writer did a good job organizing the sections and making sure that their writing was in order according to the thesis statement. The essay first discusses how competition is harmful in elementary school and then discusses this topic in the context of business. This follows the chronological order of somebody’s life and flows nicely.

The arguments in this essay are problematic, as they do not provide enough examples of how exactly competition is overrated. The essay discusses the context in which competition is overrated but does not go far enough in explaining how this connects to the prompt.

In the first example, school stress is used to explain how competition manifests. This is a good starting point, but it does not talk about why competition is overrated; it simply mentions that competition can be unhealthy. The last sentence of that paragraph is the main point of the argument and should be expanded to discuss how the anxiety of school is overrated later on in life. 

In the second example, the writer discusses how competition can lead to harmful business practices, but again, this doesn’t reflect the reason this would be overrated. Is competition really overrated because Apple and McDonald’s force you to buy new products? This example could’ve been taken one step farther. Instead of explaining why business structures—such as monopolies—harm competition, the author should discuss how those particular structures are overrated.

Additionally, the examples the writer used lack detail. A stronger essay would’ve provided more in-depth examples. This essay seemed to mention examples only in passing without using them to defend the argument.

It should also be noted that the structure of the essay is incomplete. The introduction only has a thesis statement and no additional context. Also, there is no conclusion paragraph that sums up the essay. These missing components result in a 4/6.

Now let’s go through the prompt for a sample essay from the May 2022 exam . The prompt is as follows:

Colin Powell, a four-star general and former United States Secretary of State, wrote in his 1995 autobiography: “[W]e do not have the luxury of collecting information indefinitely. At some point, before we can have every possible fact in hand, we have to decide. The key is not to make quick decisions, but to make timely decisions.”

Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which Powell’s claim about making decisions is valid. 

In your response you should do the following:

• Respond to the prompt with a thesis that presents a defensible position. 
• Provide evidence to support your line of reasoning. 
• Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning. 
• Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.

Sample Student Essay #2:

Colin Powell, who was a four star general and a former United States Secretary of State. He wrote an autobiography and had made a claim about making decisions. In my personal opinion, Powell’s claim is true to full extent and shows an extremely valuable piece of advice that we do not consider when we make decisions.

Powell stated, “before we can have every possible fact in hand we have to decide…. but to make it a timely decision” (1995). With this statement Powell is telling the audience of his autobiography that it does not necessarily matter how many facts you have, and how many things you know. Being able to have access to everything possible takes a great amount of time and we don’t always have all of the time in the world. A decision has to be made with what you know, waiting for something else to come in while trying to make a decision whether that other fact is good or bad you already have a good amount of things that you know. Everyone’s time is valuable, including yours. At the end of the day the decision will have to be made and that is why it should be made in a “timely” manner.

This response was graded for a score of 2/6. Let’s break down the score to smaller points that signify where the student fell short.

The thesis in this essay is clearly outlined at the end of the first paragraph. The student states their agreement with Powell’s claim and frames the rest of their essay around this stance. The success in scoring here lies in the clear communication of the thesis and the direction the argument will take. It’s important to make the thesis statement concise, specific, and arguable, which the student has successfully done.

While the student did attempt to provide evidence to support their thesis, it’s clear that their explanation lacks specific detail and substance. They referenced Powell’s statement, but did not delve into how this statement has proven true in specific instances, and did not provide examples that could bring the argument to life.

Commentary is an essential part of this section’s score. It means explaining the significance of the evidence and connecting it back to the thesis. Unfortunately, the student’s commentary here is too vague and does not effectively elaborate on how the evidence supports their argument.

To improve, the student could use more concrete examples to demonstrate their point and discuss how each piece of evidence supports their thesis. For instance, they could discuss specific moments in Powell’s career where making a timely decision was more valuable than waiting for all possible facts. This would help illustrate the argument in a more engaging, understandable way.

A high score in the “sophistication” category of the grading rubric is given for demonstrating a complex understanding of the rhetorical situation (purpose, audience, context, etc.), making effective rhetorical choices, or establishing a line of reasoning. Here, the student’s response lacks complexity and sophistication. They’ve simply agreed with Powell’s claim and made a few general statements without providing a deeper analysis or effectively considering the rhetorical situation.

To increase sophistication, the student could explore possible counterarguments or complexities within Powell’s claim. They could discuss potential drawbacks of making decisions without all possible facts, or examine situations where timely decisions might not yield the best results. By acknowledging and refuting these potential counterarguments, they could add more depth to their analysis and showcase their understanding of the complexities involved in decision-making.

The student could also analyze why Powell, given his background and experiences, might have come to such a conclusion, thus providing more context and showing an understanding of the rhetorical situation.

Remember, sophistication in argumentation isn’t about using fancy words or complicated sentences. It’s about showing that you understand the complexity of the issue at hand and that you’re able to make thoughtful, nuanced arguments. Sophistication shows that you can think critically about the topic and make connections that aren’t immediately obvious.

Now that you’ve looked at an example essay and some tips for the argumentative essay, you know how to better prepare for the AP English Language and Composition Exam.

While your AP scores don’t usually impact your admissions chances , colleges do care a lot about your course rigor. So, taking as many APs as you can will certainly boost your chances! AP scores can be a way for high-performing students to set themselves apart, particularly when applying to prestigious universities. Through the process of self-reporting scores , you can show your hard work and intelligence to admissions counselors.

That said, the main benefit of scoring high on AP exams comes once you land at your dream school, as high scores can allow you to “test out” of entry-level requirements, often called GE requirements or distribution requirements. This will save you time and money.

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