All AP essays are written in All AP essays are written in response to an essay “response to an essay “promptprompt.”.”Understanding what this Understanding what this prompt asks you to do is the prompt asks you to do is the first important skill you need first important skill you need to acquire.to acquire.

Sample DBQ prompt: › Analyze changing conceptions of French

national identity and culture in the period since 1960.

Sample free response prompt:› Compare and contrast Enlightenment

and Romantic views of nature, with reference to specific individuals and their works.

The first thing you need to do is to read the WHOLE prompt, every word of it. This is especially true if the prompt is in two sentences like this one. . .› Compare and contrast Enlightenment and

Romantic views of nature, with reference to specific individuals and their works.

The first mistake that many students make is in reading and answering only part of the prompt.

Having read the whole prompt, circle or underline the VERBS. These words will give you your task.› Analyze changing conceptions of French

national identity and culture in the period since 1960.

The important verb, and thus your task, is in the second sentence: ANALYZE.

After finding the verbs, look carefully and mark any CONJUNCTIONS and circle or underline them. For instance› Compare and contrast Enlightenment and

Romantic views of nature, with reference to specific individuals and their works.

You must compare AND contrast these periods to successfully complete the task. Doing only one or the other will lower your score.

Go back and look carefully at the VERB in the prompt.

This word will tell you what you are expected to do.

The following is a list of commonly used verbs and explanations for the tasks they indicate. These are verbs the College Board has used recently.

Analyze› Explain how AND why something

occurred. Any question that uses “how” and/or “why” is an analysis question even if the word “analyze” is not in the prompt.

Evaluate› Which factor was most important. You

usually need to rank several events or factors and specify which is most and which is least significant.

To what extent› This prompt frequently requires you to

specify a cause and effect relationship and then state which causes were more important.

Compare AND contrast› To do this correctly you need to discuss

BOTH similarities AND differences between two events or periods. It is important to do both in a balanced way without shortchanging either.

Define any terms in the prompt that you need to explain.

For instance, a recent essay prompt asked students to analyze : “the ways in which the expansion of the market economy and new financial practices affected European society.”

Jot down some “new financial practices” and be prepared to explain how they are new. Failing to do this will lower your score.

Clearly understand the time period in the prompt.

If the prompt asks you to discuss formation of overseas colonies between 1850 and 1914, you must include information for the WHOLE time period.

You can help yourself do this by listing information from the last 10 years of the time period in the prompt FIRST, then working backward with your details.

After you are clear as to your task (analyze, evaluate, etc.) sketch out a quick, informal outline of how you are going to proceed. This is very important to guaranteeing that you cover the whole prompt.

For instance, if you were writing the following prompt. . .› Compare and contrast Enlightenment and

Romantic views of nature, with reference to specific individuals and their works.

You might jot down a simple “outline” like the one at the right

You would list things that were similar in BOTH periods

Then list the differences in BOTH periods

Your essay would then have either four body paragraphs as indicated by the circles

EnlightenmentEnlightenment RomanticismRomanticism

similaritiessimilarities

differencesdifferences

Or you might have two longer and more involved paragraphs as indicated by the two ovals.

In either case, you would have organized your thinking so that you cover all of the material you need to cover to address the prompt completely.

EnlightenmentEnlightenment RomanticismRomanticism

similaritiessimilarities

differencesdifferences

Read the WHOLE prompt

Mark the VERBS and the CONJUNCTIONS in the prompt

Think about that verb. What exactly are you being asked to do. Consider the whole prompt

ORGANIZE your thinking before you begin writing