All the AP FRQ #2 Prompts Since 2000
Overview: Thanks to the amazing Sandra Effinger (aka Ms. Effie), here is a comprehensive list of all FRQ #2 questions since the year 2000. We will use this list for our writing assignment below. |
All the AP FRQ #2 Prompts Since 2000
Overview: Thanks to the amazing Sandra Effinger (aka Ms. Effie), here is a comprehensive list of all FRQ #2 questions since the year 2000. We will use this list for our writing assignment below.
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Stage 1: Command, Conquer, and MOWAW
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2018 Prompt
The following interchange, excerpted from an 1852 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, occurs when two characters who have been living on the Blithedale farm—a community designed to promote an ideal of equality achieved through communal rural living—are about to part ways. In a well-written essay, analyze how Hawthorne portrays the narrator’s attitude towards Zenobia through the use of literary techniques. FIND THE COMMAND AND CONQUER NOTE: If you need a brief review about what the command and conquer are, please see this page. I'm proceeding on the idea that you are very familiar with the concept. In this case, our command is "analyze how Hawthorne portrays the narrator’s attitude towards Zenobia through the use of literary techniques." Our conquer is to answer the question, "What IS the narrator's attitude toward Zenobia?" and secondarily, "What ARE the literary techniques Hawthorne usees to communicate that attitude?" FIND THE MOWAW Okay, this is harder, because you probably haven't read this novel, called The Blithedale Romance. Fun fact: Neither have I. How can we tell what the MOWAW is? Well, what we both can do is use the prompt itself to help us. What is the prompt saying about the book and about this scene? Let's see: The following interchange, excerpted from an 1852 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, occurs when two characters who have been living on the Blithedale farm—a community designed to promote an ideal of equality achieved through communal rural living—are about to part ways. Okay, so let's use the very helpful trick of taking OFF our "back in the day" goggles and update this scenario to something more familiar: They're living in this "community designed to promote an ideal of equality achieved through communal rural living" -- so in other words, a hippie commune. These two characters "are about to part ways," so they've evidently argued or fought, maybe about this ideal of equality. After all, even in the 1960s, even in hippie communes, women largely still weren't treated as equals, so maybe there's an issue of the "ideal" of equality not really making it over into the real world. However, maybe it's social equality Hawthorne is interested in. Maybe our nameless person is high class and Zenobia is low, or vice versa. It also could be racial equality, although just given Hawthorne and the time, I tend not to think it is, but I could be wrong. Finally, maybe they're breaking up for other reasons not related to the commune. Maybe he likes pineapple pizza, a universal dealbreaker. Who knows? (I don't know. I literally have never read this book and I have never read the passage. I'm doing this on purpose to show you the process of thought YOU can use yourself, where you're probably going to be in a similar position.) So, just by reading the prompt, we can narrow in on some possible thematic topics (NOTICE THAT A THEMATIC TOPIC IS NOT A THEME!!!) that this passage could possibly concern itself with:
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Stage 2: "[Author] uses [tool] to argue [MOWAW]."
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"[Author] uses [tool] to argue [MOWAW]."
I fully admit this is an absolutely clunky and inelegant thesis statement frame. It is. However, it has two virtues:
How would this work for the 2018 prompt? Remember, I haven't read this work or even this passage. I'm completely going by the prompt. However, I can make some predictions about how I'd fill out that frame.
By the end of this stage, you should have everything locked down (at least provisionally) except for the MOWAW. |
Stage #3: Key Words
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Repeat Key Words At Least 5 Times Per Paragraph
By this time, you should have at least a provisional thesis statement. You've read the passage, you've collected evidence, and if you don't know how to do that, read this page again. What you now have are some key words. You will need to repeat these key words throughout your paragraphs, about five times each. (Obviously, this is a ballpark figure and yes, it's completely formulaic. However, if your teacher has been saying, "You're off track," or "You're off topic," or "You have no analysis" or "Your explanation does not connect to a line of reasoning," this trick will help. What do I mean by key words? Read on. The Tool and the MOWAW
Let's say this is my thesis statement. (Note: I personally still have not read the passage. I have no idea if it's really about these ideas. That's partly the point: I want to show you what YOU should be doing, not Nathaniel Hawthorne.)
Pro Tips
Identify the Key Words
Where Will I Put My Key Words? You will definitely put the key words in the following places:
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Stage #4: Write and Review
What's Going on Here?
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Here's What It Looks Like
If you've followed this basic approach, your paragraphs should look like the example below. I've just done one paragraph. Your essay should have a minimum of two.
In his 1852 novel about communal living, Nathaniel Hawthorne describes Zenobia as if she were both a predatory animal and a virulent disease to argue that some men view equality with women not just as destabilizing to their identities, but as fundamentally dangerous to their very survival.
First, the passage begins with the narrator's statement that Zenobia lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do predatory animal tempor incididunt ut labore et men's discomfort with women's power magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in "stuff about being an animal" (5), which suggests that voluptate velit esse cillum ferocious beast eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum untur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Then, Zenobia's "stuff about being an animal" (9), which further emphasizes porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, then movingconsectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia wild creature "additional animal quote" (13), implying that ius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut instability ad minima female equality, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi threat? Quis male superiority vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel hunted down eum gender equality quo voluptas nulla pariatur m quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis competing on an equal playing field and with the "deeper examination of earlier quote" impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem removal of privilege within a society et "deeper examination of a different earlier quote" officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque beast quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut equality et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ultimately, Hawthorne's -- or rather, [character name's] -- envisioning of Zenobia as a stalking beast reveals his society's deep-seated male insecurity with the idea of genuine equality between the sexes despite the lofty ideals these commune members aspire to, a position Hawthorne understands but ultimately criticizes. |
Your Assignment
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Purpose and Focus of This Assignment
This assignment will help all students, ideally, but it will especially help those students who struggle with two skills:
What You Will Do
AP FRQ #2 List of Topics You Can Choose From
Checklist
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