When I coach students in essay writing for AP History and English exams, I tell them to imagine that their readers are really sorry that they signed on to grade all these exams. The room they’re in is too hot, their chairs are uncomfortable, and they have headaches and indigestion from drinking too much bad coffee.
The last ten essays that these unfortunate essay graders read all scored below a 3, and they have at least another thirty essays to go. When they get to your essay, you want them to experience it like a breath of fresh air on a hot summer’s day.
Here are four ways to make your essay sparkle.
Don’t write the same old introductory sentence that everyone else does: “The author supports her thesis by using logos, pathos, and diction.” Instead, use the author’s name and incorporate a restatement of the thesis into that sentence. “Virginia Woolf considers the implications of women’s entry into the workplace with visual imagery, a series of rhetorical questions, and a call to action.” In other words, show your long-suffering reader that you are not just another kid who memorized a generic argument from a test prep book.
Many students pad their writing because they fear not having enough to say. Don’t do this!! No grader ever wants to read unnecessary words. In other words, don’t write, “The Raven,” a poem by poet author Edgar Allen Poe, is a long story about a man who is haunted by a raven, which is a black bird.” Instead, up your game by introducing your topic like a pro: “Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven’ portrays the growing hysteria of a man who thinks that a raven is talking to him in a lighthearted way that mocks gothic conventions.”
Make sure that the parts of the text you are writing about are directly connected to the text’s most important features or ideas. Choose them carefully! For example, many poems use rhyme, but it’s only worth pointing out if there is a specific reason for doing so: Edgar Allen Poe’s use of internal rhyme in “The Raven” propels the poem’s narrative forward while adding a touch of lightness to its gothic imagery. The second verse begins, “Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; / And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.” Here, the rhymes “remember,” “December,” and “ember” remind readers of December’s cold and help establish the poem’s tone.
When selecting the topics of your essay’s body paragraphs, it’s a good idea to choose one from the text’s beginning, one from the middle, and one from the end. This way, you assure the reader that you have actually read the entire passage! This technique also makes it easy to organize your essay and prevents you from repeating yourself.
All of these tips boil down to common sense. Show the reader that you are a careful reader and a thoughtful writer by taking the time to incorporate specific details about the text to make clear that you are actively engaged with the text in front of you. If you write as though you find the passage interesting, your readers will be favorably impressed, despite bad coffee and their despair over how many essays they still have to get through.
Elizabeth Breau, Ph.D., is a private English tutor and the author of History According to SAT: A Content Guide to SAT Reading and Writing. Her website ishistoryaccordingtosat.com. She can be reached at elizabeth.breau@gmail.com and is currently accepting new students.
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