Instructions: Create an argument that establishes the best three essay prompts to use for our in-class essay from the list of past AP Exam essay prompts below. I will give you a grade on how well you argue your selections in approximately 5-7 sentences. Complete the following assignment in a new Google Doc. When finished, share it with me (wlydon@coralacademy.org)! It’s due at the end of the day (midnight).
1. Read thoroughly the list of “AP Open-ended Prompts” below.
2. Then choose two of these questions that you believe would appropriately apply to our recently completed novel. In other words, you’re looking for three prompts that students should be able to write an essay about if our last novel were used as the text.
3. Rewrite each of your three chosen prompts so that they refer directly to our last novel.
4. After each of these rewritten prompts write 5-7 justifying your decision. Be sure to answer the two following questions: Why is our last novel an appropriate text to use for this prompt? How might a student writer respond to this prompt? (Think in terms of how you might craft a successful thesis statement.)
See the following for an example of what I am looking for. The example is from Doctor Faustus:
1999 AP Prompt Re-written
The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.”
From The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, choose a character whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict with one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.
Justification:
This topic reflects a central theme of the play, as the protagonist, Dr. Faustus, is essentially torn between being a moral, God-fearing citizen and an instrument of the devil. This classic good-versus-evil conundrum is reflected in the characters of the Good and Bad Angels, personifying the temptation and providing solid evidence for a paper. Other supporting characters such Dr. Faustus’s fellow scholars add complexity to the conflict, while the plot is constantly being furthered because of the struggle. Creating a paper that describes how the conflicting forces add meaning to the work becomes simple when we consider the central themes of the story, Dr. Faustus’s tragic flaw, and the usage of temptation to further the plot and teach a lesson to the reader.