Introduction to the Analysis Essay ❮ 81Rating the Essays
Let’s Take a Look at a Set of Rubrics for This Analysis Essay
By the way, if you want to see actual AP rubrics as used in a recent AP English Language
and Composition exam, log onto the College Board website at http://www.collegeboard.org/ap.
As you probably know, essays are rated on a 9–1 scale, with 9 being the highest and 1
the lowest. Because we are not there with you to rate your essay personally and to respond
to your style and approach, we are going to list the criteria for high-, middle-, and low-range
papers. These criteria are based on our experience with rubrics and reading AP Literature
essays.
A HIGH range essay can be a 9, an 8, or a high-end 7. MIDDLE refers to essays in
the 7 to 5 range, and the LOW scoring essays are rated 4 to 1.High-Range Essay (9, 8, 7)- Indicates complete understanding of the prompt
- Integrates the analysis of Capote’s view of Holcomb with his tone
- Explores the implications of the contrasts within the excerpt
KEY IDEA456structures such as, “Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway,
and like the yellow trains streaking down the Sante Fe tracks.. .” greatly adds to the
monotony of the town. “(Holcomb, like all the rest of Kansas, is ‘dry’.)” is one of the
numerous similes found throughout the passage that create a sense of vacancy within
the town.
Capote’s use of all of these literary devices envelope the reader into picturing what
Holcomb looks like, a worn out, rustic town filled with “grain elevators,” or fields and
fields of wheat. The reference to the grain and wheat exemplifies the daily activities
that occur in the town. After all of the rural descriptions, a vision of the school is given,
as it “camouflages” into the mix. Reading about all of the emptiness of the town, then
envisioning a school that is the pride of the town provides insight into the type of
people the inhabitants of Holcomb are. For example, they are described as, “in general,
a prosperous people.” Overall, a precise and objective image of the town, along with the
townspeople is certainly focused on in the passage.
Encompassing all of the author’s literary, stylistic approaches, one is able to “hear” a
voice or tone in the reading. A feeling of desolation, weariness, and loneliness should be
derived from reading about this town, and a sense of rejuvenation is experienced toward
the closing of the excerpt due to descriptions of the school. In exemplifying that the town
has pride in one area, which is education, it leaves the reader with a sense of hope in the
town and in its inhabitants. A strong voice toward Holcomb of its rugged, run down, and
exhausted institutions is present.
Truman Capote’s excerpt from In Cold Blood, which objectively describes
Holcomb, a town in Kansas, is profoundly written because of its abundance of allusions,
alliteration, imagery, and particular syntax utilized. Capote’s detailing enables one to
envision what the town looks like because of spatial and in-depth descriptions.