Crash Course AP Literature

C: YOU MISREAD THE PROMPT

Problem

The

writer.

..

Solution/Strategy

Is

completely

off topic.

You perhaps charged too quickly out of the starting gate, with your eyes on the finish

line instead of on your strategy for winning. You will not earn a high score if you’re

writing a different essay than the one you’re expected to write. The prompt is carefully

written to guide you. Use it. Read it several times. Underline the actual task. (See

Chapter 14 for more help with this.)

Focuses

on the

wrong

elements.

If the prompt lists specific literary elements to consider, pay attention to that list. The

exam writers are telling you that these elements are at work in the text. If you go off on

your own, you risk a limited or wrong analysis. On the other hand, they may be testing

your ability to choose the most significant literary devices in a text from the list given. If

you focus on the wrong choice, you risk a lower score. The key to choosing the right

elements is prevalence or dominance. The more the literary element aids the writer in

his or her purpose, the more you can write about it.

Has gone

off topic

and failed

to connect

with the

main intent

of the

prompt.

According to the College Board, “prompts evolve from passages and are written to

stimulate and open up discussion, not provide closure.” However, once stimulated, your

mind cannot journey somewhere unrelated to the prompt, as that will be seen as a

misreading.

In choosing literary elements to consider for your essay, remember that in analyzing

poetry, it will be rare that the rhyme scheme has any effect at all. While it is easy to

determine a rhyme scheme, what will you say about its effect? It is not enough to

identify literary elements. You must also show how they function in a literary work.