Crash Course AP Literature

ANALYSIS OF OPEN-ENDED PROMPTS

The information that follows comes from an analysis of open-ended prompts from released exams. The
themes are paraphrased to give you a summary view.

Nearly all of the prompts warn you to avoid plot summary. They also expect you to choose an
appropriate work of literary merit. “Appropriate” means that you can defend your thesis by references to
that work.

Main Thematic Focus

Main

Literary

Focus

Show how a character’s alienation reveals the surrounding society’s

assumptions and moral values.

character’s

conflict

Show how a character is caught between colliding cultures—national, regional,

ethnic, religious, institutional.

character’s

conflict

Analyze how tension between outward conformity and inward questioning

contributes to the meaning of a work.

analysis of

elements of

literature: theme

Show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of a work.

analysis of

elements of

literature: theme

Choose a character whose private passion conflicts with his or her

responsibilities. In your essay show the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the

character, and its significance to the work.

character’s

conflict

Show the author’s purpose for including a struggle for dominance. author’s

style/technique

Choose an important character who is a villain. Then analyze the nature of the

character’s villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work.

analysis of

elements of

literature

character

Explain how a scene or scenes of violence contribute to the meaning of the

complete work.

analysis of

elements of

literature: theme

Analyze the sources of a conflict between a parent and a son or daughter and character’s