STUDYING SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAYS
Every year, the College Board publishes sample student essays for each free-response question. The
questions are scored at three levels: high, medium, and low. By recognizing why each essay was scored
as it was, you can learn both what to do and what not to do.
The following table is a copy of what you will see when you go to the AP Central website. (Link is
given below.) Each item in the cells below will be found at that site. I have numbered each item and
explained below what you will find when you click on the link. The information given will vary from year
to year. The most important elements are 1, 2, and 5.