AP Literature: Guidelines & Advice for Writing Essays

Formatting:

  • 1” margins are not the default—you must manually adjust them
  • Double space everything but don’t add extra spaces anywhere—this includes your heading, between paragraphs, or on your list of works cited page.
  • All in-text citations should appear on your list of work cited page; all works on the works cited page should be cited in your paper.
  • Know the formatting rules of the style you are required to use—MLA formatting is very different from APA formatting (Purdue Owl is a good on-line resource for formatting).

Title:

  • Make the title of your paper interesting/compelling/engaging

Introduction:

  • Establish your authority by opening with a forceful and compelling hook—avoid opening with a question and use quotes only if they relate to your thesis in some way.
  • Avoid prolonged “philosophizing” or generalities about life—stick close to your topic.
  • Always establish the context of the text you are writing about—provide a brief summary of the plot(in one or two sentences).
  • All sentences in your introduction should be logically connected and should “funnel” into your thesis.
  • Your thesis statement must be clear, coherent, and debatable/arguable. Do not attempt to prove the obvious or what everyone already acknowledges as given.
  • Do not include any in-text citation or textual evidence in your introduction.

Body Paragraphs:

  • Do not begin with a quote or paraphrase.
  • The topic sentence should relate to your thesis.
  • All textual support, research, and argumentation should relate to your topic sentence.
  • Use ample textual support always—textual support from primary sources should outnumber research from secondary sources by a ratio of 2:1.
  • Do not merely “string” quotes/paraphrases together—as a rule of thumb, each quote/paraphrase should be followed by two sentences of commentary.
  • Research and textual support should support your argument and should relate to an aspect of your thesis—don’t just “plug” quotes in to fulfill a requirement.
  • No body paragraph should be without a quote/paraphrase.
  • Do not end with a quote/paraphrase.

Conclusion:

  • Avoid philosophizing/generalizing about life—stick to your topic/thesis.
  • Do not use a quote or paraphrase in your conclusion.

Some General Advice:

  • Avoid overuse of “be” verbs—they result in passive voice and weaken the authority and maturity of your writing.
  • Watch the length of your paragraphs—paragraphs that get too long tend to lose their coherency and focus. Use paragraphs as a way of keeping your ideas organized and your argument logical and properly developed.
  • Use transitions—between paragraphs and between sentences within a paragraph.
  • Make sure every quote is introduced with a lead-in and that quotes are properly blended when used as part of a sentence—avoid fragments and awkward sentences when incorporating quotes.