The Beginning

As with our previous rhetorical analysis prompts, the introduction sets the stage for your eventual score on the AP exam. A strong, mature, error-free introduction suggests a 7, 8, or 9 is forthcoming. A bare, sloppy introduction suggests a 5 or below is in the offering.

The hook is important to set the context of the rhetorical analysis. For instance, many of you hooked the audience in using imagery and historical references to the inhumanity of slavery in the South. In two or three sentences, you created an understanding of the text context and the author's purpose.

While a hook creates the voice, never let the hook overtake the rest of the essay. For example, an analogy helps create a context for the audience. However, you must be wary of using an analogy that simplifies the content at hand (remember John Keats as the teenage girl waiting to be asked out for a school dance?) and results in a more immature understanding of the text.

In addition, you don't want your hook to be its own essay. Be cognizant that the audience wants the starter to confirm your writing prowess and lead them to what is most important: the rhetorical analysis of the show. A lot of you are writing masterful, artistic hooks - just remember you can be masterful and artistic without filling up the whole page.

Another significant part of the introduction is the identification of the title (punctuated properly) and the author (named spelled correctly). As you are analyzing a specific text and author, you need to indicate this in the introduction and then reference back to the author's name in every paragraph. You do not have to repeat the title after the introduction.

The thesis ties everything together in a beautiful bow for your reader. In class, we worked on creating a formula for thesis statements and topic sentences -- not to brag, but I think our work this year has been extraordinarily creative and dynamic.

Remember this?

Author + active verb + specific rhetorical strategies + mature purpose.

I expected to find such a thesis statement at the end of your introductory paragraph. Those of you that embraced active verb usage - throughout the essay - created mature, engaging writing that your AP audience wants to read. Those of you that clarified the type of diction, the type of imagery, the type of tone, even the type of anaphora gave the reader a sense of text understanding. Those of you that clarified the purpose and adjusted the diction to reference the prompt without regurgitating its diction encouraged the reader to enjoy something unique.