Princeton Review AP English Language & Composition Prep, 2021 by The Princeton Review

Author:The Princeton Review [The Princeton Review]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2020-09-22T00:00:00+00:00

The Assessment

In terms of the task given in the prompt, this student gets it to a large extent. Instead of simply rehashing the author’s message, the writer focuses on the rhetorical strategies the author uses to help readers understand, remember, and accept his rules for gaining wealth. The writer gives evidence from the passage to support the claims in the essay. It’s obvious that the writer planned ahead before she started writing, since the first paragraph contains a laundry list of rhetorical strategies that are discussed in the following paragraphs.

That sense of checking items off a list makes the discussion adequate, landing this essay at mid-range score. It’s the “analyze” part of the task where this student’s essay falls short of a top score. The explanations don’t have the depth, sophistication, or conviction to elevate the essay into the higher score range. A more effective, thorough analysis would explain how each of the author’s rhetorical strategies fits into the interplay among purpose, audience, and context.

For example, plenty of authorities counsel thrift. Why was Benjamin Franklin a particularly good one for Barnum to cite? The student doesn’t explore what the author gains with a mass audience by drawing on a trusted framer of the Constitution: Barnum gains credibility for his message, legitimacy for his subject (the pursuit of wealth), and a connection to the concept of helping people build something.

As another example, the student misses the fact that Barnum uses different rhetorical strategies to achieve different purposes. Before he can successfully teach readers how to become wealthy, Barnum needs to convince them that his desire to help them is genuine and that they will benefit from his book. In order to achieve that initial purpose, he first gets his readers on his side with a rousing, encouraging “land of opportunity” opening. It’s easy to make money in a country where there is so much land and so many jobs, he claims. An ordinary reader would likely feel, “I can actually do this, too, just like the famous Barnum did, and he really wants me to succeed.” Next, Barnum identifies with his readers and demonstrates that he understands them: “I have no doubt many of my hearers will agree it is the most difficult thing in the world to keep it.” Only then does he turn to his main purpose, launching into the stories that teach the difference between false economy (which does not lead to wealth) and true economy (which does).

In addition to the superficial analysis, another weakness in this essay occurs in the sophistication of expression. No one expects a polished essay from a 40-minute effort. However, there is a choppy, disjointed quality to the way the essay develops, and a weakness in the control of English mechanics (such as some confusion in verb tenses and some unclear pronoun antecedents). As a result, it’s difficult to follow the argument in spots. A more in-depth analysis of Barnum’s rhetorical strategies would have raised the essay’s score another notch. Effective essays demonstrate a smoother, more controlled prose style than this student achieves.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.