AP Lang Question 2: Writing Rhetorical Analysis Essays


Since a rhetorical essay is quite tricky in comparison to other essays, it requires certain tips for a better approach to answering. Let us explore the method of writing a rhetorical essay for the AP Lang exam that helps you score well.


Since we are here to discuss rhetorical analysis essays in AP language, you must know the essay is added to test students’ ability to analyze and interpret the deeper meaning in the provided passage. Through rhetorical essays, the examiner examines how students connect with the author’s style of writing and syntax within 40 minutes. Some students may face challenges while dealing with this essay because it requires a better understanding of rhetorical strategies and the method to apply them.

Not only good content but providing a readable structure is an important part of the rhetorical analysis essay AP Lang. First, you must read the passage thoroughly and develop a brief outline or key points before writing the essay. This helps you write with respect to the chronology of the given passage and maintain the flow of writing.

AP Lang Question 2: Writing Rhetorical Analysis Essays

AP elaborated that the Advanced Placement is the exam conducted by the College Board in the United States of America. The exam is generally offered at the high school level and helps students to pursue higher education at the university level. The exam holds two sections: MCQs and Rhetorical Essay. MCQ sections are for 1 hour, and the rest of the time is for the essay section. The free-response essay holds three essays: rhetorical analysis essay, synthesis essay, and argumentative essay.

You aren’t alone in thinking about where to start writing a rhetorical essay. Many students face the same and are required to learn and implement rhetorical strategies. First, understand what rhetoric actually means. It refers to language sensibly chosen and structured for an impressive effect on the audience. This involves persuasive appeal, logical fallacies, and syntax such as anaphora, anthesis, parallelism, and so on. There is a vast range of elements that you can assess in the provided essay and develop a strong grasp with consistent practice.

If you are taking the AP Lang exam this year, guidance on how to answer this part will be useful. This article is specially curated to help you score the best. Read on to learn more about the AP language rhetorical analysis essay and get an idea of how to prepare for the associated exam successfully.

In Parts and of this series, I covered the basics of the three AP Lang Essays (Synthesis, Rhetoric, and Argument), how to generally approach them, and the six steps of writing a successful essay on test day, focusing on the Rhetoric Essay. Now, we’ll look at the Synthesis and Argument Essays: how they differ from the Rhetoric Essay and how to apply the “six steps” to succeeding on them.


AP Lang Rhetorical Analysis Essay Practice

It invites you to analyze the use of language, which may include the author’s choice of words (diction), syntax (word order), figures of speech, use of evidence (such as statistics or logical reasoning), sentence structure, rhythm, sound, tone, or just about any other characteristics of style and rhetoric you choose. Although the question directs you to write about two different aspects of the passage, the essay itself should be unified.

Organization of Rhetorical Analysis (AP Lang)

Below is a two-image snapshot of the process I use to teach rhetorical analysis to mastery. What you don’t see on here is the baseline essay I give at the beginning of the year, but you can get a good sense of the way I introduce topic sentence defense.

AP Language: Rhetorical Analysis Essay Flashcards

Eventually, yes–you want students knocking out a rhetorical analysis in 40 minutes or so, and you want them writing full process essays in and out of class. HOWEVER, those exercises are for refining, not training. Rely on paragraph-level writing to build their skills and save your sanity.

AP Language Rhetorical Analysis Essay Reflection Exam Prep

Did you know that the rhetorical analysis essay AP Lang is graded into three rubric categories? Students must pay heed to the categories, as the examiner seeks specific things in each of them. Also, learn about some dos and don’ts to score well.

How to Ace the AP Language Rhetorical Analysis Essay

The AP Lang rhetorical analysis essay rubric has 3 rows. Row A is for the thesis. Row B is for evidence and commentary. This is the most important row because students can earn up to 4 points in this row.

The AP Language Rhetorical Analysis Essay: 5 Myths You Believe

When it comes to grading the thesis of the rhetorical analysis essay AP Lang, there is nothing nebulous. Either you get one point, or you lose one. Thesis points help you get close to higher scores, and thus, you must be mindful of the following points.