Austin Scholar #119: How to *actually* write an essay
& how I got a 5 in AP Literature and Composition (the crazy version)
Hey, y'all!
This week from Austin Scholar...
Austin’s Anecdote: How I got a 5 in AP Literature and Composition (the crazy version)
How to *actually* write an essay
Scholar’s Sources: What I’ve been up to…
Later this week I’m leaving for my senior trip!! From using a multitude of points to book the flights, to debating departure days and times, to making a new itinerary days before the trip, it’s been a pretty crazy planning experience.
I’m so excited and blessed to be able to go on a senior trip with my best friends and make some incredible memories together before we go our separate ways. I’ll be sure to update y’all on the trip when I get back :)
Austin’s Anecdote: How I got a 5 in AP Literature and Composition (the crazy version)
I took AP Literature and Composition last year.
Being the book nerd and writer that I am, I felt so much pressure to do really well on the end-of-year exam. I write a newsletter to thousands of people every week. I felt as though I would be a fraud if I didn't get a 5 on this, of all exams. I wanted to take every single precaution I could to ensure that I saw that 5 come July.
Aside from all of the multiple choice practice, the biggest thing I did was make an extremely comprehensive template for writing the essays (for the AP Literature exam, you have to write three essays in two hours).
Like, I literally wrote a “fill-in-the-blanks” essay template and memorized it.
Here’s what it looked like:
Yeah, I probably went a little crazy.
But when the test came around, I was able to write three beautiful essays following this template – and I got a 5 on the exam.
A bit insane? Yes.
Did it work? Also yes.
Following that test, one of the things I’ve been trying to do is show people how easy it is to write a great essay for school. They’re all pretty much the exact same and you can use templates and formulas to make it a fast process.
That’s hopefully what I’ll teach you in this newsletter.
How to *actually* write an essay
One of the AP classes my younger sister took this year was AP World History – the test for which includes two long-form essays.
She came to me really struggling with the essay writing part of it. Her knowledge was excellent, but she just couldn’t format it into something legible.
So, as the resident writer in the household, she asked me to help.
I used the following process to help my sister go from 2/6 points on her AP essays to 6/6.
Hopefully this will be helpful for your teens too.
(The format I’m sharing here will also work for “normal” essays, not just an essay on an AP test – so long as you meet the requirements of the assignment and actually edit the essay before finishing.)