Thematic Portion

The free response question basically leaves you with an open opportunity to discuss whichever book you feel like discussing (of course as long as you can explain it with having the essay question in mind.) It is regarded as the open ended question, now what ever book that you choose will have a central theme(s) that will be important and vital to your essay, you must incorporate how the theme relates to the essay question and reflect the book as a whole.

Lets take a look at some themes that can be found in works of literature and what books can be used for them:

Adherence to conventions (The Awakening, The importance of being Earnest)

Defiance of conventions (The Awakening, The importance of being Earnest, A Doll's House)

representation of ideal women (The Awakening, As you like it, A Doll's House)

oppression and manipulation (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)

manners and conventions (The importance of being Earnest, A doll's house, The Awakening)

the choice between passion and responsibility (A doll's house, The Awakening)

betrayal (Othello, Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, The metamorphosis)

alienation (The metamorphosis)

societal expectations (The metamorphosis, The awakening, A doll's House)

self determination (The Awakening, A doll's house, The metamorphosis)

Of course there are a lot more themes and books that can be used. However there are some very important parts that has to be payed attention to:

- Focus on themes, do not summarize the plot or forget the essay question.

- Relate the themes to the work as a whole

- Think like the author! Always think about the author's purpose, why he/she wrote what they wrote, why are the themes important to the work as a whole.

Analytical Portion

The Free Response Essay of the AP English Exam calls for the student to choose a work of literature and use it to connect to the essay question.

These questions often call for examples of literary elements that writers utilize. The student is required not only to identify the elements, but to explain why they are important to the story as a whole, why the author made that particular choice, and how they are pertinent to the essay question at hand.

Let's take a look at what kind of literary elements are most important for this essay. Of course, since you do not have the book in front of you during the test, it would be difficult to pinpoint specific elements such as metaphors, imagery, syntax, and diction. These are elements that would be better discussed with direct quotes to support your point in context. Therefore, it is it wiser to focus on broader literary elements, such as the following:

1. Irony (The Kite Runner, The Importance of Being Earnest)

2. Humor (The Importance of Being Earnest)

3. Point of View (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)

4. Attitude

5. Satire

6. Tone

These literary elements are more general, and do not require exact details to be  remembered from the book that you are writing about. For example, even without the book in front of you, you could easily recall the irony in The Importance of Being Earnest, like the fact that Ernest thought he had been lying his whole life, yet as it turned out, he had unknowingly been telling the truth.

Helpful Hints!

•  The first and most important thing to do when beginning your free response essay is to read the essay question CAREFULLY. Most of the time, the question actually has 2 or 3 different tasks within it. Underline each separate task so that you can make sure to address everything that is required of you. The biggest mistake that students tend to make is that they digress from the essay question. This trick will help you to stay on task and write an organized, focused essay that will score high on the AP English Exam.

•  Another mistake that many students tend to make is summarizing the plot. Sometimes it's hard to resist over-explaining, but the grader of the exam already knows the plot of the book you will be writing about. Here's a simple trick to keep in mind while writing your essay: Try to make the essay confusing to somebody who has never read the book you are explaining. The grader of the exam will know exactly what you're talking about, but someone who hasn't read the book you are analyzing will not.

•  A common problem with writing timed essays is that students run out of time before they have finished expressing all that they wanted to say. Time management is extremely important, especially since you will only have 40 minutes to write your essay. This is why it is unnecessary to garnish your essay with an attention grabber in your introduction. Instead, get right to the point of your essay, and don't waste any time thinking of something clever to pull the reader in. The graders are obligated to read your essay anyway... even if they're bored!

•  Even without an attention grabber, you can still spice up your essay, by incorporating sophisticated language. Also, try not to use the same word multiple times throughout your essay; use synonyms. Here's a link to the 12 vocabulary lists we studied in Ms. Conn's class. Review them before the exam, and read the vocabulary stories that you wrote in order to refresh your memory on how to use them properly.

•  Since the free response essay question basically leaves you to your own devices, you're going to have to know your stuff. It would be very beneficial to read up on summaries on the literature that we have read in the AP English course, as well as books that you've read on your own.

• Always remember to refer back to the essay question at all times, explain every inch of detail that you can remember that relates to the question and explain how it refers to the story as a whole.

• Most important tip of all: USE YOUR TIME WISELY! If you need to annotate and jot down some important details and notes, you should do so, because you might not remember it while writing the original essay, keep calm, plan it out (using an outline, most preferably) and then write the essay.

GOOD LUCK!~