If you’re an AP® Lang student, understanding the AP® Lang rhetorical analysis essay rubric can help you improve your score. In this post, I’ll break down what you need to know about the AP® Lang rhetorical analysis rubric so you can feel confident as you write your next rhetorical analysis essay.
Thesis Rhetorical Analysis
The thesis point is the easiest point on the rubric. To be defensible, your rhetorical analysis thesis needs to mention rhetorical choices. Ideally, you’ll include rhetorically accurate verbs, but rhetorical devices are allowed too.
Additionally, I recommend that students include the “MAP” (message, argument, or purpose.) Your prompt will say “convey a message,” “develop an argument,” or “achieve a purpose.” Including the specific message, argument, or purpose will strengthen your thesis. Don’t forget to analyze the “MAP” in your body paragraphs.
Sometimes the message, argument, or purpose are provided in the prompt. If so, you can use this phrasing or synonyms. Try to “dig deeper” though. If the prompt doesn’t tell you the specific message, purpose, or argument, you’ll need to determine what it is.
For more information about how to write a rhetorical analysis thesis, check out this blog.
Rhetorical Analysis Evidence and Commentary
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.
Scoring a 1 in Row B
A rhetorical analysis essay that earns 1 point in evidence and commentary likely contains little to no evidence. Instead, it provides summary of the passage. The good news, though, is that this is easy to fix to improve your score.
Scoring a 2 in Row B
In my opinion, the frustrating thing about a 2 in Row B is that there is a wide range of responses that can earn a 2.
At the minimum, a 2 has specific evidence from the passage–either a direct quotes or paraphrase–and some commentary. If the response includes verbs like “shows” or the word “because” then chances are there is a bit of commentary. It might not be strong commentary, but it’s there.
Teacher Tip: Instead of “shows,” try these verbs instead: highlights, illustrates, demonstrates, suggests, reveals, etc.
Essays on the lower end of a 2 in Row B have a little bit of commentary. However, some essays that are a 2 but almost a 3 may have more commentary; however, it may be limited.
Limited commentary is when the commentary is simplistic or “empty.” This includes phrases such as “opens the readers’ eyes” or “touches the audience’s hearts.” For more information about how to avoid limited commentary, check out this video.
Scoring a 3 in Row B
How can you improve your 2 to a 3 in rhetorical analysis evidence and commentary?
Connect at least one choice to the MAP (message, argument, or purpose.) Be sure to explain how the rhetorical choice helps the speaker convey their message, achieve their purpose, or develop their argument. You need to be specific too. You can’t just say “doing so helps the speaker achieve their purpose.” You need to specify what the purpose of the choice or passage is and how making the choice helps the speaker achieve that purpose. Think about the impact on the audience.
If you’re struggling to earn 3 points in evidence and commentary, remember this: it only takes one strong paragraph to raise your score.
There have been times where an essay with two body paragraphs had one paragraph with thorough analysis and another paragraph that had inconsistent commentary. The essay still scored a 3 in row B.
While it is a good to try to develop your paragraphs evenly, an essay that has good insight but is inconsistent in a couple places can still score well.
Also, another hallmark of a 3 in Row B is that the essay examines word choice and/or details. To do this, think about the word choice in the quotes you’ve chosen. Why did the speaker choose that language? What is the effect of that language on the audience? What is the tone? How does that language help the speaker achieve their specific purpose?
Scoring a 4 in Row B
Sometimes it seems like there is a big jump from a 3 to a 4 in evidence and commentary. One major difference is that the 4 is consistent. All paragraphs are strong. All claims have specific evidence and commentary.
Just like with a 3, be sure to analyze the word choice and/or details as you are analyzing choices.
And, also like a 3, be sure to connect the choice to the MAP (message, argument, or purpose.) Make sure to do this in both paragraphs but try to have some nuance to the commentary. Make sure your commentary fits the choice and section of the passage you are analyzing.
While it isn’t required, typically essays that score a 3 or 4 analyze the passage chronologically. Following the author’s line of reasoning helps the essay have a line of reasoning.
Sophistication Point AP Lang
The AP® Lang sophistication point is difficult to earn. For many students, the goal should be to focus on the other 5 points on the rubric.
However, it is helpful to know how to earn the sophistication point.
First, remember that sophistication needs to be consistent. You can’t earn the point just by sprinkling in a few higher level words or having a strong sentence.
In my opinion, the “easiest” way to earn the sophistication point is by situating the issue in a broader context. This about the rhetorical choices in relation to the rhetorical situation.
How do you do that?
Ask yourself “why does the speaker make this choice for this audience on this occasion.”
You can also try to situate the issue in a broader context by analyzing the historical impact of the speech or the topic of the speech. This won’t work for all prompts, though.
Or, think about how/why the message is relevant today. Analyzing this in your conclusion is stronger option that simply recapping your main ideas.
Want more sophistication point tips? Check out this video!
