1 of 6

Book Club #3

2 of 6

Choice Book Club #3

In your book club group, discuss the prompt below as it relates to your choice novel:

Many works of literature deal with political or social issues. Discuss how the author uses literary elements to explore a political or social issue in your novel and explain how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. (2009 AP Literature Open-Ended Essay Prompt)

3 of 6

Choice Book End-of-Novel Response

4 of 6

Prompt

Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Considering Barthes’ observation, write a 1-2 page response (MLA format) after reading your novel in which you analyze a central question your novel raises and the extent to which it offers answers. In your response, explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. (2004 AP Literature Open-Ended Essay Prompt)

5 of 6

Let’s look at the AP scoring guidelines from 2004

AP essays are scored on a scale from 1 (worst) to 9 (best).

Let’s look at the guidelines the AP test scorers used to grade this essay in 2004 by clicking on this PDF and looking at pages 6 & 7: https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/apc/ap04_sg_english_lit_36980.pdf

6 of 6

In your small group . . .

This PDF includes three essays written by students in response to our prompt in 2004. Essay sample N scored an 8/9. Essay sample J scored a 6/9. Essay sample U scored a 3/9. https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/apc/ap04_english_lit_oper_38646.pdf

This PDF (page 4) explains how the three sample essays were scored: https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/apc/ap04_comm_eng_lit_38466.pdf