AP Seminar EOC Study Guide

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EOC A Section
Recommended time spent: 30-45 minutes.
AP Grade Worth: 13.5%

Rubric

Overview

From AP CollegeBoard:

Q1. Responses to this question were expected to demonstrate students’ ability to accurately identify, in its entirety, the author’s argument, main idea, or thesis. In this case, students were expected to address three components of the author’s main idea: (1) The impact of fiction; (2) its simulation/activation of the brain; and (3) the resulting improvement in the ability to interact and/or empathize with others.

Q2. Responses to this question were expected to demonstrate students’ ability to identify the claims the author uses and explain the connections among them.

Q3. Responses to this question were expected to demonstrate students’ ability to identify specific pieces of evidence the author uses and assess that evidence in terms of relevance and credibility.

EOC A Tips

• Read the passage first, then go back and annotate
• Annotate for claims
• EOC A is 3 short answers, not 3 essays
• Since EOC B is worth more than A, you should start with EOC B.
  However, if you do start with A, do not ever spend more than 40 minutes here.

Question 1

• Should take 1-2 minutes
• Goal: Address 3 components of the author's main idea or argument.
• Outline: The author’s main idea/argument is that X should/helps us X because X

• Example: The author’s main argument is that although the lack of funding threatens libraries, they are an internal part of the American social fabric by bridging the vast digital divide by striving for "equity of access."

Mrs. T’s note: CollegeBoard seems to like 3’s. Notice the three X’s in the outline above? If you haven’t identified three claims or a main claim with two supporting claims, look again.

Question 2

• It should take 8-10 minutes
• Identify 3-4 claims; do not go over 5
• Goal: Identify claims and find connections
• Outline: The author begins with his/her first claim, X. He/She elaborates on this, X. X is given to support the claim.

• Example: John Smith begins with his first claim, stating that the central problem of American society is the digital divide. He explains how marginalized communities suffer from unequal access to the Internet compared to their counterparts. He gives examples of communities and a quote to support the claim.

• Potential Connections:

• This is verified...
• Further...
• This is connected with...
• This draws back to his/her first claim...
• Later, he/she…

• Do this around 3-4 times total. Remember to connect the claims.
  Address a counter perspective if applicable.
• Finally, conclude the claims you talked about.

• Outline: X builds his argument around three claims: X, then that X, because X, and finally, that X.

Mrs. T’s note: Think about your IMP slides. Remember how you had to identify context first? See if the author did that, then write “to establish the context for his argument, the author….”

Question 3

• It should take 8-10 minutes
• Evaluate 3-4 claims; do not go over 5
• Goal: Identify claims and evaluate their relevance and credibility

• Start with a topic sentence

• Example: Throughout the article “X,” John Smith cites past studies of X to support his claim that X.

• Evidence

• Cite Claims specifically:

• What was included? How effective is it? Is it without evidence? Does it have weak evidence?

• Example: Aligning with his first claim, John Smith opens his article citing X from the X to support the claim that X. This study X. The research provided was credible and relevant (2022), coming from X. However, the article needs to give more information as to who conducted the study, only stating that the scientists were from Australia. If the author had mentioned a specific institute, it would have improved his credibility.
• Example: The Author’s second claim is that X. However, the author does not cite any evidence and instead uses a cause-and-effect relationship as evidence for this claim. The lack of evidence hurts the author's credibility because this does not include any research or statistics to help support the claim. Without any evidence or research, the overall credibility of the article is damaged.

Mrs. T’s note:

• Do not just focus on the good things; LOOK FOR WEAKNESSES!
• This is not about whether the author used the correct citation format; it’s about whether they used relevant sources and how those sources are qualified.
• Mention SPECIFIC pieces of evidence, don’t just say “he/she cites a professor.” Professor of what from where? And why are those credentials significant?

EOC B Section
Recommended time spent: 75-90 minutes.
AP Grade Worth: 31.5%

Rubric

Overview

From AP CollegeBoard:
This prompt assessed students’ ability to:

• Identify a theme or issue connecting two or more of the sources provided;
• Read the sources critically, understanding the perspective or voice contained in each source;
• Use the theme as an impetus for writing a logically organized, well-reasoned, and well-crafted argument presenting their perspective;
• Incorporate two or more of the sources to support the newly-developed argument;
• Cite the sources used in the response, identifying them either by author or by assigned letters, paraphrasing or identifying quotations; and
• Complete the task within a 90-minute period.

EOC B Tips

• Remember, this is just a mini-IWA. You are ready for this :)
• Use at least 3 sources, rather than just 2
• Use the titles of the articles to see how they could be tied together
• Make and use an outline. It's worth your time.
• Intro:

• Include a lead/hook
• Talk about perspectives
• Include a Thesis

• Possible Structures:

• Body Paragraphs 1 & 2: Your Points/Argument
  Body Paragraph 3: Counter perspective
• Body Paragraph 1: Counter perspective
  Body Paragraphs 2 & 3: Your Points/Argument

• Bring an analog watch to keep track of your time.