16.1 Maintaining ideas throughout an argument

Lets craft an awesome argumentative essay! First step, take your stand. Are you in agreement with the author or question? Are you both for and against, or qualifying the issue? Or are you against the issue? 

Remember every issue has more than one side. This is how you're going to earn your complexity point too! It can seem a little strange to be arguing against something and then take a step back and give the other side some merit, but this is what actually makes a great argumentative essay. Support your beliefs, but also undermine them. Don’t worry it’s not as hard as you think… Just keep thinking and analyze your belief some more. 

Being an AP student means you should be respectful and mature in your readings, this means looking at an issue from more than one side. And look in this whole process of seeing color in the black and white you’ll be getting that nice complexity point as well!

AP Language is a little unlike the rest of the AP subjects in the fact that you can use all your own knowledge. You are learning to be a great writer, you're not learning facts. This means you need to use your own knowledge of things to create your essay. Make your own argument and use your own facts.

The best argument is a globally aware argument, so in the time before the exam my best advice with you is to keep up with current events. At least once a week pick an article from a reputable source and analyze it. In that process you’ll be sharpening your AP Lang. skills and gaining more global knowledge about a wide array of subjects. 

A few extra words to expand your vocabulary-

Ascetic - One who renounces physical comforts for spiritual discipline

Dogmatic - Marked by an authoritative stand on principles that cannot be proven

Alliteration -use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word

impartial – unbiased; neutral

discern – to distinguish one thing from another

ostentatious – showing off

contentious - quarrelsome