Essay Writing Tutorial

Introduction

In this tutorial, we hope to make essay writing as easy as completing a fill-in-the-blank exercise. Moreover, the principles which are outlined below come straight from the mouth of the Chief Reader for AP Art History, so if any of these essay writing elements are unfamiliar to you, take heart that they are indeed correct.

Let us begin with some important "do's" and "don't's"

• Do ...
  • spend a few minutes breaking down the questions and selecting works which are appropriate for the prompt (our essay prompts always require a pair of works). This is the most important step in the essay writing process, for if you do not answer the specifics of the prompt or select works which are entirely appropriate, you will have no hope of a passing grade.
  • make an outline. The worst thing you can do with timed essays is to start writing right away. Taking five minutes (or so) to mindfully consider the prompt, the works you will use and develop is time well-spent.
• Do not ...
  • waste time with "fluff" sentences. We do not want generalized "opening statements," rewording of the prompt or transitions sentences between the paragraphs. We want you to spend your valuable time discussing art, not "fluffing-up" your discussion with unnecessary verbiage.
  • write conclusion paragraphs. These are exercises in redundancy and should be avoided at all times.

Outline

As we stated in the introduction, our goal is to make essay writing as simple as completing an fill-in-the-blank exercise and the key a good outline.

• First paragraph (introduce your works and answer the prompt without specific references)
  • Identify the first work as best you can (title, date, culture, artist, etc.)
  • Identify the first work as best you can (title, date, culture, artist, etc.)
  • Tie the first work to the prompt.
  • Tie the second work to the prompt.

• Second paragraph¹ (provide specific references from your first work and tie them directly to the prompt)
  • Point one
  • Point two
  • Point three
  • Point four

• Third paragraph (provide specific references from your second work and tie them directly to the prompt)
  • Point one
  • Point two
  • Point three
  • Point four

All we have to do now is to turn each one of our twelve points into a coherent sentence and our essay is finished. You see, essay writing is not so hard after all.

¹For every work, you will need at least four scoreable points. We will cover what we mean by "scoreable" in our grading discussion.

Sample Prompt and First Paragraph

Again, remember to always begin your essay by answering the prompt and citing your works. It is important to let your AP reader know – right from the start – that you understand the prompt.

• The prompt:
  • Choose two works of art from different cultures and art historical periods and discuss how each work conveys its particular society's notion of power and authority.

• The first paragraph:
  • The palace of the Assyrian King Sargon II (ca. 8C BCE) and the triumphal arch of the Roman Emperor Titus (ca. 1C CE) both convey their culture’s notion of power and authority. For the Assyrians, power and authority resided in the strength of their kings and the fortified palace of Sargon II reinforces this idea. The Arch of Titus, meanwhile, reflects the Roman view that power and authority lie in the military and cultural supremacy of Rome, each embodied in its emperor.

Do you see how this student has selected two appropriate works and answered the prompt (without specific details) in her first paragraph? Certainly, this student is well on her way to earning full credit on her essay!