Assignment:

In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write about either one of the two points
of view given, or you may present a different point of view on this question. Use specific reasons
and exampes to support your position.
!e"ve expanded upon these directions and created a ist of #os and #on"ts in order to
make the rues of great A$% writing easy to grasp:
DO DONT
!rite ony on the given topic.
!rite on a topic that reates vaguey to the one
given.
%ake a cear position on the topic.
%ake a wishy&washy position or try to argue two
sides.
!rite persuasivey to convince the rater. !rite creativey or ornatey 'ust to show off.
Incude reasons and exampes that support
your position.
Incude exampes not directy reated to your
position.
!rite with correct grammar and speing.
(orget to proof your work for speing and
grammar mistakes.
!rite as ceary as possibe.
Use too many fancy vocabuary words or overy
ong sentences.
!rite specificay and concretey. )e vague or use generai*ations.
!rite about five paragraphs. +ut more importance on ength than on quaity.
!rite ony on the given ined paper.
,ake your handwriting too arge -or you"
sacrifice space..
!rite as neaty as possibe in print. !rite in cursive. +rint is much easier to read.
%he /ater"s Instructions
%he raters must refer to a set&in&stone ist of criteria when evauating each essay and
deciding what grade -0 through 1. it deserves. !e thought you might appreciate having
the scoring criteria speed out and expained by the A$% right before your very eyes.
%hey address a student"s abiity:
%o take and articuate a perspective on an issue
%o maintain a cear focus on the perspective throughout the essay
%o expain a position by using supportive evidence and ogica reasoning
%o organi*e ideas ogicay
%o communicate ceary in writing
And here"s how they separate the good from the bad:
SC
OR
E
CHARACTERISTICS
46
!riters wi show a cear understanding of the purpose of the essay by articuating their
perspective and deveoping their ideas.
,ost generai*ations wi be deveoped with specific exampes to support the writer"s
perspective.
A cear focus wi be maintained throughout the paper.
%he paper wi show competent use of anguage.
Athough there may be some errors, these wi ony occasionay distract the rater and wi
not interfere with the rater"s abiity to understand the writer"s meaning.
13
!riters wi not ceary articuate a perspective on the issue.
%he writing wi usuay demonstrate some deveopment of ideas, but the deveopment may
be very genera or repetitious.
,ost papers wi maintain focus on the genera topic identified in the prompt, but they may
not maintain focus on the specific issue.
2xcept for the weakest papers, the essay wi use a cear but simpe organi*ationa structure.
%he anguage wi be understandabe for the most part, but errors wi distract the rater and
possiby interfere with understanding.
3now Your Ingredients
%o write a tasty A$% essay, you"ve got to know the necessary ingredients. %he different
grades of 041 are based on the quaity of your essay in four fundamenta categories:
1. Positioning: %he strength and carity of your stance on the given topic
2. Examples: %he reevance and deveopment of the exampes you use to support
your argument
3. Organiation: %he organi*ation of each of your paragraphs and of your essay
overa
4. Comman! o# $ang%age: 5entence construction, grammar, and word choice
0. +ositioning
A$% essay topics wi address issues that pertain to high schoo students. A typica A$%
topic wi give you a statement that addresses ideas ike dress codes, block scheduling,
justice, the definition of success, or the importance of learning from mistakes. %hough
this ist may sound overwheming at first, the broadness of the topics means that with a
itte thought you can come up with penty of exampes to support your position on the
topic.
+hiosophers take years to write voumes on the topics of justice or success. 6n the A$%,
you get 78 minutes. 9iven these time constraints, the key to writing a great A$% essay is
taking a strong position on an extremey broad topic. A soid position requires you to
empoy two strategies:
/ephrase the +rompt
$hoose Your +osition
:ere"s a sampe prompt with the directions you wi find on the test:
,any successfu aduts reca a time in their ife when they were considered a faiure at one
pursuit or another. 5ome of these peope fee strongy that their previous faiures taught them
vauabe essons and ed to their ater successes. 6thers maintain that they went on to achieve
success for entirey different reasons. In your opinion, can faiure ead to success; 6r is faiure
simpy its own experience;
Assignment:
In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write about either one of the two points
of view given, or you may present a different point of view on this question. Use specific reasons
and exampes to support your position.
/ephrase the +rompt
/ephrase the prompt in your own words and make it more specific. If you rephrase the
question:
<In your opinion, can faiure ead to success;=
you might come up with a sentence ike:
<(aiure can ead to success by teaching important essons that hep us avoid repeating mistakes
in the future.=
+utting the A$% essay question in your own words makes it easier for you to take a
position confidenty since you" be proving your own statement, rather than the more
obscure version put forth by the A$%.
$hoose Your +osition
Agree or disagree. !hen you choose an argument for a paper in schoo, you often have to
strain yoursef to ook for something origina, something subte. >ot here. >ot on the 78&
minute, fast food essay. 6nce you"ve rephrased the topic, agree or disagree with it. It"s
that simpe.
At this point, you may be thinking, <I coud argue the ?agree" side pretty we, but I"m not
sure that I totay beieve in the agree side because . . .= #rop those thoughts. /emember,
you"re not going to have a week to write this essay. You need to keep it simpe. Agree or
disagree, then come up with the exampes that support your simpe stand. And don"t take
a position that straddes both sides of the issue.
@. 2xampes
%o make an A$% essay reay shine, you"ve got to incude exceent exampes. %here are
two things that make exceent A$% exampes stand out from the crowd:
5pecific 2xampes
Aariety of 2xampes
5pecific 2xampes
5trong exampes discuss specific events, dates, or measurabe changes over time. You
must write about things that have happened in detai.
Bet"s say you"re trying to come up with exampes in support of the position that
<Bearning the essons taught by faiure is a sure route to success.= +erhaps you come up
with the exampe of the American army during the /evoutionary !ar, which earned
from its faiures in the eary years of the war how it needed to fight the )ritish. AwesomeC
%hat"s a potentially great exampe. %o make it actually great, though, you have to be abe
to say more than 'ust, <%he American army earned from its mistakes and then defeated
the )ritish /edcoats.= You need to be specific: 9ive dates, mention peope, battes,
tactics. If you use the experience of the American Army in the /evoutionary !ar as an
exampe, you might mention the signing of the %reaty of +aris in 0DE7, which officiay
granted the Americans independence and gave the United 5tates a ands east of the
,ississippi river.
#on"t be intimidated if you can"t instanty reca the dates of pivota historica events.
Any descriptive detais that you can provide wi strengthen your argument, whether they
are persona exampes or historica facts. Fust make sure to choose exampes that you
know a ot about in order to be specific. 3nowing that the Americans defeated the )ritish
is the start of a great exampe, but you need to show specificay how the American
victory answers the question, <In your opinion, can faiure ead to success;= !hat
faiures on the part of the )ritish government and army ed to the Americans" success;
-,orae issues, eadership differences, inadequate sodiers and suppies, the )atte of
Yorktown, and so on.. %he one&two punch of a soid exampe and detais that use the
exampe to prove your argument make the difference between a good A$% exampe and a
great one.
Aariety of 2xampes
%he other crucia thing about A$% essay exampes is how much ground they cover. 5ure,
you coud come up with three exampes from your persona ife about how you earned
from faiure. )ut you"re much more ikey to impress the raters and write a better essay if
you use a broad range of exampes from different areas: history, art, poitics, iterature,
and science, as we as your own ife. %hat means when you"re thinking up exampes, you
shoud consider as wide a variety as possibe, as ong as a of your exampes work to
prove your argument.
%o answer the question, <In your opinion, can faiure ead to success;= you might choose
one exampe from history, iterature, and business or current events. :ere are three
exampes that you might choose from those three areas:
Histor&: %he Americans" victory over the )ritish in the /evoutionary !ar.
$iterat%re: In spite of #avid $opperfied"s difficut chidhood, he eventuay
found persona and professiona happiness.
'%siness or C%rrent E(ents: %he Fet)ue airine succeeding by earning from the
mistakes of its competitors.
A broad array of exampes ike those wi provide a more soid and defensibe position
than three exampes drawn from 'ust one or two areas.
7. 6rgani*ation
>o matter what topic you end up writing about, the organi*ation of your essay shoud be
the same. !hether you"re asked to answer, <$an faiure ead to success;= or <#oes
progress aways come at a cost;= the structure of your essay shoud be amost identica.
%he A$% is ooking for those standard ingredients, and the structure we"re about to
expain wi make sure those ingredients stand out in your essay.
5o what"s this magica essay structure; !e, it"s back to the trusty fast food anaogy: A
good A$% essay is a ot ike a tripe&decker burger.
>o matter what the topic is, how you fee about it, or which exampes you choose, you
shoud aways foow this five&paragraph structure on your A$% essay. %he first and ast
paragraphs are your essay"s introduction and concusionG each of the midde three
paragraphs discuss an exampe that supports and iustrates your argument. %hat"s it.
Fust as important as the organi*ation of your entire essay is the organi*ation within each
of the five paragraphs. Bet"s take a coser ook at each paragraph next.
%he %op )un: Introduction
%he introduction to an A$% essay has to do three things:
9rab the rater"s attention
2xpain your position on the topic ceary and concisey
%ransition the rater smoothy into your three exampes
%o accompish these three goas, you need three to four sentences in your introduction.
%hese three to four sentences wi convey your thesis statement and the overa map of
your essay to the raters.
%he %hesis 5tatement:
%he thesis statement is the first sentence of your essay. It identifies where you stand on
the topic and shoud pu the raters into the essay. A good thesis statement is strong, cear,
and definitive. A good thesis statement for the essay prompt, <In your opinion, can faiure
ead to success;= is:
Bearning from the essons taught by faiure is a sure route to success.
%his thesis statement conveys the writer"s position on the topic body and ceary. In ony
a few words, it carves out the position that the essay wi take on the very broad, vague
topic: earning from faiure yieds success.
%he 2ssay 5ummary:
After the thesis statement, the rest of the first paragraph shoud serve as a kind of
summary of the exampes you wi use to support your position on the topic. 2xpain and
describe your three exampes to make it cear how they fit into your argument. It"s
usuay best to give each exampe its own sentence. :ere"s an exampe:
%he United 5tates of America can be seen as a success that emerged from faiure: by
earning from the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, the founding fathers were
abe to create the Constitution, the document on which America is buit. 9ooge Inc., the
popuar Internet search engine, is another exampe of a success that arose from earning
from faiure, though in this case 9ooge earned from the faiures of its competitors.
Another exampe that shows how success can arise from faiure is the story of /od
Fohnson, who started a recruiting firm that rose out of the ashes of Fohnson"s persona
experience of being aid off.
%hree sentences, three exampes. %he rater knows exacty what to expect from your essay
now and is ready to dive in.
%he ,eat: 7 2xampe +aragraphs
2ach of your 7 exampe paragraphs shoud foow this basic format:
H4I sentences ong
%he first sentence shoud be the topi) senten)e, which serves as the thesis
statement of the paragraph. It expains what your exampe is and paces it within
the context of your argument.
%he next 74H sentences are for !e(eloping &o%r example. In these sentences you
show through specific, concrete discussion of facts and situations 'ust how your
exampe supports your essay thesis statement.
)eow we"ve given you an exampe of a strong meat paragraph:
%he United 5tates, the first great democracy of the modern word, is aso one of the best
exampes of a success achieved by studying and earning from earier faiures. After 'ust
five years of iving under the Artices of $onfederation, which estabished the United
5tates of America as a singe country for the first time, the states reai*ed that they
needed a new document and a stronger government. In 0DE1, the Annapois convention
was convened. %he resut, three years ater, was the $onstitution, which created a more
powerfu centra government whie aso maintaining the integrity of the states. )y
earning from the faiure of the Artices, the founding fathers created the pivota
document of a country that has become both the most powerfu country in the word and
a beacon of democracy.
%he best meat paragraphs on the A$% essay are specific. %he A$%"s essay directions say
it oud and cear: <Use specific reasons and exampes to support your position.= In its
topic sentence, this paragraph states that the United 5tates is one of the great exampes of
<a success achieved by studying and earning from earier faiures.= It then uses the
specific exampe of the Artices of $onfederation, the Annapois convention, and the
$onstitution to prove its position. It"s specific throughout and even incudes a few dates.
%ransitions )etween ,eat +aragraphs:
Your first meat paragraph dives right into its topic sentence, but the second and third meat
paragraphs need transitions. %he simpest way to buid these transitions is to use words
ike another and finally. %hat means your second meat paragraph shoud start off with a
transitiona phrase such as, <Another exampe . . .=
A sighty more sophisticated way to buid transitions is to choose exampes from
different sources, such as history and business. If the first paragraph is about a poitica
instance of earning from faiure and the second is from business, make that fact your
transition: <As in poitics, earning from faiure is a means to gaining success in business
as we. %ake the case of . . .=
%he )ottom )un: $oncusion
%he concusion of your essay shoud accompish two main goas:
/ecap your argument, whie broadening it a bit.
2xpand on your position and ook to the future.
%o accompish these two goas, your concusion shoud contain three to four sentences.
%he /ecap:
%he recap is a one&sentence summary of what you"ve aready argued. As in the thesis
statement, the recap shoud be straightforward, bod, and decarative. )y <broadening=
your argument, we mean that you shoud attempt to ink your specific exampes to other
fieds, such as poitics, business, and art. :ere"s a recap exampe:
%he exampes of the $onstitution, 9ooge, and /od Fohnson make it cear that in the
reams of poitics and business, the greatest successes arise from carefu considerations of
the essons of faiure.
2xpand on Your +osition:
%he ast two or three sentences of the essay shoud take the argument you 'ust recapped
and push it a itte further. 6ne of the best ways to push your argument further is to ook
to the future and think about what woud happen if the position that you"ve taken in your
essay coud be appied on a broader scae. :ere"s an exampe:
(aiure is often seen as embarrassing, something to be denied and hidden. )ut as the
exampes of the U.S. Constitution, 9ooge, and /od Fohnson prove, if an individua,
organi*ation, or even a nation is strong enough to face and study its faiure, then that
faiure can become a powerfu teacher. As the exampes of history and business
demonstrate, if everyone had the courage and insight to view faiure as a surefire way to
earn from mistakes, success woud be easier to achieve.
%he )ottom )un wraps up the entire A$% essay. And there you have itC If you foow the
tempate we have 'ust provided, and break down the essay into its core ingredients, your
A$% essay wi be strong, cear, and easy to write.
%he Universa A$% 2ssay %empate
%o make sure you reay get the essay organi*ation we"re suggesting, we" sum it a up.
:ere"s the A$% essay outine you shoud use, no matter what topic you get or what
position you take:
$engt* P%rpose
T*e Intro!%)tion
%hesis
5tatement
0
sentenc
e
#escribe your position ceary and concisey.
%he 2ssay
5ummary
7
sentenc
es
Bay out the three exampes you wi use to support your thesis statement.
Example Paragrap* +1
%opic
5entence
0
sentenc
e
#escribe your exampe and fit it into the context of your overa thesis
statement.
2xampe
#eveopmen
t
74H
sentenc
es
5how how your exampe supports your argument. )e as specific as
possibe.
Example Paragrap* +,
%opic
5entence
0
sentenc
e
#escribe your exampe and fit it into the context of your overa thesis.
+rovide a transition from the previous exampe paragraph.
2xampe
#eveopmen
t
74H
sentenc
es
5how how your exampe supports your argument. )e as specific as
possibe.
Example Paragrap* +3
%opic
5entence
0
sentenc
e
#escribe your exampe and fit it into the context of your overa thesis.
+rovide a transition from the previous paragraph.
2xampe
#eveopmen
t
74H
sentenc
es
Use specific facts to show how your exampe supports your argument. )e
as specific as possibe.
T*e Con)l%sion
/ecap
0
sentenc
e
5ummari*e your argument and exampes, and ink the exampes to broader
things ike poitics, history, art, business, etc.
)roaden
Your
Argument
@47
sentenc
es
2xpand your position by contempating what woud happen in the word if
other groups foowed the argument you make in your essay.
H. $ommand of Banguage
%aking a cear position and defending it with soid detaied exampes is a strong start to a
successfu A$% essay. )ut the A$%4raters aso care about the mechanics of your writing,
which we ca your <command of anguage.= %hink of your command of anguage as your
fast food essay"s 5pecia 5auceJit"s the coating of perfect word choice, grammar,
sentence structure, and speing that oo*es through your entire essay. An A$% essay with
a cear position and strong exampes won"t get a perfect score without the 5pecia 5auce,
so pay cose attention to these three facets of your essay:
Aariation in 5entence 5tructure
!ord $hoice
9rammar and 5peing
Aariation in 5entence 5tructure
5entence structure is very important. 5entence structure, if done we, can keep your
readers engaged and hep make your essay exciting and easier to read. 5entence structure,
if it is monotonous and unchanging, can make your essay sound boring and
unsophisticated. 5entence structure is important on the A$% essay. 5entence structure is
aso important in essays you write for schoo.
#id you notice how du that entire ast paragraph became after the first two sentences;
%hat"s because every one of those sentences not ony started in the same way but aso a
had the same predictabe, podding rhythm.
>ow go back and ook at the earier sampe meat paragraph on the Constitution. >otice
how the various sentences start differenty and aso have different interna rhythms. %hese
variations in sentence structure keep the writing vibrant and interesting. (ocus on
changing the structure of your sentences as you write the essay. You don"t have to invert
every cause, but you shoud be carefu not to et a few sentences in a row foow the
same exact structure. You"ve got to mix it up. :ere"s the boring first paragraph of this
section rewritten with varied sentence structure:
5entence structure is very important. Aarying the structure of your sentences keeps your
reader engaged and makes your writing easier to read and more exciting. ,onotonous
and repetitive sentence structure can make your essay sound boring and unsophisticated.
,ixing up your sentence structure is crucia on the A$% essayJit"s aso important to
consider when writing essays for schoo.
,uch easier to read and far ess repetitive, right;
%ransitions )etween 5entences:
6ne great way to vary your sentence structure whie increasing the ogica fow of your
essay is to use transitions. %ransitions provide the context necessary to hep readers
understand the fow of your argument. %hey"re words, phrases, or sentences that take
readers genty by the hand, eading them through your essay. :ere are some exampes of
different kinds of transitions you can use to spice up your sentence structure:
S*o-ing Contrast. Katie likes pink nail polish. In contrast, she thinks red nail
polish looks trashy.
Ela/orating. I love staying up late. 2ven more than that, I love sleeping in until
noon.
Pro(i!ing an Example. If you save up your money, you can afford pricey items.
(or exampe, atrick saved up his allo!ance and years later purchased a sports
car.
S*o-ing Res%lts. "anuel ingested nothing but soda and burgers every day for a
month. As a resut, he gained ten pounds.
S*o-ing Se0%en)e. #he police arrested $ob at the party. 5oon after, his college
applications !ere all rejected, and eventuay $ob drifted into a life of crime.
6very $ompex 5entences:
5ometimes students think writing ong, compicated sentences wi impress teachers.
,aybe, but it won"t impress A$% essay&raters. 3eep your sentences short and simpe.
$ompex sentences are difficut to understand, and your A$% essays shoud be as cear
and easy to read as possibe.
!e coud fi an entire book with guideines for creating simpe and succinct prose.
Instead, we" give you two handy rues to simpify the sentences that you write on the
A$% essay:
5. >ever write a sentence that contains more than three commas. %ry to avoid
sentences with more than two commas. -Uness you need to incude a ist..
6. >ever write a sentence that takes up more than three ines of A$%&essay paper.
%hose rues are certainy not fooproof, but abiding by them wi keep you from fiing
your A$% essay with overy compex sentences and wi uitmatey make your essay
easier to understand.
!ord $hoice
!hen students see that <word choice= pays a part in their essay score, they often think
they have to use tons of sophisticated vocabuary words in order to score we. %hat beief
is wrong and potentiay damaging to your A$% essay score. If you"re straining to put
fancy words into your essay, you"re bound to end up misusing those words. And misusing
a sophisticated word is a worse offense than not using one at a.
!ord choice doesn"t mean that you have to go for the big word every time. It means you
shoud go for the proper word, the best word, the word that makes your essay as cear as
possibe. Bet"s ook at part of the paragraph about the Constitution:
#he United States, the first great democracy of the modern !orld, is also one of the best
e%amples of a success achieved by studying and learning from earlier failures. After just
five years of living under the Articles of Confederation, !hich established the United
States of America as a single country for the first time, the states reali&ed that they
needed a ne! document and a stronger government. In '()*, the Annapolis convention
!as convened. #he result, three years later, !as the Constitution, !hich created a more
po!erful central government !hile also maintaining the integrity of the states. $y
learning from the failure of the Articles, the founding fathers created the pivotal
document of a country that has become both the most po!erful country in the !orld and
a beacon of democracy.
%his is 1&eve writing, but it isn"t teeming with five&syabe words. !hat the passage
does do is use every singe word correcty. !hen it incudes an uncommon word, ike
beacon, it uses the word appropriatey and effectivey. >ow that+s good word choice.
5o don"t try to use a word uness you know what it means. #on"t go throwing around
tough words in the hope that you" impress your rater. %he ikeihood is that you"re going
to use the word incorrecty and give the rater a bad impression. Instead, keep it simpe,
and stick to words you know we.
9rammar and 5peing
A few grammar or speing mistakes throughout your essay wi not destroy your score.
%he A$% understands that you"re bound to make minor mistakes in a rushed 78&minute
essay.
/aters are instructed to ook for patterns of errors. If a rater sees that your punctuation is
consistenty wrong, that your speing of famiiar words is often incorrect, or that you
write run&on sentences again and again, your score wi suffer.
You need to be abe to write soid grammatica sentences to score we on the essay. As
for earning the grammar, we, you"re in uck. !e cover a the rues of basic grammar
and usage in the UsageK,echanics Luestions on the 2ngish %est section of this book.