English Language and Composition

AP Annual Conference Submission

105 - Writing Across the Disciplines: Building an Argument with Sources

Lead Presenter(s)

• RA

  Robin Aufses

  Director of English Studies
  Lycee Francais de New York

Co-Presenter(s)

• AP

  Arthur Plaza

  Department Chair: History/Geo, Art, Music
  Lycee Francais de New York

In an ideal world AP teachers would share the same students, have time to collaborate across the disciplines, and streamline the skill instruction that is necessary for the exams and beyond. This session will try to bridge some of the gaps between that ideal world and reality, at least for the writing on the AP history and English Language exams. The through line on writing the Document Based essay for the history AP exams and the Synthesis essay for the AP English Language exam, according to the Chief Reader reports, is the need for students to understand that using sources effectively to support an argument is the chief--and very complex--task. This session offers strategies for teachers to use to help students read sources critically, connect sources to argument with interpretive commentary, and weave the sources into clear essays that develop develop sophisticated arguments on complex topics.