Sorry for the Christmas Story reference when it is not even November yet, but I was just thinking about that movie and this topic came to mind. Geez, it's been a while since I've written on here! Anyways, it's the moment you've been waiting for since you wrote that dang paper! Is this good enough? What will he say? Will it bring my grade down? Wow...they have a longer paper than I do? Now that you have your paper back, the wait is over but the dread (or glory) finally comes into the light.
How did you do? Was it really that bad? Maybe Mr. Johnston's comments aren't as disheartening as Ralphie's teacher but, when legible, they are of GREAT use. The comments he puts on the last page with the (+) and (-)'s shows where you need to improve in accordance to your writing. From what I remember, some of the main things that he put up as topics to look at were your thesis, your specific examples, and one other point (which is usually the main ideas you include, how your analysis of the ideas relate back to the thesis, or how well a secondary part of the prompt is embedded into the paper)
If you lack in thesis formation, find some practice prompts (I'm pretty sure I have some links to that in the AP Exam Review tabby thingy ^.^) that relate to what you are studying at the moment. Bring it into Mr. Johnston and have him look over it, or better yet, email him so that he can give you feedback to the best of his ability and when he is not needing to go other places. For essays that you have to hand to him, come in during ELO or before school and have him check it. He expects this and likes to know that you care enough to want to utilize your sources of information. You can also email him for this too a few days before the paper is due. As I'm sure this has already been stressed to you enough, a thesis on the AP Exam is worth 4 points out of 9, therefore anything that you can do to improve that part of your writing is CRUCIAL! It comes to the point where you want to have the ability to look at a prompt and shoot out a great thesis in one minute so that you have optimal time to write the rest of your paper.
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES = TERMS! YYYYYYAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY All of those terms that you crammed to do last minute finally have a use (which of course means that it probably would've been better to actually ingrain those in your mind...yeah....). If he gave you a (+/-) or a (-) on your specific examples (sp/ex), now this is where it basically is writing a term for a test. For papers, state your opinion, back it up with examples, explain WHY those examples relate to your thesis/opinion or WHY it's a significant part of the secondary piece of your prompt. No need to sweat to hard, for papers like these, you have your book and notes and the internet, it's more of finding specific examples to back up what you are trying to display to the reader. Easy way to improve this, while you are studying terms, think of the whys that you are formulating or what Mr. J gives you and connect it to other ideas, terms, topics, the big picture. Once you make those connections, analyzing how a term fits into a paper and your claims helps you better understand the direction in which you are taking the paper and more specific examples that could show that you get the material to its full potential. If you are looking for a direct approach to thinking of specific examples in order to help for the Exam in May, find some FRQs and DBQ's, write a thesis and then list specific examples you would put under it!
As for the other varying point, just keep in mind, "when in doubt, relate back to the thesis". If you are stuck on what to say after a specific example is presented, go back to your original ideas and say how this example is in line with what you are saying. It might make no sense and no connections are forming right in your head (which probably means you need a better specific example or a different main idea =P) but tying in your ideas all in one will make you sound coherent and fluid.
The best way to understand how to write papers is practicing them. It's no different in Chemistry, Math, or any other courses! I hope your papers weren't horribly bad but if you feel they were, take a breather cause papers can be tough and its all about practice and making sure the the ideas click and wheels in your head keep turning. If you have any questions or want to add something, please don't hesitate to comment down below (no website or email needed).
How did you do? Was it really that bad? Maybe Mr. Johnston's comments aren't as disheartening as Ralphie's teacher but, when legible, they are of GREAT use. The comments he puts on the last page with the (+) and (-)'s shows where you need to improve in accordance to your writing. From what I remember, some of the main things that he put up as topics to look at were your thesis, your specific examples, and one other point (which is usually the main ideas you include, how your analysis of the ideas relate back to the thesis, or how well a secondary part of the prompt is embedded into the paper)
If you lack in thesis formation, find some practice prompts (I'm pretty sure I have some links to that in the AP Exam Review tabby thingy ^.^) that relate to what you are studying at the moment. Bring it into Mr. Johnston and have him look over it, or better yet, email him so that he can give you feedback to the best of his ability and when he is not needing to go other places. For essays that you have to hand to him, come in during ELO or before school and have him check it. He expects this and likes to know that you care enough to want to utilize your sources of information. You can also email him for this too a few days before the paper is due. As I'm sure this has already been stressed to you enough, a thesis on the AP Exam is worth 4 points out of 9, therefore anything that you can do to improve that part of your writing is CRUCIAL! It comes to the point where you want to have the ability to look at a prompt and shoot out a great thesis in one minute so that you have optimal time to write the rest of your paper.
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES = TERMS! YYYYYYAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY All of those terms that you crammed to do last minute finally have a use (which of course means that it probably would've been better to actually ingrain those in your mind...yeah....). If he gave you a (+/-) or a (-) on your specific examples (sp/ex), now this is where it basically is writing a term for a test. For papers, state your opinion, back it up with examples, explain WHY those examples relate to your thesis/opinion or WHY it's a significant part of the secondary piece of your prompt. No need to sweat to hard, for papers like these, you have your book and notes and the internet, it's more of finding specific examples to back up what you are trying to display to the reader. Easy way to improve this, while you are studying terms, think of the whys that you are formulating or what Mr. J gives you and connect it to other ideas, terms, topics, the big picture. Once you make those connections, analyzing how a term fits into a paper and your claims helps you better understand the direction in which you are taking the paper and more specific examples that could show that you get the material to its full potential. If you are looking for a direct approach to thinking of specific examples in order to help for the Exam in May, find some FRQs and DBQ's, write a thesis and then list specific examples you would put under it!
As for the other varying point, just keep in mind, "when in doubt, relate back to the thesis". If you are stuck on what to say after a specific example is presented, go back to your original ideas and say how this example is in line with what you are saying. It might make no sense and no connections are forming right in your head (which probably means you need a better specific example or a different main idea =P) but tying in your ideas all in one will make you sound coherent and fluid.
The best way to understand how to write papers is practicing them. It's no different in Chemistry, Math, or any other courses! I hope your papers weren't horribly bad but if you feel they were, take a breather cause papers can be tough and its all about practice and making sure the the ideas click and wheels in your head keep turning. If you have any questions or want to add something, please don't hesitate to comment down below (no website or email needed).