FRQ 2 – Argumentative Essay

This guide organizes advice from past students who got 4s and 5s on their exams. We hope it gives you some new ideas and tools for your study sessions. But remember, everyone's different—what works for one student might not work for you. If you've got a study method that's doing the trick, stick with it. Think of this as extra help, not a must-do overhaul.

📌 Overview

• Students write an argumentative essay based on 3 Spanish sources, including visual, written, and audio sources
• 13% of Exam Score
• Spend 55 minutes
• 5 Pt Rubric
  • Demonstrates excellent presentational writing (5)

💭 General Advice

Tips on mindset, strategy, structure, time management, and any other high level things to know

• The sources for this FRQ are usually not lengthy or dense; instead, this FRQ tries to test your ability to understand and synthesize information presented in various different formats. When spending the allotted few minutes on each source, focus on grasping the main argument that the source supports so you can easily work it into your essay.
• For this FRQ, approach the argumentative essay with a clear stance in your thesis, firmly stating whether you agree or disagree with the prompt. Craft a strong argument by utilizing the provided sources as evidence to support your position. While you may acknowledge both sides, make sure to distinctly focus on and emphasize the side you support. If incorporating a counter-argument, do it strategically to strengthen your overall position. By maintaining a clear and assertive stance, backed by relevant evidence, you’ll enhance the effectiveness of your persuasive essay in addressing the prompt.
• Stay Time-Aware: Manage your time effectively during the writing process. Allocate time for planning, drafting, and drafting. Be mindful of the clock to submit a complete and well-crafted essay. (have a rough outline as to what you want your essay to look like- this will make the writing process easier)
• Practice: Practice your essays by using online resources with prompts or reviewing past College Board essays. Stimulate the exam environment at home, timing yourself as if you were taking the actual test. This practice will not only help you become familiar with different prompts but also improve your ability to articulate coherent arguments within the allotted time.

🕛 Before you Write

What should a student do in the first few minutes, before they start writing?

• In this section, you get to listen to the audio source twice. On the first listen, don’t focus on taking notes, instead, listen carefully and make sure you understand the overarching message and argument. On the second listen, listen for the specific details that could add to your response and write those down.
• Don’t be overwhelmed by your sources. They are given to you strategically in a way that makes it easy to make connections and create an argument, so don’t be so specific when creating an argument according to the sources.

🏛️ Structuring Your Response

• You can structure your response just like a standard essay! One major thing to consider consideration is that you should not cite sources in your opening statements of each paragraph, even if it seems to fall in line with your argument. Introduce the topic of each paragraph with a brief overview, then address the supports.
• Consider what type of essay structure works best for you. Paragraphs explaining each reason for your claim, then a counterclaim paragraph? What about a paragraph for each source and how it supports your view? They are both valid, so identify how you can best argue your point and try to adapt it in that way.
• Be sure to properly incorporate transition words into your sentences and between paragraphs to keep the text coherent.
• The most important part is making your argument clear, try to incorporate it into your intro blatantly.
• Explain the evidence from each source that supports the argument in the body paragraphs. One suggestion would be to give each source 1 paragraph.
• As a tip to sound more experienced in argumentative writing there is an option for a counter argument, to make your argument sound stronger.

😬 Common Mistakes

• You don’t have to use the sources to support exactly what they say! You can always refute a source or highlight a point they made in order to disprove it, as long as you incorporate all sources and can prove your understanding.
• You also don’t need to have 3 body paragraphs! As long as you use all the sources to support your argument you can have 2 body paragraphs.
• Make sure to connect your sources to one consistent argument, don’t alter or switch what you are arguing mid essay just to try and make a farther connection to one source.
• Remember if or when you’re associating a person or object, to sound more experienced be formal, including having the correct masculine and feminine words.

⏱️ Pacing Yourself

• Much like essay structure, you should have a pacing strategy that works for you. The most common strategies include:
  • Writing the thesis statement, then the body paragraphs, then going back to flesh out an introduction and a conclusion or writing the entire essay from start to finish.
• Either of these strategies (or alternatives) can determine how you spend your time, which parts of the essay you might allot more time for, or how much time you have to review your work.
• Consider taking the first few minutes to plan an outline of your essay, then determine how much time you can set aside for each individual paragraph. With 55 minutes, there is plenty of time as long as you keep your thoughts organized and stay focused.
• Be organized and plan out your essay before writing, it doesn’t have to be very detailed and shouldn’t take more than two minutes but create a rough outline before writing in order to get all your ideas in order and include everything you want to. This makes writing your essay easier and faster!