AP® ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION 2008 SCORING

ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION

2008 SCORING GUIDELINES

Question 1

(Keats’s “When I Have Fears” and Longfellow’s “Mezzo Cammin”)

The score reflects the quality of the essay as a whole—its content, its style, its mechanics. Students are

rewarded for what they do well. The score for an exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by 1 point

above the otherwise appropriate score. In no case may a poorly written essay be scored higher than a 3.

9–8 These essays offer a persuasive comparison/contrast of the two poems and present an insightful

analysis of the relationship between them and the techniques each writer uses to explore his

particular situation. Although these essays offer a range of interpretations and choose to emphasize

different poetic techniques, they also provide convincing readings of both poems and demonstrate

consistent and effective control over the elements of composition in language appropriate to the

analysis of poetry. Their textual references are apt and specific. Although they may not be error-free,

these essays are perceptive in their analysis and demonstrate writing that is clear and

sophisticated, and in the case of an essay that earns 9 points, especially persuasive.

7–6 These essays offer a reasonable comparison/contrast of the two poems and an effective analysis of

the relationship between them and of the techniques each writer uses to explore his particular

situation. Such essays demonstrate the ability to express ideas clearly with references to the text,

although they do not exhibit the same level of effective writing as those in the 9–8 range. They are

less thorough or less precise in their discussion, and their analysis of the relationship between the

two poems is less convincing. Essays scored 7–6 are generally well written, but those earning a 7

demonstrate more sophistication in both substance and style.

5 These essays may respond to the assigned task with a plausible reading of the two poems and their

relationship, but they may be superficial in their analysis. They often rely on paraphrase, but

paraphrase that contains some analysis, implicit or explicit. Their comparison/contrast of the

relationship between the two poems may be vague, formulaic, or minimally supported by references

to the texts. There may be minor misinterpretations of one or both poems. These essays demonstrate

control of language, but the writing may be marred by surface errors. They are not as well conceived,

organized, or developed as those in the 7–6 range.

4–3 These lower-half essays fail to offer an adequate analysis of the two poems. The analysis may be

partial, unconvincing, or irrelevant, or it may ignore one of the poems completely. Evidence from the

poems may be slight or misconstrued, or the essays may rely on paraphrase only. The writing often

demonstrates a lack of control over the conventions of composition: inadequate development of

ideas, accumulation of errors, or a focus that is unclear, inconsistent, or repetitive. Essays scored a 3

may contain significant misreading and/or demonstrate inept writing.

2–1 These essays compound the weaknesses of those in the 4–3 range. Although some attempt has been

made to respond to the prompt, assertions are presented with little clarity, organization, or support

from the poems themselves. The essays may contain serious errors in grammar and mechanics, may

offer a complete misreading, or may be unacceptably brief. Essays scored a 1 contain little coherent

discussion of the poems.

0 These essays do no more than make a reference to the task.

— These essays are either left blank or are completely off topic.

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ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION

2008 SCORING COMMENTARY

Question 1

Overview

Students were asked to read carefully two sonnets, Keats’s “When I Have Fears” and Longfellow’s “Mezzo

Cammin,” and then to write a well-organized essay in which they compared and contrasted how the two

poets employed poetic techniques to explore their particular situations. In this essay, students were

expected to analyze how poets use the resources of the English language to achieve their aims. The intent

of this question was to assess students’ abilities to read closely and to pay attention to details in the text,

noting similarities and differences in the poets’ representations of their situations. To respond to the

question successfully, students needed to have a firm grasp of the devices and techniques employed by

poets and then to arrive at an analytical and defensible reading of how these devices were used in the

poems.

Sample: 1A

Score: 8

This is a very well-written essay that is clearly organized and nicely developed, with strong discussions of

how repetition, imagery, and contrast function in both the Keats and the Longfellow poems. Strong, apt

claims, such as: “The similarities between the poems lie mainly in the openings which begrudge the fleeting

nature of life,” show the student’s ability to get to the heart of both poems. The student demonstrates good

control of language and the elements of composition. Although some of the discussion of literary techniques

is implicit rather than explicit, the essay is still quite impressive and provides a good example of a response

that merited a score of 8.

Sample: 1B

Score: 5

This essay works closely with both poems by quoting specific lines of text; however, these citations are

presented mechanically and often in the service of paraphrase, not analysis. The student does make some apt

points about the use of metaphor and imagery but does so in a fairly rote manner. The essay concludes by

saying, “Several poetic devices where [sic] used to characterize the similar, yet contrasting, poems

presented,” but it has dealt mostly with the poems one at a time, failing to compare them in the way the

prompt asks. Like many essays that received a score of 5, this one demonstrates general facility with

language, but its surface errors and occasional awkwardness distract from its message (“Similarly, Mezzo

Cammin was characterize [sic] as a poetic work, reflecting on the failed accomplishment”).

Sample: 1C

Score: 3

This essay begins with an isolated observation about the use of “repitition” [sic] and “rhythm” in the two

poems—the only reference that is made to poetic devices. Though the essay has a clear structure, it is far too

thin in its development. There is some attempt at analysis, in that the student does note the difference in the

attitudes toward death expressed in both poems. The essay asserts that Longfellow’s poem describes a

person “who isn’t ready to die,” whereas Keats’s poem “paints a picture” of a man who has “no more hope

left.” These plausible claims are unsupported, however, and the conclusion mostly repeats them. Though the

essay contains distracting errors throughout, they are not as serious as those found in many essays that

received a score of 2.

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