How to Ace the AP Literature Prose Essay

Learn how to annotate an AP Literature prose passage and write a prose essay step by step! This video uses a real passage and prompt from a past AP exam. In this video, I'll show you strategies to save time while writing, literary devices to analyze, and annotation techniques. This video also includes a sample thesis and specific tips on what to write for each paragraph of your essay.
The prompt shown in this video was made by the College Board.
- Books (affiliate links) 📕
Barron's AP Lit study guide: amzn.to/3TnknGn
CliffsNotes AP Lit study guide: amzn.to/3D0cIbG
- Resources 🖊️
Sign up for a paid 1-on-1 tutoring session with me: forms.gle/PETzsRrLyZqsUzA48
Get Grammarly (free or Premium): grammarly.go2cloud.org/aff_c?...
Past AP Lit FRQs: apcentral.collegeboard.org/co...
- Playlists & Videos ▶️
AP Lit playlist: • AP Literature and Comp...
- Social Media 📱
Instagram: / mspeereditor
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@mspeereditor?...
KZbin: kzbin.info...
- COMMENTS -
Let me know what questions you have regarding the AP Lit exam!

[@MsPeerEditor]

Hey AP Lit 2023 students, I'm wishing you the best for this year's exam! Here are also some tips to help you as you're studying: 1. If you ever feel overwhelmed when you see long prose passages, break up the passage into smaller chunks when practicing. Annotate one chunk with as much detail as possible, take a break, and move onto the next part. Once you've annotated the whole passage, piece all of your notes together. 2. To practice developing a line of reasoning, make a linear flowchart with the individual steps of logic or claims that you would include in a paragraph for the prose essay. 3. Look over the practice prose essays you've written and make a list of your most common grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Some common mistakes include comma splices, run-on sentences, dangling modifiers, and sentence fragments. Check out Purdue Owl's exercises to practice your grammar, sentence structure, and more: owl.purdue.edu/owl_exercises/index.html. 4. When writing your practice essays, use a stopwatch to see how much time it takes you to write each paragraph. Ideally, you should spend the most amount of time on your body paragraphs and the least amount of time on your introduction and conclusion. 5. Want to read some examples of literary analysis essays from experts? Go to scholar.google.com/ and type in the title of a book you've read for class along with the phrase "literary criticism." You'll likely find free, online scholarly articles written about books that you've read. Examine how these writers integrate quotes from original texts into their essays and critically analyze those texts to see how you can do the same. 6. Make sure to watch my AP Lit playlist to prepare: kzbin.info/aero/PL0B_uKjIILSs6UaHU1khPeBJofOLa7G36.

[@JoseShajiOfficial]

who else is here cause of the ap lit test tomorrow? I haven't studied at all, in fact I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO STUDY FOR AN AP LIT TEST HAHA

[@thefrozenrider1544]

OMG SAME LOL

[@mimak1129]

Jose Shaji same!!!!

[@jamesc9843]

I’m winging this, I have no idea how to study. It’s just analyzing quotes that support your thesis

[@bailsparker]

meee

[@oceanbackwards1903]

I have found my people.

[@adityakurkut]

Where are my last night AP Lit Crammers at lol? Best of luck to all of you!!

[@tragicsense5283]

Nigga I'm dead I haven't slept since yesterday and I'm anxious af I might skip it and take it in June Edit: I finna wait till June cause I'm tryna get that 5 and them english credits

[@rigelc2740]

right here lmao

[@jackcoyle8415]

Aditya Kurkut 🙋‍♂️

[@xenondestiny]

It is what it is

[@shaditavassoli3274]

xenon destiny It is...

[@jamiesematat7247]

WHOEVER HAVE AP LIT EXAM TOMORROW. I LOVE YOU GUYS AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!!!!!!!!

[@baileyh.195]

the exam is in 3 hours and i’m just now watching this

[@itsjessa7896]

Bailey H. SAME LMAO

[@briaisabanana7031]

Same

[@mustard4169]

Bailey H. Same

[@lifeofshaynna4118]

Bailey H. Omg same

[@nataliaperez7834]

same

[@MsPeerEditor]

Good luck AP Lit fam, you got this! I enjoyed reading all of your comments last night lol, wishing you the best

[@unbearablepun8608]

Ms. Peer Editor I better pass

[@rileybalsam3816]

thank you

[@shoberino3898]

I’ve been writing essays all year, I really hope this last minute studying won’t make or break me

[@MLGRDR]

@@shoberino3898 It's not. You've got this if you've been writing like you say you have. This is just another essay for you, except you gotta put all your best into it.

[@myanbui6801]

oh look it’s two ap lit students who are cramming less than an hour before the test😳😳

[@jackyjimenez3565]

me watching this thirty minutes before my ap exam like 0.0

[@Jasmine-bd2rr]

jacky jimenez same

[@luminousxii]

Yeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd lmao

[@MLGRDR]

rip to everyone doing this

[@abbuprofen]

I'm dead, samee.

[@britterthecritter4531]

Same 💀💀

[@user-sx3lm4jy1c]

i do be watching this 2 hours before the exam 😳

[@flapjackinc6142]

lol im watching it 8 mins before it

[@randompersonlol7519]

My exam is tomorrow and this popped up in my recommendation so here I am. I feel pretty good about this, I've already written this essay in the video. Good luck to everyone taking it today, let's get that credit!!

[@annagabriela8037]

people saying they're watching this before the 30 mins, I ALREADY CHECKED IN. IM ON MY 30 MINS I GOT 10 MINS TO START MY TEST

[@MsPeerEditor]

Hi 2024 AP Lit students, good luck on the exam! I enjoyed helping a lot of you through tutoring, DMs, and comments this year. After the exam, feel free to come back and let me know if you found my videos useful.

[@seankawa5259]

Anyone else waited to study for AP Lit until the morning before??

[@lifeofshaynna4118]

Sean Kawa 😭me

[@fey0217]

ah finally my people

[@abbuprofen]

M E

[@pebbleinthecorner]

its so easy going over prompts witsomeone else but the second i have to do it alone my thinking flow just collapses

[@evankneedler7241]

My lit exam is in 16 minutes and I just started watching this. I'm going to do great I'm sure

[@evejoseph6043]

What was your score?

[@caitlintownsend9845]

ahahahaha it’s really funny seeing everyone here for the cram session before the exam tomorrow

[@spicyspicy11111]

Our whole AP exam grade is based on this one prose analysis essay... Good luck to all of us! (p.s. The exam in my timezone is at 4AM, so I have to wake up at 3:30AM to get ready. So feel lucky if you are in EST time.)

[@LeeLee-wo3ug]

I try to pray....but where are you...? I'm on EST, And clearly by this comment I'm cramming this shii and winging it. Smh.

[@spicyspicy11111]

@@LeeLee-wo3ug Im from Guam we go by GMT +10 timezone. Currently around 9pm rn so I'm just staying up and reviewing lol

[@spicyspicy11111]

@@LeeLee-wo3ug and since they made it so everyone has to take the exam at the same time, for us here on the other side of the world, we gotta take it at odd hours.

[@kvdxx6603]

Yeah yeah try 2 am buddy

[@spicyspicy11111]

@@kvdxx6603 no matter what time we both gonna be staying up

[@coast4552]

Could you do another example of this? It would help since this year the AP Lit exam is one Prose FRQ for 45 min. Love the videos.

[@imaginebaseball1888]

Bro same. I need to ace this since its the only part of it lol

[@coast4552]

@@imaginebaseball1888 Doing prompts and looking up sample perfect essays really helps. Also AP's youtube channel has livestreams on the Pros essay every day.

[@MsPeerEditor]

I just released a video how to annotate the AP Lit prose passage on a separate document using the College Board's 2017 prompt! You can check it out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nGbWnaihrNmsb9U

[@kyliemichellemusic]

this was so helpful!! i listened to this yesterday and you had really good tips for writing the essay. thank you so much!!

[@anastasiak.4312]

we've got the whole hogwarts here

[@gretals9782]

I know right!

[@callofcuties]

elizabeth-jane says “bruh”

[@samferguson230]

Thank you, Ms. Peer Editor! You SAVED me on the AP Lit Exam. Five all day! Straight to the top!

[@user-pd8ei5kq5d]

If you have an AP Lit test tmw BEST OF LUCK AND ILY

[@John-bp8tx]

I really hope my exam isn’t some old british excerpt

[@toniaderinwale6742]

it’s HIGHLY likely that it will be. Best of luck to you!!!

[@wesleyjohnson7859]

Good luck guys... its may again!

[@jesseniaabrigo]

one hour until the exam and i am just now watching this LETS GOOOOO

[@charliecochran310]

Ap lit cramming!!!

[@Mistiigolden]

Thank you. When I write an essay I always extract a sufficient amount of material from the text, but I get lost when transferring those ideas to paper. I think planning is my issue. This video is extremely detailed, and I appreciate the amount of work you put into making it. I will practice writing essays until may, when I test. Hopefully I will score a four or a five.

[@hillary6800]

This is such a good youtube channel.

[@MsPeerEditor]

Thank you for your kind words :)

[@xer0tic]

Thanks this is very helpful to me since I have to do a timed prose essay tomorrow that’s apart of my exam

[@Emily-vw9cc]

thank you! That was really helpful!

[@shonenzoro2306]

My AP Lit Exam is literally tmw and I need to get a good scoreeeee. I hope I'll do good!!!

[@Mike-kl5yc]

Good luck man. Just looked on AP scoring and a 4 on all 3 essays with a minimum of 30 questions will need to be correct lol. Fuck my life but best of luck to both of us :)

[@jeremyp9760]

@@Mike-kl5ycI’m hoping you guys did well!!! I’m taking the Ap lit exam this May 😖 nervouss. 🙏

[@christianlarmonie3718]

The exam starts in 7 minutes and I've just started watching this. Good luck to everyone

[@mishalkim]

Wow I love your channel! You are doing a great job :) keep up the wonderful work

[@exacurity2298]

good luck yall

[@quentinm.williams9]

LOL ME. I AM SO NERVOUS. im good at writing but I am scared as hell so I am doing some last minute review

[@WhisperingEchoes56]

You guys are making me proud of myself for watching this three days before the exam hahahaha

[@evejoseph6043]

I started watching this a day before hahaha

[@idkman5877]

me watching rn it’s in like 10 hours 😭

[@WhisperingEchoes56]

@@idkman5877 @evejoseph6043 How'd you both feel about it? I COOKED Essay 3 but Essay 1 and 2 were medium rare

[@marijagosheva3209]

the exam starts in 3 minutes and i’m watching this now...

[@nataliedevenbeck6726]

this video is literally so great

[@KvN-2002]

17 min till the test comes up.... good luck y’all.... may the force be with you all

[@zin.bricks]

Like 2 hours until the exam... good luck

[@km4477thebest]

Thank you for this! It is really helpful and it'll help tremendously on todays AP English Exam. G

[@anastasiak.4312]

Dumbledores, hag-rid, and Minerva IM DYINGGGGG

[@andano4055]

Thank goodness I wasn't the only one who thought this XD

[@liamgartland2235]

Studying less than 3 hours before the exam gang?

[@natalieyeung6890]

I’m so glad I’m not taking the ap lit test this year 😊

[@nnyannor02]

I have literally have 6 min until the 30 min mark to login and get myself ready.

[@dayanavazquez233]

Exam in 10 minutes and just started studying let’s go!

[@sharonli8867]

How do you come to develop an insightful statement in your writing? Also, is there a recommended number of quotes you should use for each paragraph?

[@MsPeerEditor]

There's no specific number of quotes to use, it's up to you! And I don't think I can give an exact answer as to what makes a statement insightful haha, but I do think you can ask yourself a few questions to see if you're digging deep enough into the text. Ask yourself: How do the author's choices contribute to the overall theme? How does a particular literary device offer insight into the central concern of the prompt (in this case, the complex relationship between the two characters)? Are there any tensions or contradictions in the passage? What is the importance of the passage's context?

[@sharonli8867]

@@MsPeerEditor Thank you for replying so quickly! Your videos were super helpful. Do you have any tips on earning the sophistication point on the prose essay? I also saw your how to write a conclusion/introduction video and I was wondering if that could be applied to the prose essay here?

[@MsPeerEditor]

According to the College Board's scoring guidelines, the sophistication point can be earned if you do one or more of the following: identify complexities or tensions in the passage, situate your interpretation in a broader context, account for alternative interpretations of the passage, or consistently use a vivid and persuasive style. The first three criteria are probably the easiest to control, but I would check out this scoring commentary from the 2018 exam to see how one student earned the sophistication point: secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-english-literature-and-composition-2018-frq2-scoring-commentaries-2020-rubrics.pdf. Also, you can use some aspects of the intro/conclusion videos in your essay if you'd like, but remember that you should spend the least amount of time on those two paragraphs. They do not need to be long or super detailed; as long as you address the context of the passage and include a well-developed thesis, you'll be fine.

[@nathan8750]

My test is at 4 am so I've been staying awake the entire night :(. But I've been binge watching your videos and they've really helped and I'm a bit more confident than I was hours ago so thank you!

[@itsjessa7896]

Nathangomin G 4!?!?

[@nathan8750]

ItsJessa I’m in Guam 💀💀 I’m like in the 2-3 percent who take it at this time 😂😂

[@idiotmyschkin]

​@@nathan8750 I feel so bad for international students, its really strange of college board to not make separate dates corresponding to other places than North America

[@johannacruise8041]

who else is watching this 15 minutes before the actual exam 🙈

[@bella3627]

lmao while the timer is running down

[@AverageGamerSam]

Boy used to carry wash to a pig trough and he's mocking her, talking about carrying wash to a pig trough. What a nerd.

[@jewellregan9799]

Me right now with the AP clock ticking down... 12 min until my test starts 👁👄👁

[@lalabest1aj]

How do you study for this☠️ I’m winging it

[@Peachy_crow]

it's twenty minutes before the exam and I'm just hoping my internet cuts out

[@andregarcia4823]

Bruh I'm here 15 minutes before the exam. The timer is literally counting down lmao

[@minchakel1791]

just finished watching this 2 minutes before the exam starts

[@braydenmiller2502]

It was funny sorting by newest right before the exam to see all of the people commenting, and then checking after to see them all post 50 minutes ago.

[@katetyra5759]

Watching this 30 seconds before the exam starts is where I’m at

[@caroline-pm4mo]

it's tomorrow and i'm just now starting to study. im doomed

[@coralrolon3454]

SAME

[@thomasdoconnor]

Send help

[@OReily08080]

Same

[@loveline2100]

scared to take the exam because the timer makes me nervous i tried to do three practice essays on my own and only wrote one because the timer and the passage freaked me out. the one I got through was from 2002 and it was a shorter passage that was pretty easy to understand but the ones they give us now I can barely understand it scares me

[@joycelynwolf3309]

Take a deep breath, you've got this! On the AP site where you take your test you can hide the timer. Maybe do that just at the beginning so you can read and annotate the passage. Also, even if you don't finish writing, you can still get a good score by submitting anything you did finish! Good Luck!

[@MultiBaconGirl]

literally watching this 14 min before i begin the test lmao

[@Maya-ht9tm]

best of luck y'all

[@andano4055]

Thank you!!!

[@carolinekruk9080]

The exam is in ten minutes and I'm watching this on 2x speed ✌️

[@mohinik4156]

The test starts in 4 minutes 👁👄👁

[@evejoseph6043]

What was your score?

[@saltypretzel1808]

make up test tomorrow let’s gooo

[@yourfutureself3547]

Guys, this video helped me out so much and I felt like I wrote a great essay for the test! Too bad I couldn’t submit it cause the submit button wouldn’t work!!! Anybody else have that issue?

[@saltypretzel1808]

exception testing tomorrow bc college board messed up again let’s goooo

[@nandoyt5822]

Here for Conway

[@zakeiuswinn5489]

Nando YT Me too 😂

[@zilingoh9373]

Hi.. Thanks for the great review. May i know where to locate the excerpt. thanks

[@MsPeerEditor]

You can click here and scroll down to "2016: Free-Response questions" to access the excerpt: apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-literature-and-composition/exam/past-exam-questions?course=ap-english-literature-and-composition

[@girlynathalie]

Good luck everyone

[@catmint6619]

That feeling when you were only able to write a single line for your conclusion 😔💪

[@caitlin2143]

Y'all if I don't get a 5/5 on this essay, my teacher is giving me a D and I won't get to go to UCLA even though I already got accepted. Wish me luck I am so stressed out. Update: i got a 5/5! Ucla bound... barely lmfao

[@scarletcrown9700]

Bad teacher lol

[@aarnawakoirala8113]

How would not getting a 5 stop you from going to UCLA..

[@nina490]

not me watching videos 20 minutes before my test😔

[@cassiehorash2232]

Oh no not me cramming 30 minutes before the test

[@FoxFuture]

So how'd it go friends? Thumbs up if you think you passed and a thumbs down if you think you biffed it like me.

[@domini645]

i’m sure you did great :)

[@FoxFuture]

@@domini645 we can hope

[@xcusemepls9340]

Can writing a 4 paragraph prose essay (like the one seen here) get you a high score of 4 or 5? The examples I’ve been seeing have been mostly 5 paragraphs.

[@MsPeerEditor]

You can still get a high score with 4 paragraphs, as long as the body paragraphs are very well-developed. I gave an example of 4 paragraphs in this video for the sake of time and because I tend to write body paragraphs that are pretty long. A 5 paragraph essay is great as well!

[@xcusemepls9340]

Ms. Peer Editor Thank you so much!

[@aarushi8008]

im watching this 6 minutes before my essays start

[@ziinx5899]

What is the structure of a prose essay? I cant find it anywhere. Does my essay need a conclusion? How many paragraphs do I need?

[@rooali6439]

at least four paragraphs which includes an intro, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion

[@ziinx5899]

@@rooali6439 Thanks. Should I split up the two body paragraphs based off of literary device elements or more broader concepts?

[@rooali6439]

@@ziinx5899 i would suggest splitting it up based on literary devices, yeah, cause its an easy way to organize your essay. if you do that though its important to keep developing your ideas as you go so that it doesn't seem too structured and flows well.

[@KonansStoned]

My exam is in 5 mins and im just watching this fml

[@catmint6619]

Pls don’t let me fail, I’m testing in an hour😭😭

[@ilumination6761]

Five minutes to go... Reaalllly wish there was a 5x speed option.

[@derek9956]

Im not even in AP Lit but i think im going next year im scared af 😭😭😭😭

[@aleksandrkaspar5458]

11 minutes, after this video ends, I start.

[@yourgirl8320]

Test in an hour 😭

[@jamesquebral5941]

How was it? I've got mine in two days lol

[@yourgirl8320]

@@jamesquebral5941 great, it was the practice and semester final tho. My real one is tomorrow 😭

[@ninadee9753]

You don't need three body paragraphs?

[@MsPeerEditor]

3 is great, but you can also do 2! Just make sure each paragraph is really well-developed.

[@nathanburnett9529]

rest in peace henchard 😤😖

[@gurvir7284]

Goodluck to everyone studying an hour before the exam LMAOOOO

[@LeeLee-wo3ug]

Does it matter how much evidence is quoted? *Or is that wrong? I tend to quote two sentences or one and a half...then take the words out of that evidence to explain. like "Hi, my name is Georgia for the west...Greg always mistakes my name...My name is GEORGIA!" then I'll say she uses Repetition or symbolism for her name because she's fed up such as the emphasis on "Georgia" she keeps explaining to people who get it wrong by constantly repeating it...etc etc..

[@rooali6439]

not really, its usually better time wise to take short quotes but honestly the best thing to do is include the evidence the way you're comfortable with and focus on developing your commentary

[@LeeLee-wo3ug]

@@rooali6439 Thx. Were done with the test. I did the comfortable route and quoted evidence with a few "..." skips.

[@taylorkelley2271]

Also watched some last minute Susan and Carlos. Pray 4 me💁‍♀️

[@liamur]

Oh boy

[@madelinemurphy3011]

How should quotes be cited in the essay?

[@MsPeerEditor]

You don't need to include any sort of citation, parenthetical or otherwise. Just make sure to put quotation marks around excerpts that are taken directly from the passage. I recommend checking out the sample prose essays on the College Board's website for more examples :)

[@antherpanther301]

Watching 5 minutes before the exam?

[@tragicsense5283]

Nigga I'm dead I haven't slept since yesterday and I'm anxious af I might skip it and take it in June

[@suliamartin4200]

We got 11 minuets to watch this

[@swissgoat4981]

Have to get logged on for the exam in literally 20 minutes. Anyone else?

[@highwaytoparistx2655]

hol up so this whole test thing is tomorrow?

[@caitlintownsend9845]

Highway to Paris, TX 1 PM CT (but you have to login 30 mins beforehand) good luck, bud

[@kamilsegebre364]

💀💀💀

[@ryantobefunny9587]

Anyone else here cramming months before the exam because they fear failure more than death?

[@rachelyoo9209]

lgi fam

[@isaacsandoval7416]

GG boys

[@baltysilva4570]

Hyhy

[@bhupendrakushwaha9552]

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