After reviewing and scoring other AP Language argument essays, identify two important takeaways that you can apply to your own writing. Explain what you learned about claims, evidence, commentary, the “so what?” explanation, or the AP rubric. Use specific observations from the essays you reviewed. Write one complete paragraph.

Response: After reviewing and scoring other AP Lang essays, one important takeaway is that having evidence is not enough if the writer does not clearly explain how it supports the argument. I noticed that stronger responses that received more points clearly connected their evidence back to their main claim instead of simply presenting an example and moving on. Additionally, good responses' commentary needs to answer the So What? question by explaining why the evidence matters and what it reveals about the larger argument. This is something I can apply to my own writing by spending more time explaining the significance of my evidence instead of assuming the reader will make connections for me. Comparing the essays really helped me see the difference between stating facts versus developing a convincing argument. 

Summary: Today in class we reviewed past argumentative essays and scored them based on the AP rubric.

Reflection: It's good to know what a high scoring essay looks like versus a low scoring one and analyzing It can help us know how to write certain parts of our essays better.