Melissa Era 

AP  Eleanor and Aria 

 
Chief Reader Report on Student Responses: 
2018 AP English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions 

 
 
Question #1 ​ ​ ​ ​Task:​ ​Synthesis​ ​ ledge of Allegiance 
​ Topic:​ P
​ Max. ​Points: ​9​ ​Mean Score:​ 5​ .75 
 
What were the responses to this question expected to demonstrate? 

The synthesis question required students to use material from the six provided sources 
and write a “coherent, well-developed essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies the 
notion that the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools should be enforced.” 
We expected the students to thoroughly analyze the sources and use them as support in 
the development of their argument.  

Students were expected to use both the supplied information and past knowledge to 
create an argument. The responses needed to demonstrate the ability to integrate the 
sources that supported the competing arguments as well as those that supported it into 
their argument. The arguments, however, must be original arguments and not 
summaries of the arguments presented by the sources.  

How well did the response address the course content related to this question? How well did 
the responses integrate the skills required on this question? 

This question’s purpose was not only to allow for the student to take a firm stance on the 
inquiry issued in the prompt, but to also expand beyond that simple direction given by 
said prompt. Based off of the essays read, it appears that the students achieved a high 
level of critical thinking when broadening their stance on the subject. In addition, the 
responses were generally well developed in terms of explanation of the source 
application. Generally, the essays remained very focused on their thesis and avoided 
straying off into other areas of discussion. 

With this group of essays, there were no low scoring (1-4) essays. Had there been, they 
likely would have failed to include enough sources, been poorly developed, provided 
arguments lacking in complexity, not applied critical thinking, and unsuccessfully 
attempted to use the sources to further their argument. 

The majority of the pieces scored fell into the mid-range category (5-7). These essays 
had well developed and sufficient warranting of the sources and their support of the 
central claim. Although the claims were complex, they lacked in critical thinking and had 
common stances 

Only one essay was graded as high-scoring (8-9). This essay featured a highly complex 
development of the argument, which was also a unique stance on the issue presented. We 
found it effectively utilized all sources in a very focused manner. Finally, the progression 
of evidence and claims was logical and aided the development of the thesis. 

Ⓒ ​Melissa, Era, Eleanor, and Aria. 

Visit Melissa, Era, Eleanor, and Aria on the Web: w​ ww.melissaeraeleanorandaria.weebly.com
 
What common student misconceptions or gaps in knowledge were seen in the responses to this 
question? 

Common Misconceptions/Knowledge Gaps  Responses that Demonstrate Understanding 

• Weaker responses cited the sources  • Stronger responses incorporated the 

and/or paraphrased them assuming that  sources within their arguments through 
the quote or paraphrasing alone was  various methods. The authors of these 
sufficient support for the essay’s claim  essays applied the sources in dialogue, 
without further qualifying the data being  whilst adding their own opinions as well.   
used.  

• Weaker responses sometimes didn’t use  • Stronger responses demonstrated an 

the sources to their fullest potential. The  understanding of the sources by accurately 
writers had difficulty applying the sources  using the sources to support their claim. 
due to an error in reading and  They were able to understand how to use 
understanding the sources.   the sources to develop their argument.  

• Weaker responses struggled to create a  • Stronger responses were able to 

valid thesis statement. The thesis was not  accurately create a thesis statement to 
visible.   base the entirety of their argument off of.  

  

What advice would you offer teachers to help them improve the student performance on the 
exam? 

1. Teachers should provide more practice in which students are taught to read and 
interpret nonfiction and opinion pieces. Students should examine arguments, the 
evidence used to support the argument, and the context in which the claim was 
created.   
2. Teachers and students must realize that although Question 1 and Question 3 are 
labeled as different types of prompts, Question 1 requires many of the same 
argumentative skills, techniques, and structures as Question 3. To help their 
students connect analyzing pieces with argumentative writing, teachers should 
advise students on not only how to dissect opinion and nonfiction pieces, but also 
how to incorporate synthesis into their own writing. 
3. Teachers should refer to past Chief Reader Reports and prompts regarding advice; 
they are very relevant. 

Ⓒ ​Melissa, Era, Eleanor, and Aria. 

Visit Melissa, Era, Eleanor, and Aria on the Web: w​ ww.melissaeraeleanorandaria.weebly.com