2021 AP Exam Administration Student Sample Responses AP Seminar Performance Task 2 2021 AP ® Seminar Performance Task 2 Sample Student Responses and Scoring Commentary © 2021 College Board College Boa[.]
2021 AP Seminar Performance Task ® Sample Student Responses and Scoring Commentary Inside: Individual Written Argument R Scoring Guideline R Student Samples R Scoring Commentary © 2021 College Board College Board, Advanced Placement, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of College Board AP Capstone is a trademark owned by College Board Visit College Board on the web: collegeboard.org AP Central is the official online home for the AP Program: apcentral.collegeboard.org AP® Seminar 2021 Scoring Guidelines Individual Written Argument (IWA) 48 points General Scoring Notes When applying the rubric for each individual row, you should award the score for that row based solely upon the criteria indicated for that row, according to the preponderance of evidence (Zero) Scores • A score of is assigned to a single row of the rubric when the response displays a below-minimum level of quality as identified in that row of the rubric • Scores of are assigned to all rows of the rubric when the response is off-topic; a repetition of a prompt; entirely crossed-out; a drawing or other markings; or a response in a language other than English Off-Topic Decision: For the purpose of the IWA, if the response is not in any way related to a theme connecting at least two of the stimulus materials it will be counted as off-topic and will receive a score of • Considering the student-oriented scoring approach of the College Board, readers should reward the student who derives their ideas from at least two of the stimulus materials, even if they wandered away from them as they pursued their topic • If you can infer any connection to a theme derived from two or more stimulus materials, the response should be scored A failure to adequately incorporate the stimulus materials falls under rubric row 1, not here A READER SHOULD NEVER SCORE A PAPER AS OFF-TOPIC INSTEAD, DEFER THE RESPONSE TO YOUR TABLE LEADER NR (No Response) A score of NR is assigned to responses that are blank â 2021 College Board APđ Seminar 2021 Scoring Guidelines Individual Written Argument (IWA) Reporting Category Row Understand and Analyze Context (0 or points) 48 points Scoring Criteria points The response does not incorporate any of the stimulus material, or, at most, it is mentioned in only one sentence OR The response includes a discussion of at least one of the stimulus materials; however, it does not contribute to the argument points The response demonstrates the relevance of at least one of the stimulus materials to the argument by integrating it as part of the response (For example, as providing relevant context for the research question, or as evidence to support relevant claims.) Decision Rules and Scoring Notes Typical responses that earn points include a reference to the stimulus material that: • Is tangential • May misrepresent what the sources are discussing/arguing or may use the source in such a way that ignores its context • Is only used for a definition or facts that could be obtained from other, more relevant sources Is no more than a jumping-off point for the student’s argument, no more than a perfunctory mention • • Typical responses that earn points include a reference to the stimulus material that: Reflects an accurate understanding of the source and demonstrates an understanding of its context (e.g., date, region, topic) AND • Presents an essential and authentic reference to the source, which if deleted, would change or weaken the argument • Could be deleted with little to no effect on the response Additional Notes • References to stimulus materials may be included multiple times in the response; only one successful integration of stimulus material is required to earn points © 2021 College Board AP® Seminar 2021 Scoring Guidelines Reporting Category Row Understand and Analyze Context Scoring Criteria points The response either provides no context OR The response makes simplistic references to or general statements about the context of the research question points The response explains the significance or importance of the research question by situating it within a larger context Decision Rules and Scoring Notes (0 or points) Typical responses that earn points: • Provide unsubstantiated assertions without explanations (e.g., “this is important”) • May provide contextual details, but they are tangential to the research question and/or argument Provide overly broad, generalized statements about context Provide context for only part of the question or argument • • Typical responses that earn points: Provide specific and relevant details (i.e., what, who, when, where) for all elements of the research question and/or argument AND • • Convey a sense of urgency or establish the importance of the research question and/or argument Additional Notes • Context is usually found in the first few paragraphs © 2021 College Board AP® Seminar 2021 Scoring Guidelines Reporting Category Row Understand and Analyze Perspective (0, 6, or points) Scoring Criteria points The response provides only a single perspective OR The response identifies and offers opinions or unsubstantiated statements about different perspectives that may be overly simplified points The response describes multiple perspectives and identifies some relevant similarities or differences between them points The response evaluates multiple perspectives (and synthesizes them) by drawing relevant connections between them, considering objections, implications, and limitations Decision Rules and Scoring Notes Typical responses that earn points: • • Provide only one perspective May use a lens or lenses that all work to convey the same point of view • Convey alternative perspectives as personal opinions or assertions without evidence • Provide perspectives that are isolated from each other without comparison Provide perspectives that are oversimplified by treating many voices, stakeholders, or stances as one • Typical responses that earn points: Typical responses that earn points: • Make general comparisons between perspectives describing only basic agreement or disagreement • Elaborate on the connections among different perspectives • Explain that disagreement/agreement exists, but they not explain how by clarifying the points on which they agree or disagree • Use the details from different sources or perspectives to demonstrate specific agreement or disagreement among perspectives (i.e., evaluate comparative strengths and weaknesses of different perspectives by placing them in dialogue) Additional Notes • A lens is a filter through which an issue or topic is considered or examined • A perspective is “a point of view conveyed through an argument.” (This means the sources argument) â 2021 College Board APđ Seminar 2021 Scoring Guidelines Reporting Category Row Establish Argument (0, 8, or 12 points) Scoring Criteria points The response provides only unsubstantiated opinions or claims OR The response summarizes information (no argument) The response employs inadequate reasoning due to minimal connections between claims and evidence points The argument presents a claim with some flaws in reasoning The response is logically organized, but the reasoning may be faulty or underdeveloped OR The response may be well-reasoned but illogical in its organization The conclusion may be only partially related to the research question or thesis 12 points The response is a clear and convincing argument The response is logically organized and well-reasoned by connecting claims and evidence, leading to a plausible, well-aligned conclusion Decision Rules and Scoring Notes Typical responses that earn points: • Base the argument on opinion(s) • Seek to explain a topic, rather than take a position (e.g., report, summary, chronicle, etc.) • Provide a contrived solution to a nonexistent problem or completely lack a conclusion Typical responses that earn points: • Organize the argument well OR link evidence and claims well in discrete sections, but not both In other words, the response may fail to explain how evidence supports a claim—i.e., it lacks commentary-OR the overall organization of the response is difficult to follow, even though it has done an adequate job of commenting on the evidence • Provide evidence that often drives the argument, rather than contributing to the response’s argument • Provide a conclusion/resolution that lacks either enough detail to assess plausibility or is not fully aligned with the research question Typical responses that earn 12 points: • Organize information in a way that is often signposted or explicit • Provide commentary that explains fully how evidence supports claims (i.e., the commentary will engage with the content of the evidence to draw conclusions) • Provide an argument that is driven by student voice (commentary) • Integrate alternate views, perhaps by engaging with counterclaims or using them to demonstrate a nuanced understanding • Provide a solution/conclusion that is fully aligned with the research question • Present enough detail to assess the plausibility of the conclusion/solution (perhaps with an assessment of limitations and implications) Additional Notes â 2021 College Board APđ Seminar 2021 Scoring Guidelines Reporting Category Row Select and Use Evidence (0, 6, or points) Scoring Criteria points Any evidence presented in the response is predominantly irrelevant and/or lacks credibility points The response includes mostly relevant and credible evidence points The response includes relevant, credible and sufficient evidence to support its argument Decision Rules and Scoring Notes Typical responses that earn points: • • • Include many sources that are not credible for the context in which they are used Include no well-vetted sources (i.e., scholarly, peer-reviewed, credentialed authors, independently verified) beyond the stimulus materials May include a well-vetted source that is not used effectively (e.g., trivial selection, not aligned with claim, misrepresented) Typical responses that earn points: • Draw from a variety of sources that are relevant to the topic and credible for the context in most cases, but those sources are primarily nonscholarly Typical responses that earn points: • Provide evidence that fully supports claims • • Include many sources that are referenced rather than explained • • Provide evidence that does not fully support claims (e.g., there are some gaps and trivial selections) • • May cite several scholarly works, but select excerpts that only convey general or simplistic ideas OR include at least one piece of scholarly work that is used effectively Effectively connect evidence to the argument, even if the relevance of the evidence is not initially apparent Provide purposeful analysis and evaluation of evidence used (i.e., goes beyond mere citation or reference) Make purposeful use of relevant evidence from a variety of scholarly work (e.g., peer-reviewed, credentialed authors, independently verified, primary sources, etc.) Additional Notes • Review the Bibliography or Works Cited • Review individual instances of selected evidence throughout (commentary about the evidence) • General reference guides such as encyclopedias and dictionaries not fulfill the requirement for a well-vetted source â 2021 College Board APđ Seminar 2021 Scoring Guidelines Reporting Category Row Apply Conventions Scoring Criteria points The response is missing a bibliography/works cited OR the response is largely missing in-text citations/ footnotes (0, 3, or points) points The response attributes or cites sources used through the use of in-text citations or footnotes, but not always accurately The bibliography or works cited references sources using a generally consistent style with some errors points The response attributes, accurately cites and integrates the sources used through the use of in-text citations or footnotes The bibliography or works cited accurately references sources using a consistent style Decision Rules and Scoring Notes Typical responses that earn points: • Include internal citations, but no bibliography (or vice versa) • Provide little or no evidence of successful linking of in-text citations to bibliographic references (e.g., in-text references are to titles but bibliographic references are listed by author; titles are different in the text and in the works cited) Typical responses that earn points: • • • • Provide some uniformity in citation style Include unclear references or errors in citations, (e.g., citations with missing elements or essential elements that must be guessed from a url) Provide some successful linking of citations to bibliographic references Provide some successful attributive phrasing and/or in-text parenthetical citations Typical responses that earn points: • • Contain few flaws Provide consistent evidence of linking internal citations to bibliographic references • Include consistent and clear attributive phrasing and/or in-text parenthetical citations Note: The response cannot score points if key components of citations (i.e., author/organization, title, publication, date) are consistently missing Additional Notes • In AP Seminar, there is no requirement for using a particular style sheet; however, responses must use a style that is consistent and complete • Check the bibliography for consistency in style and inclusion of fundamental elements • Check for clarity of in-text citations • Check to make sure all in-text citations match the bibliography (without extensive search) â 2021 College Board APđ Seminar 2021 Scoring Guidelines Reporting Category Row Apply Conventions Scoring Criteria points The response has many grammatical flaws, is difficult to understand, or is written in a style inappropriate for an academic audience points The response is mostly clear but may contain some flaws in grammar or a few instances of a style inappropriate for an academic audience (0, 2, or points) points The response creates variety, emphasis, and interest to the reader through the use of effective sentences and precision of word choice The written style is consistently appropriate for an academic audience, although the response may have a few errors in grammar and style Decision Rules and Scoring Notes Typical responses that earn points: • Contain multiple grammatical errors that make reading difficult • Use an overall style that is colloquial or in other ways not appropriate for an academic paper Typical responses that earn points: • Contain some instances of errors that occasionally make reading difficult • • Lapse into colloquial language Demonstrate imprecise word choice Typical 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