AP® Exam Strategies | Appendix D and to write the essay. You must practice during the year with your class or at home so that you will gain a sense of how to accomplish this task in the allotted time. Note taking
E
Another challenge is the audio source. One of the most sophisticated skills for a student is the ability to listen to an audio source and to take notes on the information presented. A suggestion is to practice during the course taking notes on an entire audio selection. Of course you should take notes in Spanish, as you do not want to add another step, translation, into the process. If you find that taking notes on the selection is too difficult, you should practice just taking specific information from the audio that agrees or disagrees with the points that you have underlined as you read the written source. Integration
Transition
PL
Of all the challenges that this task presents, the most difficult is the integration of the information from the sources. Integration is the opposite of summary. You must remember that summary of information will not move your essay into the higher categories of the scoring guidelines. To reach the higher categories, you must look for the common elements in the sources, combining and weaving them together to shape your argument.
A further challenge in developing a composition is the use of transition. Transition is the process of making your ideas flow together to create ease and clarity, a characteristic of the upper categories of the scoring guidelines. Examples of some common transitional expressions include the following: • en cambio
• por eso
• al contrario
• en conclusión
• por lo contrario
• ante todo
• en cuanto a
• por lo tanto
• a pesar de
• en fin
• por un lado
• asimismo
• entonces
• por una parte
• aunque
• en vez de
• sin embargo
SA
M
• además
• debido a
• por consiguiente
Citation
There is no specific convention for citation stated in the scoring guidelines. What is most important to remember is that you should explicitly or implicitly cite the information from the sources. You should avoid long quotes, as it is not your own language production. Some expressions that help you to cite, and which also can function as transitional devices, include the following: • Según…
• Citando la fuente…
• De acuerdo con…
• Como se explica en la fuente…
Accuracy of language and vocabulary As with the e-mail response, you should allow a few minutes to do a quick check of your language control. Be sure that you have agreement of subject and verb, article and noun, and noun and adjective. Appendix D | AP® Exam Strategies
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