The BEST Topic Sentences EVER (AP Lit & AP Lang)

Summary

In this informative video, Tim Freitas, the host of the Garden of English, focuses on guiding viewers on how to craft well-developed and complex topic sentences for AP (Advanced Placement) English essays. He emphasizes the importance of topic sentences as the guiding direction for the content of a paragraph and provides a template that includes an author's name, a strong verb, a brief reference to an example, and the inferred meaning from the text. Freitas demonstrates the application of these templates using the 2015 AP Lang exam's Cesar Chavez prompt and the 2010 AP Lit form B question 2 passage, 'Cherry Bomb' by Max Sinclair. Additionally, he offers advanced tips on incorporating transitional language and sentence variation to enhance the quality of the topic sentences from 'good' to 'better' and ultimately to 'best'. The video is a valuable resource for students aiming to improve their analytical writing skills for AP English exams.

Takeaways

• 📝 The importance of topic sentences in guiding the direction of a body paragraph in an essay.
• 📚 Topic sentences should include a reference to the concrete language used in the paragraph and the inferred meaning.
• 👨‍🏫 For AP Lit and AP Lang essays, topic sentences must place the author in a position of authority using their last name and a strong academic verb.
• 🚫 Avoid using 'use', 'employs', or 'utilizes' as they are weak verbs; instead, opt for stronger literary and rhetorical verbs.
• 🔄 Create a template for topic sentences that includes the author's name, a strong verb, a brief reference to the example, and the inferred meaning.
• 📈 Progress from a basic template to more advanced ones by incorporating transitional language and sentence variation to enhance the quality of topic sentences.
• ✍️ Discuss the text in chronological order to effectively show how the author builds their message, character, or purpose.
• 🔄 Use phrases like 'throughout the piece' when commenting on something the author does consistently in the text.
• 🔄 Alternate between placing the abstract and concrete parts of the sentence to avoid repetitiveness in topic sentences.
• 🎓 Watch the provided videos for examples of how to derive body paragraphs from the topic sentences based on AP prompts.
• 📈 To create the best topic sentences, periodically switch the order of the abstract and concrete parts of the sentence, ensuring variety in structure.

Q & A

What is the main focus of Tim Freitas' video?

The main focus of Tim Freitas' video is to provide templates, tricks, and tips for creating well-developed complex topic sentences for AP (Advanced Placement) essays.

Why is it suggested to watch Tim's AP Lit or AP Lang thesis statement videos before this one?

It is suggested because today's templates will work for all three of the AP Lit essays and only the rhetorical analysis essay on the AP Lang exam, and watching the previous videos will provide the necessary context and understanding for this particular video.

What is the purpose of a topic sentence in an essay?

A topic sentence is the first sentence of a body paragraph that provides the direction for what will be covered in that paragraph, acting as a contract that is fulfilled when all aspects of the topic sentence are discussed in the paragraph.

Why is it important to include a reference to concrete language in topic sentences for English classes?

It is important because in English classes, students are often asked to discuss how concrete language creates meaning. Therefore, topic sentences must include a reference to the specific language that will be analyzed and the meaning attributed to it.

What is the role of the author's name in AP Lit and AP Lang topic sentences?

The author's name is used to place the author in a position of authority and is typically followed by a strong academic verb, which helps to maintain an analytical tone rather than a summary-based one.

How does Tim Freitas suggest modifying the basic template for topic sentences to improve them?

Tim suggests adding transitional language and sentence variation to the basic template. This helps to establish a line of reasoning and prevents the essay from sounding repetitive.

What is the significance of discussing the text in chronological order when writing an essay?

Discussing the text in chronological order helps to demonstrate how the author builds his or her message, character, or purpose effectively, which is a key aspect of essays for AP Lit and AP Lang Q2.

What is the issue with using the word 'use' in academic writing according to Tim?

According to Tim, the word 'use' is not strong enough for academic writing. He suggests using more powerful literary and rhetorical verbs instead.

How can varying the sentence structure in topic sentences help improve the overall quality of an essay?

Varying the sentence structure can prevent the essay from becoming monotonous and can help to emphasize different aspects of the analysis, making the essay more engaging and easier to follow.

What are the key elements that should be included in a strong topic sentence according to the video?

A strong topic sentence should include the author's name, a strong verb, a brief reference to the example, the words 'in order to' followed by a chosen strong verb, and the basic understanding that can be inferred from the reading.

How does Tim Freitas suggest students derive body paragraphs from topic sentences?

Tim suggests that students should alternate the order of the concrete and abstract portions of the sentence, placing a comma after the first part, to create a more engaging and varied structure for their body paragraphs.

What is the final advice given by Tim Freitas for creating the best topic sentences?

The final advice is to consistently follow the order of author, transitional language, evidence, and then effect and understanding in the topic sentences. Additionally, students should periodically switch the order of the abstract and concrete parts of the sentence for variety.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to AP Essay Writing Tips

Tim Freitas, the host, welcomes viewers back to the 'Garden of English' and encourages them to subscribe to support the channel. He introduces the topic of the video, which is to provide templates, tricks, and tips for creating complex topic sentences for AP (Advanced Placement) essays. He suggests that viewers watch his previous videos on AP Literature (AP Lit) or AP Language (AP Lang) thesis statement before this one for better understanding. The video focuses on the rhetorical analysis essay for AP Lang and all three essays for AP Lit. Using examples from the 2015 AP Lang exam and the 2010 AP Lit exam, Tim explains the importance of topic sentences in guiding the direction of a paragraph. He emphasizes that topic sentences must reference concrete language from the text and the inferred meaning, and for AP Lit and AP Lang essays, they should include the author's name followed by a strong academic verb. A template is provided to help students create effective topic sentences.

05:02

📝 Enhancing Topic Sentences with Chronological Order and Variation

The second paragraph delves into the significance of discussing the text in chronological order to effectively show how an author builds their message, character, or purpose. Tim shares a tip for commenting on something the author does throughout the piece by using phrases like 'throughout the piece.' He also advises against using certain verbs that are not strong enough for analytical writing. New sets of templates are introduced, with variations in structure that replace 'in order to' with other phrases like 'in order to highlight' or 'in order to reveal.' Tim demonstrates how to improve topic sentences by rearranging the order of abstract and concrete parts of the sentence, suggesting that this alternation can prevent repetitiveness and enhance the quality of the essay. Examples are provided for both the AP Lang Chavez prompt and the AP Lit Cherry Bomb prompt, showing how to apply these techniques to create better and best versions of topic sentences.

Keywords

💡Topic Sentence

A topic sentence is the introductory sentence of a body paragraph in an essay that outlines the main idea or direction that the paragraph will take. It is crucial for guiding the reader and ensuring that the paragraph stays focused on a single point. In the video, Tim Freitas emphasizes the importance of topic sentences in constructing well-developed responses for AP essays, stating that they act like a contract for what the paragraph will cover.

💡AP Essays

AP Essays refer to the advanced placement essays that students write as part of the AP English Language and Composition or AP Literature and Composition courses. These essays are typically more complex and require a higher level of critical thinking and analysis compared to standard essays. In the script, Tim discusses strategies for creating effective topic sentences specifically for AP essays, which are a key component of these advanced compositions.

💡Concrete Language

Concrete language refers to words and phrases that convey specific, observable details rather than abstract ideas. It is used to create vivid imagery and make writing more engaging and understandable. In the context of the video, Tim Freitas mentions that all topic sentences in AP English classes must include a reference to concrete language, which is then analyzed for its meaning within the paragraph.

💡Inference

An inference is a conclusion or proposition that is derived from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statement. It involves interpreting and drawing conclusions from the information presented. In the video, Tim explains that topic sentences must include the meaning attributed to the concrete language, which requires the writer to make an inference about the author's intent or the impact of the language used.

💡Authoritative Voice

An authoritative voice in writing is one that commands attention and respect, often by demonstrating confidence and expertise on the subject. In the context of AP essays, Tim advises that topic sentences should include the author's last name followed by a strong academic verb to establish an authoritative voice, which helps to avoid a summary-based approach and instead encourages analytical writing.

💡Chronological Order

Chronological order refers to the arrangement of events or ideas in the sequence in which they occur or are presented. In the video, Tim suggests that discussing the text in chronological order can help to effectively build and communicate the author's ideas, making it an important approach when analyzing a reading, especially for AP Lang Question 2 essays.

💡Transitional Language

Transitional language is used to connect ideas within a piece of writing, guiding the reader from one point to the next. It helps to establish a clear line of reasoning and can prevent the writing from sounding repetitive. In the script, Tim discusses the importance of including transitional language in topic sentences to enhance the coherence and flow of the essay.

💡Sentence Variation

Sentence variation refers to the use of different sentence structures and lengths to create interest and maintain the reader's engagement. It helps to avoid monotony in writing. Tim Freitas in the video emphasizes the importance of sentence variation in topic sentences to prevent repetitiveness and to enhance the overall quality of the essay.

💡AP Lang Exam

The AP Lang Exam, or AP English Language and Composition Exam, is a test that forms part of the Advanced Placement program. It assesses students' ability to use language effectively in writing, including rhetorical analysis and argumentation. In the video, Tim provides templates and tips specifically tailored for the rhetorical analysis essay section of the AP Lang Exam.

💡AP Lit Exam

The AP Lit Exam, or AP Literature and Composition Exam, is another test within the Advanced Placement series that evaluates students' understanding of literary works. It requires analysis of prose and poetry. Tim uses the 2010 Form B Question 2 passage from the AP Lit Exam to model how to create topic sentences for AP Lit essays in the video.

💡Templates

In the context of the video, templates refer to pre-designed structures or formulas that students can use to craft their topic sentences. Tim provides several templates for creating effective topic sentences that meet the requirements of AP essays. These templates include placeholders for the author's name, a strong verb, a reference to an example, and the inferred meaning, which students can adapt to various prompts.

Highlights

Tim Freitas introduces templates, tricks, and tips for creating complex topic sentences for AP essays.

Recommends watching AP Lit or AP Lang thesis statement videos for better understanding.

Explains that the templates provided will work for all three AP Lit essays and the rhetorical analysis essay on the AP Lang exam.

Uses the 2015 AP Lang exam's Cesar Chavez prompt and passage, and the 2010 AP Lit Form B Question 2 passage from Max Sinclair's 'Cherry Bomb' as examples.

Stresses the importance of topic sentences in guiding the direction of a body paragraph.

Details that a strong topic sentence is like a contract, outlining what the paragraph will cover.

Mentions that topic sentences must include a reference to concrete language and the inferred meaning from it.

Instructs to include the author's last name with a strong academic verb in AP Lit and AP Lang topic sentences.

Advises against using 'use,' 'employs,' or 'utilizes' as they are weak verbs.

Provides a basic template for creating topic sentences with an author's name, strong verb, brief example reference, and inferred meaning.

Demonstrates how to apply the template using examples from the Chavez prompt and 'Cherry Bomb' passage.

Advises on progressing from good to better to best in topic sentence construction by adding transitional language and sentence variation.

Emphasizes writing about the text in chronological order to understand how the author builds their message or character.

Suggests using phrases like 'throughout the piece' when commenting on something the author does consistently.

Introduces three templates for topic sentences that incorporate transitional language and sentence variation.

Recommends periodically moving the abstract part of the sentence before the concrete part for variety.

Provides examples of how to alternate between the abstract and concrete portions of the sentence for better topic sentences.

Encourages alternating the order of concrete and abstract parts in topic sentences to avoid repetition.

Instructs on how to derive body paragraphs from the topic sentences for a complete essay structure.

Transcripts

hey there and welcome back to the garden

of english i'm tim freitas and i'm

looking forward to helping you in your

english classes in return it's your

moral obligation to subscribe especially

since it's a way that you can help me

today i'm going to provide you with

templates tricks and tips that will help

you create well-developed complex topic

sentences for your ap essays i hope

you've had the opportunity to watch

either my ap lit or my ap lang thesis

statement videos they look like these if

not today may not make any sense for you

so you're definitely going to want to

watch those before you watch this

particular video if you need to check

any of those out just know that they're

linked right in the description right

down below here's an fyi today's

templates will work for all three of

your ap lit essays but only the

rhetorical analysis essay on the ap lang

exam i'm going to model these templates

using the publicly available cesar

chavez prompt and passage from the 2015

ap lang exam and to model the ap lit

elements i'm going to use the publicly

available 2010 form b question 2 passage

that is max sinclair's cherry bomb those

also are linked right in the description

let's get started chances are if you've

sat in any english class you've heard

the term topic sentence before chances

also are that even though you've heard

it over and over you either a still

don't know what a topic sentence is or b

don't realize how ridiculously important

they actually are to constructing your

entire response i'm gonna work out these

problems today let's start with

definitions here a topic sentence is the

first sentence of a body paragraph that

provides the direction for what will be

covered in that actual paragraph body

paragraphs are the paragraphs that come

after the introduction paragraph of an

essay or if you're my student and it's

exam day your thesis is going to

actually work as your full intro

paragraph yes your intro paragraph if

you're my student on test day will be

one sentence long totally acceptable

essentially a strong topic sentence is

like a contract your paragraph is

complete when you discuss all of what

your topic sentence actually projects to

the reader in your english classes no

matter what prompt you're responding to

you are asked to discuss how concrete

language creates meaning whether that's

in ap lang or ap lit or any other

english class for that matter because of

this you need to know that all of your

topic sentences must then include a

reference to the concrete language

you're going to include in your

paragraph which you'll include as an

example and your topic sentences must

include the meaning that you attribute

to that language that's something that's

a little bit more abstract that requires

you to make an inference the other

requirement for all ap lit topic

sentences and ap lang question two topic

sentences is that you must put the

author in the place of well authority

that's where the word comes from we can

easily do this by providing the author's

last name and following it with a strong

academic verb here's a hint never put in

this piece by and then put the author in

anything that you write it will force

anything that you intend to be

analytical into something that's going

to be much more summary based and we

don't want that we want to provide

analysis on our late and laying exams

now if i combine all of the elements

that i just mentioned then i'll have the

beginning of perfect topic sentences and

we can create a template from that which

you can actually see right at the bottom

of your screen this template will

include an author's name followed by a

strong verb followed by a brief

reference to the example then the words

in order to and then you're going to

choose any strong verb in the list that

i've provided but there are other words

and then you tag on the end the basic

understanding that you can pull as an

inference from the reading now this is

all well and good but if you don't have

examples of what this looks like this

potential template for you could be

problematic so let's look at an apila

example once again from the chavez

prompt and then let's look at an ap with

example once again from the cherry bomb

prompt and remember those are both

linked in the description down below as

well don't forget if you want to see the

thesis that these topic sentences will

be tied to you'll once again want to

watch these videos here a basic topic

sentence in this template for the chavis

prompt could read like this caesar

chavez exemplifies an american civil

rights hero in order to present the

power of non-violent tactics yeah that's

a good topic sentence notice how we have

the author chavez a reference to our

concrete textual example an american

civil rights icon and the meaning that

is tied to that example presenting the

power of non-violence we've got just

about everything we need it's all there

so this is strong now what would this

look like for lit then a basic topic

sentence using this template in response

to the cherry bomb prompt would be kind

of like this maxine clear presents a

first person narrator reflecting on two

youthful misunderstandings in order to

highlight the speaker's immaturity if

all of your topics follow this general

model you're in good shape but you may

be thinking wouldn't that same pattern

get repetitive and the answer is

overwhelmingly yes but that doesn't mean

that the topic sentences aren't still

good but just like at home depot let's

progress from good to better to best so

i'm going to show you a few more

templates that are derived from this

last good one i'm gonna also work to

include transitional language and

ultimately sentence variation so the

first step was good but we're gonna make

it better and then we're gonna make it

the best adding the transitional

language is important because that helps

establish a line of reasoning and the

sentence variation prevents the piece

from sounding too repetitive so what's

about to show on your screen are three

templates that you can use for all of

your topic sentences especially if you

are writing about the reading you are

analyzing in chronological order

[Music]

it's important to write about the text

that you're reading in chronological

order if that's at all possible because

every essay that you write for lit and

for lang q2 will work best if you

discuss how the author builds his or her

message or builds his or her character

or builds to his or her purpose and

doing that chronologically will help

make that happen thus chronological

explorations innately discuss how the

author's ideas are built and then

communicated effectively here's a tip if

you're commenting on something that the

author does throughout the piece you

could just put in the phrase throughout

the piece and then put the speaker's

name and a strong verb that follows it

sometimes chronology doesn't work and

that's okay also if you're looking for

strong literary and rhetorical verbs the

garden of english has posters for that

and they're linked below they look like

this feel free to use any verbs on the

list provided you just have to promise

me that you'll never use the word use

employees or utilizes they all mean the

same thing and they all suck going back

to those new sets of templates you'll

notice that not every sentence says the

words in order to in it instead each

time i substitute the words in order to

highlight or in order to showcase or in

order to reveal with phrases like which

highlights and showcasing and i then

keep in order to reveal at the end thus

that would be easy to put the last part

of each sentence into that in order to

structure i purposely deviate from it so

if you are responding to the ap elaine

chavez prompt your topic sentences for

your body paragraphs with these new

templates would look like this

[Music]

and if you're responding to the ap lit

cherry bomb prompt your topic sentences

for your body paragraphs would actually

look like this

[Music]

using the top extended stems i just

showed moves you from good to better so

we can keep the first one we'd prefer

the second one but actually now we have

to talk about what we need to do to make

our topic sentences the best luckily it

requires very little work or thought

from you you'll notice that each of my

last set of stems consistently follow

the same order of author transitional

language evidence and then effect and

understanding though we do vary the

sentence structure at the end of each

sentence we don't actually vary the

whole sentence to have these stems

operate the best way they can all you

need to do is periodically move the

abstract side of the sentence to before

the concrete side and then put a comma

after the first part the sentences will

still make sense so instead of writing

chavez begins by exemplifying an

american civil rights hero highlighting

the power of non-violent tactics i would

instead write highlighting the power of

non-violent tactics comma chavez begins

by exemplifying an american civil rights

hero all i did was switch their places

or for the lip piece instead of writing

the narrator finishes by downplaying a

dangerous encounter in order to further

reveal her blissfully sentimental

mindset i could write in order to

further reveal her blissfully

sentimental mindset comma the narrator

finishes by downplaying a dangerous

encounter of course i wouldn't want to

switch all my sentences around to having

it be the abstract before the concrete

because then we'd be back to the same

problem of having all my topic sentences

in the same order i tell my students to

alternate their concrete and abstract

portions if you're to do this well here

is what your best thesis and topic

sentences would look like based on the

ap link prompt

[Music]

and here is what the best thesis and

topic sentences would look like if you

were responding to the ap lit prompt

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

if you want to know how to derive body

paragraphs from these types of topic

sentences then all you need to do is

like this video subscribe to the garden

of english and then check out these

videos here