AP English Language and Composition

## Learning Outcomes

- Distinguish clearly between **claim**, **evidence**, and **commentary**
- Explain how evidence supports a claim rather than merely summarising it
- Build a **line of reasoning** across an argument essay
- Identify why specific evidence scores better than general examples
- Recognise the difference between weak summary and strong explanation
- Apply a practical paragraph structure for AP argument writing
- Use rubric-aware strategies to earn more points in Row B: Evidence and Commentary

## AP English Language and Composition Syllabus

For the AP English Language and Composition, you are expected to understand how argument is built through claims, evidence, and explanation, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

- Know that **evidence** is the specific support a writer uses to substantiate a claim
- Identify the difference between **evidence** and **commentary**
- Explain how evidence supports a **line of reasoning**, not just an isolated point
- Understand why specific, relevant evidence scores more highly than vague examples
- Recognise that Row B on the AP rubric rewards both evidence and consistent explanation
- Explain the difference between summary of evidence and analysis of its significance
- Use a clear paragraph sequence such as claim → evidence → commentary → connection to thesis
- Understand how a defensible thesis must be supported by sustained development, not just examples dropped into paragraphs

## Test Your Knowledge

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. What is the difference between evidence and commentary in an AP argument paragraph?
2. Why does a paragraph with several examples still score poorly if it mostly summarises?
3. What does **line of reasoning** mean in an AP essay?
4. How can a writer explain a historical example so that it supports a thesis rather than sitting on the page as a fact?
5. Why is a simple thesis often better than a complicated thesis you cannot fully support?

## Introduction

In AP English Language, students often think the hard part of argument is finding examples. That matters, but it is not enough. The exam rewards writers who do more than provide proof. Strong essays show exactly **how** the proof supports the claim and **why** it matters to the overall argument.

This is why many essays stall in the middle score range. They have a thesis. They may even have relevant examples. But they lose points because the logic stays hidden. The reader can see what happened in the example, but not how the writer is using it as argument.

> **Key Term: evidence**
> Specific support used to substantiate a claim, such as facts, examples, data, observations, anecdotes, or historical events.

## Introduction to the core distinction

A useful way to think about argument is this: a **claim** is what you are trying to prove, **evidence** is the proof you offer, and **commentary** is the explanation that makes the proof function. Without commentary, evidence is just information.

> **Key Term: claim**
> A defensible statement or position that requires support and explanation.
>
> **Key Term: commentary**
> The explanation of how or why the evidence supports the claim or advances the argument.

Students often confuse commentary with summary. Summary retells the example. Commentary interprets it. If a sentence only tells the reader what happened, it has not yet earned its keep.

For example:

- **Summary:** Frederick Douglass learned to read while enslaved and later became an abolitionist.
- **Commentary:** Douglass's literacy gave him access to ideas and language that slavery tried to deny him, showing that reading can become a form of resistance against control.

The second version does argumentative work. It explains the connection.

### What AP readers mean by line of reasoning

AP readers do not want three unrelated paragraphs with three unrelated examples. They want an essay that moves logically from thesis to subclaims to support. That movement is the **line of reasoning**.

> **Key Term: line of reasoning**
> The logical progression that connects thesis, claims, evidence, and commentary across an essay.

A line of reasoning is not just essay structure. A five-paragraph format by itself does not create one. An essay can be neatly organised and still weak if each body paragraph feels disconnected. The reader should be able to trace a chain:

1. The thesis makes a defensible position.
2. Each paragraph develops one part of that position.
3. Each example supports that paragraph's point.
4. The commentary shows how the example advances the whole argument.

Suppose a prompt asks whether adversity is necessary for growth. A weak essay might offer one paragraph on Malala Yousafzai, one on sports injuries, and one on school stress, without any clear thread. A stronger essay would organise around a principle such as this: adversity promotes growth only when it is paired with reflection, support, or purpose. Then each paragraph tests that principle in a different context.

That is what students often miss. The essay is not a pile of examples. It is a sequence of reasons.

> **Test Tip:** When planning, do not just list three examples. Write the point each example will prove. If you cannot state the point clearly, the paragraph may become summary instead of argument.

### How to explain evidence instead of dropping it in

The most useful paragraph model for this subtopic is:

Claim → Evidence → Commentary → Connection to thesis

This works because it forces you to make the logic visible.

> **Key Term: warrant**
> The underlying logic that connects evidence to a claim.

The AP rubric usually foregrounds commentary and line of reasoning more than the word **warrant**, but the concept is still valuable. The warrant is the unstated bridge. Strong writing makes that bridge explicit.

Here is a weak paragraph move:

**Claim:** Social media can weaken face-to-face communication.  
**Evidence:** A survey reported that many teenagers spend several hours each day communicating through screens.  
**Weak follow-up:** This proves social media hurts communication.

The problem is obvious. The writer jumps from fact to conclusion with no bridge. A reader might ask: why does screen communication weaken in-person skills? What specific abilities are not being practised?

Now look at the stronger version:

**Claim:** Heavy reliance on social media can weaken face-to-face communication skills in teenagers.  
**Evidence:** A recent survey found that many teenagers spend several hours each day communicating mainly through screens rather than in person.  
**Commentary:** This matters because digital messaging allows time to edit, delete, and control responses, while in-person conversation requires immediate listening, reading body language, and adapting in real time. If teenagers spend more of their social life in controlled digital spaces, they may get less practice with the unpredictable demands of direct interaction. Therefore, the evidence supports the claim not simply because teens use technology often, but because the kind of communication they practise changes the skills they develop.

Notice what changed. The commentary answers three questions:

- What does the evidence show?
- How does it support the specific claim?
- Why does that matter to the larger argument?

That is the heart of explaining evidence.

### Specific evidence versus general evidence

AP readers repeatedly reward **specific, relevant evidence**. General evidence sounds like this:

- “Throughout history, people have fought for freedom.”
- “Many students are stressed these days.”
- “Technology has changed society a lot.”

These statements may be true, but they are too broad to do much work. They make the writer sound unsure and force the commentary to stay vague too.

Specific evidence gives the argument something solid to hold:

- Instead of “throughout history,” name **Frederick Douglass**, **Susan B. Anthony**, or **Martin Luther King Jr.**
- Instead of “many students,” describe a survey, classroom pattern, or concrete school situation
- Instead of “technology has changed society,” identify a type of technology and its effect

The textbook guidance is right to stress specificity. Historical examples should include names, events, and relevant detail. Personal examples should include scene, feeling, or conflict. Without detail, the paragraph stays abstract.

However, specificity alone is not enough. A paragraph can still score weakly if it becomes a history recap. For instance:

“During the Gilded Age, factory owners made huge profits, workers had low wages, and cities grew quickly.”

That may be specific, but unless the writer explains how this supports the claim, it is still just background.

> **Test Tip:** After every example, ask yourself: “So what?” If you cannot answer in one or two sentences, the evidence is not yet explained.

### Summary versus analysis: the difference students lose points on

One of the most common scoring problems is that an essay “provides evidence” but “consists primarily of summary.” That happens when writers mistake retelling for reasoning.

Here is the distinction:

- **Summary** tells what the source, event, or example says
- **Analysis** explains how the example functions inside your argument

Consider this pair.

Summary only:
In the American Revolution, colonists protested British taxation and eventually declared independence.

Analysis:
The Revolution shows that people rarely accept political control forever when they have no voice in the system. Because the colonists believed they were taxed without representation, they treated exclusion from decision-making as a direct threat to liberty. This supports the argument that political participation is not a luxury but a condition of legitimate government.

The second version is stronger because it extracts a principle from the event. That is what AP argument writing needs. You are not being tested on whether you know that the event happened. You are being tested on whether you can use it.

A good shortcut is to build commentary with sentence stems such as:

- This example shows that...
- This matters because...
- This supports the claim by showing...
- Therefore, the evidence suggests...
- The larger significance is that...

These are not meant to become empty formula. They are training wheels for explicit logic.

### Building a full body paragraph

Here is a model paragraph using the full structure.

**Thesis context:** Fear should not always prevent action, because growth often requires risk when the possible gain outweighs the possible harm.

Body paragraph:
Calculated risk can produce lasting progress in ways safety never could. For example, Frederick Douglass's decision to pursue literacy while enslaved exposed him to serious danger, since education for enslaved people threatened the system that controlled them. On the surface, this example might seem to show only personal bravery, but it supports a larger claim about fear and action. Douglass did not ignore risk because it was small; he acted because remaining passive would have preserved a condition even worse than punishment: permanent intellectual dependence. His choice shows that fear should be weighed against consequence, not treated as an automatic stop sign. Therefore, when the cost of inaction is long-term loss of freedom or growth, doing what one fears may be the more rational choice.

Why does this work?

- The evidence is specific.
- The commentary does not stop at biography.
- The paragraph connects back to the thesis about calculated risk.

Now compare a weaker version:

Frederick Douglass learned to read while enslaved. This was dangerous, and it changed his life. This proves fear should not stop people.

That paragraph is not wrong, but it is thin. The explanation is too brief to create a real line of reasoning.

### Choosing evidence that matches the thesis you can support

A strong essay often starts before the draft even begins. Students waste time when they choose a complicated thesis first and then scramble for support. A better method is to brainstorm evidence first, then decide what claim that evidence can actually sustain.

If your best examples all point to a qualified position, write a qualified thesis. If your examples support a simpler claim, do not force complexity.

For instance, on a prompt about whether success requires sacrifice, a student may first want to argue a sweeping thesis: “All meaningful success requires severe personal suffering.” But if the available examples are mixed, that thesis becomes hard to prove. A more supportable thesis might be: “Success often requires sacrifice, but the most productive sacrifices are purposeful rather than merely painful.”

That shift matters because explanation becomes more precise. You can now show why some hardship contributes to success and why some does not.

This is also why a simple thesis can earn more points than an ambitious one. Row B depends on sustained support. A sophisticated-sounding claim without enough explanation usually costs more than it helps.

### Common errors when explaining evidence

Students often make the same mistakes.

First, they use vague evidence:

- “people”
- “society”
- “history”
- “nowadays”

Second, they drop a quotation or example and move on.

Third, they repeat the claim in different words instead of explaining it:

- “This proves the point.”
- “This shows my argument is true.”

Fourth, they connect the evidence to the topic generally, but not to the paragraph claim specifically.

Fifth, they forget to reconnect the paragraph to the thesis, so each paragraph becomes a separate mini-essay.

A useful check is to underline your evidence and circle your commentary in a practice paragraph. If you find lots of underlining and almost no circling, you probably have a Row B problem.

## Key Point Checklist

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- Evidence is the specific support used to substantiate a claim
- Commentary is the explanation of how or why evidence supports the claim
- A claim is a defensible statement that requires support
- A line of reasoning is the logical chain linking thesis, claims, evidence, and commentary
- AP Row B rewards specific evidence and consistent explanation
- Evidence without commentary becomes summary, not strong argument
- Specific evidence is more effective than vague generalisations
- Strong commentary explains what the evidence shows, how it proves the point, and why it matters
- A practical paragraph structure is claim → evidence → commentary → connection to thesis
- A simple thesis you can support is often better than a complex thesis you cannot develop
- Students often lose points by dropping examples into paragraphs without analysis
- The underlying logic connecting evidence to a claim can be understood as the warrant

## Key Terms and Concepts

- evidence
- claim
- commentary
- line of reasoning
- warrant


Claims and Evidence - Explain evidence in argument