AP English Language · Summary

Unit 2 summary

1. A claim is something a reasonable person could dispute; a fact, a topic or an announcement is not.
2. A strong thesis takes a position and gives a reason: “should,” then “because.”
3. Qualifiers such as “most,” “often” or “for students who work” make a claim precise and harder to knock down.
4. Judge evidence by relevance, specificity, sufficiency and credibility, and match it to what the audience cares about.
5. One story can make a point vivid, but it cannot prove a pattern; numbers from many cases can show one.
6. Commentary explains how the evidence supports the claim. If a sentence only repeats the evidence, it is summary.