ap seminar irr essay examples

irr resources

Questions to ask when researching a particular lens:

RUBRIC ROW 1 (IRR) UNDERSTAND AND ANALYZE CONTEXT: Research context is given, with a wide variety of sources

Questions to ask:

Is the area of investigation focused/narrow in scope--who, what, where, when is clear? (Introduction only)

Does it answer the question: w hy does it matter (significance) , using academic sources ? ( Introduction only)

Are there a wide variety of sources? (Througho ut IRR)

Are there a variety of academic sources? (Througho ut IRR)

Where to look in your IRR:

Often titles and first paragraphs. Review References or Works Cited.

RUBRIC ROW 2 (IRR) UNDERSTAND AND ANALYZE ARGUMENT: Understanding sources by explaining and analyzing them

Does the report demonstrate an understanding of the reasoning and validity of arguments from the sources they have used?

(Through direct explanation or purposeful use.)

This is known to us as COMMENTARY OR REASONING

Often appear at the end of paragraphs and / or immediately following a citation as part of the commentary on a source.

RUBRIC ROW 3 (IRR) EVALUATE SOURCES AND EVIDENCE: Establishing credibility and relevance of your soruces within your report

Is the evidence well-selected and well-used?

Is the evidence consistently relevant and credible ?

Are all the elements of the source/citation listed so the quality of the source can be decerned?

Throughout – wherever there is evidence presented. Credibility may be established by source selection in the References.

RUBRIC ROW 4 (IRR): UNDERSTAND AND ANALYZE PERSPECTIVE: Putting sources (perspectives) in Conversation:

perspective: a point of view conveyed through an argument.

Is there a range of 2-3 perspectives minimum in the report? Do the perspectives represent differing arguments/points of view on the topic?

Are they clearly connected/in conversation?

Does the author conclude with a recommendation to the team research question with respect to the particular lens through which they examined the topic?

Understanding what a perspective is within our irr

Examples of putting perspectives in conversation with our irr, irr organization options.

Open up the Google Doc to find example IRRs along with ways to organize/structure your own IRR. The conclusion format is highly recommended!

Review your IRR and implement the strong verbs throughout your paper, don't just use STATES the entire time. Also has transitional phrases to use to put perspectives in conversation!

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Go to AP Central for resources for teachers, administrators, and coordinators.

About the Assessment

The AP Seminar assessment has three parts: two performance tasks—which you’ll complete over the course of the year and submit online for scoring through the AP Digital Portfolio—and the end-of-course AP Exam. The end-of-course exam is a fully digital exam in the Bluebook testing app and all responses are automatically submitted at the end of the exam. The three parts of the assessment measure your proficiency in the course skills, and all contribute to your final AP score on a scale of 1–5.

Updates to AP Seminar Performance Task

Given the implications of ChatGPT and other similar generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the AP Seminar performance task components, we’ve updated the guidance  regarding the use of these tools. These guidelines require your teacher to attest to the authenticity of your work in order for you to receive a score on the associated performance task. Review the AP Seminar Course and Exam Description for the full policy and details.

Assessment Dates

Wed, Apr 30, 2025

11:59 PM ET

AP Seminar Performance Tasks Due Date

Submit your AP Seminar performance tasks as final in the AP Digital Portfolio by this date.

Mon, May 12, 2025

12 PM Local

AP Seminar End-of-Course Exam 

This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP Seminar End-of-Course Exam.

Assessment Components

Team project and presentation.

20% of Score

Work in teams of 3–5 to identify, investigate, analyze, and evaluate an academic or real-world problem, question, or issue. Your team will design and/or consider options, alternatives, or solutions and develop a multimedia presentation to communicate your conclusion or recommendations. The team project and presentation will be evaluated based on the following components:

• Individual research report (1,200 words): scored by College Board
• Team multimedia presentation and defense (8–10 minutes): scored by your teacher

Individual Research-Based Essay and Presentation

35% of Score

College Board will provide stimulus material (texts) representing a range of perspectives focused on a single theme or topic. You will use these texts to identify a research question of your own; research, analyze, evaluate, and select evidence to develop a written argument of your own that you will present; and then you will defend your conclusion. The individual research-based essay and presentation will be evaluated based on the following components:

• Individual written argument (2,000 words): scored by College Board
• Individual multimedia presentation (6–8 minutes): scored by your teacher
• Oral defense (2 questions from the teacher): scored by your teacher

End-of-Course Exam

4 questions 45% of Score

During the AP Exam administration window, you will take a two-hour exam. The exam consists of four questions (three short-answer questions and one essay question). The exam will be scored by College Board–trained readers, similar to other AP Exams.

• 3 short-answer questions: These questions will be based on a single source. You’ll be asked to explain and analyze an argument.
• 1 essay question: This question will be based on 4 different sources, which give different perspectives on 1 theme. You’ll be asked to synthesize information and create an evidence-based argument.

How We Score Your Work

Teacher-Scored Components

The two AP Seminar in-class presentations and defenses are scored by your AP Seminar teacher. Your scores on these components contribute to your final AP score.

Here’s how we make sure that scoring by AP Seminar teachers is standardized:

• AP Seminar teachers use a scoring rubric designed by the AP Program.
• AP Seminar teachers also take part in mandatory training from the AP Program in how to score these components.

College Board–Scored Components

The individual research-based essay, the individual written argument, and the end-of-course exam given in May are scored by College Board. These scores also contribute to your final AP score. All these components are scored by trained, experienced educators called AP readers.

Assessment Essentials

Assessment preparation, ap daily videos.

Once you join your AP class section online, you’ll be able to access AP Daily videos in AP Classroom. AP Daily videos in AP Classroom. AP Daily videos cover every proficiency and skill outlined in the AP Seminar Course and Exam Description. Sign in to access them.

Online Performance Task Coaching

On-demand videos to walk you through performance task directions. These logistics-specific videos will be released throughout the school year on the AP YouTube channel. For in-depth videos to support your learning in AP Seminar, head to AP Daily in AP Classroom.

Exam Questions and Performance Tasks

Go to AP Central to review directions and stimulus materials for the performance tasks, free-response questions from the end-of course exam, and sample student responses and scoring information from previous years.

AP Seminar Course and Exam Description

This is the core document for the course. It clearly lays out the course content and describes the assessment and AP Program in general.

Services for Students with Disabilities

Students with documented disabilities may be eligible for accommodations for the through-course assessment and the end-of-course exam. If you’re using assistive technology and need help accessing the PDFs in this section in another format, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 212-713-8333 or by email at [email protected] . For information about taking AP Exams, or other College Board assessments, with accommodations, visit the Services for Students with Disabilities website.

Guidance for Artificial Intelligence Tools and Other Services

Learn more about the AP Program’s policy on generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT).

Credit and Placement

Search AP Credit Policies

Find colleges that grant credit and/or placement for AP Exam scores in this and other AP courses.

Additional Information

All Subjects

2024 AP Seminar Exam Guide

10 min read • june 18, 2024

Your Guide to the 2024 AP Seminar Exam

We know that studying for your AP exams can be stressful, but Fiveable has your back! We created a study plan to help you crush your AP Seminar exam . This guide will continue to update with information about the 2024 exams, as well as helpful resources to help you do your best on test day.  Unlock Cram Mode  for access to our cram events—students who have successfully passed their AP exams will answer your questions and guide your last-minute studying LIVE! And don't miss out on unlimited access to our database of thousands of practice questions.

Format of the 2024 AP Seminar Exam

Going into test day, this is the exam format to expect: 

• Team Project and Presentation (20% of score) - - Team: 3–5 people- - Objective- - Create a multimedia presentation that communicates your conclusion or recommendations after identifying, investigating, analyzing, and evaluating an academic or real-world problem, question, or issue. - - Evaluated Components:- - Individual research-based essay (1,200 words), which is scored by College Board (50% of section score)- - Team multimedia presentation and defense (8–10 minutes), which is scored by your teacher (50% of section score)
• Individual Research-Based Essay and Presentation (35% of score) - - Stimulus Texts (provided by College Board)- - It will represent a variety of perspectives regarding a single theme or topic- - You will create your own research question using these texts and then research, analyze, and evaluate evidence to develop your own argument and defend your conclusion- - Evaluated Components:- - Individual written argument (2,000 words), which is scored by College Board (70% of section score)- - Individual multimedia presentation (6–8 minutes), which is scored by your teacher (20% of section score)- - Oral defense (2 questions from the teacher), which is scored by your teacher (10% of section score)
• End-of-Course Exam (45% of score) - - 4 questions in 2 hours- - 3 short-answer questions (30% of section score)- - based on a single source- - explain and analyze an argument- - 1 essay question (70% of section score)- - based on 4 different sources on 1 theme- - synthesize information and create an evidence-based argument

Scoring Rubric for the 2024 AP Seminar exam

Courtesy of College Board

Individual Research Report (30 points total)

• Understands complexities of a problem or issue (the topic should not be too broad)
• Draws from multiple sources (some are academic/scholarly sources)
• Shows the significance to a larger context (explain why the problem or issue is important)
• College Board will check the research context in the title, first paragraphs, and Bibliography/Works Cited.
• Understands reasoning and validity of the sources' arguments (direct explanation or through using the reasoning and conclusions)
• Provide commentary that shows an understanding of the authors’ reasoning, using sources’ reasoning to draw conclusions
• College Board will check that references are made to arguments from sources (often appears at the end of paragraphs or following an in-text citation)
• Uses relevant evidence from credible sources.
• Demonstrates evaluation of the credibility of the sources and selects relevant evidence from the sources. This can be shown through direct explanation or purposeful use.
• Makes purposeful use of sources, beyond just a description in the attribution
• Draws explicit and relevant connections from various perspectives.
• Uses different sources to explain specific relationships/ connections among different perspectives, beyond just identifying multiple perspectives
• The organization of paragraphs and headings is a way of grouping perspectives. Transitions indicate connections between perspectives.
• Attributes and cites sources accurately.
• Contains few flaws
• Internal citations match the bibliography
• Clear and consistent attributive phrases and/or in-text parenthetical citations.
• If key components of citations (like author/organization, title publication, and date) are missing consistently, then the full 3 points can’t be earned.
• Communication is clear to the reader
• Style is appropriate for an academic audience consistently
• Sufficient word choice
• Clear prose

Individual Written Argument (48 points total)

• 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.)
• An accurate understanding of the source AND understanding of its context (Ex. date, region, topic) AND a reference to the source
• Explains the importance of the research question within a larger context.
• Specific and relevant details for all elements of the research question AND shows the sense of urgency or establishes the importance of the research question
• The context is usually found in the first few paragraphs
• Evaluates multiple perspectives (draws relevant connections between them and considers objections, implications, and limitations).
• Demonstrates agreement or disagreement among perspectives (ex. evaluate strengths and weaknesses of different perspectives
• Clear and convincing argument.
• Logically organized and well-reasoned response
• Connecting claims to evidence
• The conclusion is well-aligned to the research question (details assess plausibility, limitations, and implications of conclusion/solution)
• The commentary fully explains how the evidence supports claims
• Bring in alternate views, developing a nuanced understanding
• Relevant, credible, and sufficient evidence that supports the argument.
• Connects evidence to argument effectively.
• Purposeful analysis and evaluation of evidence, not just a reference.
• Relevant evidence from several scholarly works (peer-reviewed, credentialed authors, independently verified, primary sources).
• If key components of citations (like author/organization, title publication, and date) are missing consistently, then the full 5 points can’t be earned.
• Effective sentences
• Precise word choice
• Appropriate for an academic audience
• Few errors in grammar and style
• Clear prose (academic tone)
• Clear communication of complex ideas

3 Short Answer Questions (15 points each)

• Accurately identifies the author’s argument
• Gives a thorough explanation of the author's line of reasoning ; clearly explains connections among relevant claims
• Evaluates the relevance and credibility of the evidence; explains how well the evidence supports the author’s argument

1 Essay Question (24 points total)

• Identifies a theme/issue that connects the provided sources
• Connects the provided sources through a perspective different from the ones in the sources OR insightful approach OR strong thematic connection between perspectives.
• Logically organized and well-developed
• The commentary explains the evidence and connects it to claims to further an argument.
• Synthesizes relevant information from at least TWO of the provided sources to support the argument.
• Clear communication to reader AND effective integration and attribution of sources to develop an argument
• Few errors in grammar and style Check out our study plan below to find resources and tools to prepare for your AP Seminar exam.

When is the 2024 AP Seminar exam and how do I take it?

** The exam is on paper, in school, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at 12:00 pm, your local time.  **

April 30, 2024 (11:59 p.m. ET) is the deadline for AP Seminar students to submit  performance tasks as final and their presentations to be scored by their AP Seminar teachers.

How should I prepare for the exam?

• First, download the  AP Seminar Cheatsheet PDF  - a single sheet that covers everything you need to know at a high level. Take note of your strengths and weaknesses!
• We've put together the study plan found below to help you study between now and May. This will cover all of the units and essay types to prepare you for your exam. Pay special attention to the units that you need the most improvement in.
• Study, practice, and review for test day with other students during our live cram sessions via  Cram Mode . Cram live streams will teach, review, and practice important topics from AP courses, college admission tests, and college admission topics. These streams are hosted by experienced students who know what you need to succeed.

Pre-Work: Set Up Your Study Environment

Before you begin studying, take some time to get organized.

🖥 Create a study space.

Make sure you have a designated place at home to study. Somewhere you can keep all of your materials, where you can focus on learning, and where you are comfortable. Spend some time prepping the space with everything you need and you can even let others in the family know that this is your study space. 

📚 Organize your study materials.

Get your notebook, textbook, prep books, or whatever other physical materials you have. Also, create a space for you to keep track of review. Start a new section in your notebook to take notes or start a Google Doc to keep track of your notes. Get yourself set up!

📅 Plan designated times for studying.

The hardest part about studying from home is sticking to a routine. Decide on one hour every day that you can dedicate to studying. This can be any time of the day, whatever works best for you. Set a timer on your phone for that time and really try to stick to it. The routine will help you stay on track.

🏆 Decide on an accountability plan.

How will you hold yourself accountable to this study plan? You may or may not have a teacher or rules set up to help you stay on track, so you need to set some for yourself. First, set your goal. This could be studying for x number of hours or getting through a unit. Then, create a reward for yourself. If you reach your goal, then x. This will help stay focused!

AP Seminar 2024 Study Plan

The following study guides will help you gain a greater understanding of the AP Seminar tasks and rubrics! 

🤨 Big Idea 1: Question and Explore

Big Idea (BI) 1 is the first of the major themes of AP Seminar. You can sort of think of the BIs as the framework for the course that covers the main things that you will be doing and the ways that you will go about completing the Performance Tasks (PTs) and EoC. 

Question and Explore refers to a lot of the preliminary tasks that you'll be completing when starting a PT, or even just a simple assignment. Questioning the world and exploring interesting 🧐 topics is part of what makes AP Seminar such a compelling class. 

You as the student have the opportunity to explore areas that you find interesting. While this seems easy, there are correct ways to go about asking questions and exploring.

• Big Idea 1: Question and Explore  

🧐 Big Idea 2: Understand and Analyze

Big Idea 2 is something that you will be spending a lot of time with so you want to be well-informed on the parts that make it up. The main ideas of BI 2 all center around sources and how you use them. A big part of what you will be doing in Seminar is collecting sources and analyzing them.

• Big Idea 2: Understand and Analyze

👥 Big Idea 3: Evaluate Multiple Perspectives

Big Idea 3 is focused on understanding 🤔 the complexity of an issue by looking at the multiple viewpoints 👀 that people have on it. Understandably, this Big Idea may seem smaller compared to something like BI 2, however, BI 3 does hold an important place in Seminar. 

• Big Idea 3: Evaluate Multiple Perspectives

💡 Big Idea 4: Synthesize Ideas

Big Idea 4 covers the crucial act of taking all of your evidence and claims and turning them into one coherent argument 🗣️ In a lot of ways, this is the most important thing you do in AP Seminar. Yes, you gather evidence and think about arguments and perspectives, but at the end of the day you have to actually do something with them.

Think about it like this: if you want to build a house 🏠, you need to gather all of the instructions on how to build 🛠️ it. Then, you need to get all of the tools and supplies to put it together. But, if you stop there, you won't have a house. You have all the supplies and knowledge, but no house. You have to build the darn thing. That is what BI 4 is all about—building the house.

• Big Idea 4: Synthesize Ideas

🗣 Big Idea 5: Team, Transform, and Transmit

This last Big Idea is all about how to work ✍️ productively with your team to create a polished finished project and present that to an audience.

• Big Idea 5: Team, Transform, and Transmit  

✔ Exam Review

• Exam: Performance Task 1: Team Project and Presentation
• Exam: Performance Task 2: Individual Research-Based Essay and Presentation
• End of Course Exam: Short Answer and Long Essay  

Key Terms to Review ( 26 )

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