Enduring Understandings

4 of our 7 AP Literature Enduring Understandings

Characters: Characters in literature allow readers to study and explore a range of 

values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and cultural norms represented by those characters. 

Setting: Setting and the details associated with it not only depict a time and place, 

but also convey values associated with that setting.

Plot / Structure: The arrangement of the parts and sections of a text, the relationship of the 

parts to each other, and the sequence in which the text reveals information are all structural choices made by a writer that contribute to the reader’s interpretation of a text.  

Speaker: A narrator’s or speaker’s perspective controls the details and emphases 

that affects how readers experience and interpret a text.

You will write 2 separate essays;

 Each essay will be at least 400 words long. 

Each essay will focus on one of the 4 Enduring Understandings. 

In the essays, you will:

•  identify your claim regarding how your author illustrates the enduring understanding 

• support it with evidence from texts the author has written.  This evidence can be from any piece by the author. Because this is an FRQ 3, you will need to write from memory.  The majority of your writing should come from what you have noticed throughout your experience with your author’s writing.

Questions?  Contact tfritz@coalcityschools.org