Clearing The Air - AQs Are NOT Your Regular Essays

Did you miss me? Well, I’m back with more General Paper tips! Let’s talk about some Application Question misconceptions.

A student once asked me what the difference between application questions and essays is because his teacher essentially told him to use the Paper 1 “P-E-E-L” format for AQs and to write 3-4 body paragraphs. While perhaps well-intentioned, this advice just caused confusion. The student didn’t know how to incorporate the passages in his AQ or how he could complete his Paper 2 in time. While “P-E-E-L” isn’t entirely wrong, the “P” in “P-E-E-L” most definitely differs between AQ and essay. So let me break it down for you.

Think of AQs as your response to something someone else says in a conversation. You’re picking out what you agree and disagree with. Imagine someone talking about the benefits of sleeping early and asking if you agree. It would be an awkward response if you completely disregard this and simply reply with your own benefits. Instead, you should quote what the author says and really internalise the author’s argument and his/her/their reasons for making such an argument. This is why I prefer to refer to the first sentence of AQ body paragraphs as “Q”, rather than “P”. It’s an active reminder to students to interact with the passage. Your first sentence for each body paragraph should always refer to one of the authors’ arguments and state whether or not you agree with the said argument. It should not be a completely independent argument that you come up with. This is especially so since the syllabus clearly requires addressing the arguments of at least one author.

Furthermore, you do not need to write 4 paragraphs for your AQ. 2 body paragraphs that address the author/authors’ arguments beats 4 confused essay paragraphs. Bear in mind that if the syllabus expected you to write the same format as your Paper 1 essays, they would just ask you to write 2 essays and not 1 essay and 1 AQ.

AQs reward students who can think on their feet, engage critically with new ideas, and add meaningful depth to ongoing conversations. They're not about showing off everything you know – they're about showing you can think.

Struggling to improve? Join us for a FREE trial class where you can upgrade your AQ responses. Contact us at 8083 8986 today!

Yours truly,

Jolyn