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  • Apr 22, 2020

Advice for Writing the IRR

The IRR, the individual research report, part 1 of PT1. This is often the introduction to AP Seminar and can be the most daunting to introductory AP Seminar students. However, in this guide, I will help break-down this assessment. Once you understand a few key components in writing a stellar IRR, the IRR eventually starts to write itself.

First and foremost, read through the rubric provided by the college board:

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap18-sg-seminar-pt1.pdf

Now let's break down this rubric:

R1: Synthesize multiple perspectives by describing how the sources are similar, different, or similar to an extent. By doing so, you are creating a more complex argument that shows the maturity of a scholar. (X would agree with Y in that ...., but not in that .....) (X would further amplify Y's point that... by stating that ...)

R2: This is the row for the purposeful use of sources . There are several ways you can articulate the use of sources within your IRR, but never directly say "this source is used to clarify an argument." Try to imbed these words through your analysis though.

These potential purposeful uses of a source are:

- introduce an argument or claim

- contrast ideas or arguments

- provide evidence for an argument

- define a concept, illustrate a concept, or clarify a statement

- provide an example

- qualify/amplify a point

Here is an example: Consequently, Scholar X's point further amplifies Scholar Y's point

R3: This row also regards purposeful use of sources, but also relates to attributed tags . Specifically , after citing a source, make sure to say the author's credibility. For instance, X, a professor of economics at Harvard, claims that ... Also, make sure that the dates on the sources are relevant, so no sources from 1950 unless there is an absolute, justifiable need to do so.

R4: Continue to add multiple scholars, who think differently about a topic . Make sure that you have scholars that bring a unique perspective or contrast another's argument. You never want an IRR with only scholars that only agree with each other. Not only is it boring, but it also creates a range of perspectives.

R5: Make sure you have in-line citations and a bibliography at the end. You can find all rules for in-text and bibliography on the Purdue Owl website. Usually, in-text citations follow the order (author names, year published). Make sure to get citations for the bibliography directly from the source, if provided in APA. Else, read through Owl Purdue.

R6: Probably the easiest row to get, in my opinion. All you need to do is maintain a scholarly tone , without any colloquial language. Additionally, make sure to fix all grammar mistakes . If needed, make sure to define complicated jargon, applicable to the topic of research, for the reader. Additionally, make sure to remove all contractions, as they are a sign of informal writing.

If you take anything out of this guide, it is that the IRR IS NOT AN ARGUMENT . I repeat, if you attempt to make an argument, you are not answering the task correctly. (i.e. your score es no Bueno)

With that said, let's start to look at the process of creating IRR:

1. Choose a research question with your teammates. (Pro tip: choose teammates that you know will be put to put in the effort, not your friends.) This research question should be researchable, complex, and relevant. By researchable , I mean that you should be able to find a variety of articles that help support your argument on online, scholarly journal libraries such as Jstor or Ebsco. By complex , I mean that I mean that several scholars have differing perspectives on the issue . For instance, consider the question: What policies can the government enact to lower poverty rates? Some scholars might suggest increasing the minimum wage, creating more employee benefits, and provide the poor better educational opportunities. This will be important later on! By relevant , I mean that it is a current issue today in a specific country or globally . As much as I would like to research on the militaristic implications of alien warfare on human civilization or the continuing impacts of the second great awakening on American civilization today, these are not relevant questions! On that note, please don't choose a research question with no practical implications: What shape is the Earth. There is no tension or significance in the question (Pro tip: you should be able to answer the question "Why is my research question important to answer in modern society/who is affected?"). Additionally, don't choose "that" research question that everyone chooses (i.e. Rohingya crisis/plastics in the ocean. Its been done at least a 100 times. )

2. Now that you have a research question, split the question into different lenses . Each person should choose one lens. Also, make sure that all the lenses are applicable. Don't make someone do artistic for plastics in the ocean. They will get stuck and this will hurt when they come back for the TMP. On that note, make sure that the topics covered in each lens don't overlap . Communicate with each other and try not to have too much overlap in sources.

3. Also, identify a few sources before you finalize your RQ and check the dates. If they are generally too old (i.e. 20th century), consider changing or refining your RQ.

4. Once you have created a potential question, the next step is to conduct research. I would highly suggest making an Annotated Bibliography to arrange your sources, probably between 10-12 other than your stimulus sources. While conducting research, make sure to write down the main idea, quotes you want to use, attributive tags, and how you plan to use this research in your IRR for each article. Trust me, it will be helpful later. If you find that all the researchers are saying the exact same thing, try to redevelop your question, as it has proven to not be complex enough.

5. Once you have completed the research stage, you can now proceed to make an outline for your research paper. Make sure that you don't make an argument - that would be an IWA.Try to identify some sub-claims that the authors talk about and group your sources into these sub-claims . If there are too many or too few sources for a sub claim , consider redefining these categories.

6. Now, you can move onto writing the IRR! Remember, the maximum word count is 1320 , so be careful and be concise.

The first paragraph should set the context of the issue . Seek to create tension or significance, introduce the people affected, explain the significance with statistics, and introduce the research question. Finally, create a thesis statement that states the sub-claims that you will analyze throughout the IRR. This will help structure your argument. The intro should be about 250 words.

Now, you can begin each of your body paragraphs! Each body should be around 300 words. First, you want to have an introductory statement introducing the main topic of the paragraph. Then, you are essentially aiming to introduce numerous perspectives on the sub claim that you have made above. Between each of these perspectives, you want to either explain the connection with other sources, similarities/differences/nuances, or explain their purposeful use. Try to also get the source "talking" to each other (i.e. X would counter Y's claim, stating that [Y's claim], disproving X's claim that [X's claim] is actually ). This not only indicates a mature writer but will help increase your score by proving to the AP reader that you are able to connect sources, rather than summarizing what other people say(a book report). Continue to introduce perspectives and assess their validity by comparing their perspectives with other scholars that may further amplify their point or contrast.

***look at R2 for the purposeful use information***

With the paragraphs done, make a possible solution paragraph . Do not attempt to make your entire IRR supporting this solution, however. This should be a final concluding remark . Essentially you want to introduce a potential solution and explain the solution thoroughly. Then, explain the potential benefit of this solution. Follow up with a direct counter that explains the ineffectiveness of the solution. Finally, create a closing remark for the entire IRR, which incorporates the sub-claims.

Finally, include your Bibliography and you should be done with this task. Congratulations!

Additional Tips: Do not stack sources next to each other without analysis or commentary. This will look like a book report on the main ideas of the claims made by different authors. Remove words such as "it" "is" "that." These words often point to an immature/underdeveloped writer.

With that said, this should be all you need to score highly on the IRR. Follow these steps and the IRR won't seem that complicated anymore.

Happy studying and Good Luck!

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How Can I Get a 5 in AP Seminar?

6 min read • september 29, 2021

Brandon Wu

Yo what's poppin! 🍿 You're signed up for Seminar and happened to stumble on this post, wondering how you can score the coveted 5️⃣! Well, you're definitely in the right place.

As you probably know, AP Seminar is a course with just about zero content. Instead, the class focuses on skills like writing, presenting, and research to build arguments and analyze information in ways that other high school classes, even your English classes, may not. Because there is no real "content," and because AP Capstone is two classes, AP Seminar can be a super intimidating course.

However, the course is incredibly doable, and the vast majority of students pass. In 2020, approximately 81% of AP Seminar students passed with a three or higher! So how do you get a 5?

Some tips to get a 5

1. time management.

A great piece of advice for anyone in any AP class, but  especially  those in AP Seminar, is to get a hold onto a time management system. I'm not saying you have to live in planner-land and start time blocking every minute of your day (though for those people, props, y'all are incredible), but setting up a time management plan will make your life  so  much easier.

As one past student puts it:

Please don’t procrastinate. The last thing you want to be doing the week before the paper is due is...trying to figure out where to start with your paper. Start early so that you still have time to do edits, reread your paper, and have enough time to put your best work forward. —Charly Castillo

In AP Seminar, you're going to have deadline after deadline after deadline. Whether these are research deadlines in which you need to find sources, annotate them, and write annotated bibliographies, or outline deadlines (we'll get to outlines in the next section), or straight parts of your paper, deadlines will  rule your life.  😐

Therefore, you need to keep your time management working and put yourself on some schedule because the due dates you'll be facing build on one another.

Keep yourself organized to be successful in Seminar! Image Courtesy of GIPHY

2. Outlining Your Essays Before Writing

In AP Seminar, you'll write two main papers: your IRR (Individual Research Report) and your IWA (Individual Written Argument). While it may seem tempting to simply do your research and dive straight into writing the essay, outlining is  such  an important part of the writing process! It will make writing your paper easier.

Before you even  think  about starting a paper or even simply a body paragraph, outline it! There are two major types of outlines: the broad outline and the essay outline.

The first of the two is arguably the easiest; you can throw together a broad outline pretty quickly if you have an idea of what your major argument is and the points you want to make. ✍️

Broad Outline

To create  a   broad outline , you want to remember the structure that most of the works you read in Seminar will have: ACE.

ACE stands for:

In your essays, regardless of if it's the IRR or IWA, you will follow this structure. In writing your outline, first set up your paragraphs, typically an intro, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

You can simply title your intro and conclusion "intro" or "conclusion" because they don't have a "topic" per se, but each body paragraph should represent a claim that supports your argument.

These major bullets represent your  broad  outline - that is, what topics are you going to cover and in what order? Essentially, a broad outline designs your  line of reasoning , an incredibly important concept in any argumentative piece of writing. 📝

Essay Outline

You can use your broad outline as a foundation to write the second type of outline: a detailed essay outline. This not only means referencing your evidence, but putting direct quotes, charts, citations, and explanations in outline format.

Essentially, your detailed outline forces you to write your essay mentally before and get most of the mental grunt work out of the way. For example, here's a snippet from my detailed outline of my IWA from the 2018-19 school year:

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-eZbNXLALJUZq.png?alt=media&token=444dbbbc-64b5-4dd4-bd97-cfbd1e9befdc

This is an example of a detailed/essay outline for Seminar. Image Courtesy of Author

Outlining is an incredibly useful tool that will follow you even beyond Seminar into Research and even just your ordinary papers.

3. Use Your Peers as Editors

AP Seminar is unique in the fact that, for the most part, you can choose your topics, whether in a group or by yourself. In addition, since your teacher is  not  allowed to help you, your classmates should become a HUGE asset to you when writing. ✅

As a former AP Seminar student brilliantly notes:

Work with your partners/peers when you can, even if your papers aren't the same! —Dylan Black

Peer editing is an INCREDIBLY useful tool because not only do you get editing done on your paper like normal, but your peers will also know the rubric for your essays. You'll l have to do two presentations along with your papers, one with a group (your TMP, or Team Multimedia Presentation) and one alone (your IMP, or Individual Multimedia Presentation). These presentations will have information from your paper, so the presentation's actual creation is rarely the difficult part, rather the presenting part is., so they can give individualized advice on what to improve.

Make sure you're getting feedback from people other than yourself! Image Courtesy of GIPHY

4. Practicing Presentations

You'll have to do two presentations along with your papers, one with a group (your TMP, or Team Multimedia Presentation) and one alone (your IMP, or Individual Multimedia Presentation). These presentations will have information from your paper, so the presentation's actual creation is rarely the difficult part, rather the presenting part is.

You may have done presentations in other classes, but in AP Seminar, your presentation skills are part of the rubric, so it's  crucial  for you to take time to make your presentation engaging and well presented. 📊

Here are your goals when designing your presentation:

  • Clear and presentable design
  • Readable text
  • Engagement from audience

To hit these goals, you have to explicitly make choices regarding slide design (such as color schemes, fonts, and more)! The number 1️⃣ issue in many slides is  too much text . You should not have to put an absurd amount of text on a slide, rather only the major points you will hit on; the rest is for you to memorize or have on notes.

See if you can notice the differences in these two slides:

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-OT4frO78zKjJ.png?alt=media&token=d2ed7ce9-e16b-4845-a587-9d81c12e2243

Here's an example of a well-designed Seminar slide. Image Courtesy of Author

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-70Zh6JVyh6k3.png?alt=media&token=fba2c940-b000-473f-a4d6-3eb8449716c3

This is a Seminar slide that could use some work. Image Courtesy of PCWorld

Furthermore, in your actual presentation, a great way to earn some easy points is to  practice and prepare . While this doesn't necessarily mean building out a full-blown script and memorizing it, making sure you know your points and specific details like statistics will make your presentation that much better.

Think of it like this, when you're watching a presentation, you may not notice that a presenter is doing something right, but you  will  notice if something's wrong. Small things like posture, eye contact, and the tone/volume of your voice play a large part in the quality of your presentation.

5. Treat Seminar as a Learning Experience, Not Just a Class

As you might've heard in your life at one point, it's all about the  journey , not the destination! This applies 💯% to Seminar, as you'll get so much more out of the class when you don't think of it as just an exam score!

Treating Seminar as a  journey   to obtain a set of skills  that you can carry throughout and past high school will motivate you to learn. Because of the lack of content in Seminar, you are learning almost exclusively skills about how to write, think, analyze content, and analyze arguments.

These are skills that will be instrumental in not only your English classes but in anything you read or think about in the future. Because of this, treating Seminar as a learning experience and not just a grade will help you learn more effectively!

With these 5 tips, the Fiveable community, and a little bit of work on your part, getting a 5️⃣ on AP Seminar should be a matter of a little bit of writing and presenting! After May, you'll be  popping  off with your new Seminar skills 🎊

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IMAGES

  1. Review Of Ap Seminar Irr Example References

    ap seminar irr thesis example

  2. AP seminar IRR Problem Prompt.pdf

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  3. PPT

    ap seminar irr thesis example

  4. Copy of Mock IRR Draft

    ap seminar irr thesis example

  5. Completed IRR with Works Cited and Title Page.pdf

    ap seminar irr thesis example

  6. AP Seminar IRR Outline.pdf

    ap seminar irr thesis example

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COMMENTS

  1. PDF AP Seminar Performance Task 1

    The Individual Research Report task instructions stipulate a word count of no more than 1200 words. At times, responses might exceed this limit. Students are allowed a 10% cushion. You should score these papers by discounting the words that are over 10% (or 1320 words).

  2. PDF AP Seminar Performance Task 1

    The report earned a score of 3 for this row because, with few exceptions, the writing is clear, precise, and capable of communicating complex ideas. 2021 College Board. Visit College Board on the web: collegeboard.org. AP® Seminar 2021 Scoring Commentary. Performance Task 1 Individual Research Report.

  3. PDF AP Seminar Performance Assessment Task 1

    Although not free of flaws, errors do not significantly interfere with communication of the ideas. The style is appropriate for an academic report. Performance Task 1 Individual Research and Reflection. Sample: B. Understand and Analyze Context Score: 4. Understand and Analyze Arg Score: 4.

  4. PDF AP Seminar Performance Task 1

    AP® Seminar 2022 Scoring Guidelines Individual Research Report (IRR) 30 points General Scoring Notes • When applying the rubric for each individual row, you should award the score for that row based solely upon the criteria indicated for that row, according to the preponderance of evidence.

  5. PDF AP SEMINAR 2015 SCORING GUIDELINES

    The reflection also contributes to analysis of credibility (e.g., the reflection explains a problem with Monsanto acting as a source of information). 2015 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org. AP® SEMINAR 2015 SCORING COMMENTARY. Performance Task 1 — Individual Research and Reflection.

  6. AP Seminar Performance Task 1: Building your IRR

    In this special AP YouTube video for AP Seminar, you'll learn how to put your research together to start forming your Individual Research Report (IRR).This i...

  7. PDF AP Seminar Performance Assessment Task 1

    Row 6: Apply Conventions (Grammar & Style) (3) This report earned a score of 3 for this row because complex material was carefully presented through controlled sentences. There are some shifts in tone when the author moves into commentary but overall there are few flaws. The conclusion is a model of precision.

  8. PDF Performance Task #1 (IRR and TMP)

    Date: 4 September, 2019. The Individual Research Report (IRR) The first part of PT#1 is the IRR. For our purposes, research generally falls into two categories: (1) argument and (2) analysis. In the first category, you stake out a position on a topic and construct a thesis that clearly articulates your position and how you intend to prove it.

  9. IRR Outline

    Your Thesis Your Introduction: IMPORTANT NOTE. PLEASE READ! This next section deals with body paragraphs and helps you develop your sub-claims. ... AP Seminar Example IRR - One of my practice IRR. AP Seminar 93% (14) 2. AP Seminar IWA Outlining. AP Seminar 100% (5) 3. IRR - Grade: A. AP Seminar 89% (18) 5. Copy of eoca - Text analysis of "In ...

  10. PDF AP Seminar Performance Task: Individual Research-Based Essay and

    Sample Oral Defense Questions Here are some examples of the types of questions your teacher might ask you during your oral defense. These are examples only; your teacher may ask you different questions, but there will still be one question that relates to each of the following two categories. 1. Reflection on Research Process

  11. PDF AP Seminar Performance Task 2

    Performance Task 2: Individual Written Argument Scoring Guidelines. General Scoring Note s. When applying the rubric for each individual row, you should award the score for that row based solely upon the criteria indicated for that row, according to the preponderance of evidence. 0 (Zero) Scores.

  12. Advice for Writing the IRR

    The IRR, the individual research report, part 1 of PT1. This is often the introduction to AP Seminar and can be the most daunting to introductory AP Seminar students. However, in this guide, I will help break-down this assessment. Once you understand a few key components in writing a stellar IRR, the IRR eventually starts to write itself. First and foremost, read through the rubric provided by ...

  13. PDF AP Seminar Performance Task 2: Individual Research-Based Essay and

    AP Seminar Performance Task 2 is an individual research-based essay and presentation that requires students to explore an academic or real-world issue or problem of their own choosing. This pdf document provides detailed instructions, rubrics, and samples for this task, as well as tips for conducting effective research and avoiding plagiarism. Learn how to develop and defend your own ...

  14. IRR : r/APSeminar

    The big thing about the IRR is that's it's purely a report on the status quo. Identify a problem with your group, have everyone pick something that that problem affects, and do the research on how that problem affects your stakeholder. Then in your paper, write about 2-3 ways that these effects are taking place. DON'T OFFER A SOLUTION.

  15. AP Seminar Example IRR

    AP Seminar Example IRR - One of my practice IRR. One of my practice IRR. Subject. AP Seminar. 150 Documents. Students shared 150 documents in this course. Level AP. School Arroyo Valley High - San Bernardino-CA. Academic year: 2022/2023. Uploaded by: Anonymous Student.

  16. PDF AP Seminar Performance Task 1

    • In AP Seminar, there is no requirement for using a particular style sheet; however, responses must use a style that is consistent and complete. • Check the bibliography for consistency in style (and if there are fundamental elements missing). • Check for clarity/accuracy in internal citations.

  17. IRR help : r/APSeminar

    i took AP seminar last year and received a 5 on the exam, so hopefully i count as a reputable source. the IRR is intended to be informative and not argumentative. what i did was pick a topic and then break the topic down by lenses. for example, my topic was sleep deprivation, and my lens was neuroscience. from there, i broke my paper into three different neuroscience solutions for chronic ...

  18. Performance Task 1: Team Project and Presentation

    Each of the PTs are complex, but we are going to work to breakdown each of them in an easy to understand format. Performance Task 1 is considered to be the group project. 👩‍💻 Here you will be picking a. real world problem. that you are trying to solve with your group. As an individual you will be analyzing evidence from a specific lens.

  19. PDF AP Seminar Performance Assessment Task 2

    This pdf document provides an example of an individual written argument (IWA) for the AP Seminar course, based on the 2017 stimulus materials. It shows how the student developed a research question, synthesized sources, and presented a claim with evidence and reasoning. It also includes the scoring commentary and the rubric used to evaluate the IWA.

  20. How do I do an IRR (seminar)? : r/APStudents

    You should start with an intro and have a short thesis at the end of it. Then, you should have 2-3 body paragraphs. Personally, I had one body paragraph that supported my thesis and then the other one was an opposing view point which I then refuted. You could also have opposing viewpoints in all of your body paragraphs if you want it's really ...

  21. PDF AP Seminar Performance Task 1

    To produce an evaluative, analytic report on the research conducted, analyzing the reasoning within the texts reviewed and the relevance and credibility of the evidence utilized in those texts. Sample: A. Understand and Analyze Context Score: 6. Understand and Analyze Arg Score: 6.

  22. How Can I Get a 5 in AP Seminar?

    In AP Seminar, you'll write two main papers: your IRR (Individual Research Report) and your IWA (Individual Written Argument). ... For example, here's a snippet from my detailed outline of my IWA from the 2018-19 school year: ... AP Seminar is unique in the fact that, for the most part, you can choose your topics, whether in a group or by yourself.

  23. PDF AP Seminar Performance Task 2

    (For example, as providing relevant context for the research question, or as evidence to support ... related to the research question or thesis. 12 points . The response is a clear and convincing argument. ... • In AP Seminar, there is no requirement for using a particular style sheet; however, responses must use a style that is consistent ...