AP Capstone

AP Seminar Course Hub

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check my research questionQuestion Check log my sourcesSource Tracker build my thesisThesis Builder see a sampleEvery sample paper, deck and video check the rubricThe Rubric Library practice EOC AEOC A Timed Analysis practice EOC BEOC B Timed Synthesis

Where we are in the year

The whole year is on the calendar.

PT1

Performance Task 1

IRRTMP

20% of the AP score. The IRR (50% of PT1 = 10% of the AP score) is a 1,200 word individual research report, scored by College Board. The TMP (50% of PT1 = 10% of the AP score) is an 8 to 10 minute team multimedia presentation and defense where each member answers one oral defense question, scored by Mrs. Cohen.

PT2

Performance Task 2

IWAIMPOral Defense

35% of the AP score. The IWA (70% of PT2 = 24.5% of the AP score) is a 2,000 word individual written argument, scored by College Board. The IMP (20% of PT2 = 7% of the AP score) is a 6 to 8 minute individual multimedia presentation, and the Oral Defense (10% of PT2 = 3.5% of the AP score) is 2 questions from the teacher. Both are scored by Mrs. Cohen.

EOC

End-of-Course Exam

Part APart B

45% of the AP score, College Board scored. Part A (30% of the EOC = 13.5% of the AP score) is understanding and analyzing an argument through 3 short-answer questions, suggested time 30 minutes. Part B (70% of the EOC = 31.5% of the AP score, the single biggest piece of the whole AP score) is one long evidence-based argument essay, suggested time 90 minutes.

Resources: Rubrics Tools Citations Practice Calendar Browse everything

Score Predictor

AP Score Predictor

Slide each component to your actual or expected raw scores and watch your composite build. Each component is scored against its own max, then weighted by its official share of the AP score. Score bands are estimates from released exams; College Board sets the real cut points each year and does not publish them. Your sliders save on this device.

PT1: Team Project (20% of AP score)

IRR (/ 30)20 TMP (/ 24)16

PT2: Individual Essay + Presentation (35%)

IWA (/ 48)32 IMP (/ 36)24 Oral Defense (/ 12)8

End-of-Course Exam (45%)

EOC Part A (/ 15)10 EOC Part B (/ 24)16

3predicted AP score

Composite: 60.0 / 100Bands (est.): 80+ is a 5 · 67-79 a 4 · 52-66 a 3 · 30-51 a 2

Term	Definition	Example
Lens	A focus point through which to view an issue.	Looking at the political impacts of climate change compared to the scientific impacts versus the social impacts.
Perspective	A specific argument or point of view about an issue. The test: can someone disagree with it? Scored in: IRR Row 4, the IWA, and EOC B, wherever you put arguments in conversation.	The most important step on climate change is holding major corporations responsible vs. implementing more climate-friendly legislation.
Stakeholder	An individual or group affected by the ideas and decisions around an issue.	Government officials, scientists, researchers, consumers, CEOs of major corporations.

Term	Definition	Example
Implication	A possible future effect or result.	Increased climate-friendly legislation may lead to more accountability for climate-friendly practices.
Argument	A claim or thesis that conveys a perspective, developed through a line of reasoning and supported by evidence. Scored in: EOC B Row 1 and IWA Row 1 (Establish Argument). IRR Row 2 is where you analyze the arguments inside your sources.	For consumers to hold companies responsible, they must make their stances clear through purchasing habits and collaborate with ethical companies to create real social change.
Line of Reasoning	The purposeful arrangement of claims with supporting evidence that leads to a conclusion. Scored in: EOC B Row 2 (Line of Reasoning), IRR Row 2, EOC A Question 2.	Each claim sets up the next; shuffle the paragraphs and the argument should break.

Term	What it means in this course
Claim	A single debatable statement your evidence must prove. Topic sentences carry claims; your thesis is your biggest claim. Scored in: EOC B Rows 1 and 2; every topic sentence in the IWA and IRR.
Evidence	Facts, statistics, expert findings, examples, or testimony used to support a claim. Evidence never speaks for itself. Scored in: EOC B Row 3 (Select and Use Evidence), IRR Row 3, EOC A Question 3.
Commentary	Your explanation of what the evidence proves and how it supports the claim. This is where rubric points actually live. Scored in: EOC B Row 3 and IRR Row 2: the reasoning right after each citation.
Counterargument	The strongest opposing view, presented fairly, not a strawman version of it. Scored in: EOC B Row 1: a complex argument engages the strongest opposing view instead of dodging it.
Rebuttal / Refutation	Your response showing why your argument holds despite the counterargument.
Concession	Honestly granting the part of the counterargument that is true before explaining why your position still stands.
Qualification	Limiting a claim so it stays defensible: "in most urban districts" instead of "everywhere, always."
Call to action	What the author wants people to do, change, support, or stop. Finding it is the fastest route to an author's argument on EOC A Q1.

Term	What it means in this course
Credibility	Whether a source deserves trust, judged with RAVEN: Reputation, Ability to observe, Vested interest, Expertise, Neutrality. Scored in: EOC A Question 3, IRR Row 3, IWA Row 3. Apply RAVEN; never name it.
Relevance	Whether the evidence actually bears on the specific claim it sits next to. Credible evidence can still be irrelevant.
Validity	Whether reasoning or a study design actually measures or proves what it claims to.
Reliability	Whether a source or method produces consistent, repeatable results.
Bias	A leaning that shapes how information is selected or framed. Every source has some; your job is to name how it matters.
Vested interest	When a source stands to gain (money, power, reputation) from a particular conclusion.
Limitation	A specific weakness of evidence: small sample size, missing credentials, dated data, vested interest, or narrow scope. A limitation has to come from the text. Guessing that a source might be biased earns nothing.
Job word	A verb or phrase that names what a claim does for the argument (sets up, builds on this by, backs it with, widens the problem by, raises the stakes). The opposite of an order word.
Order word	then, next, after that, finally, first. Describes sequence, not reasoning. Harmless when a job follows it, a 4 when it stands alone.
Load-bearing background	A paragraph with no claim and no evidence that still does a job for the argument, usually defining a baseline so a key term makes sense. Read for the job, not only the content.
The borrow test	Could the author have written this sentence without doing any research? If yes, it is a claim. If no, it is evidence.
Subject, Topic, Issue	The ladder you climb down to find a research question. A subject is too big to research; an issue is a specific problem with stakeholders and a real tension.
Scholarly / peer-reviewed	Work checked by other experts before publication. The backbone of a Tier 1 source list.

Term	What it means in this course
Context	The who, what, where, when, and why-it-matters that situates your issue in a larger conversation. IRR Row 1 territory.
Complexity	Treating an issue as having multiple causes, stakeholders, and trade-offs rather than one obvious answer.
Synthesis	Putting sources in conversation until they say something together that none says alone. The most rewarded move in the course.
Stimulus material	The College Board packet of texts, released each January. Your IWA must connect to a theme from at least one of them, organically.
Resolution / Solution	The realistic answer your argument lands on, always presented with its limitations and implications.
Plagiarism / Attribution	Using ideas or words without credit vs. clearly naming where every idea came from. Missing attribution can zero out an entire task.

Level	What it is	Example	Can someone disagree?
Topic	The issue itself	Climate change	No. It is just a subject.
Lens	A focus point for viewing the issue	The economic lens on climate change	No. It is just a viewing angle.
Stakeholder	A person or group affected by the issue	Fossil fuel workers; coastal homeowners	No. They are people, not claims.
Perspective	A point of view conveyed through an argument	"Carbon taxes are the most effective climate policy because they price the true cost of emissions"	Yes. This is the test.

Raw	Raw %	Curved %	Grade
15	100%	100%	A
14	93%	96%	A
13	86%	93%	A
12	80%	89%	B
11	73%	85%	B
10	66%	81%	B
9	60%	77%	C
8	53%	73%	C
7	46%	68%	D
6	40%	63%	D
5	33%	57%	F

Raw	Raw %	Curved %	Grade
24	100%	100%	A
22	91%	95%	A
20	83%	91%	A
18	75%	86%	B
16	66%	81%	B
14	58%	76%	C
12	50%	70%	C
10	41%	64%	D
8	33%	57%	F

Next up

I need to...

Where we are in the year

Performance Task 1

Performance Task 2

End-of-Course Exam

Score Predictor

AP Score Predictor

Simple IRR Outline

Introduction

Body paragraph 1

Body paragraph 2

Body paragraph 3

Conclusion

Your outline, on one page

Body paragraph {n}

The RAVEN Method

Reputation

Ability to Observe

Vested Interest

Expertise

Neutrality

Source Tracker

Question Check

Open-Ended

Specific

Debatable

Researchable

Interesting

Thesis Builder: Argument (IWA / EOC B) or Framing (IRR)

Annotated Bibliography

Stuck on a sentence?

IRR Peer Review

For Each Rubric Row, Record:

The Six Rows

TMP Team Checklist + Flow Chart

Story and Roles

Evidence and Credits

Slides and Design

Weaving and Timing

OD Prep

Tech and Files

Flow Chart: Speaker Order and Handoffs

IMP Pre-Submission Checklist

General Requirements

Row 1: Understand and Analyze Context

Row 2: Establish Argument

Row 3: Select and Use Evidence

Row 4: The Solution. College Board's name for this row: Establish Argument (the resolution)

Row 5: Design

Row 6: Performance

IWA Outline Planner

Part 1: Foundation

Part 2: Introduction

Part 3: Body Sections

Part 4: Counterargument and Rebuttal

Part 5: Conclusion

Thesis Templates

Source Language

Final Checklist

EOC Part A Organizer

Question 1: Identify the Argument, 3 points

Question 2: Explain the Line of Reasoning, 6 points

Question 3: Evaluate the Evidence, 6 points

Exam-day game plan

The 4 vs the 6

EOC Part B Essay Organizer

Setup

The Argument

Thesis Frame

The Structure (One Format, Every Time)

The 6/6 Move

Outside Evidence

Score Yourself by Row, Never Holistically

Activity

AP Seminar Vocabulary: The Full List

The eleven lenses

Lens or perspective?

The one test that always works

The ladder: from topic to argument