Consider the following original claim: “Competition measures performance well only when the contest does not distort the purpose of the activity.” Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which this claim is valid. Support your reasoning with evidence from reading, observation, or experience.
What the evaluator is looking for
AP readers look for a defensible thesis, relevant specific evidence, commentary that establishes a line of reasoning, and sophistication through qualification, broader context, or recognition of tensions.
Planning approach
Show that competition helps when metrics align with purpose, contrasting track racing with school ranking and collaborative science.
Model response
Competition measures performance well only when winning remains closely connected to the activity's real purpose. When rewards target a narrow proxy, participants predictably optimize the contest and may damage the work the contest was supposed to improve.
A footrace offers strong alignment: reaching the finish line first under common rules is largely the performance being tested. Competition can motivate training and make excellence visible. School ranking is less faithful. If institutions compete primarily on test averages, they may discourage difficult-to-serve students, narrow instruction, or devote weeks to test rehearsal. The score rises while education becomes poorer.
Scientific prize races show both possibilities. A clear challenge can concentrate talent on a vaccine or engineering problem, yet secrecy and duplicated effort may delay knowledge that collaboration would spread faster. Designers of competitions therefore must ask what behavior the metric rewards, what valuable work remains invisible, and whether participants can improve their position by undermining others. Cooperation and competition are not enemies; relay teams depend on both. The claim is valid because a contest is an instrument, not a natural definition of merit. Before praising winners, institutions should confirm that the path to victory still resembles the achievement society actually values.
Structural breakdown
A well-aligned race provides the baseline, ranking demonstrates metric distortion, and scientific prizes reveal mixed incentives. The conclusion supplies questions for evaluating any contest.
- Choose one competition with strong goal alignment.
- Show gaming caused by a weak proxy.
- Analyze both gains and losses in a mixed case.
- Ask whether winning represents valued achievement.
Format reference: College Board: AP English Language Past Exam Questions. This model is original and is not an official or accepted submission.