AP® English Language and Composition review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/lang/units/6/6-3)
Unit 6 · Topic 6.3
6.3 Position versus perspective
A position is what someone thinks about an issue. A perspective is where they're coming from: their job, background, interests or expertise. Two people can hold the same position for very different reasons, and noticing those differences makes your synthesis smarter and more convincing.
Key terms
- position
- perspective
- stakeholder
- background
- interests
Two different questions
Ask two separate questions about every source. "What does this person think?" gives you their position: for, against, or somewhere in between. "Why would someone in their situation think that?" gives you their perspective.
For example, a doctor, a coach and a parent might all support later school start times. The doctor's perspective is medical (teenagers' sleep cycles shift later). The coach's is practical (rested athletes get hurt less). The parent's is personal (mornings at home are less stressful). Same position, three perspectives.
The reverse happens too. Two economists with the same training can reach opposite positions on a tax, because they weigh the evidence differently.
Where perspective comes from
On the synthesis essay, the short introduction above each source usually tells you the author's job or organization, which is your first clue to perspective. The source's examples are the second clue: people tend to reach for evidence from their own world.
- Expertise: what the person has studied or done for a living.
- Interests: what the person stands to gain or lose. A stakeholder is anyone affected by the decision.
- Background: where the person lives, their experiences, their community or generation.
- Role: whether they're speaking as a parent, an official, a business owner or a student.
Why perspective matters in your argument
Naming perspectives lets you do more than count supporters. If people with very different interests reach the same position, that agreement is strong evidence: it suggests the position isn't just one group's self-interest. You can say so directly in your commentary.
Perspectives also help you treat opposing views fairly. Explaining why a reasonable person in a certain role might disagree with you is more persuasive than pretending opponents have no reasons. This kind of thinking can help you earn the sophistication point, because the rubric rewards essays that explore tensions and complexities among the sources.
Be careful not to dismiss a source only because of who wrote it. "The company would say that" isn't a rebuttal. Explain how the source's interests might shape its evidence, then deal with the evidence itself (9.3).
Spotting perspective in a reading passage
In multiple-choice reading questions, a writer's perspective often shows up in what they notice and what they leave out. A writer who mentions only costs may be speaking as a budget official; a writer who keeps returning to children's experiences may be speaking as a teacher or parent. Look at the passage's introduction and at the writer's examples for clues.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Same position, different perspectives
Practice sources (written for this practice set; all invented): Source A, a school nurse: "Students who sleep more come to my office less. Starting at 8:45 would protect their health." Source B, a local business owner: "Teens who are alert in class are better workers in my store after school. I support a later start." Source C, a bus company manager: "A later start lets us use the same buses for elementary and high school runs, which saves money." Identify each source's position and perspective. Then write one sentence that uses the pattern as evidence.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Position: all three support a later start time.
- Step 2: Perspectives: A speaks from health expertise, B from the interests of an employer, C from the logistics and costs of transportation.
- Step 3: Notice what the pattern proves. Health, work and budget concerns don't usually line up, so their agreement suggests the policy has broad benefits.
- Step 4: Write a sentence that names the perspectives and explains why their agreement matters.
Answer: Model sentence: Support for a later start doesn't come from one interest group: a school nurse values it for students' health (Source A), a business owner for alert workers (Source B), and a bus manager for cheaper routes (Source C), and when people who usually want different things reach the same position, the policy is probably meeting more than one real need.
Common mistakes
- Using "perspective" to mean "opinion." The opinion is the position; the perspective is the background or interest behind it.
- Grouping sources only as "for" and "against." Within each side, note why different people take that side.
- Dismissing a source because of its author's interests without dealing with its evidence. Explain the interest, then test the evidence.
On the exam
- On the synthesis essay, explaining why sources with different perspectives agree or disagree is strong commentary. Keep doing it across the essay, not just once, and it can support the sophistication point.
- Reading questions may ask what a writer's background contributes to an argument. Look for answers that link the writer's role to the kind of evidence they use.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 6.3 Position versus perspective. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Written for this practice set: four sources a student is reading before writing a synthesis essay on whether the city of Maple Falls should ban gas-powered leaf blowers. Maple Falls is fictional.
Sources A and C both favor a ban. The most important difference between them is that
Which detail most clearly suggests that Source B may be biased?
Written for this practice set: a student's draft of a synthesis essay, which cites sources by letter. The sources are invented.
Sentences 4 and 8 cite two sources that both support the four-day week. The writer wants to point out that the sources reach this position from different perspectives. Which sentence, placed after sentence 8, best does so?
Written for this practice set: a student's draft of a letter to the school board.
In sentence 9, the writer mentions playing soccer and tutoring younger students. This detail mainly serves to
0 of 4 answered