Teaching notes · Example 4
Teaching notes: Fear in Dracula
Essay questionRead the extract printed below. This is from the section of the novel where Mina gives an account of Jonathan’s reaction to seeing Dracula when they are in London. Explore the significance of fear in the novel.
You should consider:
- the presentation of fear in the extract below and at different points in the novel
- the use of fantasy elements in constructing a fictional world.
These notes sit outside the example essay. They are Estate teaching suggestions, not a College Board mark scheme or a prediction of an AP score.
Points for class discussion
- How does the record shape Jonathan’s fear?
- What changes when Mina reads or records another person’s experience?
- What makes a memory different from simply an earlier event?
Use the example for your assignment
This is a researched classroom essay, not an official or scored AP model. Use its literary argument and preparation flexibly. Its extract-plus-novel question differs from both AP passage analysis and the student-selected-work task.
Identify the thesis, the precise evidence that supports it and one complication the argument genuinely addresses. Ask how the conclusion interprets the work rather than just repeating a topic. If you adapt the material to an AP prompt, build a fresh plan around that prompt.
AP scoring and reader guidance · Return to the preparation and essay
Prepared by the Bram Stoker Estate. Page last updated 8 November 2026. Report a correction here.