TestTaking Strategies for the AP Language and Composition Exam

1
Test-Taking Strategies for the AP Language and
Composition Exam

• Mrs. Jamie Blount
• Mauldin High School
• AP Language and Composition 2009

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The Test Layout

• The test consists of two sections
• 55 multiple choice questions
• 3 essay response questions

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Strategies for the Multiple Choice Section

• Skim the questions before you read the passage
• Read each passage actively
• Underline key words or phrases
• Read all choices before you answer

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Strategies for the Multiple Choice Section

• Leave the most difficult questions to the end
• Practice
• Go to the College Board website
• http//apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repos
  itory/ap08_english_coursedesc.pdf
• Increase your familiarity and level of confidence
  with the types of questions

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Types of Multiple Choice Questions

• Questions on rhetoric
• Focus on how language works
• Require you to analyze syntax and diction, point
  of view, and figurative language and its effects
• Questions about the authors meaning and purpose
• Tied closely to specific word choices
• Require you to analyze an authors choice and
  what effect it produces

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Types of Multiple Choice Questions

• Questions about main idea
• Test your understanding of the authors ideas
• Paraphrase what you read to prepare
• Questions about organization and structure
• Test your ability to perceive how a passage is
  organized
• Analyze how one paragraph relates to another

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Types of Multiple Choice Questions

• Questions about rhetorical modes
• Ask you to identify and recognize the various
  rhetorical modes an author uses
• You need to know the difference between
  narration, description, argumentation, and
  exposition
• These are the most significant, but dont be
  thrown off by one that doesnt fit in the
  previous categories.

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Frequently Asked Multiple Choice Questions

• How long is the section?
• You will have 1 hour to complete 55 questions.
• Is it better to answer all questions or should I
  not answer some?
• You get no credit for a question you skip, but
  you will lose a quarter of a point for a wrong
  answer. Make educated guesses to eliminate some
  at least two choices. Skip difficult questions
  and return later if you have time.

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Frequently Asked Multiple Choice Questions

• Can I pass the exam if I dont finish the MC
  questions in time?
• Absolutely! Many students dont finish and still
  receive a passing score. Dont randomly fill in
  answers!
• What score will I get for right, wrong, and no
  answers in the MC section?
• See Scoring Worksheet to calculate scores
• Wrong answers deduct .25 from your score

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Suggested Multiple Choice Plan of Attack
First skim the questions.
Begin reading immediately as quickly as possible.
OR
Read quickly and actively, marking a few key
points in each paragraph.
Answer questions which follow w/o spending too
much time on difficult ones. Make educated
guesses.
Mark difficult questions to return if time
permits.
Repeat this process with each passage
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Lets Practice!!

• We will spend today and tomorrow practicing our
  multiple choice questions.
• After each section, we will analyze what type of
  questions we were asked and how to approach each.
• During the last three days in the week, we will
  practice the essay portion of the exam.

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Basic Skills for the Essay Section

• You must be able to
• Articulate and prove a thesis
• Write on an assigned topic
• Write well-developed paragraphs
• Produce writing that makes sense
• Demonstrate college-level thinking and style

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Basic Skills for the Essay Section

• Your must be able to
• Write an introduction, body, and conclusion
• Demonstrate how language creates an effect
• Analyze diction, sentence style, and paragraph
  structure
• Illustrate your understanding of the prompt,
  ability to plan and execute a thesis, and
  appropriately use sophisticated language

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Strategies for the Essay Section

• Analyze the prompt
• Use the test booklet for organizing your thoughts
  
• Make sure the organization of your ideas is
  logical
• Write legibly
• If the readers cant read it, your score is
  obvious
• Dont deviate from the topic

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Strategies for the Essay Section

• Clearly divide your ideas into separate
  paragraphs clearly indent
• Use sophisticated language and vary your sentence
  structure
• Dont write every other sentence in the same
  manner
• Address all portions of the prompt
• Answer all parts of the question

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Scoring in the Essay Section

• Each essay equals 1/3 of the total essay score
• The entire section accounts for 55 of the AP
  score
• Seasoned, experienced AP teachers or college
  professors will read your essays holistically
• Each essay prompt has its own rubric

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Types of Essay Topics

• Agree or disagree
• Controversial sentence or statement for which you
  are expected to evaluate the validity of an
  authors ideas
• Use persuasive writing for this type of essay
  prompt
• Authors attitude, tone, or point of view
• This is more of a literary analysis

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Types of Essay Topics

• Analyze effect
• Require you to analyze how syntax, diction, and
  rhetoric work together to produce an effect in a
  passage
• Authors purpose
• Answer the question of why an author writes what
  he or she does

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Types of Essay Topics

• General statement about society or human nature
• Rarely based on a reading passage
• Possible the final question
• Designed to let you use past experience and
  observations as evidence while reflecting on
  humankind
• Comparison/contrast
• Based on 2 passages
• Analyze beyond the similarities and differences

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Types of Essay Topics

• Synthesis Essay
• Requires you to have a clear position
• There should be a clear connection between your
  sources and your thesis
• You must use 3 of the 6 sources provided
• You must use appropriate documentation
• Dont worry, well spend much of 3rd and 4th
  quarter on this one!!

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Pacing the Essay

• Spend 10 minutes planning
• CRUCIALyour writing will flow better
• DO NOT OMIT THIS STEP!!
• Use 25 minutes to write the essay
• Spend 5 minutes proofread
• CRUCIALthis allows you to catch simple mistakes

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Gentle Reminders

• These tips are merely suggestions. They do not
  guarantee success on the exam.
• It is your responsibility to deliberately
  approach the test with and confidence.

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Works Cited

• Swovelin, Barbara. English Composition 2nd
  Edition. CliffsAP. New York Wiley Publishing,
  Inc., 2001.

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Lets Practice!!

• Analyze the following essay prompts
• Determine what each requires and make annotations
  
• Draft a plan of organization for your essay
• REMEMBERthis is a critical component!!