AP tricks and tips

1. AP tricks and tips AP Language and Composition

2. 4/22 • Multiple Choice section is 60 minutes • 4 or 5 passages to read • 50-55 questions • All questions have 5 choices

3. 4/22 • Usually four passages BUT may be five • Check the # of the question and the # on the answer sheet every time you see a zero (10,20,30…) • This will keep you from getting off track, having to go back to find your error, and wasting time.

4. 4/23 • If you have 4 passages to read in 60 minutes, allot 15 min to each, moving steadily. • If you can eliminate two answers on a MC question, you have a 1:3 chance of guessing correctly • If you can eliminate three answers, you have a 50/50 chance of guessing correctly • Make the guess! - and tell yourself you got it right.

5. 4/23 We encourage you to guess! • LEAVE NO QUESTIONS UNANSWERED! • There is no penalty for guessing • If you guess wildly, stick with the same letter • Erase stray marks

6. 4/24 • Each passage has a combination of easy, medium, and hard questions. • Generally follow chronologically with the passage • Usually move from hardest to easiest or easiest to hardest. • All worth the same points • SO… • Answer the easy and medium first • Decide which to answer, which to skip, and which to return to if time allows • If you spend too much time on a single hard question, you may not get to answer 2 or 3 easy ones in a later passage • If you “skip,” mark your test paper so you know where to return to. Don’t forget to skip on the answer key and the test!

7. 4/25 • Watch out for qualifiers like “best,” “overall,” “primary,” or “principal” • Answer the question that limit you to a particular paragraph or line first

8. 4/25 • Questions that refer back to the passage: • Go back to the beginning go that sentence or even the previous sentence • Read the sentence completely to the end or even to the following sentence • If asked for an antecedent or context, you may find it in any of these three sentences.

9. Brush Up! Terms • Coherence – clarity and organization • The Reader should be able to: • Find your claim at the beginning of the essay (traditionally in the last sentence of the introduction.) • Find hints to your main supporting points in the thesis and/or introduction • Follow logically from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph through transitions and consistency • Feel satisfied with a conclusion that gives new insights or interpretation • Practice pg. 149 with your own essay or sample work

10. Passage Analysis: Example • Definition: specific event, person, or detail of an idea cited and/or developed to support or illustrate a thesis or topic • Practice • Underline (write) thesis • Topic/subject • Purpose (PIE: persuade, inform, entertain) • Does the passage contain an extended example? • The passage contains how many examples? • List the examples • Organization (chronological, spatial, least to most, most to least)

11. 4/25 • Double check the text to be sure the answer you have chosen fits in the context of the question. • Pick the simple and elegant answer choice over a complex and abstruse (difficult to understand) one.

12. 4/28 • Running out of time? Scan the remaining questions and look for: • the shortest ones • those that direct you to a specific line or paragraph • those that contain the answer without requiring you to return to the text • “The sea slid silently from the shore” is an example of alliteration. You would not have to go back to find the answer.

13. 4/29 • 15 Second strategy • Scan the questions first BUT NOT THE ANSWERS • Skip questions with options that direct you to specific line numbers • The remaining questions will give you clues about the meaning of the passage

14. Brush Up! (5 to a 5 pg. 125) What should I look for in analysis? • Structure – how the work is organized • Purpose – author’s intent and audience • Style – voice, organization and style

15. Brush Up! Terms • Discourse • “conversation” between the author and the reader • Rhetoric • umbrella term for all of the strategies, modes and devices a writer can employ to convince the reader/audience • Mode of Discourse • Exposition – inform • Narration – entertain • Description - describe • Argumentation - persuade

16. Organizational Types “Rhetorical Strategies” (5 to a 5) • Example • Compare and Contrast • Cause and Effect • Classification • Process • Definition • Narration • Description

17. Passage Analysis: Compare and Contrast • Definition: method of presenting similarities and differences between or among at least two persons, places, things, ideas, etc. • Subject by subject • Point by point • Combination of subject by subject and point by point

18. Passage Analysis: Compare and Contrast • Practice • Topic/subject • Write Thesis • Purpose (PIE: persuade, inform, entertain) • Items being compared/contrasted • Example of a comparison • Example of contrast • Pattern of development (opposing or alternating) • Organization (subject to subject, point by point, combination)

19. 4/30 • Answer the questions for the passage with the least amount of questions last • Concentrate time on the passages with the most questions – saves time

20. Brush Up! Terms • Style – Author’s voice, organization and diction • Subject matter • Selection of detail • Point of view • Diction • Figurative language/imagery • Attitude/tone • Pacing/syntax • organization

21. Organization • Chronological • Spatial • Specific to general • General to specific • Least to most important • Most to least important • Flashback or fast-forward • Compare/ contrast • Cause/effect

22. Point of View • First person “I” • Third person “he, she, it” • Objective – fairy tale style • Omniscient – eye in the sky • Limited – one character • Other styles • Stream of consciousness – flow of thoughts • Chorus – ancient Greeks (could be character, audience’s thoughts, group) • Stage manager – narrator in a play • Interior monologue – inner thoughts of a character

23. Diction • Level of vocabulary • “The right word in the right place” • Denotation, connotation and symbolic aspects of the language choices • Look at the example and tip on pg. 138

24. Passage Analysis: Cause and Effect • Definition: establishes a relationship: B is the result of A. • Strategies: • Facts • Statistics • Authorities • Anecdotes • Cases • Real or imagines scenarios

25. Passage Analysis: Cause and Effect • Practice • Underline (write) thesis • Topic/subject • Purpose (PIE) • List causes • List effects • Emphasis is on (cause, effect, causes, effects) • The passage makes use of (statistics, facts, authorities, anecdotes, cases, real/imaginary scenarios)

26. 4/30 • Students worried about making a 3, not shooting for a 4 or 5: • Choose passages that you know you can do best on to focus on • Now you have time to read more carefully and answer more questions correctly • You’ll achieve a higher MC score even with completely omitting a passage

27. Brush Up! Terms • Figurative Language and Imagery • Metaphor • Simile • Hyperbole • Onomatopoeia • Personification • Oxymoron • Metonymy/synecdoche • Alliteration • Assonance • Consonance • Practice with the example on pg. 139

28. Passage Analysis: Classification • Definition: separates items into major categories and details the characteristics of each group and why each member of that group is placed within that category

29. Passage Analysis: Classification • Practice • Topic/subject • Underline (write) thesis • Purpose (PIE) • Identify the principle of division/classification • Main subgroups • Major characteristics of each subgroup

30. 4/31 • The essay counts more than the MC • The biggest MC problem is vocabulary

31. Brush Up! Terms • Syntax – Sentence Structure • Phrases • Clauses • Type (declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory) • Type (Simple, Compound, Complex, Compound Complex) • Also understanding of: • Punctuation • Spelling • Paragraphing • Practice on pg. 140

32. Passage Analysis: Process • Definition: “How to” do something or how something is done • Two purposes • Give instructions • Inform the reader about how something is done • Should be chronological to lead the reader through the step by step process

33. Passage Analysis: Process • Practice • Underline (write) thesis • Topic/subject • Purpose (PIE) • Major steps given in the selection • Chronological order (yes, no) • Defined words • Other words that should have been defined? • Precautions given • Process is (clear, unclear, complete, incomplete)

34. 5/1 • 50% on the MC and three 6 essays = most likely end up with a 3 • Most students earn an average of a 5 on essays, SO • 66% on the MC and three 5 essays (say a 7, a 5, and a 4) = most likely end up with a 3 • 66% on the MC and two 6’s and a 7 = mostly likely end up with a 4 • Do you want a 3, a 4 or a 5? • Most students will score a 3

35. Brush Up! Terms • Tone and Attitude – author’s perception and presentation of the material and the audience • Tone reinforces mood • Attitude represents the stance or relationship the author has toward his or her subject • For example: talking down to the reader, talking eye-to-eye with the reader, talking up to the reader • Attitude can be formal or informal • Ties into diction • Practice pg. 142

36. Passage Analysis: Definition • Definition: identifies the class to which a speciic term belongs and those characteristics which make it different from all the other items in that class • Physical • Historical • Emotional • Psychological • Relationship(s) to others

37. Passage Analysis: Definition • Practice • Underline (write) thesis • Subject/topic • Purpose (PIE) • Attitude (serious, humorous) • What class does the word being defined belong? • Definition (historical, physical, emotional, psychological, relationships to others) • Do you, as a reader, have an understanding of the definition? • State your understanding of the term

38. 5/5 • Those who score lower because they don’t finish the MC tend to do BETTER on the essays than those who get the same score by finishing the questions but missing more. • The first type plods methodically through the questions, but know the material • The second type moves fast, but do not have a strong grasp of the material

39. Brush Up! Terms • Transition and consistency – the “connective tissue” • Transitions between sentences and between paragraphs – indicates a logical connection between ideas • Subject Consistency – vague subjects, changing subjects • Avoid passive structure • Watch for misplaced modifiers (dangling modifiers) • Tense Consistency – verbs! • Voice Consistency – active voice not passive!

40. Tips for Cohesion • “echo words” – synonymous terms throughout the essay • Ex. Mandatory uniforms; compulsory uniforms; regulated dress code; restricted dress code • “Natural” transitions • And, but, or, nor, for, yet • Other common transitions • Numerical: (first, second) • Sequential: (then, finally, next) • Additional: (furthermore, moreover, also) • Illustrative: (for example, for instance) • Compare/Contrast: (on the other hand, nevertheless) • Cause/Effect: (therefore, consequently) • Affirmation: (of course, obviously, indeed) • Practice pg. 145 with your own work (you need one of your essays or writings)

41. Passage Analysis: Narration • Definition: storytelling • Beginning, middle, end (plot) • Point (purpose) • Focus • Point of view • 1st, 3rd omniscient, 3rd objective, stream of consciousness • Conflict • Character • Setting • Theme

42. Passage Analysis: Narration • Practice • Topic/subject • Purpose (PIE) • Focus • Point of view (1st, 3rd omniscient, 3rd objective, stream of consciousness) • Setting • Main character(s) • Plot summary • Major events

43. 5/6 • Most common answer options: • 1 – Best answer (most defensible) • 1 – Also correct • 2 – plausible, not possible • 1 – misread – an answer that supports a misreading of the passage (can be pronoun/antecedent) simply substitute the noun for the pronoun to eliminate distracters.

44. Brush Up! Terms • Voice – the author’s style of writing, “picture of you” • Active Voice vs. Passive Voice • Example : The ball was thrown by Jessica vs. Jessica threw the ball • What is the subject and verb? • Is the verb simple or compound? • What is the verb tense? • Are there any prepositional phrases? • How many words in the sentence? • Which one is active and which one is passive? • Practice pg. 146

45. Passage Analysis: Description • Definition: writing that appeals to the senses • Objective (scientific/clinical) • Impressionistic (Evoke emotions/feelings) • Direct or indirect • Organization: • Chronological • Spatial • Emphasizing the most important detail • Emphasizing the most noticeable detail • Literary devices • Analogy • Concrete, specific words • Appeal to the senses • Personification • Hyperbole • Compare/contrast • Onomatopoeia • Other figurative language

46. Passage Analysis: Description • Practice • Underline (write) thesis • Topic/subject • Description is (objective or impressionistic) • Examples of • Analogy • Concrete words • Imagery • Compare/contrast • Personification • Onomatopoeia • Other figurative language • Intended effect (PIE)

47. 5/7 • Wrong answers often follow a certain pattern: • Require only a surface reading, not a close understanding • Simplistic – they have less depth • Give generalities when specificity is required • Unrelated to the question • Unrelated to the material of the passage • On part of the answer is correct, but not the other

48. 5/8