LastWeek Tips for the AP English Language and Composition Exam

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Last-Week Tips for the AP English Language and
Composition Exam

• AP English III/Mr. Kelly
• Spring 2007

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• The Chief Reader, Marilyn Elkins, provided the
  following advice after the 2001 AP Reading
• Students should read essay prompts as texts,
  making certain that they have understood what
  they are being asked to do before they begin
  writing.

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• Tell your students that they must first decipher
  a text's meaning then, and only then, can they
  go on a successful search for strategies and
  techniques. To begin without doing so leads to a
  list of parts that may be only tangentially
  related to the primary effect of the text. Such
  approaches generally lack insight about the
  relationship between the parts and the whole, and
  are often rather superficial in their
  observations.

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• Students need to understand the difference
  between "telling" details and details that merely
  pad arguments. Make sure they understand that
  more details are not necessarily better, and that
  three examples may or may not be better than two.
  

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• Don't require students to refer to novels or
  other literary texts to gain credence for their
  arguments. Instead, teach them to use evidence
  for which they can clearly articulate their
  rationale. This approach produces the best
  evidence, regardless of its source. No matter how
  high-minded some evidence may sound, it is simply
  not convincing if the writer cannot fully explain
  its relevance.

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• Common Problems. Problems that prevented
  students from earning a high score on AP
  questions included
• Not taking a clear position or wavering between
  positions
• Substituting a thesis-oriented expository essay
  for an argumentative essay
• Being reluctant to engage in verbal combat
  because "everyone's entitled to his or her own
  opinion," so there's nothing to argue about

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• Slipping out of focus
• Trying to argue by using evidence drawn from a
  literary reading list (for example, Othello, The
  Great Gatsby) and sliding off topic
• Lacking clear connections between claims and the
  data, and the warrants (assumptions) needed to
  support them
• Trying to analyze rhetorical strategies or style
  instead of arguing a point.

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• Date, time, and place Wednesday, May 16th, 8
  A.M.
• Reminder Meet for snacks and juice in Mr.
  Kelly's room at 730. This will be potluck style.

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Last minute tips for the AP multiple-choice
section (45 of your score)

• Remember to pace yourself! It is important to
  get through the entire section--sometimes the
  easiest questions are towards the end of the
  test.
• Look at the questions first.

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Read the passage quickly, but do not sacrifice
comprehension.As you read, look for the
following

• Tone and tone shifts (tone is always described
  with adjectives)
• Rhetorical structure
• The author's purpose
• The mode of the piece (exposition, persuasion,
  argumentation, description, narration)
• Important literary techniques (fidds)

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• Do general questions (about tone, rhetorical
  structure, purpose, etc.) LAST
• Look to see how many questions there are for the
  passage--if there are a lot of questions for a
  passage, you need to read it more carefully.

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• Use POE on EVERY question!
• Go back to the passage as needed--do not rely on
  your impressions
• Guess only when you can eliminate one or more
  answer choices.

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Last minute tips for the AP the essay section
(55 of your score)

• Pace yourself you have 40 minutes for each essay
  (you will be given 15 minutes at the start of the
  essay section to read the sources for the
  synthesis essay)
• Use the 10-25-5 method to pace yourself

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For style analysis and/or rhetorical analysis
essays

• Read, re-read, and re-re-read the prompt!
• Mark the passage as you go through it. Note
  important literary devices.
• After you have done this, make sure you have read
  the prompt.
• Remember FIDDS. This is your most useful
  mnemonic device! Also remember the most
  important tropes/forms of figurative language.

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• Remember SPAM and the three modes of appeal.
• Diction is the mother of all rhetorical
  devices--no other device could exist without it.
  Consider how individual word choices affect the
  tone and purpose of a passage.
• Try to focus on three major techniques--if you
  identify too many, you may not explore them
  completely enough if you identify too few, you
  may not explore the passage with enough detail.

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• NEVER simply identify devices. ALWAYS explain
  their unique effect.
• Many AP graders look especially closely at the
  last few sentences of every paragraph, because
  that is where your analysis takes place.
• End each paragraph with a strong, original
  thought that clearly connects your subtopic to
  the prompt. Be original!

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Take an extra minute or two to make sure that
your analysis is meaningful. AP graders will
give you little or no credit for

• "This makes the reader understand what the author
  is saying."
• "The imagery helps the reader feel like he is
  there."
• "This technique makes the passage effective."

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Instead, AP graders will like it if you say

• "The unique effect of this technique is to ____
  and to ___ .
• "This technique reveals the author's purpose in
  that it ..."
• "This example of the author's diction creates a
  tone of ___ , which in turn demonstrates how the
  author..."
• "In addition to adding a tone of ___ to the
  passage, the diction connotes that..."

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• Read between the lines! The AP graders will be
  reading innumerable essays that state the
  obvious, but few that explore the subtext look
  for connotation, innuendo, and irony. Top scoring
  essays always end with a strong point--restating
  the thesis (or the prompt) does little to help an
  essay. Also, avoid writing in conclusion.

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In order to score above a "5" you must

• Vary your syntax.
• Use parallelism.
• Employ short integrated quotations.
• Have original and textually relevant insights
  into the passage.
• Correctly identify irony.
• Acknowledge the complexity of the issues
  presented in synthesis prompts.

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For the persuasive prompts

• Remember to carefully examine the three parts of
  the argument they ask you to respond to.
• Especially if you are attacking or qualifying an
  argument, you need to ask yourself what are the
  premises, assumptions, and claim(s) the author
  makes? How will I address each of these three
  parts?

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• Choose your evidence carefully and develop it
  adequately. A point of evidence is not effective
  unless it is original, clear, convincing, and
  directly related to your thesis.

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Remember that you are trying to prove to a high
school or college-level English teacher that

• You can write clearly and convincingly
• You can introduce intelligent, sophisticated
  evidence to support a claim
• You can connect your evidence to a clear
  controlling thesis
• You can write like a college student does.

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My final advice.

• Don't be late.
• Dress in layers so that you can cool down or warm
  up.
• Bring a snack for the break you get after the
  multiple-choice section.

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• Everybody frets a little during tests. Take a
  deep breath every once in a while, relax, and
  refocus.
• Never give up. I have known many students who
  were sure that they failed the test, when in fact
  they pulled a three! You can never be sure, so
  stay focused until the very end.

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