The Big Review for the AP English Language and Composition test What to take to the test: Colored pens and pencils –You must write in pen for the essays. A watch –Time yourself accurately. Fill in all multiple choice you don’t get to with a B or C. Pick only one. Remember that for every ten you guess on, you can expect to get approximately two more back by guessing. A sweater or jacket Be your own advocate; if you don’t like where you are sitting, speak up! Don’t come late! If you are late, you will lose your money. The entire nation takes the test on the same day at the same time.

General structure of the test Multiple Choice questions with four or five passages (1 hour) 45% of composite score. –You must get around 55% of these questions correct to get a qualifying score of 3 or higher. 3 essays: Synthesis, Rhetorical Analysis, and Argument (2 hours and 15 minutes) 55% of composite score. Note: the order of the last two may be reversed.

Plan of Attack for the Multiple Choice Portion Option 1: Go at your own pace. slower= more accurate. Option 2: Go fast and hope that more answers=more points. General advice: annotate the first passage with colored pens and X through the repeated copy of the passage. Do you read the questions in advance? This helps some students, but it might just cause you to lose time. Don’t be dilatory on roman numeral questions. Go with your first instinct and move on. There will be 1-2 questions on footnotes of passages and usually 1 “research” question. Without fail, there is one question over something we’ve never taught you (maybe something we’ve never seen). Roll with it. It may include an obscure literary device. Passages are written at the reading level of a sophomore in college and generally range from in time from the years

Synthesis Question Plan of Attack Remember this question is always the first essay question because you get 15 separate minutes to read and process the sources. Make sure you understand the question. Remember BAT and exigency. The most common construction will ask you to “evaluate the factors”, or “consider the pros and cons” of an issue while taking a strong stance on one side. Start your intro on one of the four islands of philosophy. ME ME: Start with a personal anecdote THE WORLD: THE WORLD: an explanation of how current events in politics create an exigency for this issue HISTORY: HISTORY: a re-narration of historical events leading up to this issue LITERATURE: LITERATURE: or where this appears in literature or film. End with a multi-clausal thesis statement that starts with the word “Although”. This forces you to build in a concession. If you tend to struggle with writing thesis statements, skip a line or two before you start your body paragraphs. It’s better to add later than go with an overly general thesis statement.

Synthesis Question Plan of Attack Remember that you must synthesize assertions from at least 3 sources. –Quotes and paraphrases are allowable forms of referencing sources. Quotes are best! –Use the grammatically intact part of the quote you need, but limit yourself to 6-10 words which you should join to your own words. –Introduce all quotes. Start and end body paragraphs with your words; in other words, write topic sentences and include analysis of all quotes. Ending a body paragraph with a quote is like giving someone else the last word. –Cite sources by their letters in parenthesis. Dr Smith (Source A) asserts, “corn is fuel of the future,” however, Martha Ross (Source B) counters that, “corn sugar does not contain enough raw energy to make it worth converting into fuel”. Don’t use questions. This is almost always a risk. – Don’t ask, “What kind of future will America have when students are no longer required to read books?” Instead assert, “America’s future will be bleak when students are no longer required to read books”.

Synthesis Question Plan of Attack Try to organize the essay by key issues instead of building body paragraphs around sources. Try to get multiple sources in a single body paragraphs. Sources should be conversing with each other and you. When in doubt, attack a source. This is a strong approach as long as you represent the argument of the source correctly. If a political satire, cartoon, or graphic is included as a source, try to use it. If you use outside evidence, limit it to one or two sentences and join it with a source. Remember a conclusion is more than a restatement of your thesis. It is a call to action. What do you want your audience to do or think now that you have persuaded them that you are right? Do not waste time writing titles. When you are 100% done, move on. Remember that you must break up your own time into 40 minute chunks after the initial 15 minutes.

Rhetorical Analysis Plan of Attack Read the question carefully. –Remember BAT and exigency. –Generally the question follows this format, “What rhetorical devices does the author use to achieve his/her purpose”? –Occasionally the question will be phrased, “Describe the strategies the author uses to achieve his/her purpose”. The word “strategies” alerts you to a possible tone shift and that you should focus on the relationship between passages.

Rhetorical Analysis Plan of Attack Use a rhetorical precis for your intro. –Sentence 1: Author’s name, title of the piece, and year + “argues” and a full, accurate, and decisive statement of the author’s thesis. –Sentences 2-3: Identify some of the key rhetorical strategies and briefly describe what their purpose is in the piece. –Sentence 4: “Writing with [tone word]”, + the intended audience and the arguments effect on that audience + the secondary audience (usually you the student) + why you think this piece is on the test today.

Rhetorical Analysis Plan of Attack Organize the essay chronologically and not by device. Quote the text to show the device. –Your assertion: Quote: Description of 1 st device + quote Analysis: 2-3 sentences of analysis describing what the device does in context of the piece. Relationship between this part and the piece as a whole.

Rhetorical Analysis Plan of Attack There is something I never told you about called “the double rhetorical analysis prompt”. This is where two different speeches or letters on a similar topic are set side by side for comparison. These are rare, but should you encounter one, remember to give equal space in your response to each piece and to emphasize their general similarities.

Plan of Attack for Argument Prompt There are three basic types of argument prompts. –1. A quote to which you must respond Roman Poet Horace asserts, “Adversity brings about latent talents”. –2. A paragraph to which you must respond. These are the easiest because you can pick among the author’s assertions. Again, read carefully! Make sure you read the question carefully, does it ask for you to pick one assertion or respond to the main argument of the piece? –3. The presentation of a general issue. The role of advertising in schools.

Plan of Attack for Argument Prompt Make sure you understand the question. Remember BAT and exigency. These prompts will generally ask you to defend, challenge, or qualify an assertion. All the best responses qualify! Start on one of the four islands of philosophy. ME ME: Start with a personal anecdote THE WORLD: THE WORLD: an explanation of how current events in politics create an exigency for this issue HISTORY: HISTORY: a re-narration of historical events leading up to this issue LITERATURE: LITERATURE: or where this appears in literature or film. End with a multi-clausal thesis statement that starts with the word “Although”. This forces you to build in a concession. If you tend to struggle with writing thesis statements, skip a line or two before you start your body paragraphs. It’s better to add later than go with an overly general thesis statement.

Plan of Attack for Argument Prompt Evidence is king in this response. If you make up evidence it must be believable or it will count against you. No one has read every newspaper or magazine. No one has seen every movie. Your graders haven’t either, but the key to good fake evidence is detail. –Good Fake evidence: Recently I attended a foreign film festival where I saw a film title La Rouge. It centered on a student who was forced in Nazi occupied Paris during the 1940’s to destroy all books in the library where he worked that did not agree with Hilter’s vision of eugenics. –Bad Fake evidence: –Bad Fake evidence: Recently I read a newspaper article that claimed that there are more starving people in the United States than in the rest of the world.

Finally relax! Remember that you are awesome and you can do this. Sleep well tonight and eat breakfast. Remember that I believe in you!