By: Jeff Kang and Nicole Alvarez

Analytical focus

When there is an odd or almost foreign sentence structure or word arrangement, this could be a sign of complex syntax that the author put in to highlight a specific message in the passage or poem.

When a passage or poem has a specific wording or style to it, the diction that is being used could also hide an overall message or meaning that could contribute to the literary work as a whole.

Vocabulary can be a very tricky issue to deal with, because if one doesn't know a certain word within a vital part of the passage or poem, it can hinder the reader from discovering the overall meaning of the work. The only thing you can really do is STUDY THOSE WORDS!!!

The writer of the passage or poem will often have a bias opinion on the subject that they are writing about. Make sure you can see through all of the opinions and see the facts so you can get the bigger picture or bigger meaning.

Be aware of the author's use of irony, overall tone, and mood that the author is bringing forth in the passage. These literary elements can be keys to a better understanding of the passage or poem.

Thematic focus

Annotate the given passage or poem thoroughly so you can dig the most out of the work. Through annotation, you can identify various literary terms and specific aspects about the work that can help you answer the multiple choice questions.

Don't waste time looking at a single question for too long. If the question becomes difficult to answer, move on with the exam and come back to it if there is enough time. This year however, there is no penalization for wrong answers, so instead of leaving any answers that you may have skipped blank, go ahead and fill them in. Might as well give it a chance!

If you are not able to understand the question, break down the question into a simpler question. Now with this simpler question, try to answer it by reviewing the passage and connecting what the question is asking to the passage itself.

When a question asks you to look back onto the given passage or poem, go back to the section that the question gives you and look for what the question is asking for whether it is characterization, symbolism, authors purpose, tone, irony or other literary terms.

When you first look at the multiple choice question, there are a couple of answers that you can eliminate that don't make any sense towards the question. By eliminating these answers, you are doing what is known as the process of elimination, a process where you eliminate the answers which do may be an okay answer but isn't a great answer.

Conclusion

With these strategies you will succeed in the multiple choice part of the exam. Remember to use time wisely and do not forget there are no penalties for a wrong answer so guessing will not hurt you. GOOD LUCK!