1. Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Test
Preparing for Success

2. Format of the Test Test is broken into two major sections
Section 1 – Multiple Choice
Allowed 1 hour
Section 2 – Writing
Allowed 2 hours

3. Multiple Choice Typically there are 55 questions asked on the test
Try to find a half way point
If there are 60 questions, try to be at question 30 halfway through the allotted time
Multiple choice passages broken up in two ways
Prose
Poetry

4. Multiple Choice - Prose
Read actively and visually – underline and circle
Examine organizational pattern
Identify transitional words and phrases
Acknowledge point of view
Evaluate tone through diction and sentence structure
Be especially watchful for irony and satire
Watch for odd words that may shift the language
Pay attention to punctuation for changes in tone
Use context clues to identify any unknown vocabulary
Notice and mark SOAPStone
Speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, tone

5. Multiple Choice - Prose
Question Categories
Rhetoric
How does language work in the passage?
Author’s meaning and purpose
Why does the author choose a specific wording? To what effect?
Main Idea
What is the author’s thesis, attitude and tone?
Organization and Structure
How is the passage organized?
Comparison/Contrast, definition, specific to general

6. Multiple Choice - Poetry
Pay attention to punctuation, looking for complete sentences indicated by periods, semi-colons, etc.
Watch for shifts in tone, point of view, verb tense, and time
Consider repetitions
Parallel syntax, imagery, simile/metaphor
What is the logic?
Asking – then answering questions
Developing an argument
Story with a conflict and climax
Series of analogies and comparisons to prove a point

7. Multiple Choice - Poetry
Dramatic situation
Analyze for speaker
Note sentence structure
Identify any enjambment
Discriminate between literal and figurative elements
Scansion – handout from earlier
Inferred attitude from author
Note the difference between author and speaker
Notice literary devices
Simile, metaphor, personification
Notice sound devices
Alliteration, assonance, internal and external rhyme

8. Multiple Choice - Poetry
Question Categories
Dramatic Situation (speaker, occasion, audience, purpose)
Structure and form
Universal theme
Definitions of words in context
Images and figurative language
Diction and connotations
Tone
Literary devices
Sound devices
Scansion

9. Multiple Choice - Poetry
Meter
Foot
Monometer 1
Dimeter 2
Trimeter 3
Tetrameter 4
Pentamter 5
Hexameter 6
Heptameter 7
Octameter 8
Iamb U/
Trochee /U
Anapest UU/
Dactyl /UU

10. Free Response Questions
Three prompts– poetry, prose, open-ended
Use about 40 minutes per question (2 hours total)
Most questions ask you to analyze
Analyze – to break something into smaller pieces
You can do some prewriting
Develop a working thesis that requires proof
Full introduction not necessary
Do not need to list the items of analysis in thesis
It is okay to scratch something out – reader should only read what is intended to be read
Understand punctuation of poems, novels, plays, short stories

11. Free Response - Poetry
When utilizing poetic devices, do not list rhyme scheme as a device – pointless
Show a working knowledge of poetic language
Know the difference between the following:
Sonnet – 14 lined poem, often about love
Ode – long, serious, meditative lyric poem
Elegy – serious, reflective; often love poetry
Epic – narrative poem, recounts adventure of a hero
Dramatic monologue – speaker addresses silent listener, revealing himself in a dramatic situation
Mock heroic poem – lengthy poem about a trivial subject written in the manner of an epic

12. Free Response - Prose Make sure you carefully answer the prompt given
Sometimes individuals have the tendency to wander
Specific textual examples are helpful to mention when you identify ideas
Be sure not to simply repeat the prompt
Do not analyze the quality of a text unless you are asked to do so
Understand the language of prose
Specifically, be able to describe and analyze tone

13. Free Response – Open-Ended
Discuss specific elements – don’t generalize
Do not merely summarize plot
Analyze, analyze, analyze
Develop strong and varied sentences
Choose a work from the list or an appropriate literary work for the prompt
Do not use Hamlet
Write about a work you feel comfortable and knowledgeable
Refresh yourself with works from past school years
What works have you read in high school?

14. A few last thoughts… Come prepared
Get plenty of rest the night before
Eat a good breakfast the morning of the test
Be sure you are hydrated
Test fatigue can set in, so be patient and mindful
Everything we have learned this year has been review for this test
Novels, discussions, writing prompts, essays, practice passages
Ask me questions if you have any