1. AP English Language and Composition
AP Exam Study Guide
AP English Language and Composition

2. Multiple Choice
Basic Information: 60 min, 4-5 sects. of reading, 55ish Qs, Qs per sect, 45% of score, focused on reading comprehension and rhetorical analysis
Do NOT
Skip/skim passages
Stay stuck on one Q
Lose track of time
Forget/ignore précis
Leave Qs blank
Incorrectly bubble your scantron
Skip footnotes Do
Read passages before answering Qs
Move on and come back later
Stay evenly paced throughout
Take note of rhetorical précis as you read
Answer all Qs, even guesses
Use process of elimination, cross out wrong answers
Read footnotes

3. How To: TW Read, analyze and annotate the prompt
Identify the part of the prompt to respond to in your essay (thesis)
Write a thesis
Make an outline
Set a time marker – “checkpoint”
Write!! 
Check outline during writing!! Remember, this is your “road map”!!
Re-read your work (if time permits)

4. Synthesis
Basic Information: 40 min to write, 15 min to read sources, need at least 3 sources, source based response, multi-paragraph response to a prompt with a beginning, some middle, and an end
Do NOT
Use less than 3 sources
Center paragraphs around a source
Make up your own prompt, go on a tangent, or be too neutral
Forget to acknowledge an opposing side
Start writing without an outline Do
Use and cite at least 3 sources
Center paragraphs around ideas, try to use more than 1 source per body paragraph
Write a clear thesis that directly answers the prompt
Include a concession/counterclaim
Make an outline before writing, and follow it

5. Rhetorical Analysis
Basic Information: 40 min, source based response, multi-paragraph response to a prompt with a beginning, some middle and an end, focus on analyzing how the argument was created/conveyed, analogy: toolbox and building
Do NOT
Center paragraphs around a device
Have disorganized writing
Make your own prompt or go on a tangent
Skim/ignore the source reading Do
Center paragraphs around ideas, try having 2 or more devices per paragraph
Have a clear structure: organizing chronologically or claim and impact on reader
Answer the prompt
Annotate for rhetorical précis

6. Open Argument
Basic Information: 40 min, not source based response, multi-paragraph response to a prompt with a beginning, some middle, and an end, essentially synthesis without provided sources
Do NOT
Be vague or go on a tangent
Rely heavily on personal evidence
Forget to connect evidence to reasons and thesis
Forget your audience Do
Write a thesis that directly and clearly answers the prompt
Use a balanced variety of evidence: academic, pop culture, and personal (point is to connect audience to claim)
Connect evidence to reasons and thesis
Remember your audience