AP Exam Prep

• ANALOGY - COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO DISSIMILAR THINGS/IDEAS
• ANECDOTE - SHORT NARRATIVE
• ANTITHESIS - IDEAS THAT ARE DELIBERATELY PLACED IN CONTRAST TO ONE ANOTHER (JUXTAPOSED)
• APHORISM - A STATEMENT OF GENERAL TRUTH
• COLLOQUIALISM  - FAMILIAR BUT GRAMMATICALLY INCORRECT/SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE PHRASING
• CONNOTATION -ASSOCIATED MEANING OF A WORD
• DICTION - WORD CHOICE
• EUPHEMISM - A MORE AGREEABLE TERM TO REPLACE AN UNPLEASANT TERM
• JUXTAPOSITION - TWO TERMS PLACED NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER FOR COMPARISON/CONTRAST
• PARADOX - SELF-CONTRADICTION
• PARALLELISM-  SIMILARLY STRUCTURED PATTERNS (WORDS, PHRASES, SENTENCES, PARAGRAPHS, THAT EMPHASIZE IDEAS.
• PARODY - A WORK THAT IMITATES ANOTHER WORK FOR COMIC EFFECT.

• REPETITION - DUPLICATION OF WORD, SOUND, ETC. FOR EMPHASIS
• RHETORIC - THE PRINCIPLES GOVERNING EFFECTIVE WRITING OR SPEAKING.
• SATIRE - WORK THAT RIDICULES HUMANS OR SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
• SEMANTICS - MEANINGS OF WORDS
• STYLE - CHOICES THAT AN AUTHOR MAKES - DICTION, SYNTAX, TONE, LITERARY DEVICES.

• SYNTAX - AUTHOR’S ARRANGEMENT OF WORDS, PHRASES, SENTENCES, PARAGRAPHS.
• TONE - AUTHOR’S ATTITUDE TOWARD MATERIAL/AUDIENCE

Multiple Choice Tips

50-60 questions about various nonfiction passages (1 POINT EACH): 45% of test score > 60 minutes YOU ARE NOT PENALIZED FOR MISSING OR INCORRECT ANSWERS. SCORE OF 5: ANSWER MOST QUESTIONS CORRECTLY. SCORE OF 3: ANSWER 50%-60% OF QUESTIONS CORRECTLY. (PLUS ACCEPTABLE OR HIGHER ESSAY SCORES)

Question Types:

1. RHETORIC
2. TONE
3. MOOD
4. LANGUAGE
5. GRAMMAR
6. CITATIONS/FOOTNOTES

NAME THE RHETORICAL STRATEGY OR DEVICE IN A PARTICULAR SECTION OF THE PASSAGE.

IDENTIFY THE FUNCTION OF A SENTENCE WITHIN A PARAGRAPH OR A PARAGRAPH WITHIN THE PASSAGE

CHOOSE THE BEST TITLE OR MAIN IDEA OF A PASSAGE

IDENTIFY A SHIFT IN THEME, TONE, STYLE, SENTENCE STRUCTURE, DICTION, SYNTAX, EFFECT OR RHETORICAL PURPOSE BETWEEN TWO SENTENCES/PARTS OF A PASSAGE

DETERMINE HOW A TEXT ELEMENT/STRATEGY IS DEVELOPED IN A PASSAGE

RECOGNIZE THE GENRE OR PURPOSE OF A PASSAGE

IDENTIFY THE INTENDED OR IMPLIED PURPOSE OF THE AUTHOR OR OF A TEXT ELEMENT

#1 - READ ENTIRE PASSAGE, ANNOTATE, THEN READ QUESTIONS AND RE-READ PARTS OF PASSAGE AS NECESSARY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.

#2 - SKIM THE PASSAGE QUICKLY FOR MAIN IDEA/AUTHOR’S PURPOSE. THEN READ THE QUESTIONS, AND REFER TO THE TEXT AS NECESSARY TO ANSWER THE PASSAGES.

#3 - READ TWICE. FIRST TIME, SKIM QUICKLY. SECOND TIME, READ THOROUGHLY AND ANNOTATE. THEN, READ THE QUESTIONS AND REFER TO THE TEXT AS NECESSARY.

#4 - QUICKLY READ ALL QUESTION STEMS FIRST (MAKING NOTE OF LINE NUMBERS TO REFER TO) THEN READ PASSAGE TO FIND ANSWERS.

• YOU ARE NOT PENALIZED FOR INCORRECT OR MISSING ANSWERS, YET YOU SHOULD ALLOT YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME TO TRY TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS. GUESS IF YOU ARE UNSURE! YOU NEED 50-60% CORRECT TO EARN A SCORE OF ⅗ (WITH GOOD ESSAYS!)
• TRUST YOUR INTUITION - IF YOU THINK IT’S RIGHT, IT PROBABLY IS. IF YOU HAVE TIME, DOUBLE-CHECK ANSWERS YOU WEREN’T SURE OF.
• DO NOT READ ONE QUESTION, THEN SKIM FOR THE ANSWER, THEN READ THE NEXT QUESTION, THEN SKIM FOR THE ANSWER. YOU WILL RUN OUT OF TIME THIS WAY.
• QUESTIONS ARE NOT PRESENTED IN ORDER OF DIFFICULTY.