sat\/act skills<\/a> can help you with the multiple choice questions. for example, many of the questions will refer to certain lines in the passage. though a bit more difficult that your standard \u2018treasure hunt\u2019 questions on the sat\/act, reading the questions first and underlining any mention of specific lines can save you time as you analyze the passage later.<\/p>\nif you\u2019ve never heard this advice before, here\u2019s why reading the questions first is essential. let\u2019s say you read the text first. when you start with the questions, you’re going to waste time going back to the text. also, the pressure you\u2019re under will make you more likely to forget lots of essential information despite having just finished reading.<\/p>\n
break (10 minutes)<\/strong><\/p>\nbreak is an important time during any ap exam, and even if you\u2019re a seasoned ap veteran, don\u2019t waste it. visit the restroom and drink a little water. but most importantly, eat something! <\/strong>section ii of the ap english literature exam takes a lot of brain power. without a little bit of extra fuel, your brain may want to shut down early.<\/p>\nsection ii: free response (3 essay questions, 120 minutes, 55% of total exam score) <\/strong><\/p>\nthe second part of the ap english literature exam is a 120-minute marathon consisting of three essay questions. most students feel the time crunch in this section. why? during this part of the exam, it is your responsibility<\/strong> to ensure that you give 40 minutes to each essay. some students (ex: me in 2004) spend too much time on the first two essays and end up and rushing at the end. that last essay represents approximately 18% of your final score. don\u2019t neglect it!<\/strong><\/p>\nlike other timed writing tests, both being aware of your time and planning can solve a lot of time management issues. here are some tricks you can use on test day:<\/p>\n
\nuse the first 15 minutes of each essay to read\/plan.<\/li>\n use the last 25 minutes of each essay to write.<\/li>\n once you\u2019ve selected evidence, don\u2019t add more<\/strong> halfway through your essay. that will eat up more time. substitution for a stronger piece of evidence is fine.<\/li>\nset aside the last five minutes of each essay as a \u2018wrap-up\u2019 time.\n\nduring \u2018wrap-up,\u2019 skim your essay to make sure you\u2019ve followed all the directions and included all your evidence. having all these pieces in place is more important than any concluding paragraph. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nnow that we\u2019ve talked about time management, let\u2019s discuss what to expect on the test.<\/p>\n
test content: section i (multiple choice)<\/h2>\n if you have a good teacher, he\/she will have used old ap english literature multiple-choice questions on your unit tests. though the actual exam will be different, practicing old exam questions is the best way to acclimate yourself to the exam\u2019s difficulty level.<\/p>\n
as for the questions, here\u2019s what to expect. the fifty-five questions are grouped into approximately five sets of eleven. in each set, you will be asked to read a prose, poetry, or expository piece, and use the passage in combination with your skills\/knowledge to answer the questions.<\/p>\n
test content: section ii (free response)<\/h2>\n each of the three essays will ask you to do a different task:<\/p>\n
\nanalyze a poem.<\/li>\n analyze a passage of fiction.<\/li>\n analyze a specific issue or element in a work of literature that you choose. <\/strong>\n\nthe test will provide a list of options, but you are free to choose another work as long as it has \u2018literary merit.\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nthough the first two essays will ask you to analyze two different kinds of texts, the time management steps we already went over will serve you well in both essays. in short, in your essay readers (college professors and ap english literature teachers) are looking for three things: a clear thesis, strong evidence, and your analysis. of course, make sure you read and follow all the directions!<\/strong><\/p>\ni\u2019ve already mentioned how the third essay can turn into a time crunch. to complicate matters further, the element of choice is a potential trap. my advice<\/strong>: unless you haven\u2019t read any of the texts that are on the list, don\u2019t choose your own. there are a couple of reasons why this is a good idea. the first is that your essay readers may not have read your choice. that makes their job harder. the second reason is that your readers, for whatever reason, may decide that your choice doesn\u2019t have enough \u2018literary merit.\u2019 now, i know this sounds unfair, especially if you can write a killer essay. even so, readers are people, and bias might affect the score they award your essay. finally, this was my mistake <\/strong>on the exam. having used up too much time on my first two essays, i wrote a rushed essay on the lesser known works of british author anthony burgess. i don\u2019t think my readers appreciated it. \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\nthe end<\/h2>\n like with all ap exams, once you start, it will be over before you know it. with the end of the year, graduation, and plans for the future, you might even forget all about your ap scores. here\u2019s a friendly reminder:<\/p>\n
the college board will release ap english literature scores in early july.<\/strong><\/div>\nwith your post-high school plans already set in stone, your score might not seem like a big deal either way. even so, a 4 or 5 will most likely earn you some college credit, and save you some money down the line. take it from me: it\u2019s really nice to start your freshman year of college by not <\/strong>having to take an introduction to literature course with 300 other students.<\/p>\neven if a 4 or 5 isn\u2019t in your future, ap english literature will prepare you for the reading and writing all college courses<\/strong> will expect of you. for example, my freshman year at vanderbilt was difficult, but not overwhelming because i had spent my senior year of high school taking courses that challenged me to the fullest.<\/p>\nwell, i hope this article has given you a taste of what the ap english literature exam will be like. even if the exam is still a year or two in your future, it\u2019s always a good idea to pick up a book. just hold off on the anthony burgess until college. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ap english literature will challenge you in ways you would never expect. in this article, learn all about the exam, and how to do your best on test day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24915],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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