Tackling the Multiple Choice Section

As always, Step 1:  What’s the argument?

First, decode….read the passage once to get an idea of the “big picture.”  If you want, circle words that seem key, or underline what you believe to be the argument(s) made by the author; however, don’t “overmark” the passage.  The main idea here is do NOT read laboriously, attempting to do a rhetorical analysis as you go.  Some (or a lot) of the details may escape you on this first pass, but that is OK.

Look for:

­       Author’s argument

­       Tone

­       Point of View

Step 2: Pace yourself

The math:  54 questions, 60 minutes, and 5-7 passages to read.  You will need to a lot about 8-12 minutes per passage and its questions….so

Step 2.1 – BE SMART and use your time wisely

Here is what a couple of experts recommend:

1. Answer all the easy questions first.
2. For the more difficult questions, eliminate incorrect answer choices and mark them out in your question booklet.  You could even mark some choices with question marks, signifying that they may be possible answers. This technique will help you avoid reconsidering those choices you've already eliminated and will help you narrow the possible answers. If you've managed to eliminate two or more answers from consideration but still are not sure of the answer, mark a guess answer at this point. If you wish to reconsider these guess answers before you go on to the next set, you'll be able to identify them from the marks you've made eliminating wrong answers.
3. Circle the hard questions.  Leave the answer blank (but be careful to mark your next answer in the right place on the answer sheet), put a checkmark in the margin next to the question, and go on. Sometimes, consideration of other questions in the set suddenly sheds light on the questions you left blank, and you can then quickly return to it and choose an answer.

Look at your watch (or the clock) to determine how much time you have left out of whatever number of minutes you have allotted for the passage.  If you have time, go after those hard questions; if not, come back to them at the end if you have time.

Step 3 - Know the Structure

A couple of generalizations about the test.  Question categories include:

­       Questions about rhetoric/rhetorical modes

­       Questions about meaning, purpose

­       Questions about main idea

­       Questions about organization and structure

Types of questions include:

­       The straightforward question

­       The question that refers you to specific lines and asks you to draw a conclusion or interpret

­       The ALL…or EXCEPT question

­       The question that asks you to make an inference about a concept not directly stated in the passage

­       The “killer” Roman numeral question

­       The footnote question

Big picture questions about the passage often come at the beginning or at the end of the passages; detail questions are often sandwiched in between.

For those questions that refer to specific lines, you should ALWAYS reread the lines.  Read around them (sentence before and the one after); don’t rely on your memory.

Step 4 – To Guess or Not to Guess

Answer: Guess if you can eliminate two responses.  There is math involved here, so …

­       Scoring is the number right – (the number wrong x .25) rounded up or down to the nearest whole number.

­       Skipped items do not count for or against you

Sources:

“AP Test Review: English Language and Composition.” Thompson High School.  Shelby County Schools.  4 May 2009. <www.shelbyed.k12.al.us/schools/ths/faculty/AP%20Test%20Review.ppt>.

Hartzell, Richard.  Cracking the AP Language & Composition Exam 2009 Edition.  New York: Random House, 2008.

Swovelin, Barbara V.  English Language and Composition, 3rd Edition. 4 May 2009
<http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-305363,articleId-31663.html>.