Study Guide for AP Literature and Composition Midterm
PART I. (30 points)—30 minutes: MULTIPLE CHOICE
You will be given thirty AP Lit multiple choice exam questions, based on poetry and prose
passages which you will not see until the day of the exam (as will be the case with the actual AP
exam in the spring). Note: this section’s point value may be curved, depending on the
achievement level of the rest of the class.
HOW TO STUDY: To an extent, everything we’ve done up until this year—indeed, everything
you’ve done in your high school English career up until now—should prepare you for both this
and the other two sections of the exam; this section of the test repays: a) an ability to read
(sometimes) archaic texts, b) to offer the best interpretations of certain words or lines in a text, c)
a rudimentary knowledge of grammar, d) a sense of a work’s mood, tone, and/or intent.
However, reviewing notes on multiple choice strategy will help you here, as will a reflection
on which kinds of multiple choice questions were a particular challenge for you in the many
examples we covered in class.
A few reminders…
a) Do not be swayed by elaborate- or erudite-sounding answers that may not be supported
by the text. Occasionally (though not always) the simplest answer will be the most
accurate.
b) There is a best answer, and a second-best answer for every question. If you are really
stuck, try to narrow your choice to these two possibilities. Then guess. Which leads me
to…
c) Always guess. Don’t leave a question blank. As on the AP test, you are penalized the
same for a blank answer as for an incorrect one.
d) For answers that give you pairs of choices (“The speaker’s tone might best be described
as: A) wistful and melancholy, B) ironic and detached,” etc.), make sure—as best you
can—that both words in the answer you choose apply.
e) Read the poem or passage before you begin, but know that you’ll have to return to a
portion of it to answer most of the questions. Your first reading, then, should be designed
to give you an overall sense of the meaning of the piece.
f) Keep moving. There are thirty questions. You have an ample amount of time to do
them, but don’t spend forever dithering over a single answer. Make your best choice
with the knowledge you have, and then move on.
PART II. (50 points)—40 minutes: POETRY ESSAY QUESTION
You will be given an AP-style essay question on a poem that you will not see until the day of the
exam. Your response will be in the form of a multi-paragraph essay (of the type we have
frequently done in class).
HOW TO STUDY: Ditto the last set of instructions: to an extent, the semester in AP Lit—and
the comments I have made on your work—should help you to answer this question. If you are
particularly concerned about it, it may be helpful to review my notes on both the prose and
poetry prompts we have done in class (you have access to your portfolios at all times).
A few reminders…
a) An introduction of about three or four sentences is appropriate. Be sure to create a precise
and focused thesis statement where you (do not merely restate the prompt).
b) My suggestion has been that you eschew a conclusion. If you feel that you have time for
one, it should not simply repeat points you’ve already made.
c) Embedded quotations from the text (remember to delineate line breaks with a / ) are a
must.
d) Your organization should be chronological (though you should give yourself permission
to tie together passages that might occur at different points in the poem if you are trying
to make a particular argument with them). The paragraphs need not have topic sentences,
but they should cohere around a main claim, and the decision to move on to a new
paragraph should have some kind of rhyme or reason.
e) Precision is king. You should use specific, nuanced language to reflect the reality of the
poem. But however specifically you write about particular moments in the poem, don’t
miss the forest for the trees. Your reader should have the sense that you have a sense of
the overall “story” of the poem.
f) Spend more time thinking and analyzing the ENTIRE text rather than paraphrasing the
text in your response. Many writers miss or ignore subtle shades of meaning which
show contrasts or similarities. Look for ambiguities and ambivalence in the selection.
g) Good mechanical writing is valued on the AP test, as it is here. It would be a good idea,
if you have any nagging punctuation/usage/grammar/spelling problems, to address these
prior to the exam. See me if you need help.
PART III. (50 point)—40 minutes: OPEN ESSAY QUESTION
You will be given an AP-style open question (traditionally, Question #3 on the actual AP test),
and you will be asked to base this question on one of the complete works we have studied this
year so far: Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Dorian Gray, or The Sun Also
Rises. Depending on the question I choose, you may have a choice between two works, or
you may be confined to only one of them.
HOW TO STUDY: Review your notes from class, so that you have, in your memories, the
general plot outline, the major themes, and the major characters from each text.
Note: I would suggest memorizing (because I will not feed you these names): Hamlet,
Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, The Player, Alfred,
Dorian Gray, Lord Henry, Basil Hallward, Sybil Vane, Jake Barnes, Robert Cohn, Lady Brett
Ashley, Mike, Bill, and Pedro Romero.
Be careful if you use Sparknotes to review. If you use it, use it judiciously. It can help with a
review of the general plot and the names of characters. However, it is very easy to “absorb”
(even without meaning to) analyses of characters and themes from that website and to find your
suddenly “regurgitating” them as your own. Be very wary of this. I will expect your own
original thoughts on this essay.
Review notes from the day I introduced the open question.
A few reminders…
a) What I wrote above for introductions and conclusions goes for this question, too.
b) You will most likely not use any quotations (you will not have the text in front of you).
If you feel as if you remember an important phrase or line word-for-word, then you can
quote it. But it’s not necessary, and you definitely shouldn’t quote a half-remembered bit
of text.
c) One of the biggest stumbling blocks of this question—both historically, and for your
section of students this year—has been a failure to answer the question, either wholly
or partially. Though it sounds obvious, make sure to answer the question—and to do it
in your intro.
d) Precision is still king, even without the text in front of you. Complex, nuanced
arguments are much better than vague, superficial ones. Take a moment or two to think
before you begin writing.
e) At the same time, don’t make the question harder than it has to be. If you are asked to
select a certain kind of character, and you are caught between a more obvious and a
harder-to-argue choice, go for the more obvious one. You won’t be rewarded for
challenging yourself with your topic. Instead, it will be the way you approach that topic
that will be key.
PLEASE BRING BOTH PEN AND PENCIL TO THE EXAM. AND REMEMBER…
“The readiness is all…”
—Hamlet (V.ii)