AP English Language Exam Part I (Multiple Choice) 60 minutes / 54-58 questions Four (4) nonfiction prose passages Primary focus: rhetorical analysis Usually at least one pre-20th-century passage New features since 2007 Analyze footnotes or endnotes Analyze works cited or bibliography AP English Language Exam Part II (Free Response) Three (3) writing prompts / 120 minutes Synthesis essay Two additional questions Rhetorical analysis No more pure style analysis (diction, imagery, tone, syntax) Argument AP English Language Exam Synthesis Essay Mandatory 15-minute reading/study period Can examine all questions Writing booklet must remain sealed 4-7 sources, including one visual text Quantitative data (charts, tables, graphs) Advertisements Political cartoons Fine art Photographs AP English Language Exam Synthesis Essay Revolves around an issue of modern public discourse, suitable for an informed citizenry Reference at least 3 sources as evidence Students need to demonstrate original thought. More sources does not guarantee a higher score. Fewer sources will lower score. Not all synthesis questions will require an argument. Incorporate direct and indirect quotations AP English Language: Schemes and Tropes (Figures of Speech) Teri Marshall, Ph.D. Adapted by Bob Schmidt Scheme Any artful deviation from the typical arrangement of words in a sentence. “He was a preposterously pompous proponent of precious pedantry.” -Alliteration Trope Any artful deviation from the typical or expected way a word or idea is expressed. “He was as busy as a bee.” -Simile Schemes Parallelism-similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. …for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor. –The Declaration of Independence Schemes Isocolon-parallelism in length (no. of words), syllables, and structure. His purpose was to impress the ignorant, to perplex the dubious, and to confound the scrupulous. Schemes Antithesis-juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, often in parallel structure. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. -Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969 Schemes Zeugma-more than one item in a sentence is governed by a single word, usually a verb. Exercise physiologists argue that body-pump aerobics sessions benefit a person’s heart and lungs, muscles and nerves, and joints and cartilage. (words) Schemes Anastrophe-inversion of the natural or usual word order. The emotional isolation, the preoccupation with God and themselves, the struggles for freedom, which seem to have possessed many of my friends at the same age, I know almost nothing of. –C.P. Snow, The Search Schemes Parenthesis-insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the normal syntactical flow of the sentence. There is even, and it is the achievement of this book, a curious sense of happiness running through its paragraphs –Norman Mailer Schemes Ellipsis-deliberate omission of a word or of words that are readily implied by the context. Kant, we may suppose, was more startled, by Hume’s apparent destruction of all basis for philosophical certainty; Reid, by the remoter consequences to morality and theology- Sir Leslie Stephen Schemes Asyndeton-deliberate omissions of conjunctions between a series of related clauses (or single words or phrases). …and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth –Abraham Lincoln Schemes Polysyndeton-opposite of asyndeton—the deliberate use of conjunctions. And God said…And it was so…And God made… -Genesis 1, 24-25 Schemes Alliteration-repetition of initial or medial consonants or any vowel sounds in successive or closely associated syllables, especially stressed syllables. Progress is not proclamation nor palaver. It is not pretense nor play on prejudice. –Warren G. Harding Schemes Anaphora-repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses. Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. –Mark Twain Schemes Epistrophe-repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses. To the good American many subjects are sacred: sex is sacred, business is sacred, America is sacred… -George Santayana Schemes Anadiplosis-repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause. Labor and care are rewarded with success, success produces confidence, confidence relaxes industry… -Samuel Johnson Schemes Antimetabole-repetition of words, in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order. Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. –John F. Kennedy Schemes Chiasmus-reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses. By day the frolic, and the dance by night. – Samuel Johnson Schemes Erotema (rhetorical question)-asking a question, not for the purpose of eliciting an answer but for the purpose of asserting or denying something obliquely Wasn’t that a great win by the Packers last night? –Mr. Schmidt Schemes Hypophora-asking a question and immediately answering it. Who taught me to curl myself inside a buttercup? Iolanthe! Who taught me to swing upon a cobweb? Iolanthe! –Gilbert and Sullivan Schemes Epiplexis-asking a question in order to reproach or upbraid, rather than to elicit information. In the name of heaven, Catiline, how long do you propose to exploit our patience? -Cicero Tropes Metaphor-comparison of two persons, places, things, or ideas usually using “is.” Debt is a bottomless sea. http://rhetorica.net/tropes.htm Tropes Simile-comparison of two persons, places, things, or ideas using “like” or “as.” Tom is as stubborn as a rock. Tropes Synecdoche-a part standing for the whole, or vice-versa. That’s a great new set of wheels you have! Tropes Metonymy-substituting an associated word or group of words for one that is meant. Legal Eagles Top Dog Brass Tropes Hyperbole-use of exaggeration for effect— not to be taken literally. I’ve told you a million times not to do that! Tropes Personification-the use of human qualities or abilities for inanimate objects or abstractions. And indeed there will be time For the yellow smoke that slides along the street, Rubbing its back upon the window panes. -T.S. Eliot Tropes Litotes-a deliberate understatement for effect. Not bad (an excellent performance) I guess they like each other (upon seeing a couple kissing romantically) Tropes Irony-use of a word or phrase to mean the opposite of its literal meaning. I just love cleaning my room. Tropes Oxymoron-connecting two contradictory terms together (meanings in tension with or opposite to their literal meanings) deafening silence virtual reality pretty ugly military intelligence Tropes Paradox-a statement seemingly contradictory but perhaps true. The swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot. – Henry David Thoreau Parting is such sweet sorrow –Shakespeare Thinking Argumentatively Issue Claim Evidence Argumentative Scheme (Toulmin) Claim (controversial or debatable) Data and Reasons Personal experience Anecdotes Facts Authorities Warrant (underlying principle) Argumentative Scheme (Toulmin) Evidence Backing (warrant) Grounds (claim) Qualifiers Conditions of Rebuttal Refutation Concession Basic Argumentative Scheme Issue Claim Evidence Rebuttal Refutation Concession Argument Timed Essays: Tasks Take a position on an issue Defend, challenge, qualify a position Propose a solution or compromise Identify most compelling or persuasive Evaluate effectiveness Evaluate validity Evaluate pros/cons of an issue Synthesis “Synthesis refers to combining the sources and the writer’s position to form a cohesive, supported argument and accurately citing all sources.” Sample Scoring Guidelines for the Synthesis Essay, The College Board, apcentral.collegeboard.com, 2006