AP English Literature and Composition Scoring
How is the multiple-choice section scored?
 5 answer choices are typically given
 A question left blank receives zero credit (don’t leave blanks…guess)
 Number right = raw score
How is the essay section scored?
 Score range is from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest)
 (pts. X 3.055) + (pts. X 3.055) + (pts. X 3.055) = essay raw score
Essay 1
Essay 2
Essay 3
How is composite score calculated?
 Total composite score is 150
 55% is for the essays (82.5 points)
 45% is for the multiple choice (67.5 points)
 150 – 100 pts. = 5
 99 – 86 pts. = 4
 85 – 67 pts. = 3
 Grades 2 and 1 fall below this range. You don’t want to go there.
AP English Literature and Composition
Multiple Choice Section Guidelines
General advice for working through multiple choice passages:
 Underline, circle, highlight text – write!
 Read closely, paying attention to punctuation rhythms of the lines or sentences.
 Read as if you were reading out loud; hear the words in your head; use your finger
as a pointer.
 Use all the information given to you about the passage, such as title, author, date
of publication, and footnotes.
Types of Multiple Choice Questions:
1. The straightforward question:
o The poem is an example of a
 C. lyric
2. The question that refers you to specific lines and asks you to draw a conclusion or
to interpret.
o Lines 52-57 serve to
 A. reinforce the author’s thesis
3. The “all….except” question requires extra time because it demands that you
consider every possibility.
o The AP Literature exam is all of the following except:
 A. It is given in May of each year.
 B. It is open to high school seniors.
 C. It is publishes in The New York Times.
 D. It is used as a qualifier for college credit.
 E. It is a 3 hour test.
4. The question that asks you to make an inference or to abstract a concept that is not
directly stated in the passage.
o In the poem “My Last Duchess,” the reader can infer that the speaker is
 E. arrogant
5. The Roman numeral special that is both problematic and time-consuming. This is
the type of question to skip if it crosses you up or you are short on time.
o In the poem, “night” refers to
 I. the death of the maiden
 II. A pun on Sir Lancelot’s title
 III. The end of the affair
 A. I only
 B. I and II
 C. I and III
 D. II and III
 E. I, II, and III
The questions in the multiple choice section will be factual, technical, analytical, and
inferential. The two tables on the back of this page illustrate the types of key words and
phrases in these four categories that you should expect to find in questions for both the
prose and poetry selections.
AP English Literature and Composition
Essay Section Guidelines
The Prose Passage Essay
Types of questions that have been asked in the past:
 Analyze narrative and literary techniques and other resources of language
used for characterization.
 How does the narrator reveal character? (tone, diction, syntax, point of
view)
 How does the author reveal a character’s predicament? (diction, imagery,
point of view)
 Explain the effect of the passage on the reader.
 Compare/contrast two passages concerning diction and details for effect
on the reader.
 How does the passage provide characterization and evaluation of one
character over another? (diction, syntax, imagery, tone)
 What is the attitude of the speaker toward a particular subject?
 Analyze the effect of revision when given both the original and the revised
version of a text.
 Analyze style and tone and how they are used to explore the author’s
attitudes toward his or her subject.
 How is the reader prepared for the conclusion of the piece?
Tips: Generally, the more difficult the reading, the more basic the question.
Conversely, you are going to have to work extra hard to find the nuances of what
appears to be an easy passage. Remember, you choose the references you wish to
incorporate into your essay. Even if you haven’t understood everything, address
the prompt and refer to the parts of the passage that you do understand.
Timing Strategy:
 1-3 minutes reading and considering the prompt.
 5 minutes reading and making margin notes about the passage. Try to
isolate 2 quotations that strike you. This may provide help with an opening
and closing.
 10 minutes preparing to write, advancing your margin notes and
highlighting to some kind of outline.
 20 minutes writing your essay.
 3 minutes proofreading.
Tips: It is important to spend focused time on the first paragraph of the essay. It
establishes the tone and direction of your essay. It gives you the guidelines for
what to develop in your essay. It connects you to the reader. In the remainder of
the essay, refer often to the passage (directly). Use concrete details and quotes to
support your ideas. Always stay on topic (prompt). Avoid plot summary. Include
transitions and echo words.
The Poetry Passage Essay
Types of questions that have been asked in the past:
 How does the language of the poem reflect the speaker’s perceptions, and
how does that language determine the reader’s perception?
 How does the poet reveal character? (diction, sound devices, imagery,
allusion)
 Discuss the similarities and differences between two poems. Consider
style and theme.
 Contrast the speaker’s views toward a subject in two poems. Refer to
form, tone, and imagery.
 Discuss how poetic elements such as language, structure, imagery, and
point of view convey meaning in a poem.
 Given two poems, discuss what elements make one better than the other.
 Relate the imagery, form, or theme of a particular section of a poem to
another part of the same poem. Discuss changing attitude or perception of
speaker or reader.
 Analyze a poem’s extended metaphor and how it reveals the poet’s or
speaker’s attitude.
 Discuss the way of life revealed in a poem. Refer to such poetic elements
as tone, imagery, symbol, and verse form.
 Discuss the poet’s changing reaction to the subject developed in the poem.
 Discuss how the form of the poem affects its meaning.
Timing Strategy:
 1-3 minutes reading and working the prompt.
 5 minutes re-reading and making margin notes about the poem. Try to
isolate a handful of references that strike you.
 10 minutes prepping or outlining to write.
 20 minutes actually writing your essay.
 3 minutes for proofreading.
Tip: In the margin, note what time you should be finished with this essay.
What to include in the essay:
 An interpretation and related points.
 Specific references and details from the poem. Do not always paraphrase.
 Establish and maintain connection to the prompt.
 Reinforce key ideas, use echo words, and create transitions for paragraphs.
 Emphasize TONE even if the prompt does not directly ask for it.
What makes poetry different from prose?
Prose
Words
Phrases
Sentences
Paragraphs
Chapters
Poetry
Syllables
Feet
Lines
Stanzas
Cantos
The FOOT is the basic building block of poetry. It is composed of a pattern of
syllables. These patterns create the meter of a poem. METER is a pattern of beats
or accents. This pattern is determined by counting the stressed and unstressed
syllables in a line.
There are 5 common patterns that are used repeatedly in poetry:
 The iamb – unstressed/stressed
(to-DAY) (beCAUSE)
 The trochee – stressed/unstressed
(HAP-py) (LIGHTly)
 The anapest – unstressed/unstressed/stressed
(ob-vi-OUS) (reg-uLAR)
 The dactyl - stressed/unstressed/unstressed
(CIG-a-rette) (IN-terupt)
 The spondee – stressed/stressed
(DOWN-TOWN) (SLIPSHOD)
The LINE of poetry is measured by the number of feet it contains, rather that
subject, predicate, and punctuation in a prose sentence.
 1 foot – monometer
 2 feet – dimeter
 3 feet – trimester
 4 feet – tetrameter
 5 feet – pentameter
 6 feet – hexameter
 7 feet – heptameter
 8 feet – octameter
 9 feet – nonometer
i. e. Shakespeare’s plays are loosely written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. An iamb
has 2 syllables and pentameter suggests 5 feet. Ergos, 5 X 2 = 10 syllables in a line of
iambic pentameter.
Poetic Progression: Syllables form feet, feet form lines, and lines form STANZAS.
Stanzas also have names:
 1 line = a line
 2 lines = couplet
 3 lines = tercet
 4 lines = quatrain
 5 lines = cinquain
 6 lines = sestet
 7 lines = septet
 8 lines = octave
The Free Response Essay
Types of questions that have been asked in the past:
 The journey as a major force in a work.
 What happens to a dream deferred?
 Transformation, both literal and figurative.
 Descent into madness/hell.
 An ironic reversal in a character’s beliefs or actions.
 Perception and reality – “What is, is not.”
 A child becomes a force to reveal something.
 Ceremony or ritual plays an important role.
 The role of the fool, comic character, or wise servant who reveals
something.
 How an opening scene or chapter establishes the character, conflict, or
theme of a work.
 How a minor character is used to develop a major character.
 How violence relates to character or theme.
 How time is a major factor.
 The ways in which an author changes the reader’s attitude(s) toward a
subject.
 The use of contrasting settings.
 Parent/child or sibling relationships and their significance.
 The analysis of a villain with regard to the meaning of the work.
 The use of an unrealistic character or element and its effects on the work.
 The relevance of a nonmodern work to the present day.
 The conflict between passion and responsibility.
 The conflict between character and society.
Tip: No free response question has ever been directly repeated, but variants
on the above questions have been used.
Timing Strategy:
 1-3 minutes working the prompt.
 3-5 minutes choosing the work and establishing its appropriateness.
 10 minutes for brainstorming, charting, mapping, outlining, and
identifying the specifics you plan to use your essay.
 20 minutes to write your essay based upon your preparation.
 3 minutes for proofreading.
Tip: Chances are you have read few works on the list. This tends to breed
insecurity. You may be familiar with one or two works on the list and decide
to choose one. Remember, there is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing a
work of literary merit from outside of the list. Obviously, a work that is
fresher in your mind is preferred.
Pitfalls of the Free Response essay:
 Overconfidence derived from the open nature of the question.
 Dependence on memory rather than preparation.




Rambling about unsupported generalities or the most obvious illustrations.
Use of incorrect information.
Relying on plot summary.
Failure to plan and limit the response.