AP LITERATURE
EXAM PREP NOTES
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 TH
7:45 am
Competition Gym
WHAT TO BRING:
 picture ID
 pencils / erasers
 blue or black ink pens
 watch
 water
 snack
 tissues
 jacket or sweater
 mints or cough drops
LENGTH OF EXAM:
3 HOURS
2 SECTIONS:
MULTIPLE CHOICE
& ESSAY
(WITH A SHORT BREAK BETWEEN)
SECTION 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE
(45 % OF FINAL SCORE)
 60 minutes
 4-6 pieces of poetry and prose
 50-60 questions
ANSWER ALL MULTIPLE
CHOICE QUESTIONS.
• There is no penalty for incorrect
answers. YAY!
• Your objective is to get through all
of the questions; you don’t want to
miss any you will get right.
• Mark the ones you can’t answer and
move on. Go back and work the ones you
skipped.
• Educated guessing is good strategy!!
SECTION 2: ESSAY
(55 % OF FINAL SCORE)
• 120 minutes (2 hours)
• 3 essays:
 1 poetry (verse) analysis
 1 literary (prose) analysis
 1 student choice analysis
WHAT TO ANALYZE
Diction
Imagery
Figurative
Language
Sounds/Rhyme
Rhythm/Pace
•
•
•
•
•
•
Patterns
Shifts
Organization/Structure
Details
Point-of-View
Tone
NO, NOT THIS YEAR!
This year, not “rhetorical” -
instead it’s…
• “literary” devices
• “poetic” devices
•ethos
•logos
•pathos
ESSAY #3:
STUDENT CHOICE ANALYSIS
You get to choose which book you write about, even if
it’s not on the suggested list. Criteria….
 it is of literary merit
 you are very familiar with it
 you haven’t simply watched a
movie version of it!
ESSAY 3 MAY BE ABOUT
“THE MEANING OF THE
WORK AS A WHOLE.”
• Explicitly say what the meaning is in your
thesis.
• Meaning = Theme
• This is a story about _______________ and how
_____________________________________.
SUGGESTED
TIMING:
2-3 MINUTES:
UNDERLINE KEY WORDS IN
THE PROMPT
Keep track of your own
time.
Start Time: _____
Stop Time: _____
• Divide the
10-15 MINUTES:
READ, RE-READ,
ANNOTATE, PRE-WRITE
120 MINUTES
as you see fit.
25-35 MINUTES:
WRITE THE ESSAY
•Tackle the essays in
2-3 MINUTES:
PROOFREAD
any order.
HOW TO PREP…
SHOULD I READ ANOTHER
BOOK?
COFFEE TALK REWIND!!
Option 1:
Re-read any
novel or play
from 9 th-12 th
grade assigned
reading lists.
Option 2:
Read The
Importance of
Being Earnest by
Oscar Wilde (a
play; a comedy)
… STORE IN YOUR MIND…
• 2 novels written in 20 th or 21 st centuries
• 2 novels written pre-20th century
Be able to recall:
 author
 plot points
 characters
 conflicts
 themes
 what distinguishes the author’s style
 opening and closing paragraphs
 what makes the work unique
…STORE IN YOUR MIND…
• 2 plays by Shakespeare
• 2 plays by other playwrights
Be prepared to recall:
•the setting (place, time, social mores)
•major characters
•themes
•rising and falling action
•climax
•opening and closing scenes
SOME GOOD NEWS…
NOW
IS THE TIME
FOR
S PA R K N O T E S

WHEN YOU ARE READY TO REVIEW …
• Go to my website under “AP Exam Prep”
• handouts and websites will help you
review
Most important:
• Literary Analysis
• Terms
DON’T LET THE WORDING OF THE PROMPT
CONFUSE YOU OR CAUSE YOU UNCERTAINTY .
• “show how…”
These are all
asking the same
• “analyze the
techniques…”
thing:
• “discuss the
How does the
strategies…”
author use
• “what devices are words?
employed…”
THE PASSAGES AND POETRY
WILL BE FROM DIFFERENT TIME
PERIODS AND WILL BE OF
VARYING LENGTH AND DEGREE
OF DIFFICULTY.
If you read a passage or poem that you think
is “hard” don’t panic. Take a breath, tell
yourself, “Oh, here’s the hard one” and then
give it your best!
READING
POETRY &
SHAKESPEARE
Don’t be intimidated by older
pieces or by Shakespeare.
Remember, it’s all English!
Begin with what you understand
and move forward.
 Let punctuation guide you as you read.
 Chunk it up and paraphrase.
 Begin with what you understand.
 Look for patterns: words, images, sounds, etc. that
seem to go together. What could these mean as a
whole?
 Notice SHIFTS (words like but and yet are indicators)
 Remember: IMAGERY = MEANING!
HEY, AM I READY FOR THIS?
ABSOLUTELY!!
Approach the
exam with
healthy respect
and confidence.
You’re going to
have to work for
it, but you can
do it!
Dearest Seniors,
I want you to know how delighted I
am that you have chosen to take the AP
Lit Exam. There is no doubt in my mind
that when you bring your A-game, you
will do well. You have worked with
earnestness and diligence this year, and I
am honored to point at you and say,
“THAT is my Phoenix student!”
~ Mrs. C
ANALYZING POETRY A LA’ THE SCIENTIFIC
METHOD:
OBSERVE • Notice details of the
text.
QUESTION • Interact with and
annotate the text.
•
Address
questions
of
HYPOTHESIZE
how and why.
• Test your thinking
EXPERIMENT against the thinking
of others.
SHARE RESULTS • Conclude and reflect.