Advanced Placement
Literature and Composition Test
PREPARING FOR SUCCESS
Format of the Test
 Test is broken into two major sections
 Section 1 – Multiple Choice
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Allowed 1 hour
Section 2 – Writing
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Allowed 2 hours
Multiple Choice
 Typically there are 55 questions asked on the test
 Try to find a half way point
 If there are 60 questions, try to be at question 30 halfway
through the allotted time
 Multiple choice passages broken up in two ways
 Prose
 Poetry
Multiple Choice - Prose
 Read actively and visually – underline and circle
 Examine organizational pattern
 Identify transitional words and phrases
 Acknowledge point of view
 Evaluate tone through diction and sentence structure
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Be especially watchful for irony and satire
 Watch for odd words that may shift the language
 Pay attention to punctuation for changes in tone
 Use context clues to identify any unknown vocabulary
 Notice and mark SOAPStone
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Speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, tone
Multiple Choice - Prose
 Question Categories
 Rhetoric
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Author’s meaning and purpose
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Why does the author choose a specific wording? To what effect?
Main Idea
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How does language work in the passage?
What is the author’s thesis, attitude and tone?
Organization and Structure
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How is the passage organized?
 Comparison/Contrast, definition, specific to general
Multiple Choice - Poetry
 Pay attention to punctuation, looking for complete
sentences indicated by periods, semi-colons, etc.
 Watch for shifts in tone, point of view, verb tense,
and time
 Consider repetitions
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Parallel syntax, imagery, simile/metaphor
 What is the logic?
 Asking – then answering questions
 Developing an argument
 Story with a conflict and climax
 Series of analogies and comparisons to prove a point
Multiple Choice - Poetry
 Dramatic situation
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Analyze for speaker
Note sentence structure
Identify any enjambment
Discriminate between literal and figurative elements
Scansion – handout from earlier
Inferred attitude from author
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Note the difference between author and speaker
 Notice literary devices
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Simile, metaphor, personification
 Notice sound devices
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Alliteration, assonance, internal and external rhyme
Multiple Choice - Poetry
 Question Categories
 Dramatic Situation (speaker, occasion, audience, purpose)
 Structure and form
 Universal theme
 Definitions of words in context
 Images and figurative language
 Diction and connotations
 Tone
 Literary devices
 Sound devices
 Scansion
Multiple Choice - Poetry
Foot
Meter
 Monometer
 Dimeter
 Trimeter
 Tetrameter
 Pentamter
 Hexameter
 Heptameter
 Octameter
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
 Iamb
 Trochee
 Anapest
 Dactyl
U/
/U
UU/
/UU
Free Response Questions
 Three prompts– poetry, prose, open-ended
 Use about 40 minutes per question (2 hours total)
 Most questions ask you to analyze
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Analyze – to break something into smaller pieces
 You can do some prewriting
 Develop a working thesis that requires proof
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Full introduction not necessary
 Do not need to list the items of analysis in thesis
 It is okay to scratch something out – reader should only
read what is intended to be read
 Understand punctuation of poems, novels, plays, short stories
Free Response - Poetry
 When utilizing poetic devices, do not list rhyme
scheme as a device – pointless
 Show a working knowledge of poetic language
 Know the difference between the following:
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Sonnet – 14 lined poem, often about love
Ode – long, serious, meditative lyric poem
Elegy – serious, reflective; often love poetry
Epic – narrative poem, recounts adventure of a hero
Dramatic monologue – speaker addresses silent listener,
revealing himself in a dramatic situation
Mock heroic poem – lengthy poem about a trivial subject
written in the manner of an epic
Free Response - Prose
 Make sure you carefully answer the prompt given
 Sometimes individuals have the tendency to wander
 Specific textual examples are helpful to mention
when you identify ideas
 Be sure not to simply repeat the prompt
 Do not analyze the quality of a text unless you are
asked to do so
 Understand the language of prose
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Specifically, be able to describe and analyze tone
Free Response – Open-Ended
 Discuss specific elements – don’t generalize
 Do not merely summarize plot
 Analyze, analyze, analyze
 Develop strong and varied sentences
 Choose a work from the list or an appropriate
literary work for the prompt
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Do not use Hamlet
Write about a work you feel comfortable and knowledgeable
Refresh yourself with works from past school years
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What works have you read in high school?
A few last thoughts…
 Come prepared
 Get plenty of rest the night before
 Eat a good breakfast the morning of the test
 Be sure you are hydrated
 Test fatigue can set in, so be patient and mindful
 Everything we have learned this year has been review
for this test
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Novels, discussions, writing prompts, essays, practice passages
 Ask me questions if you have any
 jvanengen@sfcss.org – @j_man_v – (605) 759-3914