AP: English Literature and
Composition
AP Exam
• 55 multiple choice questions
• 4-6 passages
– 60 minutes
– 45% of final score
• 3 essay questions
– 120 minutes
– 55% of final score
Multiple Choice Questions
• Level one questions
• Close reading questions
• Literary terms
• Select “most correct” of
correct answers
Multiple Choice Questions
• Omitted Answer
• Negative points
• Correct Answer
• 1.2272 Points
• Incorrect Answer
• 0 points
Essay Questions #1 and #2
• Reading selection provided
– One poetry
– One prose
• Level 2 question
– Use the text
– Students will give “somewhat”
different answers
Essay Questions #1 and #2
• Questions always includes
“what and how”
• Organize by the “what” or
the “how”
• Prove the “what” with the
“how” as support
Sample Poetry Prompt
Read the following poem
carefully. Then, in a well
written essay analyze the
techniques the poet uses to
reveal the speaker’s attitudes
towards nature and the artist’s
task.
Sample Prose Prompt
Read the following passage
carefully. Then write a well
organized essay in which you
analyze how the author uses
such techniques as point of
view, selection of detail, and
syntax to characterize the
relationship between the
father and the son.
Questions #1 and #2 - Tips
• List of Literary Techniques
– Merely Suggestions
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Brief opening paragraph
Clear thesis from prompt
Quotes – “In Snippets”
Give a Wow conclusion
Graded on a 9 point rubric
Key Literary Techniques
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Point of View
Selection of Detail
Syntax
Diction
Figurative Language
Structure
Imagery
Sound Devices
Essay Question #3
• Analytical question with list
of novel and plays
• Level 3 question
– Thematic in nature
Essay Question #3
• Avoid plot summary
• Assume grader knows the
book
• Brief opening paragraph
with thesis
• Organize with transitions
• Use a lot of specific
support
Essay Question #3
• Select a fiction novel or
play of literary quality
• Cover the list and decide
• Choose a work you know
well
• No literary terms needed
Sample Free Response Prompt
• In many works of literature, past
events can effect, positively or
negatively, the present actions,
attitudes or values of a character.
Choose a novel or play in which a
character must contend with the
past. Then write an essay in which
you show how the character’s
relationship with the past
contributes to the meaning of the
work as a whole.