AP English Literature & Composition

379 Pages·2008·3.43 MB·English

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AP English
Literature &
Composition
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Geraldine Woods
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AP English Literature & Composition For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2007942001
ISBN: 978-0-470-19425-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Author
Geraldine Woodshas taught and tutored every level of English from 5th grade through AP
for the past three decades. She’s the author of more than 40 books, including numerous
books published by Wiley: English Grammar For Dummies, English Grammar Workbook For
Dummies, Research Papers For Dummies, College Admissions Essays For Dummies, SAT I
ForDummies, and Punctuation: Simplified and Applied.
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Dedication
To Paul, whom I’ve always known and am still getting to know.
Author’s Acknowledgments
I offer sincere thanks to these poets, playwrights, and novelists, who spin words into beauty:
John Allman, Dana Crum, Dave Johnson, Hettie Jones, and Abigail Wender. I also acknowl-
edge a debt of gratitude to the wonderful students who graciously allowed me to print their
essays in this book: Emily Gerard, Jessica A. Moldovan, Sophia Shapiro, and Peter Weinberg.
Iappreciate the unfailing help and good humor of Kristin DeMint, Stacy Kennedy, Joyce Pepple,
and Jessica Smith of Wiley Publishing, as well as my technical reviewer, David P. Wetta of
York Community High School in Elmhurst, IL. Finally, thanks are due to my supportive and
wise agent, Lisa Queen of Queen Literary.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction.................................................................................1
Part I: Hamlet Hits the Answer Grid: An Overview of
the AP Lit Exam and Prep.............................................................7
Chapter 1: Flying Over the AP Lit Exam: An Overview............................................................................9
Chapter 2: “The Readiness Is All”: Preparing for the Exam..................................................................21
Chapter 3: Getting the Most Out of English Class..................................................................................31
Part II: Poetry in Motion.............................................................53
Chapter 4: Sorting Out Poetic Devices....................................................................................................55
Chapter 5: Unraveling Poetic Meaning....................................................................................................67
Chapter 6: Acing Multiple-Choice Poetry Questions.............................................................................77
Chapter 7: Mastering Essay Questions on Poetic Passages..................................................................89
Chapter 8: Flexing Your Poetry Muscles: Practice Questions............................................................101
Part III: Getting the Story from Prose and Drama .......................121
Chapter 9: Reading Fiction and Drama Passages.................................................................................123
Chapter 10: . . . And Nothing but the Truth: Reading Nonfiction Passages......................................141
Chapter 11: Conquering Multiple-Choice Prose and Drama Questions............................................151
Chapter 12: Writing Stellar Essays on Prose and Drama Passages....................................................165
Chapter 13: Practice Makes Perfect: Prose and Drama Questions....................................................179
Part IV: Paired Passages and the Open-Ended Essay...................203
Chapter 14: Free at Last: The Open-Ended Essay................................................................................205
Chapter 15: Double Trouble: Paired-Passage Essays...........................................................................219
Part V: Dress Rehearsal: Practice Exams....................................235
Chapter 16: Killing Three Perfectly Innocent Hours: Practice Exam 1..............................................239
Chapter 17: The Moment of Truth: Scoring Practice Exam 1.............................................................253
Chapter 18: Spoiling Three More Hours: Practice Exam 2..................................................................279
Chapter 19: Checking In: Scoring Practice Exam 2...............................................................................295
Part VI: The Part of Tens...........................................................317
Chapter 20: Ten Mistakes That Kill Your Essay Score.........................................................................319
Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Increase Your Know-How Without Studying..............................................325
Part VII: Appendixes.................................................................331
Appendix A: Literary Works....................................................................................................................333
Appendix B: Quick Grammar Review.....................................................................................................339
Index.......................................................................................347
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Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................1
About This Book.........................................................................................................................2
Conventions Used in This Book...............................................................................................2
What You’re Not To Read..........................................................................................................2
Foolish Assumptions.................................................................................................................2
How This Book Is Organized.....................................................................................................3
Part I: Hamlet Hits the Answer Grid: An Overview of the AP Lit Exam and Prep....3
Part II: Poetry in Motion..................................................................................................3
Part III: Getting the Story from Prose and Drama........................................................3
Part IV: Paired Passages and the Open-Ended Essay..................................................4
Part V: Dress Rehearsal: Practice Exams......................................................................4
Part VI: The Part of Tens.................................................................................................4
Part VII: Appendixes........................................................................................................4
Icons Used in This Book............................................................................................................4
Where to Go From Here.............................................................................................................5
Part I: Hamlet Hits the Answer Grid: An Overview of
the AP Lit Exam and Prep..............................................................7
Chapter 1:Flying Over the AP Lit Exam: An Overview.....................................................9
The Content and Structure of the Exam..................................................................................9
Taking a Closer Look at Typical AP Exam Questions..........................................................10
The multiple-choice section.........................................................................................11
The essay section...........................................................................................................13
All Things Score-Related.........................................................................................................14
Multiple-choice scoring.................................................................................................14
Essay scoring..................................................................................................................15
The envelope, please! Your final score........................................................................16
Receiving your score.....................................................................................................16
Dealing with the Practical Stuff..............................................................................................17
Signing up........................................................................................................................17
Being mindful of important deadlines.........................................................................18
Showing up: What to expect on test day.....................................................................18
Life happens: What to do if you can’t take the exam.................................................19
Dealing with special needs............................................................................................20
Chapter 2:“The Readiness Is All”: Preparing for the Exam.........................................21
Exam Minus One Year..............................................................................................................22
September Preceding the Exam.............................................................................................22
January Preceding the Exam..................................................................................................23
March Preceding the Exam.....................................................................................................24
Two Weeks before the Exam...................................................................................................24
The Night before the Exam.....................................................................................................25
Zero Hour: The Morning of the Test......................................................................................25
General Strategies for Saving Time on the Exam.................................................................26
Zooming through multiple-choice questions..............................................................26
Speed-writing the essays...............................................................................................27
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APEnglish Literature & Composition For Dummies
Chapter 3:Getting the Most Out of English Class...........................................................31
Preparing for Class, Solo-Style: Working on Reading Comprehension..............................31
Decoding and interpreting literature...........................................................................32
Recognizing style............................................................................................................36
Taking Notes in Class...............................................................................................................37
Reading the Extra Mile: Beyond Course Assignments........................................................38
Hearing Out the Critics: Reading Literary Essays................................................................39
Using criticism correctly, as a supplement to your reading.....................................40
Finding well-written criticism.......................................................................................40
Building Vocabulary for Fun and Profit.................................................................................41
Honing Your Essay-Writing Skills...........................................................................................43
Deciding what to write...................................................................................................43
Construction zone: Building the essay........................................................................46
Writing with Flair: How to Take Your Prose Up a Notch.....................................................48
Choosing specific statements over general claims....................................................49
Expressing yourself clearly...........................................................................................49
Proceeding logically.......................................................................................................50
Spicing up your writing with variety...........................................................................50
Part II: Poetry in Motion .............................................................53
Chapter 4:Sorting Out Poetic Devices.............................................................................55
Your Link to a Poem’s World: Imagery..................................................................................55
Expressing Creativity with Figurative Language..................................................................56
Similes and metaphors..................................................................................................56
Personification, apostrophe, synecdoche...................................................................57
Discovering Symbolism, Irony, and Allusion........................................................................58
Talking the Talk: Understanding Diction and Tone..............................................................60
Adding Meaning with Sound...................................................................................................61
Rhyme..............................................................................................................................61
Rhythm (meter)..............................................................................................................62
Examining Form: Line Breaks, Stanzas, and Enjambment..................................................63
Appearance on the page................................................................................................64
Standard forms...............................................................................................................66
Chapter 5:Unraveling Poetic Meaning............................................................................67
Decoding Literal Meaning.......................................................................................................67
Discovering poetic meaning with a simple set of steps............................................67
Applying the steps to a classic poem..........................................................................69
Unearthing Deeper Meanings in Poetry................................................................................70
Checking connotations and double meanings............................................................71
Applying free association..............................................................................................71
Visualizing.......................................................................................................................72
Listening..........................................................................................................................73
Considering Context and Point of View................................................................................74
Bringing Your Own Experience to the Poem........................................................................75
Chapter 6:Acing Multiple-Choice Poetry Questions.....................................................77
The Devil’s in the Details: Factual Questions.......................................................................77
Reading comprehension: Extracting details...............................................................77
Vocabulary: Examining individual words....................................................................78
Syntax: Singling out grammatical structure................................................................80