AP English Literature & Composition For Dummies (For Dummies (Language & Literature)) PDF
Preview AP English Literature & Composition For Dummies (For Dummies (Language & Literature))
01_194256 ffirs.qxp 12/13/07 1:03 PM Page i AP English Literature & Composition FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Geraldine Woods 01_194256 ffirs.qxp 12/13/07 1:03 PM Page ii AP English Literature & Composition For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2007942001 ISBN: 978-0-470-19425-6 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_194256 ffirs.qxp 12/13/07 1:03 PM Page iii 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. 01_194256 ffirs.qxp 12/13/07 1:03 PM Page iv 01_194256 ffirs.qxp 12/13/07 1:03 PM Page v 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. 01_194256 ffirs.qxp 12/13/07 1:03 PM Page vi Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Composition Services Project Editor: Kristin DeMint Project Coordinator:Lynsey Osborn Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy Layout and Graphics:Claudia Bell, Stacie Brooks, Carrie A. Cesavice,Brooke Graczyk, Copy Editor: Jessica Smith Stephanie D.Jumper, Christine Williams Editorial Program Coordinator:Erin Calligan Mooney Proofreaders: John Greenough, Evelyn W. Still Technical Editor: David P. Wetta Indexer: Potomac Indexing LLC Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker Editorial Assistants:Joe Niesen, Leeann Harney Cover Photos: © Getty Images Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan,Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings,Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey,Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services 02_194256 ftoc.qxp 12/13/07 1:29 PM Page vii 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 02_194256 ftoc.qxp 12/13/07 1:29 PM Page viii 02_194256 ftoc.qxp 12/13/07 1:29 PM Page ix 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 02_194256 ftoc.qxp 12/13/07 1:29 PM Page x x 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
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