AP English Language & Composition Multiple Choice Overview

Multiple Choice Overview

• Question Structure
• In the multiple-choice section, you will be given 5 to 7 passages, each of them followed by 5 to 12 multiple-choice questions about each passage.
• The passages will often be out of context—no author, no title, no helpful footnotes. Often they’ll only have a date.
• You will have to answer questions about:
• The main idea(s) of the passage
• How the passage is written (tone, vocabulary, etc.)
• Details of the passage
• Inferences about the passage (such as the author’s purpose in writing)
• Selection Sources
• Most of the passages will come from works written in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.
• At least one selection will probably come from a work written before 1800.
• All selections were written in English or translated into English.
• They will probably not be taken from works you have read in class.
• It’s All About Variety!
• Types of writing you may see on this test include:
• Fiction
• Essays
• Biography/Autobiography
• Speeches
• Letters
• Journalism
• Literary/Cultural Criticism
• Science/Nature Writing
• Politics
• History
• Basic Test-Taking Strategies
• Read the passage first.
• Read for the big picture
• Get familiar with the structure and tone of the passage.
• Avoid the traps!
• Do everything twice.
• You will have 8 to 12 minutes to tackle each passage and its questions. That’s about one minute per question (including reading time).
• Make two passes through the test.
• Answer easy questions first.
• Circle hard questions so you can come back to them later.
• When you’re done with the passage, if you have at least 5 minutes left, go back to the hard questions. If not, save them for the end (if there’s time).
• Use process of elimination.
• What if you absolutely don’t know the answer?
• Blind guessing: 20% correct
• Eliminate two choices: 33% correct
• There is no penalty for guessing.