September 2013 Post-How to Approach the Multiple-Choice Questions on the AP English Language Exam

Remember if you have questions you can always email me at tgorourke@verizon.net or tiffany.g.orourke@gmail.com or tiffany.orourke@maranathastaff.org.  As promised, here are two articles (from 5 Steps to a 5) for your reflection on the multiple choice section of the AP exam:

Multiple choice? Multiple guess? Multiple anxiety? It’s been our experience that the day after the exam finds students bemoaning the difficulties and uncertainties of Section I of the AP English Language and Composition exam.

“It’s unfair.”

“I didn’t understand a word of the third reading.”

“Was that in English?”

“Did you get four Ds in a row for the last reading?”

“I just closed my eyes and pointed.”

Is it really possible to avoid these and other exam woes? We hope that by following along with us in this chapter you will begin to feel a bit more familiar with the world of multiple-choice questions and, thereby, become a little more comfortable with the multiple choice section of the exam.

What Is It About the Multiple-Choice Questions That Causes Such Anxiety?

What Should I Expect in Section I?

1. You are allotted 1 hour to answer between 45 and 60 objective questions on four to five prose passages.  The selections may vary from works of fiction to nonfiction and from different time periods, of different styles, and of different purposes.  These are NOT easy readings and representative of college-level work. 

1. You will be expected to:

2. The selection is self-contained.  If is about the Irish Potato Famine, you will NOT be at a disadvantage if you know nothing about Ireland before the exam. Frequently, there will be biblical references in a selection.  You are expected to be aware of basic allusions to biblical and mythological works, but the passages will never require you to have any particular religious background.  Believe it or not, there are Cliff Notes for the Bible J.

2. Take no more than a minute and thumb through the exam looking for the length of the selections, the number of questions asked, the type of selections, and the type of questions.  This will help you to be aware of what is expected of you.

2. Always maintain an awareness of time and wear a watch.  Although the test naturally breaks into 15-minute sections, you make take more or less on time on particular passages (12 minutes per passage for 5 passages, 15 minutes per passage for 4 passages).  The test does not become more difficult as it progresses. Work at a pace of about one minute per question. Don’t stress out about extremely difficult questions; remember that there has to be a bar to separate the 5’s from the 4’s.

2. Reading the text carefully is a must.  Do not waste time reading questions before reading the text. Read the text carefully by doing the following as you read:

1. Underline, circle, and annotate the text.

1. Pay close attention to punctuation, syntax, diction, pacing, and organization

1. Read the passage as if you were reading aloud paying close attention to emphasizing meaning and intent

1. Hear the words in your head

1. Trace the words with your finger; it will force you to slow down and comprehend the words you are reading

1. Use all of the information found in the passage such as title, author, date of publication, and footnotes

1. Be aware of organization and rhetorical strategies

1. Be aware of thematic ideas

1. Practice these techniques with all readings.  A good pace is 1 ½ minutes per page

2. Structure of the Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Straightforward Question

2. Interpretation and Conclusion Questions

3. All and Except

4. Inference or Abstract concept not directly stated

5. Roman Numerals

6. Footnote

7. Scoring: Number of questions right = raw score.  The raw score is 45% of your total and is combined with your composition score.  Your Multiple Choice can impact your essay score. The essay scorers already have your MC score and therefore have a “prediction” of the score that your essay should receive. Good test takers cannot "blow off" the essay section; good writers cannot fluff through the MC section.  A psychometrician at the scoring table makes sure that essay and MC scores are in sync with each other.

7. General Guidelines:

1. Work in order; you will not lose your place on the scan sheet

1. Write on the exam booklet; interact with the text

1. Do not spend too much time on any one question

1. Do not be mislead by the length of passages; length does not equal difficulty

1. Consider all the choices; remember they are looking for the BEST answer

1. Remember that all parts of an answer must be correct

1. Don’t forget to carefully bubble answers.  Mark your answer in the book as you read.  DO NOT wait until the end to transfer answers in book to bubble sheet.  You may bubble in “chunks” of 4-5 questions.  Once you approach the end of the test or time limit, bubble each question as you answer it.

1. When in doubt, go back to the text

9.   The MC questions center on form and content.  You are expected to understand meaning, draw inferences, and understand how an author develops his or her ideas. 

1. Types of Questions

Basically, a multiple-choice literature question is a flawed method of gauging understanding. Why? Because, by its very nature, a multiple-choice question forces you to play a cat-and- mouse game with the test maker who demands that you concentrate on items that are incorrect before you can choose what is correct. We know, however, that complex literary works have a richness that allows for ambiguity. In the exam mode, you are expected to match someone else’s reading of a work with your choice of answers. This is what often causes the student to feel that the multiple-choice section is unfair. And, perhaps, to a degree, it is. But, get with the program! It’s a necessary evil. So, our advice to you is to accept the difficulties and limitations of Section I and to move on.

This said, it’s wise to develop a strategy for success. Once again, practice is the key to this success.

You’ve answered all types of multiple-choice questions during your career as a student. The test-taking skills you have learned in your social studies, math, and science classes may also apply to this specifi c situation.

A word in defense of the test makers is in order here. The test is designed to allow you to shine, NOT to be humiliated. To that end, the people who design the multiple-choice questions take their job seriously and take pride in their product. You will not find “cutesy” questions, and they will not play games with you. What they will do is present several valid options in response to a challenging and appropriate question. These questions are designed to separate the knowledgeable, perceptive, and thoughtful reader from the superficial and impulsive one.

For this first section of the AP English Language and Composition exam, you are allotted 1 hour to answer between 45 and 60 objective questions on four to five prose passages. The selections may come from works of fiction or nonfiction and be from different time periods, of different styles, and of different purposes. In other words, you will not find two essays by Thoreau in the multiple-choice section of the same test.

At least one of the readings will contain some type of citation, attribution, footnote, and so on. You will be expected to be able to determine HOW this citation, etc., is employed by the author to further his purpose. You will NOT be asked about specific formats such as MLA or APA.

These are NOT easy readings. They are representative of the college-level work you have been doing throughout the year. You will be expected to:

• follow sophisticated syntax;

• respond to diction;

• be comfortable with upper-level vocabulary;

• be familiar with rhetorical terminology;

• make inferences;

• be sensitive to irony and tone;

• recognize components of organization and style;

• be familiar with modes of discourse and rhetorical strategies; and

• recognize how information contained in citations contributes to the author’s purpose.

THE GOOD NEWS IS . . . the selection is self-contained. If it is about the Irish Potato Famine, you will NOT be at a disadvantage if you know nothing about Irish history. Frequently, there will be biblical references in a selection. This is especially true of works from an earlier time period. You are expected to be aware of basic allusions to biblical and mythological works often found in literary texts, but the passage will never require you to have any particular religious background.

DO NOT LET THE SUBJECT MATTER OF A PASSAGE THROW YOU. Strong analytical skills will work on any passage.

And a little more specific information:

                                                               i.      Follow sophisticated syntax

                                                             ii.      Respond to diction

                                                            iii.      Be comfortable with upper-level vocabulary

                                                           iv.      Be familiar with rhetorical terminology

                                                             v.      Make inferences

                                                           vi.      Be sensitive to irony and tone

                                                          vii.      Recognize components of organization and style

                                                        viii.      Be familiar with modes of discourse and rhetorical strategies

                                                           ix.      Recognize how information contained in citations contributes to the author’s purpose

                                                               i.      “This passage is an example of”

                                                             ii.      The pronoun “it” refers to

                                                               i.      “Lines 52-57 serve to”

                                                               i.      “The AP Language and Composition exam is all of the following except”

                                                               i.      “In ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail,’ the reader can infer that the speaker is”

                                                               i.      “In the passage night refers to”

1.      I. the death of the young woman

2.      II. A pun on Sir William’s title

3.      III. The end of an affair

A.     I only

B.     I and II only

C.     I and III only

D.     II and III

E.      I, II, and III

                                                               i.      “The purpose of the footnote is to”

                                                               i.      Specific Techniques

1.      Process of Elimination-eliminate any obviously wrong answers, eliminate choices that are too broad or too narrow, eliminate illogical choices

2.      If two answers are close, find the one general enough to contain all aspects of the question or find the one limited enough to be the detail the question is seeking

3.      Use “Fill in the Blank”-Rephrase the question leaving a blank where the answer should go.  Use each of the choices in the blank to figure out the best choice.

4.      Use Context-locate the given word, phrases, or sentence and read the sentence before and after

5.      Anticipation-As you read the first time, mark any details that you would ask questions about

6.      Intuition/Educated Guess.

7.      Survival Tip-If you’re running out of time and have not finished the test, scan the remaining questions and look for the shortest questions and/or the questions that point you to a line. Look for specific detail/definition questions.  Look for self-contained questions, “The jail sentence was a bitter winter for his plan” is an example of. Also answer questions on tone and attitude.

8.      Guess. As of May 2010, you will NOT lose points for incorrect answers...hooray!

9.      You must answer at least 38 questions correctly (aim for 40) if you want a high score.

                                                               i.      Factual: Words refer to, allusions, antecedents, pronoun references

                                                             ii.      Technical: Sentence structure, style, grammatical purpose, dominant technique, imagery, point-of-view, organization of passage, narrative progress of passage, conflict, irony, function of…

                                                            iii.      Analytical: rhetorical strategy, shift in development, rhetorical stance, style, metaphor, contrast, comparison, cause/effect, argument, description, narration, specific-general, general-specific, how something is characterized, imagery, passage is primarily concerned with, function of…

                                                           iv.      Inferential: effect of diction, tone, inferences, effect of description, effect of last paragraph, effect on reader, narrator’s attitude, image suggests, effect of detail, author implies, author most concerned with, symbol

                                                             v.      Categories: Use this to Make Sample Questions

1.      the main idea/theme/attitude

a.       The author would most likely agree with which of the following?

b.      The narrator’s/writer’s/speaker’s attitude can be described as

c.       The author would most/least likely agree that

d.      The writer has  presented all of the following ideas except

e.       We can infer that the author values the quality of

f.        The attitude of the narrator helps the writer create a mood of

g.       In context, lines “..” most likely refer to

2.      the author’s meaning and purpose (Why did the writer…)

a.       “…” can best be defined as

b.      The purpose of lines “…” can best be interpreted as

c.       The writer clarifies “…” by

d.      The writer emphasizes “..” in order to

e.       By saying “..” the author intends for us to understand that

f.        By “..” the author most likely means

g.       The purpose of the sentence/paragraph/passage can be summarized as

h.       The passage can be interpreted as meaning all of the following except

3.      the language of rhetoric (syntax, diction, figurative language, tone, etc.)

a.       A shift in point of view is demonstrated by

b.      The repetitive syntax of lines “…” serves to

c.       “..” can best be said to represent

d.      The second sentence  is unified by the writer’s use of ….. rhetorical device?

e.       The word “…” is the antecedent for

f.        The style of the passage can best be characterized as

g.       The author employs “…” sentence structure to establish

h.       The tone of the passage changes when the writer

4.      the speaker or narrator

5.      the attitude (of the narrator or author)

6.      word choice and selection of details (connotation)

7.      sentence structure (syntax)

8.      rhetorical reasoning

9.      inferences

10.  general conclusions

11.  organization and structure (is their contrast, deduction, spatial description, etc.)

a.       The shift from “…” to “….” Is seen by the author’s use of…

b.      In presenting the author’s point, the passage utilizes all of the following except

c.       The speaker has included “…” in her argument in order to…

d.      The type of argument employed by the author is most similar to which of the following?

e.       The can be said to move from “….” To “….”

f.        The “…” paragraph can be said to be … in relation to …

g.       The structure of this passage is primarily one of ….

12.  rhetorical modes (narration, description, argumentation, etc.)

a.       All of the following modes can be found within the passage except

b.      The rhetorical mode that best describes this passage is

c.       The author uses cause and effect in order to

d.      Which of the following best describes the author’s method of presenting the information

e.       The author combines retrospection with which other rhetorical mode within this passage?

13.  documentation and citation

a.       Which of the following is an accurate reading of footnote…

b.      The purpose of footnote… is to inform the reader that the quotation in line

c.       Taken as a whole, the footnotes suggest that…

d.      From reading footnote…, the reader can infer that…

The Last Blog of the Summer 2013

I know that this blog post is late, but I assure you this is an easy post.  Hopefully you have finished reading Black Elk Speaks as the essay is due on Monday.  This week's blog is to write an outline of your final essay.  Include at least one quote from the text  for each major point you make in the essay.  In other words if you are going to speak about the theme find a quote that proves what you are trying to say about theme.

Check out the blog during the first week of each month for additional resources to prepare for the exam.

6th Blog Post of the Summer of 2013

If you haven’t yet caught up with the blog posts and intend on being in the AP section of the class, you need to do so immediately, as I will be turning in grades by on 19^th of August.  As usual if you need any assistance please contact me.

I also recommend that you print out your first essay and have someone else read it and correct any errors.  Look for the following common errors:  basic spelling and grammar errors, clear pronoun usage (often times inexperienced writers will talk about two males in the same sentences and refer to each as he), verb tense, verb agreement, unclear thesis, weak transitions between paragraphs, lack of citations, as well as weak introductions and conclusions.  Please, use the rubric!  Yes, I know that it says "O'Rourke Rubric" but pretty much any English teacher will be using the same rubric.  

Part #1-Blog Response

So this week’s blog is more along the lines of “AP thinking” rather than what’s the plot etc.…

Black Elk Speaks is the narrative of the life and times of a Sioux medicine man named Black Elk.  This book was created as a dissertation study of the Sioux people by John Neihardt in the early 1930's.  In order for Neihardt to conduct his research he either had to learn how to speak Lakota (a dialect of the Sioux language) or find someone who could translate Lakota into English.  Neihardt found Ben Black Elk who was the son of Black Elk. Ben helped Neihardt to translate Black Elk's life's story into English.  Neihardt then told his own daughter Black Elk's stories and she wrote down what he said.  However, because the book shows John Neihardt as the author of Black Elk Speaks and not just the editor, there has been a controversy in academic circles and Native American circles as to the accuracy of the story from Black Elk's point of view.  The primary argument made is that Neihardt, being the author and editor, was able to exaggerate or change some parts of the story and did so to make the story more interesting to a white "American" audience of the 1930's and thus more profitable.  Thinking about the number of translations (John Neihardt asking Ben to ask his father Black Elk a question and Black Elk responding to Ben who translated to John the answer and then John telling his daughter to record Black Elk's response and then publishers' prerogatives added to the mix), do you believe the final product is effective in telling the world the story of the Battle of Little Big Horn and the Wounded Knee Massacre from the perspective of a Native American?  Do you believe that if Black Elk read and spoke English that the book would have been much different?  What is the role of an individual's voice in such a story?

For next week you will need to read through the end of chapter 20 of Black Elk Speaks (about 100 pages).  There will be more of a focus on details next week.

Part #2-Flashcards

This week’s words are…

S

satire  A work that exposes ridicule the shortcomings of individuals, institutions, or society, often to make a political point.

setting  The location of a narrative in time and space.  Setting creates mood or atmosphere.

situational irony  A technique in which one understanding of a situation stands in sharp contrast to another, usually more prevalent, understanding of the same situation.

speaker  The narrator of a poem; also the voice assumed by the writer.  The speaker and the author of the poem are not the same person.

stream-of-consciousness narration  Form of narration in which the narrator conveys a subject’s thoughts, impressions, and perceptions exactly as they occur, often in disjointed fashion and without logic and grammar of typical speech and writing.  Usually written in first-person narration, but sometimes written in the third person as free indirect discourse.

syllepsis  A stylistic device in which a single word governs or modifies two or more other words in different ways.  Example:  “Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave.”

symbolism  The use of objects, characters, figures, or colors to represent abstract ideas or concepts.  Unlike emblems, symbols may have different meanings in different contexts.

syntax  The way the words in a piece of writing are put together to form lines, phrases, or clauses; the basic structure of a piece of writing.

T

theme A fundamental and universal idea explored in a literary work.

thesis statement  The main idea, or principal claim, that is supported in a work of nonfiction.

third-person narration / third-person point of view  A literary style in which the narrator remains outside the story and describes the characters in the story using proper names and the third-person pronouns he, she, it, and they.

tone  The author’s attitude toward the subject or characters of a story or poem, or toward the reader.

transition words  Words that connect ideas and show the relationships between those ideas (relationships such as casual links, similarities, contrasts, and so on).

trope  A figure of speech that extends the literal meanings of words by inviting a comparison to other words, things, or meanings.  Metaphor, metonymy, and simile are three common tropes.

U

unreliable narration  A process of narrating in which the narrator is revealed over time to be an untrustworthy source of information.

utopia  An imaginary, idealized world presented in literature.

Important Announcement

As you may have heard in the past couple of days, I will NOT be returning to SBHS.  L  This may have caused a bit of concern for you and your future in AP English Language and Composition.  I am sorry that I cannot answer any questions regarding who will be your teacher as I no longer officially work at Bernard’s.  However, one of the things you would have gotten to know about me (if you don’t already know), is that I rarely leave my responsibilities undone.  We started off on this blog venture together this summer so I see you ALL as MY responsibility.  So here’s the deal…the summer blog is still on.

You are responsible for completing all of the blog responses and flashcards!  Why?  Well, the purpose of the blog has always been to begin getting students to think about how to look at literature from a different perspective, to keep students on track with the reading and writing required to develop good summer reading essays, to get a jump on AP content (this year that’s the flash cards), and to get used to a high level (in amount and intensity) of work.  The blog responses due this week will directly relate to your first essay.  As I also stated, you really should write a good draft of the essay after completing this week’s blog response.  You can use another student’s ideas in your essays as long as you cite him/her as your source.

At the end of the summer (just a couple of weeks left—we will go through August 18^th—that’s 7 blog posts), I will give your grades (up to 25 points per blog post response) to Ms. Capell (and whomever is your new teacher) and she will add them to your AP English Language (or if you prefer, English Honors III) grade.  I will also notify them (Ms. Capell and the new teacher) that you were also expected to complete 149 flash cards for 149 points.  Please study these cards throughout the year as they contain the concepts and terms that are salient for writing a good AP response essay (yes, I am speaking of the exam).  In the Appendix of the O’Rourke Reader are several other terms (with the definitions and examples) that I recommend making flash cards for and studying.  You should ask your teacher if he/she will give you credit for making flash cards of those terms as well.

I will continue to post resources and ideas at least once a month throughout the school year to help keep you on track.  Of course, I won’t be able to give you grades throughout the school year but I want to make sure you study throughout the year if you have a chance at passing the exam.  My new position at Maranatha High School (in Pasadena) is more on the administrative side, but I will be teaching AP Language there as well.  Of course, your participation in what I post after August 18^th is voluntary.

If you ever have any questions please contact me via my personal email tgorourke@verizon.net, as I will no longer have access to my Bernard’s email soon.

I really am going to miss working with you on a daily basis this year!

5th Blog Post of the Summer of 2013

Hurray you are done with the second novel!!!!  Now honestly, would you have actually read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Finn: A Novel by this point in the summer if I hadn’t forced you to do the summer blog posts?  There are only 12 words to make flashcards for this week.  I tried to keep the flashcards and blog response limited as to give you time to write your summer assignment compare and contrast essay for the novels.   I promise to have about the same number of flashcards for the following post as well.

Part #1-Blog Response

This week you were expected to have finished reading Olshan’s novel.  For this week’s blog write a list of at least 15 similarities and a list of at least 15 differences between the two novels by Sunday at midnight.  I will not approve your posts until Monday morning so that all responses are presented at the same time…Hence it is REALLY IMPORTANT for your post to be on time.

Next week make sure you have written your essay for the summer assignment and read the first eight chapters of Black Elk Speaks.

Part #2-Flashcards

Q

Qualifier / qualification  A statement that modifies or limits the meaning of a claim.

R

realism  A loose term that can refer to any work that aims at honest portrayal over sensationalism, exaggeration, or melodrama.  Technically, realism refers to a late 19th-century literary movement that aimed at accurate, detailed portrayals of ordinary, contemporary life.

reason  A statement offered as an explanation or justification for something; also a sufficient basis for believing something or a logical defense.

red herring  Something that distracts attention from the real issue.

reflective  Thoughtful, deliberative.

refutation  The process of proving something wrong by argument and evidence.

register  One of the varieties of language appropriate to particular social situations.  The four stylistic registers most commonly referred to are formal, informal, colloquial, and slang.

retrospection  A narrative technique in which some of the events of a story are described after events that occur later in time have already been narrated; also called analepsis and flashback.

rhetoric  The art of persuasion, or the art of speaking or writing well.  Rhetoric involves the study of how words influence audiences.

rhetorical context  The circumstances in which a text is written, including the intended audience, the author’s aim or purpose in writing, and the audience’s preexisting ideas and opinions.

rhetorical device  An extraordinary use of language to achieve a certain effect on an audience.  Examples are chiasmus, parallelism, rhetorical question, and synecdoche.

romantic irony  An author’s persistent presence in his or her work, meant to ensure that the audience will maintain critical detachment and not simply accept the writing at face value.