AP English Language and Composition Understanding the Exam!

Section 1: Multiple-Choice The first section, for which one hour is allotted, is a series of five or six reading passages with an average of 10 multiple-choice questions for each. This section accounts for 45% of the total score. The readings will illustrate a variety of literary periods and styles and may represent both nonfiction and fiction from the Renaissance to the present day, although in recent years nonfiction has appeared more frequently than fiction.

Accurate, Thorough Reading The multiple-choice questions test the accuracy and thoroughness of your reading. They are difficult because they are not about the obvious facts of the passages; rather, they ask about matters such as the purpose of a particular sentence in the overall passage or a change in the writer’s attitude between the beginning and the end of the material.

Let’s practice! You have 12 minutes to complete this section.

Section 2: Free Response Here you will be asked to write three essays in two hours. You will have 40 minutes to compose each essay. There will be one analytical essay, one argumentative essay, and one synthesis essay.

Let’s look over a sample essay question. Fanny Burney once wrote, There is nothing upon the face of the earth so insipid as a medium. Give me love or hate! a friend that will go to jail for me, or an enemy that will run me through the body! Directions: In a well-thought-out essay, evaluate validity of Burney’s assertion about extremes. Use appropriate evidence to make your argument.

Scoring the Exam Multiple-Choice Scoring: _______ - (1/4 x ________) = ________ # Correct # Incorrect Raw Score Essay Scoring: _____ + _____ + _____ = _____ Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Essay Score (out of 9) (out of 9) (out of 9)

Scoring Continued... Each section is weighted according to time allotted to that section; that is, the Multiple-Choice score counts approximately 60 points, and the Weighted Essay score counts approximately 90 points, to make a total of approximately 150 points. The Multiple-Choice score is added to the Weighted Essay score to get a composite score, which is rounded to the nearest whole number.

Calculating the Final AP Score Composite Score Ranges AP Grade 101-150 5 90-100 4 70-89 3 50-69 2 0-49 1