1. Multiple Choice Test Strategies
AP Language & Composition AP Literature & composition

2. Reading the Multiple Choice Section
You are reading in order to answer questions
Scan the passage (30 seconds)
Your brain will pick up on little details like
Dialog or no dialog
Long or short paragraphs
Difficult or easy vocab
Scan the questions (30 seconds)
Read the passage to get the main idea
There will be no magic topic sentences
You SHOULD GO BACK to the passage in order to answer the questions

3. Answering the Multiple Choice Questions
Types of questions
General Comprehension
This passage is primarily concerned with …
Which choice best describes the tone …
Which choice best describes the relationship between A and B
It is evident the author feels _____ toward _______
Which point describes the changing attitude toward ….
Detail Questions
Sends you to a specific point in the passage
Factual Knowledge
Knowledge of literary or poetic devices, literary or poetic structure

4. Ordering Your Response Strategies
If you are CONFIDENT in your immediate understanding of the passage, complete the questions in the order given
If you are STRUGGLING with the passage, attack them in this order:
Do the detail questions first
Do the knowledge questions second
Do the general questions last
Your answers should be CONSISTENT. You should not have responses that conflict with one another.

5. Summary for Tackling Multiple Choice
Recognize the three categories of questions
General
Detail
Factual
Do it your way
If you know the main idea, do the questions in order
If you’re uncomfortable, do detail and factual questions first
Use Consistency of Answers
When in doubt, pick an answer that agrees with the main idea.
Pick answers that agree with each other

6. Answering Prose Passage Questions
General Questions
Primary Purpose
Look for a response that accurately describes some facet of the entire passage – the key idea here is finding a description that addresses WHOLE passage – not just a small piece of it
Use Process of Elimination
Half Bad = All Bad
Line Reference Questions
Go back to the passage and reread the lines in question
Read at least one full sentence before the line reference and one full sentence after
Keep the main idea in mind and use Consistency of Answers

7. GUESSING WISELY USING PROCESS OF ELIMINATION
RULE: If you’ve read the passage, the question, and the answer choices, then always answer the question.
How do you correctly answer a multiple choices question?
Have the answer in mind right from the moment you read the question.
You are unsure which answer is right.
Look for wrong answers and eliminate them.
Partially wrong (even only 1/10) = completely wrong. Don’t fixate on what’s right about the answer. If anything is wrong, cross it out and move on.
Eliminate obviously wrong answers
Be fearless. A machine is grading the multiple choice section. No one knows you. DO NOT PICK ANSWERS THAT YOU KNOW ARE PROBABLY WRONG. Why would a student do this? Because one answer was “kind of but not really right,” and the other one was totally unfamiliar. Pick the unfamiliar answer over the one that you know is wrong.

8. TYPES OF QUESTIONS General Comprehension –
These questions ask about the overall passage
They do not send you back to a specific place in the passage.

9. TYPES OF QUESTIONS Detail Questions –
These questions almost always send you back to specific places in the passage.
They tell you where to look and ask about what is going on at the specific place in the passage.

10. TYPES OF QUESTIONS Factual Knowledge Questions –
These questions ask you about English language and its grammar and the basic terminology of criticism and poetry.

11. TYPES OF QUESTIONS Style Questions –
These questions will test your understanding of kinds of sentences that the passage contains
simple or complex
contain modifying clauses
interpret or describe
loose or periodic

12. TYPES OF QUESTIONS
Structure Questions – these questions will test your knowledge about how the passage is put together
general  examples
isolated incident  generalization
humorous  serious
sudden shift in emphasis

13. TYPES OF QUESTIONS
Tone Questions – these questions will test you understanding of the underlying emotion of the passage
Angry
Passionate
Sarcastic
Distraught
Lack of judgment

14. TYPES OF QUESTIONS
Grammar Questions – these question test your grammatical knowledge .
At the very least, be certain to understand
subject (B) direct object (C)
indirect object (D) antecedent (F)
phrase (A) clause (E)
Feeling generous, Sam threw the orange to Irene, who tried to catch it.
A B C D E F

15. THE SEVEN MINUTE DRILL
Do NOT look at the clock and say “I have 20 minutes left so I need to rush on the last two passages!!!” That could end up in lousy scores, panicking and unnecessary guesswork on two passages instead of using proper rushing and guessing methods on just one passage. Relax on your third passage. Use the regular method. This method is only to be used on the final passage.
INSTEAD … when you hit the last passage on the test, check your time. This is the strategy to use if you have seven minutes or fewer left.
Don’t read the passage. Not even a little. Just don’t do it.
Go straight to the questions
Answer the questions in the following order:
Answer any literary term or grammar questions.
Go to any question that asks for the meaning of a single word or phrase.
Go to any other question that gives you a line reference in the question (Not line-reference answer choices, but questions)
Go to any question on tone or attitude
Go to any questions that have line references in the answer choices
Do whatever is left over.

16. Multiple Choice Strategy
Answer Choice
Reason to Eliminate
1. Too narrow
Too small a section of selection covered
2. Too broad
An area wider that the selection covered
3. Irrelevant
Nothing to do with the passage
Relevant to selection, but not the question
4. Incorrect
Distortion of the facts in the selection
Contradiction of the facts in the selection
5. Illogical
Not supported by the facts in the passage
Not supported by cited passage from the selection
6. Similar Choices
GO BACK AND TEASE OUT THE DIFFERENCES
7. Not/Except
Answer that correctly represent the selection