1. Preparing for the Multiple Choice Section Tuesday

2. What is being assessed Your ability to… Follow sophisticated syntax
Comprehend scholarly diction
Draw from your own expansive understanding of literary terminology
Make inferences
Identify irony and tone (even when it is subtly used)
Recognize the different components of style

3. Remember… 55 questions in 1 hour
(some years it has been slightly fewer) in
1 hour
This accounts for 45% of your overall exam score

4. there is no longer a penalty for guessing incorrectly!
A Scoring Change
A few years ago the College Board changed how they score the multiple choice questions:
there is no longer a penalty for guessing incorrectly!
Thus, if you don’t know: GUESS.

5. Pacing tips Work at a rate of approximately 50 seconds per question
Slow down to read the passages/poems
Underline, circle, bracket… the text as you read: this will keep you engaged with what you are reading
If you read it closely the first time you are less likely to feel a need to reread it later…
Never try to save time by skipping over the title, the footnotes, or any other information provided about a text
These often carry clues or critical information/detail

6. Homework Check Let’s correct your answers:
Conrad’s
Heart of Darkness
Let’s correct your answers:
179.A 186.A
180.E 187.C
181.B 189.B
182.C 190.C
183.A 191.B
184.B
185.C
Which questions did you find most difficult? Why?
Your HW:
Answer the questions for the Macbeth passage
Heart of Darkness

7. Correct your HW Which questions gave you the most difficulty?
Macbeth
416. C
421. E
417. E
422. A
418. B
423. E
419. E
424. B
420. E
425. A
Which questions gave you the most difficulty?
With a partner, discuss 2 questions with which you struggled.
Macbeth discuss any questions they may have questions about

8. In a group of 3, work through the Hawthorne passage
Your task:
In a group of 3, work through the Hawthorne passage
You must come to a consensus on each question
Talk through the process you are using to answer each. (Even if you all agree, talk it over. Why do you agree? What got you there? What were your thought processes?)
Keep track of which questions spark debate and why.
You have 20 minutes
The Custom House

9. Correct your work
Hawthorne’s
“The Custom House”
450. D 451. C 452. E 453. B 454. A 455. C 456. B 457. B 458. A 459. B
Hawthorne – “The Custom House”
HW: In the poetry packet, complete the questions for Thomas Hardy’s “Nobody Comes” and Walt Whitman’s “O Captain, My Captain”

10. Multiple Choice
Thursday

11. How did you do? First, correct your answers:
Thomas Hardy
“Nobody Comes”
First, correct your answers:
A 6. C
C 7. A
D 8. D
E 9. A
D 10.D
Which questions did you find most difficult? Why?

12. Check your work Answers:
Walt Whitman’s
“O Captain! My Captain!”
99. A
105. B
100. C
106. A
101. D
107. E
102. A
108. A
103. B
109. E
104. A
110. E
Which questions did you find most difficult? Why?
Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain”

13. In a timed setting: Work on the Khalil Gibran poem and questions.
For this passage you will have a limited amount of time to work.
You have 12 questions to answer in 14 minutes.
Plan wisely and use your strategies to complete all of the questions in the time frame.

14. Correct your work 121. E 126. A 122. E 127. D 123. D 128. E 124. A
Kahlil Gibran’s “Defeat”
121. E
126. A
122. E
127. D
123. D
128. E
124. A
129. B
125. C
130. A
Gibran poem

15. Mult. Choice Tips A few reminders/new ideas to keep in your back pocket

16. M.C. test section: FYIs
Focus on your strengths. If it works for you, do poetry first (or prose) to get in the groove of things
That said, know that sometimes the questions make more sense sequentially
Example: Question 8 may define a term that question 46 uses. If you started with the last section first, then you are at a detriment with this question…
Interact with the text: write, underline, box it in…
If you don’t know, skip it and come back or make an educated guess. Then, don’t dwell on it.
Always read all answer options—sometimes clues are embedded contextually in the answers themselves
If your answer to a current question contradicts your answer to a previous question, feel free to go back and reevaluate your answer to the prior question
Always remember, ALL parts of the selected answer must be correct in order for it to be the right answer

17. M.C. test section: Tips Use the process of elimination
Read all five options.
If no answer is obviously correct, then (a) eliminate those that are obviously wrong, (b) overly narrow or too broad, (c) illogical, or (d) cancel out another option
If still left with two possibilities, look again at the question. If it’s looking for general information, choose the option that is more general. If it seeks precise detail, chose the choice that is more specific.
Try substitution/fill in the blank
Rephrase the question, leaving a blank where the answer should go
Use each of the provided choices to fill in the blank until you find the best fit
And/or you can consider the context
If asked to return to a specific line/section, keep in mind the whole context of the poem/excerpt
Commonly, reviewing the few lines before and after the specific line/section is all you need, and then Ta-dah!