AP Language Multiple Choice 2020 Changes and Analysis by Mrs. Opaleski
Overview of the AP Language multiple-choice exam changes for 2020, including question types, tips for answering questions effectively, and strategies to optimize your performance. The exam consists of 45 questions in 60 minutes, focusing on rhetorical analysis and composition tasks based on passages from various genres and time periods.
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AP LANGUAGE MULTIPLE CHOICE 2020 CHANGES AND ANALYSIS MRS. OPALESKI
OVERVIEW 45 questions in 60 minutes Questions will be presented in five sets, with shorter stimulus passages. 23 25 rhetorical analysis questions 20 22 composition questions: a new type of question where students will be asked to read like a writer and consider revisions to stimulus texts Passages are from 16th-21stcentury Genres: essays, letters, speeches, critiques, autobiographies, biographies, etc
OVERVIEW Be careful of qualifiers like best, overall, primary, or principal. Answer first the questions that limit you to a particular paragraph or line. When the question refers to a part of the sentence and asks for the meaning of a word or phrase in context, what a word refers to, or how a word functions, go back to the beginning of that sentence and even to the previous sentence and read completely to the end of that sentence. Some questions ask what the antecedent of a word is, and the answer is found in the preceding sentence. You may also want to read the sentence that follows the answer could be there. Double-check the text to be sure the answer you have chosen fits in the context of the question. If you consistently choose the wrong answer out of two, force yourself to go with the other one.
OVERVIEW Flip through the test quickly in the beginning and determine which section has the fewest number of questions. That is the passage to answer last. Quickly scan the passages before you begin to get a sense of what each is about. Decide which one is the least comprehensible (usually a pre-1900 passage). That s the passage to skip at first. Choose the passages you know you can do best on if certain time periods are more difficult for you, save those passages for last. Now you have time to read more carefully and answer more questions correctly. As a result, you achieve a higher MC score even with completely omitting a passage. This is a strategy for students who struggle to make 3 s, not for students trying to make 4 s or 5 s. Leave no questions unanswered. There is no penalty for guessing. A shot in the dark just may hit the target! If you guess wildly, stick with the same letter. Erase stray marks!!
QUESTION TYPES The MC question center of form and content. You are expected to understand meaning, draw inferences, and understand how an author develops his or her ideas. Types of Questions Factual: Words refer to, allusions, antecedents, pronoun references Technical: Sentence structure, style, grammatical purpose, dominant technique, imagery, point-of-view, organization of passage, narrative progress of passage, conflict, irony, function of 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 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
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT LESS COMMON These questions ask for the meaning of a word in context, or may ask what a pronoun refers to. 1. The tremors (line 14) are most probably Make it a question: What does the word tremors in line 14 refer to? Use the line reference: start reading a few lines above line 14 and read a few lines below. Choose an answer based on the specific context of the word in the passage.
RHETORICAL CHOICES MOST PREVALENT These questions ask you either to identify particular rhetorical choices an author makes, or to analyze an identified rhetorical feature of the text. 2. Lines 14-21 ( Radicalization can fruitlessness ) establish a contrast between Translate the question: What contrast is established in lines 14 21? Use the line reference: start reading a few lines above 14, and read a few lines below 21 to establish the context of the indicated text. Choose an answer based on what the indicated lines say.
ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE - COMMON These questions ask about the rhetorical choices an author makes throughout the passage. All general questions should be answered at the end of the passage: after you ve answered all the specific questions, you ll have a better sense of how the paragraphs within the passage relate to each other. 3. The author develops the passage primarily through Translate the question: How does the author develop the passage? On a question like this, glance at the answer choices before trying to establish what you think the answer should be: thesis followed by a qualification or an assertion supported by various kinds of evidence indicates that the question asks about the structure of the passage itself narration of personal history or analysis of others ideas indicates that question asks about the kind of evidence the author is using to structure the argument
MAIN IDEA/PRIMARY PURPOSE VERY COMMON These questions can ask about a single paragraph, or about the passage as a whole. If they ask about the entire passage, save them for the end.
FOOTNOTES Typically, one passage on the test has footnotes, and a few of the questions will ask about the notes. These questions usually ask about the content of footnotes or their purpose in the passage. Example: The function of note 2 is to Translate the question: What is the function of note 2? Read a few lines above and below the spot in the passage where the note appears, and read the note itself. Footnotes have a few common purposes: to provide a citation for a quote or idea to give resources for further study to expand on ideas the author didn t want to go into in the main body of the essay
WHAT DOES THE CITATION MEAN/CONTENT QUESTION TYPE FOOTNOTE 2 "MACHINE TOOLS AT THE PHILADELPHIA EXHIBITION," ENGINEERING (26 MAY 1876), P. 427, CITED BY KASSON, SEE NOTE 1 ABOVE. Which of the following is an accurate reading of footnote 2? A. An article by John F. Kasson appears on page 427 of Engineering. B. "Machine Tools at the Philadelphia Exhibition" was published in New York. C. The article "Engineering" can be found on page 427 of "Machine Tools at the Philadelphia Exhibition." D. "Machine Tools at the Philadelphia Exhibition" is an article published in the May 26, 1876, issue of Engineering. E. Engineering is an article cited by John F. Kasson.
WHAT THE CITATION MEANS - ANSWER Choice A is incorrect because the article is "cited by" Kasson, not written by Kasson. Choice B is incorrect because the citation does not refer to the place of publication. Choice C is incorrect because Engineering is not an article; it is an article. Choice E is incorrect because , once again, Engineering is a publication, not an article.
PURPOSE OF FOOTNOTE IN SPECIFIC PIECE FOOTNOTE 4: RICHARD GUY WILSON, DIANNE H. PILGRIM, DICKRAN TASJHIAN, THE MACHINE AGE IN AMERICA 1918-1941 (NEW YORK: THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM IN ASSOCIATION WITH HARRY N. ABRAMS, INC., 1986), P. 85 The purpose of footnote 4 is to inform the reader that the quotation in line 49 A. has been attributed to three different designers B. was first cited in 1918 C. was the inspiration for an exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum D. is in an article in The Machine Age in America 1918-1941 written by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. E. appears in a book written by Wilson, Pilgrim
PURPOSE OF A FOOTNOTE QUESTION TYPE Correct Answer is E Again you must know the difference between a book and an article. Choices A, B, and C can quickly be eliminated. Choice D refers to The Machine Age in American 1918-1941 as an article and is incorrect. Remember a publication will be italicized and an article will be in "quotation marks".
HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF FOOTNOTES - DIRECTS THE READER INTO THE RHETORICAL FEATURES OF DOCUMENTATION (CANNOT ANSWER WITHOUT PASSAGE) Taken as a whole, the footnotes suggest that A. the author of the passage wants the text to present highly technical material B. the author of the passage relies heavily on Kasson's book C. very little was written about the topic of machinery and ornamentation prior to 1976 D. engineering magazines are an essential source for technical writers E. except in rare cases, it is best to use the latest published work when documenting an idea or concept.
COMPOSITION QUESTIONS NEW Students will be asked to make revisions to stimulus texts. For example, a student might be asked where a specific detail should go in a paragraph. These questions may be similar to the SAT Writing and Language test. Examples: ~Which of the following sentences, if place before sentence 1, would both capture the audience s interest and provide the most effective introduction to the topic of the paragraph? ~The writer wants to add a phrase at the beginning of sentence 5 (reproduced below), adjusting the capitalization as needed, to set up a comparison with the idea discussed in sentence 4. Which of the following choices best accomplishes this goal?
SPOTTING WRONG ANSWERS They require only a surface reading, not a close understanding. They are simplistic they have less depth. They give generalities when specificity is required. They are unrelated to the question. They are unrelated to the material of the passage. One part of the answer is correct, but not the other.
TYPES OF WRONG ANSWERS: TOO LITERAL These answer choices use a very literal definition of a word that appears in the passage that is not the proper meaning of the word in the context of the passage. Avoid these answers by paying attention to the context of ideas in the passage, not just the meanings you associate with individual words.
TYPES OF WRONG ANSWERS: RECYCLED LANGUAGE These answer choices repeat words or phrases directly from the passage, but the idea in the answer choice does not match the idea expressed in the passage. These answer choices are tempting because they look like they re talking about the same thing the passage is talking about. Avoid them by matching the ideas in the answers to the ideas in the passage, instead of matching individual words or phrases
TYPES OF WRONG ANSWERS: PARTLY TRUE These answer choices look very much like they refer to the same ideas that the passage does, but there is some detail that doesn t match. It s often the second part of the answer choice that contradicts or misrepresents the passage, so the way to avoid these is to read the entire answer choice carefully.
TYPES OF WRONG ANSWERS: ABSOLUTIST LANGUAGE Strong words in an answer choices, like first, always, never, must, and only should make you suspicious. They aren t always wrong, but they often are. Before choosing such an answer, make sure that there aren t any exceptions that could apply to an absolute claim. The correct answer is often vague and imprecise.
SUMMARY OF MULTIPLE CHOICE STRATEGIES Annotate and cross out Questions are in chronological order Scan questions first Look for wrong answers to eliminate first before finding the right answer Look at verb choices in author s purpose questions Look for oxymoronic pairings sardonic elation detached anger Avoid absolutist or extreme language - Save Least, except or not for last- not as common on 2020 test 12 minutes per passage If running out of time, complete the line number questions function, example of, etc.
MULTIPLE CHOICE STRATEGIES Go to the class page under Exam Review and read the TWO documents posted. Choose THREE MC strategies from each document that you feel will most help you. Write it down on the index card provided. Be prepared to share out.
DRILL AND KILL You will have 15 minutes with each passage, you may write on the test. Remember your strategies I will be conferencing with you and giving you a GREEN notecard; GREEN as in how to move forward. After we have practiced MC for the whole period, I would like you to review your YELLOW MC notecard and revise it to reflect what is working for you. For example, which questions do you tend to skip until the end, what timing strategy works for you, which question types you are continuing to get right, etc. I will collect only the YELLOW MC notecard at the end of the period.
AP COMMON ANSWER CHOICES: 1-Best answer (most defensible) 1-Also correct 2-Plausible, not possible 1-Misread an answer that supports a misreading of the passage (can be a pronoun/antecedent). Simply substitute the noun for the pronoun to eliminate distracters
ON YOUR DESK. You should have the 2001 AP test booklet, two scantrons, one from December the 2001 test, and one from April the 2007 test; last, is your qualifying exam argument from last year. You will need the qualifying exam argument for the Portfolio Revision Project. You will need the 2001 test booklet and the scantron to review the answers. After we review the 2001 exam, we will go over the 2007 exam.
ALBERT.IO Please take out your Albert MC analysis. What patterns did you observe in your strengths and weaknesses? Be prepared to discuss: Were they time period related? Topic related? Skill related?
2001 ANALYSIS Independently, go through the questions you got wrong and identify the type of question. See if there is a pattern. Also note the time period of the essay.
2007 ANALYSIS Independently, go through the questions you got wrong and identify the type of question. See if there is a pattern. Also note the time period of the essay. Compare to the 2001 test results. Remember these are both official tests.
SAMPLE II MC TEST Now that you have the answers, see if you can figure out the correct answer, if not, ask a peer. Next, go through the questions you got wrong and identify the type of question. See if there is a pattern. Also note the time period of the essay
