Getting ready for the AP Exam
Test layout, helpful hints, and test strategies
1. Brief Intro. To AP Exam: -2 sections: multiple choice and essay
section
1. Brief Intro. To AP Exam: -test duration is 3 hours (180 min) -Section 1: Multiple Choice (60 min)-
Counts for 45% of grade; 50-55 questions
1. Brief Intro. To AP Exam: -Section 2: Free response (120 min)- Counts for
55 % of your grade; composed of 3 essays -1) Analysis of passage/Presentation of
analysis (40 min essay) -2) Argumentative Essay (40 min:
supports, refutes, of qualifies a statement) -3) Synthesis essay (55 min: integrates
info from a variety of sources)
1. Brief Intro. To AP Exam: -Final Score: 1- Not qualified 2- Possibly Qualified 3- Qualified 4- Well Qualified 5- Extremely Qualified
1. Brief Intro. To AP Exam: -Free Response Score (scored from 0-
9) -Criteria for a 9: “answers all facets of
the question completely, making good use of specific examples to support its points, and is ‘well-written’
-Criteria for a 0: means you basically wrote gibberish
2. Cracking the System: The Multiple Choice Section
Passages on the Exam Multiple choice section is made up of
5-7 passages They are followed by 5-12 multiple
choice questions for each passage Most works are from 19th and 20th
centuries You will probably see one passage
that was written before 1800.
Passages on the Exam Variety of Passages:
fiction, essays, biography, autobiography, diary entries, speeches, letters, pieces of journalism, literary criticism, science and nature writing, writings about politics or history
Passages on the Exam Passages will be varied in types of:
Diction (expression of words) Syntax (grammar/style) Imagery Tone Style Points of view
Passages on the Exam You MUST focus on:
Rhetorical devices Figures of speech Purpose of writings
The Big Picture DO NOT read the questions before you
read the passage. Why? Because you may filter your
reading and ignore important information.
Imagine the first question will be, “What’s the gist of the passage?”
Questions may try to trick you into identifying wrong answers because you focus too much on a sentence/question.
Two-Pass System 54 questions, 60 minutes to complete
test, about 1 min. to answer each question
Should spend 8-12 minutes on each passage.
Make a first pass answering questions that are easy and circling those that are hard.
Two-Pass System Steps to take:
1. Answer all the easy questions first. 2. Circle the hard questions. 3. Look and watch to see how much time
you have remaining out of the 8-12 allotted minutes. If you’re out of time, come back after you’ve finished the rest of the passages in the section.
POE and Guessing Some people think that guessing can
hurt you, but that isn’t true. Your chances of guessing correctly will go up if you can eliminate one or more choices. Imagine that.
You should take your best guess.
Recap Read the passage for the big picture. Pace yourself (use the two-pass
system) Use POE on every question.
Details and the Big Picture Big picture questions usually come at
the beginning or the end of the question set.
Detail questions are sandwiched in between.
3. Basic Principles of the Essay Section
Format and Content of the Essay Section Essay Section made up of the
following: 1 rhetorical analysis essay 1 argumentative essay 1synthesis essay
Format and Content of the Essay Section Time: 2 hours to answer 3 essay
questions Need to write in pen (blue or black
ink) You are responsible for time
management. (You will be given no cues)
Plan on spending 40 min. on each essay
Remember You are not writing for your teacher.
Your reader does not know you. You’ll be graded at least as much on
form and writing as on the content.
AP Essay Scoring Given a score between 0-9 About 65% of the essays receive a
score in the middle range: 4,5,6
Your goal is to have your essays stand out from the rest.
Your goal should be to at least get a 6 or 7.
AP Essay Scoring Essays are scored holistically. The readers are individuals who will
make subjective judgments. Avoid :
Being monotonous Providing a generic essay Doesn’t address the prompt
Analysis of the scoring guide High scoring essays are:
Clear and well organized. Use clear examples. Are not mechanical.
How to make the reader give you a high score Half the points you are given come
from the content of an essay. Make your essays readable. (legible) If your thoughts are a mess your
essay will be a mess. The occasional scratch-out is fine.
Too many and then you create a mess.
How to make the reader give you a high score Indent: Indent twice as far as you
normally would. Paragraphs should be approximately
the same length. Write perfectly…for the first two
sentences. Write with pizzazz. Use more precise, colorful wording.
How to make the reader give you a high score Address the prompt.
Budget Your Time Spend 40 min. on each essay. Spend 3-5 min. planning before you
begin writing. Save a few minutes at the end for
proofreading. You may write your essays in any
order. (But why would you?)
4. The Rhetorical Analysis Essay
The First Time You Read the Prompt The first time you read the prompt
identify the type of essay they’re asking you to write and what you’re supposed to do.
Underline any directions that the essay gives you.
Prompts do not always have a marker to show that you are required to present your analysis in an expository essay, but it will be obvious that you are required to explain
The First Time You Read the Prompt If the prompt doesn’t instruct you to
argue, then you will be expected to explain something.
Sometimes you need to infer the author’s position, sometimes the prompt gives it to you.
First time you read the essay, figure out the author’s point of view and identify rhetorical strategies used.
The Second Time You Read the Prompt You should circle clues or key
elements that you know or need to know.
Think PAPA. (Persona, audience, purpose, and argument)
5. The Argumentative Essay
First, a word… For this essay you will be asked to
take a stand. All that matters is how effectively you
argue and back up your position. The first time you read the prompt
identify the type of essay they’re asking you to write and what you’re supposed to do.
First, a word… Most argumentative essays in recent
history have used one of the following phrases: “refute, support, or qualify.”
You can easily distinguish between a rhetorical essay and an argumentative one.
The first time you read the prompt The passages for this essay type are
usually short. Underline the directions present
within the prompt. When you read, begin to formulate a
response and the evidence you find should determine the stance you take.
The first time you read the prompt Take the stance that is easiest for you
to defend. Your second reading can be fairly
superficial. The analysis:
This is not a rhetorical analysis, so you do not need take apart the entire passage.
The Analysis (con.) Next you need to refute, support, or
qualify the claim. Clearly decide how you feel about the
issue and have examples to back up your claim.
Don’t forget to write in the present tense. Use the present tense when addressing
the author, text, and claim.
Tenses and Misc. Use the past tense only when
presenting historical facts. One of the most common errors is
using improper verb-tense shifts. Don’t get into the habit of using
superfluous words in the introduction. I.e. “in the novel Pride and Prejudice,”
“in the play A Doll’s House,” “in the novella Heart of Darkness”
Misc. Highlight the use of rhetorical
fallacies. Ad hominem, non sequitur, etc.
6. The Synthesis Essay
Purpose Purpose behind this essay:
Test students’ abilities to read and evaluate multiple sources and integrate appropriate ones into a coherent, cogent essay.
Test to see if students know the rudiments of research paper-style writing
Suggested times Reading 15 minutes Writing 40 minutes
Purpose behind this essay Use sources in one of two ways: either to
explain something or argue a point Basically you are either writing another
rhetorical analysis or another argumentative essay.
Tip: Get a clear grasp of the prompt. If you know what to look for, then you can skim the parts that do not pertain to your thesis-and underline the good stuff.
The First Time You Read the Prompt Underline key instructions and other
terms. Look for guidelines that discuss sources. Make sure to outline your thoughts
The Second Time You Read the Prompt Probably not as useful with this type
of prompt. Time to read-sort of
How closely you read the passages should depend on how well you know the context of the topic.
Underline anything that supports or refutes the thesis.
Once you know what you want to write about underline only what substantiates your points.
Time to read-sort of Examine all sources Put a mark through the one that you
do not intend to use. Don't assume that all sources are
relevant. It is unlikely you will use them all, but
use as many as you can. Be aware of the requirement.