8 Strategies for the Multiple Choice Portion of the AP Literature and Composition Exam

1. 8 Strategies for the Multiple Choice Portion of the AP Literature and Composition Exam

2. Scoring and structure of the AP test • Part 1: 55 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, 45% of your total score • Part 2: three essays in 120 minutes, 55% of the total score • MC questions are scored by machine and your essays are graded in early June by college professors and experienced AP teachers. • The total scores from the free-response section and the multiple-choice section are combined to form a composite score. *All scoring information has been taken from the College Board website.

3. Scoring cont. • From Composite Score to AP Score: The process of score setting: establishing the AP score boundaries (determining how many composite score points equals what AP score)—takes place immediately after the reading. • AP Exam scores are reported on a 5-point scale as follows:

5  Extremely well qualified*
4  Well qualified*
3  Qualified*
2  Possibly qualified*
1  No recommendation**

*Qualified to receive college credit or advanced placement
**No recommendation to receive college credit or advanced placement. During score-setting sessions (there is one for each AP Exam) composite scores are translated into AP scores by setting boundaries for each score based on a statistical technique called equating. Equating relates an AP Exam from one year to an AP Exam from another year so that performance on the two exams can be compared. This is accomplished by looking at how well AP students performed on a set of multiple-choice questions that is common to both exams. These particular multiple-choice questions cover the curriculum content and represent a broad range of difficulty; they can therefore provide information about the ability level of the current group of students and indicate the current exam's level of difficulty. This same set of questions may show up on next year's AP Exam and the one after that too. That's why you aren't supposed to talk about or share the multiple-choice questions from the AP Exam with anyone; it's all because of equating! • *All scoring information has been taken from the College Board website.

4. Comparability Studies • The AP Program periodically conducts college score comparability studies in all AP subjects. These studies compare the performance of AP students with that of college students in the courses for which successful AP students will receive credit. In general, the AP composite score cutpoints are set so that the lowest composite score for an AP score of 5 is equivalent to the average score for college students earning scores of A. Similarly, the lowest composite scores for AP scores of 4, 3, and 2 are equivalent to the average scores for students with college scores of B, C, and D, respectively. Students who earn AP Exam scores of 3 or above are generally considered to be qualified to receive college credit and/or placement into advanced courses due to the fact that their AP Exam scores are equivalent to a college course score of "middle C " or above. However, the awarding of credit and placement is determined by each college or university and students should check with the institution to verify its AP credit and placement policies. Students can find this information by using the AP Credit Policy search. • For more information visit: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/exgrd_set.html • *All scoring information has been taken from the College Board website.

5. Step 1 • Read for the whole idea or drift first. Don't be so concerned with answering the questions YET- first read to get the gist. • Example: Think about Shakespeare and/or poetry, it takes more than one read, to really understand.

6. Step 2 • Move through the questions rapidly, making temporary choices. • Think but don’t overthink. Yes, I know this is a contradiction.

7. Step 3 • Questions are your allies! Use them to find clues to the passage you are currently reviewing. If it doesn't give you a hint about the current question it might help you on another. • Let the questions guide you!!!

8. Step 4 • Read for implications. Underline and circle key concepts. • Okay what does this mean? What is the text implying? • There is always a deeper meaning!!!!!

9. Step 5 • Analyze and interpret parts with questions as guides, keeping the context (whole drift) in mind.

10. Step 6 • Master literary terms in advance: • 1. know them • 2. apply them • 3. interpret them • HINT- Use your commonly used AP literary terms guide, read it, make flash cards, etc.

11. Step 7 • Educated guesses. Eliminate the wrong answers first, do not skip questions!!!!!!!!!

12. Step 8 • Use your first choice, unless you have good reason!

13. Parts of multiple choice questions • The entire question is called an item. The stem is the part of the item that asks the question. Example: The tone of the passage is best described as… • The options are the five answer choices. The key is the correct answer. The distractors are the incorrect answer choices. • As you answer the questions ask yourself the following: Are the distractors plausible? Do they offer conceivable misreadings of the poem or passage? Distractors can be too distracting: could any be possible correct answers?

14. Elements of format when reviewing questions • Are all options relatively uniform in length and structure? • Does the wording of the key contain clues that it is the correct answer? • The key should NOT be noticeably more detailed, more plausible, or more positive than the distractors; it should not be the only abstract option, the only option that uses language from the passage, the only option that grammatically completes the stem, etc. • This test is about the best answer not the right answer!!!!!!

15. Good Luck! • If you continue to read, analyze, and interpret literature everyday, you will see improvement. Practice, practice, and more practice.

16. Evaluating sets of questions • Do the questions get at most of the important and interesting aspects of the passage? If not, what other questions might still need to be written? • Are the questions at the right level of difficulty? Too easy? Too difficult? • Is the emphasis of the group of questions on analysis rather than mere comprehension? When the stimulus is difficult, comprehension questions are appropriate; but AP prefers questions that ask students for more than literal comprehension. • Are the questions independent of each other? Does the answer to one give away the answer to another?