AP English Examination
Multiple Choice: 45%
60 minutes
55 questions
Range from 1-5 level questions
Essay Questions: 55%
120 minutes
3 essays
2 essays on closed reading – about a specific passage
-answer the hidden “So What?” question: How does the author use technique to create
an effect and what does it mean
1 essay with open prompt – more general
-prepare a limited number of works thoroughly
-before 1850, after 1850, novel, & play
Read the essay question CAREFULLY and REPEATEDLY
Skeleton for a comparing and contrasting essay:
Poem A and Poem B share similarities in that...
-proof through technique
But Poem A really focuses on meaning...
-proof through technique
While Poem B really focuses on meaning...
-proof through technique
item analysis – why you answered a question how you did
analyze – to show how the parts contribute to the functioning of the whole
Vocabulary is critical
***NO WRONG ANSWER PENALTY***
~~here are some sample questions from the AP English Exam~~
Perrine's Literature Chapter 8: Allusion
allusion: a reference to something in history or previous literature
-is like a richly connotative word or symbol that suggests far more than it says
-reinforce the emotions/ideas of one's own work with the emotion/ideas of anothers
-risk of going over the reader's head or being misunderstood
~~more on allusions~~
Perrine's Literature Chapter 9: Meaning and Idea
total meaning: the experience a poem communicates
-can be communicated in no other way
prose meaning: the ingredient that can be separated out in the form of a prose paraphrase
-the 'plum in the pie'
-an idea that's only part of the total meaning
“The value and worth of the poem are determined by the value of the total experience, not by the truth or the nobility of the idea itself. But a good idea lone will not make a good poem, nor need an idea with which the reader does not agree ruin one.”
willing suspension of disbelief: the ability to temporarily entertain the ideas presented even if one regards it
as untrue
-useful skill for poetry readers
~~More on prose and total meaning~~
Outside Connections
I read “Out, out -” by Robert Frost in my English class last year, and it came as quite a surprise to me that the title was an allusion to Macbeth. I was completely oblivious and had no idea. Once I read the passage in Perrine's explaining it, I felt like a light bulb went turned on in my head when I finally made the connections one year too late. This is a perfect example of writers risking going over the reader's head with allusions.
Works Cited
"Allusion in Prose and Poetry" Worsley School OnLine. The Website for Worsley School. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.
"AP: English Literature." College Admissions - SAT - University & College Search Tool. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.
Blake:, By William. "English Brain | Where English Is Made Easy!" Webs – Make a Free Website, Get Free Hosting. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.
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