5 Steps to a 5: Intro to the Multiple Choice Section (AP Lang)

Why is the multiple-choice section unfair?

• It's too long.

• They're basically just trying to trick you and it's a flawed method of gauging understanding anyway.

• You have to match someone else's reading and interpretation of a complex work.

• Complex literary works have a richness that allows for ambiguity.

True or false: test-taking skills from other kinds of test or other subjects basically don't apply here.

• True

• False

What will you find on the multiple-choice section of the test?

• An hour to answer 3 essay prompts (Rhetorical Analysis, Argument, and Synthesis).

• 4 hours, including multiple-choice and free-response questions

• 1 Hour, 45 questions on 3-5 nonfiction passages from about the same time period.

• Objective questions about 3-5 nonfiction prose passages (various time periods, styles, and purposes).

TRUE OR FALSE: You need to have outside knowledge of the subject of the passage in order to be successful.

• True

• False

What do the authors of this book think you should wear to take the test?

• Your comfiest jammies so you feel relaxed.

• A blazer or business suit so you look professional.

• Your lucky socks because you need all the help you can get.

• A watch so that you can be aware of the time throughout the test.

TRUE OR FALSE: The test gets harder as it goes.

• True, so if the first passage looks difficult you should probably just give up and doodle on your answer sheet.

• False, it actually goes from hardest to easiest.

• True, it's set up that way so that only the smartest students can finish it.

• False; make sure you give yourself a chance to answer all of the questions for every passage!

How are the questions scored?

• Easy ones are worth less than hard ones.

• Each question is worth one point.

• Questions with multiple parts are worth multiple points.

• Randomly by an angry ferret that chews on your test and then runs where some numbers are painted on the floor, and that's your score.

Which of these is NOT a type of question you will see on the exam?

• Factual

• Technical

• Analytical

• Inferential

• Impossible

If you're not sure of the answer to a particular question, you should...

• Leave it blank.

• Guess randomly. Maybe close your eyes and point at one?

• Eenie-meenie-miney-mo

• Eliminate wrong choices, then guess.

TRUE OR FALSE: You should not write on the exam booklet.

• True. They will charge you for printing a new one if you do.

• False. You can get bonus points for really good doodles in the margins.

• True. You should annotate, mark up the text, and cross out wrong answers, etc.

• False. The test will be online.