AP English Language and Composition 101
The Basics
The AP English Language and Composition (AP Lang) exam is composed of two sections: multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and free-response questions (FRQs). There are 45 MCQs to complete in 1 hour, and the MCQ score counts toward 45% of the overall test score. The FRQ section includes three essays to complete in 2 hours and 15 minutes, and the FRQ score counts toward 55% of the overall test score. The key to success for AP Lang is time management. Students will have to practice finishing MCQs and FRQs on time, while maintaining high quality work. It is up to the student to divide 2 hours and 15 minutes for the three essays, although students should aim to finish one essay per 40 minutes. Generally, students must begin preparation in October, at the very latest. It is highly important to also acquire a tutor or someone knowledgeable in English writing to provide students with feedback on their practice essays. Students will definitely need advice on how to improve sophistication, analysis of evidence and smooth writing.
Multiple Choice Section
There are a variety of passage types for the MCQ section. They are all prose passages, such as autobiographies, biographies, criticism, fiction, and science. There are around nine question types: reading comprehension, implication, general passage or author questions, relationships between different excerpts, identification of rhetorical and literary devices, analysis of rhetorical and literary strategies, purpose, grammar and vocabulary. Difficulty will always depend on the student, but the question type most students struggle with is identification or analysis of rhetorical and literary devices, simply because they are not well versed with their definitions. Authors use literary devices to create special effects in their pieces, usually to be engaging or enhance their stories. Some common literary devices include foreshadowing, alliteration, symbolism and allusion. On the other hand, rhetorical devices are used to enhance the persuasiveness of a piece, such as ethos, pathos, logos and diction.
Advice for MCQs
I created a device bank on Quizlet to help memorize the literary and rhetorical devices. But it isn’t enough to simply memorize their definitions. Students must be able to identify these devices in the passages and thoroughly understand how they are used to accurately answer the questions. Vocabulary is also often an issue for students. The AP Lang exam will test students on advanced words that have multiple definitions. Sometimes the exam will require students to know the second or even the third definition of a word, not only the primary one. Thus, it is quite important to study them in depth and practice applying them in sentences. Students can also create a vocabulary Quizlet bank and diligently keep track of terms they are not familiar with. As for the grammar question types, my best advice would be to perhaps acquire a grammar book and practice drills. There are also several different types of grammar questions, so it is important to learn or review the rules for the test.
Free-Response Section
The first essay, called Q1, is the synthesis essay. This question provides students with one prompt and six sources that are from various authors. The prompt will ask students to use at least three of the six sources and craft an argument about a topic. The synthesis essay is basically a common persuasive essay, except the evidence used must be from the sources given.
Tips:
Make sure to write a strong introduction and a defensible thesis.
Try to incorporate more than three sources to show graders that you fully understand all sources and effectively utilized them.
Thoroughly analyze your evidence.
A refutation paragraph is also very helpful, because it allows graders to realize that you are being holistic in your essay.
However, students must keep in mind that not all sources are texts. There may be graphs, tables, or other visual supplementary materials. Moreover, there is no guarantee that sources will be exactly three pros and three cons. Pro sources are the ones that agree with the prompt given to students, and the con sources argue against it. It is up to the students to use their best judgement to decide which source to implement or not.
The second essay, called Q2, is the rhetorical analysis. This question provides students with a semi-long passage (two pages) and asks them to analyze how the author employs rhetorical tools to convey a certain message. One major point to remember is that students cannot write in first-person pronouns or convey opinions whatsoever in Q2, although they can in Q3 (Q1 is written based off of the opinions of students, but evidence must all be from the sources given). Q2 is not an opinion piece and one must remain objective and purely analytical of the author’s work.
Tips:
In the introduction paragraph, provide some context and then write a clear thesis that fully addresses the prompt.
I focus each paragraph on one rhetorical tool and connect my analysis back to the thesis.
Writing a conclusion for an analytical piece may seem difficult, but try to avoid summarization.
Students need to make further connections between rhetoric and purpose of the passage or make an insightful analysis in the conclusion paragraph.
Again, make sure to fully analyze evidence used in this essay, especially how this certain piece of evidence fulfills the author’s purpose.
The third essay, called Q3, is the argumentative essay. This essay is probably the most familiar essay to younger students because students start writing persuasive essays first. After providing a bit of background, the question will usually ask students to answer a prompt. Students are allowed to use outside knowledge in this piece and even personal pronouns are acceptable if used for personal anecdotes.
Tips:
Students are encouraged to have a refutation paragraph
Students must try to avoid any logical holes in their arguments.
Examples must also be relevant to the topic and analyzed carefully.
Students have the most freedom with this essay, yet it may also be harder because it is so abstract. Remember to have a clear idea before writing the essay, or students may ramble and end up with a disorganized essay.
Final Words
The most important note to take away from this article is to not underestimate AP Lang. Memorizing rhetorical and literary devices is not as easy as students may think because it requires diligence and a lot of time. Preparing for the essays is also extremely difficult because it is harder and takes longer to improve in essay writing than memorizing terms. Below is a recommended study plan:
The below table provides study plan recommendations. Created by Hyeryn Kim, 2020.
| Month | Tips |
| October | Take a diagnostic test and review the result very thoroughly with a tutor. Create the Quizlet bank. |
| November | Start writing practice essays but at a slow pace so you can build fundamental skills. Continue with Quizlet. Leave the MCQs alone for now. |
| December | Start MCQ drills. Continue with essay writing but at a faster pace. You can try more prompts and go more in depth because there is winter break. Continue with Quizlet. |
| January | Try another diagnostic test and review the result thoroughly again and analyze which sections you have improved in and which you have not. Continue with the MCQ drills, practice essays, and Quizlet. |
| February | Continue to write more prompts but at a faster pace because you should have shown improvement by now. Focus on the essays that you struggle more on. Continue with the MCQ drills and Quizlet. |
| March | Continue with specialized practice. Focus on areas you still struggle in. Take a third mock test. Review results. Continue with Quizlet. |
| April | Take a couple more mock tests and focus on reviewing results rather than completing other prompts or drills. Get more used to the test setting and format. |
| May | Take the exam. |
