AP MC Tips - Answers PDF

Preview

Summary

Answers...

Description

AP Language Firestone

READING COMPREHENSION / MULTIPLE CHOICE ABOUT THE EXAM 1. The AP Multiple Choice (MC) section equals 45% of your total score. It lasts one hour and usually contains approx. 50-55 questions. 2. Expect 4 or 5 passages with 10-16 questions each. 3. Expect passages from the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries (no Old or Middle English). Therefore, the best way to prepare is to read attentively in all of your classes in order to become better and faster. 4. The text is usually identified only by date—or perhaps nothing at all. If a date is given, consider its implications. Everything on the page, including clues in the prompt itself, is given for a reason, so pay attention to every word. 5. If there is a footnote of any kind, read and pay attention to it, too. STRATEGIES FOR PLANNING 1. 2. 3. 4.

Write the start-and-end times on test booklet. Count the passages and estimate time per passage. Skim the first sentence of each passage and rank them, easiest to hardest; number, 1-4. Complete the easiest passages first, and save the hardest for last. If you don’t finish, you will lose fewer correct answers. 5. Note line number questions are usually the quickest and easiest to answer. 6. Questions containing the words “Except,” “Least,” and “Most” and Roman Numerals questions require the most time. Circle these, and answer them last. STRATEGIES FOR READING THE PASSAGE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

7. 8. 9. 10.

11.

Read with pen in hand. Studies prove that reading actively improves comprehension and retention. Underline main idea sentence(s) –usually the first and/or last. Mark important ideas or interesting words in the passage. Mark any repetitions in the passage. Mark transitions that indicate contrast. Sentences containing these words usually also contain the answer to at least one question. The answer tends to appear in the second half of these sentences, following the term of contrast. Pay attention to pronouns; they often re-appear as components of questions. Pay attention to the arrangement / organization of the passage. Pay attention to the general style of the passage. Instead of dwelling on details, read for the BIG picture—the main point made by the passage; this point generally has to do with TONE and/or PURPOSE as a means of identifying the MAIN IDEA. In fact, after reading the passage, write a quick sentence that sums up the main point of the passage. This sentence will help you answer one or more questions.

STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING THE QUESTIONS 1. Read and mark questions carefully; mark whatever looks important. 2. As you carefully read each question, try to determine the answer before looking at the choices. Then find your own answer—much less confusing this way. 3. Write your answer on your test booklet. Then transfer the answers for the entire passage to the Scantron. This approach protects you from the danger of getting out of order and losing everything. BUT remember to transfer after completing each passage, not at the end of the entire exam. 4. When the answer choices contain two words or phrases joined by “and,” both parts must be correct for that choice to be the correct answer. 5. Cross out obviously incorrect answers to eliminate them from further consideration. 6. If two answers appear to be “correct,” choose the answer with more concrete details/textual evidence to support it. 7. When a question stem contains the word EXCEPT, put a check mark or T for true beside each choice that is evident in the passage. The remaining choice will be the answer. Roman numeral questions can be answered in a similar way. 8. For main idea questions, watch for DISTRACTORS, such as secondary points that distract you from the main idea and true-but-unrelated facts that do not appear in the passage. 9. When a question specifies a line number(s), always read the context—the lines preceding and following that specific line. 10. Pay attention to absolutes (always, must, none, all, never, etc.); they generally signal an incorrect answer. 11. Pay attention to qualifiers (usually, often, sometimes, occasionally, some, etc.); they often signal a correct answer. 12. Like Options: If two answers mean basically the same thing, they cancel each other out. 13. Echo Options: If two answers directly oppose each other, chances are that one of them is correct. 14. For most students, answering questions for a passage in order is the most effective approach. DO NOT jump from passage to passage; finish one before going to another. 15. Following the approach in #12 enables you to use hints from questions you know to help answer questions you do not. 16. Answer easy questions first; circle hardest questions; come back to them before leaving the passage if you have time. 17. Cross out wrong answers to reduce confusion. 18. Remember: No prior knowledge of the text is required to correctly answer the questions. Each answer is based only on the content of the passage you are given to read. 19. USE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION (POE): IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER, DON’T AUTOMATICALLY GIVE UP. TRY TO ELIMINATE AS MANY INCORRECT ANSWERS AS POSSIBLE. MAKE YOUR BEST GUESS FROM THE REMAINING CHOICES. (Practice this strategy with practice exam materials until you become comfortable with it. Don’t try it for the first time on exam day.)

FINAL STEPS 1. If you finish early, look over your answer sheet and erase any stray pencil marks or smudged erasures that might interfere with grading. 2. If you do not finish, keep an eye on time. When you have fewer than two minutes remaining, go to the answer sheet and bubble answers for any questions you have not

answered. There is no penalty for guessing or incorrect answers, and the gods may smile on you with a free point somewhere along the way. STRATEGIES FOR MAKING THE MOST OF TEST PRACTICE 1. Analyze the questions that you answer incorrectly. Try to identify specific reasons that you chose the wrong answer. Did you misread the question? Did you misread the answer? Did you work too quickly? 2. Try to identify trends in your work. Do you always miss one or two specific types of question(s)? If so, you may need to engage in some study or review of the concept involved. 3. For every question that you miss, analyze and UNDERSTAND why the correct answer is better than your choice. Though time consuming, this analysis will help you to re-train your brain so that you stop repeating the same mistake. 4. PRACTICE! With extensive practice and 100% effort, you will become more familiar with question types. As a result, you’ll begin to think like the test makers, not the test takers, and your score will improve.

EVERYTHING HERE IS ALSO HELPFUL ON ACT and /SAT!

Dress neatly—you will perform how you feel. If you are dressed sloppily, you will perform sloppily! Eat a good breakfast—no sugar or caffeine. Get a good night sleep! Practice focusing by blocking out distracting thoughts/sounds around you! Focus every particle of your brain before you begin. If you don’t focus before it’s time to begin, you will waste valuable time focusing after the test starts (probably answering those first questions incorrectly). You know how to take a multiple-choice test—now do your best!...