Peterson's AP English Language & Composition

306 Pages·2004·0.83 MB·English

Peterson’s
AP English Language
& Composition
Margaret C. Moran
W. Frances Holder
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ISBN0-7689-1830-8
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 07 06 05
FirstEdition
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Text from the Preface of Modern American Poetry, 5th Revised
Edition by Louis Untermeyer. Copyright 1919, 1921, 1925, 1930,
1936 by Harcourt, Brace & Co, Inc. Reprinted by permission of
Professional Publishing Service.
Text excerpt from “Politics and the English Language” from Shooting
an Elephant and Other Essays by George Orwell. Copyright 1946 by
Sonia Brownell Orwell and renewed 1974 by Sonia Orwell. Reprinted
by permission of Harcourt, Inc. and A. M. Heath & Company, Ltd.
“Addressing the Graduating Class” from Essays, Speeches & Public
Letters by William Faulkner ed. by James B. Meriweather. Copyright
1951 by William Faulkner. Reprinted by permission of Random
House, Inc. and Chatto & Windus, Ltd.
Petersons.com/publishing
Check out our Web site at www.petersons.com/publishing to see if there is any new information
regarding the test and any revisions or corrections to the content of this book. We’ve made sure the
information in this book is accurate and up-to-date; however, the test format or content may have
changed since the time of publication.
CONTENTS
Quick Reference Guide.................................. viii
Table of Literary Works................................. ix
INTRODUCTION
10 Strategies for Acing the Test......................... 2
10 Facts About the AP English Language and
Composition Test........................................ 3
Scoring High on the AP English Language and
Composition Test........................................ 6
Practice Plan for Studying for the AP English Language
and Composition Test ................................... 10
The Panic Plan .......................................... 15
Suggested Reading ..................................... 17
Why Take the Diagnostic Test?.......................... 21
PART I: DIAGNOSING YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
Diagnostic Test.......................................... 25
Section I ............................................ 27
Section II............................................ 41
Answers and Explanations ........................... 46
Self-Evaluation Rubric for the Advanced Placement
Essays............................................ 61
PART II: AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
STRATEGIES
Chapter 1 About Answering Multiple-Choice
Questions................................... 65
Practice Plan .............................................. 65
Basic Information About the Multiple-Choice Section ............ 66
Setting Priorities ........................................... 68
Analyzing the Types of Questions............................. 69
Attacking the Questions: Strategies for Acing the Multiple-Choice
Section ................................................ 71
Learn the Directions Now ................................... 74
A Final Word of Advice: Educated Guessing.................... 75
v
CONTENTS
Practice................................................... 76
Sample Questions .......................................... 77
Answers and Explanations................................... 83
Practice Set 1.............................................. 86
Answers and Explanations................................... 89
Practice Set 2.............................................. 92
Answers and Explanations................................... 95
Practice Set 3.............................................. 98
Answers and Explanations................................... 101
Practice Set 4.............................................. 103
Answers and Explanations................................... 105
Chapter 2 Writing the Essays.......................... 109
Practice Plan .............................................. 109
Basic Information About the Essay Section ..................... 110
Strategies for Acing the Essays ............................... 111
Analyzing Literature ........................................ 114
The Essay: A Quick Review.................................. 116
Types of Essays on the AP Exam ............................. 122
Some Practical Advice on Writing Your Essays.................. 128
Practice Essays............................................. 128
Sample Essay .............................................. 129
Suggestions for Sample Essay ................................ 131
Practice Essay 1............................................ 135
Suggestions for Practice Essay 1 .............................. 137
Practice Essay 2............................................ 139
Suggestions for Practice Essay 2 .............................. 141
Practice Essay 3............................................ 143
Suggestions for Practice Essay 3 .............................. 144
Self-Evaluation Rubric for the Advanced Placement Essays........ 145
PART III: ENGLISH USAGE AND GRAMMAR REVIEW
Chapter 3 Quick Review: Parts of Speech, Grammar,
Mechanics, and Usage Tips................. 149
Grammar for the Multiple-Choice Questions.................... 149
Some Practical Advice on Writing Your Essays.................. 153
98 Common Usage Problems................................. 169
Chapter 4 A Quick Review of Literary and Rhetorical
Terms ....................................... 179
PART IV: PRACTICE TESTS
Practice Test 1........................................... 189
Section I ............................................ 191
Section II............................................ 205
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CONTENTS
Answers and Explanations ........................... 210
Self-Evaluation Rubric for the Advanced Placement
Essays............................................ 225
Practice Test 2........................................... 227
Section I ............................................ 229
Section II............................................ 243
Answers and Explanations ........................... 248
Self-Evaluation Rubric for the Advanced Placement
Essays............................................ 262
Practice Test 3........................................... 265
Section I ............................................ 267
Section II............................................ 279
Answers and Explanations ........................... 282
Self-Evaluation Rubric for the Advanced Placement
Essays............................................ 295
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QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
TOPIC PAGE
Analyzing Literature (checklist) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
A Quick Review of Literary and Rhetorical Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Quick Review: Parts of Speech, Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage
Tips (a helpful grammar guide for writing your essays). . . . . 149
Basic Information about the Multiple-Choice Section. . . . . . . . . . . 66
Basic Information about the Essay Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Educated Guessing for Multiple-Choice Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Effective Strategies for Reading Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
The Essay: A Quick Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Types of Essays on the AP Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Guidelines for Exposition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Guidelines for Persuasion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Questions for Valid Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Multiple-Choice Question Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Creating an Idea Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Strategies for Acing the Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Strategies for Acing the Multiple-Choice Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
6 IMPORTANT STRATEGIES
1. If it’s a main idea or theme question, look for the answer that is the most general and can be
supported by evidence in the selection.
2. All elements in an answer must be correct for the answer to be correct.
3. Don’t rely on your memory; go back to the passage.
4. For vocabulary questions, substitute the definitions in the sentence. Always read a line or two
above and a line or two below the reference to check the context.
5. With not/except questions, ask yourself if an answer choice is true about the selection. If it is,
cross it out and keep checking answers.
6. If you aren’t sure about an answer but know something about the question, eliminate what you
know is wrong and make an educated guess.
viii
TABLE OF LITERARY WORKS
The following list represents all the works discussed in this book,
broken out by chapter.
DIAGNOSTIC TEST
Mary Wollstonecraft, from A Vindication of the Rights of
Women......................................... 27
Walt Whitman, from “Preface” to the 1855 Edition of
Leaves of Grass.................................. 31
George Orwell, from Politics and the English Language ... 34
Mark Twain, from Roughing It ......................... 38
William Faulkner, “Addressing the Graduating Class,”
University High School, Oxford, Mississippi .......... 41
Andrew Carnegie, from Wealth ......................... 43
Abigail Adams, “Letter to Her Daughter from the New
White House”.................................... 44
CHAPTER 1
Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, from the third essay of
Letters from an American Farmer.................. 77
From “The Law of the Great Peace” from the Iroquois
Confederacy..................................... 86
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, from the “Declaration of
Sentiments”...................................... 92
New York Herald, “Assassination of President Lincoln”..... 98
L.H. Heller, from “Extinct Animals” in Americana, 1908.... 103
CHAPTER 2
Ralph Waldo Emerson, from Self-Reliance,................ 129
James Boswell, from “Feelings” in The Life of Samuel
Johnson......................................... 135
Mark Twain, “Advice to Little Girls” ..................... 139
ix
TABLE OF LITERARY WORKS
PRACTICE TEST 1
Louis Untermeyer, from the “Preface” of Modern American
Poetry, a Critical Anthology ....................... 191
Benjamin Franklin, from “Dialogue Between Gout and Mr.
Franklin”........................................ 195
Adam Smith, from The Wealth of Nations................ 199
Bey Emil Brugsch, from “Finding Pharaoh,” in Century
Magazine ....................................... 202
Mary Shelley, from Introduction to Frankenstein ......... 205
Ralph Waldo Emerson, from “The American Scholar” ...... 207
Samuel Johnson, from Preface to Shakespeare ............ 208
PRACTICE TEST 2
Elizabeth I, “Speech to Her Last Parliament” .............. 229
Richard Steele, “Dueling” .............................. 232
Alexander Johnston, from “The American Game of
Football,” in Century Magazine .................... 236
Frederick Douglass, from My Bondage and My Freedom... 240
Henry David Thoreau, from Civil Disobedience ........... 243
Elizabeth Keckley, “The Death of President Lincoln”....... 245
Woodrow Wilson, “Appeal for Neutrality”................ 247
PRACTICE TEST 3
Thomas Paine, from The Crisis.......................... 267
Mary Chesnut, from Mary Chesnut’s War ................ 270
Chief Joseph, “I will fight no more forever” .............. 273
Samuel Johnson, “Letter to Lord Chesterfield”............. 275
Abraham Lincoln, “Inaugural Address” ................... 279
Frances A. Kemble, from Record of a Girlhood ........... 280
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