Recommendations
It is highly recommended that you do this before you begin writing any essay to organize your thoughts.
Create a thesis and or an outline
This is the number of major Big Ideas outlined in the AP Lang course description.
4
This section of the exam consists of 45 multiple-choice questions based on 4-5 nonfiction passages.
What is the MCQ section?
This is the central, arguable claim of an essay.
Thesis statement
The total allotted time for the entire AP Language and Composition exam.
3 hours and 15 minutes
For the Argument essay, it is recommended to draw evidence from these three areas for a high score.
Reading, experience and observation
What's this "big idea"?
Writers make claims about subjects, rely on evidence that supports the reasoning that justifies the claim, and often acknowledge or respond to other, possible opposing, arguments.
Claims and evidence
The three free-response questions (FRQs) are officially numbered with these acronyms: Synthesis, Rhetorical Analysis, and ____.
What is Argument?
This term describes a writer's attitude toward their subject, often created through diction.
Tone
The amount of time given to complete the 45-question multiple-choice section.
1 hour
For multiple-choice, it is recommended that you actively do this to the passages before answering the questions.(Computer based)
Annotate or mark up a text
This Big Idea focuses on how claims and evidence work together to create an effective argument.
Reasoning and organization
This specific FRQ requires you to integrate evidence from at least three provided sources to support your argument.
What is a Synthesis essay?
This rhetorical device involves asking a question not to elicit an answer, but to assert or deny something obliquely.
Rhetorical question
The reading period at the start of the FRQ section lasts this long.
15 minutes
A key recommendation for the Rhetorical Analysis essay is to avoid just doing this, which means simply summarizing what the author says.
Paraphrasing
The enduring understanding that "A writer’s use of language conveys their character and values" falls under this Big Idea.
Style
This is the maximum score you can receive on the entire AP Exam.
What is 5?
A response earns the this point if it demonstrates a consistently complex understanding of the rhetorical situation, argument or synthesis.
Sophisitication
The total writing time for the three FRQs after the 15-minute reading period.
It is recommended that you spend approximately this much time (in minutes) on each essay in the FRQ section.
40 minutes
This Big Idea (BI) deals with how writers make choices to develop and convey meaning.
The rhetorical situation
In the multiple-choice section, these questions ask you to describe what a phrase "refers to" or "is doing" in the context of the passage.
What are function or purpose questions?
The three persuasive appeals, as defined by Aristotle.
Ethos, Pathos and Logos
The recommended maximum time you should spend reading the sources and prompt for the Synthesis essay during the reading period.
5 to 7 minutes