Multiple Choice Testing Strategies
How many questions are in the multiple choice exam?
45 Questions
What are the 3 essays you will be expected to write in the essay exam?
Synthesis, Rheotircal, and Argument Essays
When forced to guess a question, what method do you use to ensure you get some points for guessing?
How much time do you have for reading the prompts and sources for the essay? Also, how long do you have to write your essays?
15 minutes of reading
2 hours of writing all 3 essays
What type of questions would they ask you?
(hint they are two types)
Reading and Writing Questions
In the synthesis essay, what are you expected to incorporate?
You need 3 sources out of the six or seven sources to incorporate in the essay.
What is the two-pass system method?
System 1: Answer the easy questions snd guess at the hard ones, using the Letter of the Day
System 2: Tackle as many of the hard ones as you can during the time left
Why did they implement the 3 essays in the AP exam?
They are college-level assignments:
Research sources that support your position
Examine sources to assess credibility
Argue persuasively
What specifically are they testing you on in the reading questions?
(name 3 things that they will test you on)
Reading: Diction, Syntax, imagery, Tone, Style, Purpose, and Point of View
What are you expected to write your analysis on in the rhetorical analysis essay?
The rhetorical techniques used in the text.
Examples: ethos, logos, pathos, diction, tone, etc.
How much time do you have to answer all the multiple-choice questions?
1 hour
Who scores your exam?
English professors and AP course teachers grade together
What specifically are they testing you on the writing questions?
revision questions that are similar to peer-reviewing a classmates essay
Argue if you agree or disagree with the prompt and provide evidence through your knowledge, experience, etc.
What type of texts will you be reading mainly from the multiple choice exam? (think of genre) Then provide 2 examples of what kind of texts you are expecting to analyze.
Nonfiction texts: Essays, biographies, diary entries, speeches, letters, literary criticism, science and nature writing, and writings about politics or history
What is the scoring process for the essays? (there are 3 important ways)
1. Readers go through many essays (they look for engagement and uniqueness)
2. Essays are graded based on other students' work (they compare essays to others from that year, not to a perfect standard)
3. Graders understand the writing process (they do not expect a perfect paper in 40 mins)
What method do you use when encountering a word you are unfamiliar with in the exam?
Use context clues to help understand unfamiliar words
What are the big 3 categories that the essay examiners will be looking for when grading your essays and how many points are they worth?
Thesis Statement (1 point)
Evidence/Commentary (4 points)
Sophistication (1 point)
When using the Active Reading method what should you be analyzing when reading a text from the multiple choice exam?
Author's Main Idea,
How their Ideas are Organized
Was the Author's Work Persuasive
What Writing Techniques did They Use
In the rhetorical analysis essay, how are you expected to construct your thesis?
Example: "This is the author's purpose, these are the 3 techniques the author used to achieve the purpose, and this is how each technique makes the purpose more effective"