Short Fiction
In "The Yellow Wallpaper" he is the narrator’s husband, a physician, who believes controlling her environment is the best way to restore her health.
Who is John?
In this Langston Hughes poem, a young Black college student reflects on his identity and experiences, concluding that while he is different from his white instructor, their lives are connected through shared humanity.
What is "Theme for English B"
In this FRQ, students read a poem (typically 100‑300 words) and write an essay analyzing how literary elements and techniques shape the speaker’s meaning.
What is FRQ 1
What is complexity?
This literary device “uses the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ to liken two objects or concepts to each other.”
What is a simile?
In this John Cheever short story, a boy named Charlie meets his estranged father at Grand Central Station, but the lunch they share at multiple restaurants ends in disappointment and ends up being their last meeting.
What is "The Reunion"?
This term refers to a character’s unique interpretation of events, influenced by their background, experiences, and beliefs, which shapes how they perceive and process the story.
What is perspective?
In this FRQ, students choose a novel or drama they know and write an essay arguing how a literary concept contributes to the work as a whole.
What is FRQ 3 -Literary Argumentation
In the novel "The Kite Runner," Amir discovers that this man, once a feared Taliban official, is actually Hassan’s son’s kidnapper.
Who is Assef?
The ____________ of a narrator may influence a reader’s understanding of a character’s motives.
What is reliability?
This literary technique refers to how an author presents and develops a character’s personality, thoughts, actions, and relationships to reveal who they are.
What is characterization?
Readers look for these in a text because they often signal a change in tone, meaning, or perspective; they can be indicated by transitions like “but” or “however,” punctuation, stanza/paragraph breaks, or sudden changes in line or sentence length.
What are shifts?
How many MCQs total will you answer?
55 Questions
This object, given to Amir by Baba and later used to frame Hassan and Ali.
What is the watch?
This “Big Idea” explains that ________ and its associated details do more than establish time and place—they also convey values.
What is setting?
n this Gary Soto story, a six-year-old boy steals a pie from a German Market, and though he eats it, he is haunted afterward by guilt, religious imagery, and the weight of sin.
What is "The Pie"
This poetic technique occurs when a thought or sentence carries over from one line to the next without ending punctuation, creating a smooth flow or building tension.
What is enjambment
On the AP Literature FRQ rubric, essays can earn this many points for Thesis
What is 1 point?
This term refers to the arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence—choices that shape tone, pace, and meaning.
What is Syntax?
This structural element describes how pacing, sequencing, or chronology affects meaning.
What is the plot?
This Raymond Carver story depicts a couple’s bitter argument over their baby, escalating to a physical struggle that leaves the child’s fate uncertain, illustrating the destructiveness of conflict.
What is "Popular Mechanics"
Gwendolyn Brooks wrote this brief but powerful poem that captures the bravado and vulnerability of pool players who “left school” to chase a risky, rebellious life.
What is "We Real Cool"
List two ways that you can earn the sophistication point on the FRQs.
1. Identifying and exploring complexities or tensions within the selected work.
2. Illuminating the student’s interpretation by situating it within a broader context.
3. Accounting for alternative interpretations of the selected work.
4. Employing a style that is consistently vivid and persuasive.
In Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” this tension between the speaker’s desire to linger in peaceful stillness and his obligations to continue traveling creates the poem’s central complexity.
What is the contrast between rest and responsibility?
This “Big Idea” states that _______ in literature allow readers to study a range of values, beliefs, assumptions, and cultural norms.
What are Characters?