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CliffsAP English Language and CompositionBy Barbara V. Swovelin John Wiley & SonsISBN: 0-7645-8685-8Chapter OneIntroduction to the Multiple-Choice Section
The multiple-choice section is normally 60 minutes long and consists of about 55 questions. You should expect four reading passages that represent a variety of rhetorical modes (for example, narration, argumentation, persuasion, description). The passages may vary in length from about 300 to about 800 words. Each passage is followed by 10 to 15 questions based on its content. These questions are not ordered by level of difficulty. Occasionally, a multiple-choice section of the exam may have five passages, rather than four, with fewer questions per passage. You will, however, always have the same approximate number of total questions on every exam. Remember that you're not expected to be familiar with the passage or its specific content. Consider this section to be akin to a scavenger hunt; the passage will give you everything you need, it's just up to you to find it and think about it accurately. Any technical information crucial to comprehending the passage, as well as unusual or foreign phrases, will be defined for you. You will be more comfortable with both the essay and multiple-choice sections if you are adept at reading works from many genres and time periods. For instance, the test can cover works from autobiographies or biographies, historical writing, essays and literature criticism, journalism, political writing, nature writing, and scientific writing. The test passages can be up to about 400 years old, so you'll need to practice comprehending and appreciating the style of older pieces as well as contemporary ones. A student who only practices with modern- day authors will not be as relaxed during the exam reading as one who has been exposed to Milton or Dr. Johnson.
Ability Tested This section tests your ability to analyze the linguistic and rhetorical choices of an author. You are expected to show an awareness of the stylistic effects created by specific word choices. These questions also test your ability to examine prose passages critically, to understand the author's meaning and purpose, to comprehend structural organization, to recognize rhetorical modes, and to analyze syntax, figurative language, style, and tone. The level of difficulty reflects college-level study.
Basic Skills Necessary In general, you need an adequate background in grammar and in literary analysis. Although the questions don't specifically ask for definitions of terms (such as "subordinate clause" or "syntax"), you should be familiar with terms that may show up in the question stems or as answer choices. See the Glossary of Important Terms for a review of the terms you're likely to encounter on the test; you must understand how the terms create meaning. In addition, you need to have developed proficiency in careful reading for your analysis and interpretation of the passages. You can gain this proficiency by active, visual reading.
Directions Directions: This section contains selections from prose works and questions on their content, form, and style. Read each selection carefully. Choose one of the best answers of the five choices. Questions 1-. Read the following passage carefully before you begin to answer the questions.
Analysis of Directions * Use self-discipline to manage your time effectively during the test. You can develop this skill through practice. You should divide your time for each passage accordingly. Do not let yourself fall further and further behind as the test progresses. * Answer all the questions to the best of your ability before going on to the next passage. This strategy avoids your having to return to any given passage at the end of the test just to answer a few skipped questions. If you put yourself in the position of returning to a passage, you'll have to reread it and that process is too time consuming. * Read each passage carefully and critically. First, paraphrase the author's ideas as you read; then, concentrate on effective word choice. Avoid getting bogged down in diction, whether it's a word you don't know or the structure of a sentence that's confusing. Simply keep trying to get the main point and then let the questions guide what you need to know. * Read all the answer choices. Remember that the directions call for the best answer choice, which means there can be more than one reasonable choice for each question. Eliminate wrong answer choices. Never forget that the wrong answer is wrong for a reason. The correct response will not have a single wrong word in it. You can become more proficient at eliminating wrong answers by practicing spotting the wrong word or phrase in the incorrect responses.
Suggested Strategies for Reading Passages and Questions 1. First, skim the question to find out what you should concentrate on. Doing so as you read the passage helps you focus on what the test writers found important. Skimming involves a very fast reading speed - approximately 1000 words per minute - so be aware that during this skimming, you are really just glancing at the questions. Ignore any "generic" questions, such as ones that ask you the author's main purpose or main point; instead try to find approximately five specific ideas that you can look for while you read the passage. Do not try to memorize the questions; you're just glancing at them to help you focus. This technique works well when you practice frequently enough before the test for it to become second nature. You should look for the specific content of each question. For example, don't merely note that a question asks you to draw an inference. You must also focus upon the specific content included in the inference. Prior practice is essential for you to become comfortable with the strategy of skimming the questions prior to reading the passage. 2. Read each passage actively and visually. Active reading means that you should underline and mark key words and ideas (just the few most important ones) as you read. Don't sit passively and merely let your eyes move across the page. Scientific studies support the idea that active readers gain higher immediate retention than do passive readers, and immediate retention is all you need in this case. You'll not be concerned at all with long-term memory on the day of the exam. Visual reading means that you should picture any action of the passage in your mind; create a movie, if you will. Visual reading is a most valuable tool for eliminating distractions while reading. It gives your brain a task to perform and helps keep your mind on the content of the passage. Most people are visual learners; they remember more after they have "seen" something, even if it's in their imagination Both of these strategies enhance your immediate retention and concentration - just what you need the most on this test. Practice these skills daily and watch them become more effective with continued use. 3. Paraphrase while you're reading. This technique also helps your immediate retention and understanding of the author's ideas. By definition, paraphrasing means that you can articulate the author's ideas in your own words. This is an essential skill for comprehension, and, like visual reading, gives your brain "something to do" that is on task while you read. Every question that asks about a passage's main ideas or an author's point can be answered correctly if you paraphrase accurately. For any given passage, paraphrase each paragraph as a unit, and then paraphrase the author's overall point that covers all of the paragraphs. Practice by writing down your concise statement of an author's point immediately after reading a paragraph or a whole passage. Later, you can develop this skill to the point that it's internalized, and you can paraphrase very quickly. You'll find that eventually you can paraphrase effectively while you're reading. 4. Read the question carefully after you've read the passage. Don't assume from an earlier skimming that you know each question well. You must understand exactly what you're being asked. Students who frequently choose the wrong answer have misread the question by either reading too quickly or by not being sure what's actually being asked. 5. Read all the answer choices carefully. Eliminate a wrong-answer choice as you read it and cross out that letter in the test book. Never waste time rereading the wrong answers. Make sure that your answer choice is accurate according to the passage and that it answers the question. 6. Leave the most difficult questions until the end of each section. From your practice on the test, you can learn to recognize which questions are harder for you and which ones you can do accurately and quickly. Then use this knowledge as part of your personal strategy to get the most correct answers you possibly can. Remember to treat each passage as a unit and try to answer all the questions you can for that passage within your time limit before going on to the next passage. 7. One way to increase your score is to always analyze the questions that you get wrong on the practice tests. Try to find out why you selected each incorrect answer choice. Did you misread the question? Did you misread the answer? Did you work too quickly? Try to detect any trends; for example, a certain question type may always be the hardest for you. Then you can study, analyze, and understand why the correct answer is better than your choice. This analysis will help you to stop repeating the same mistakes. 8. Practice! With extensive practice, you'll increase your familiarity with the question types. Thus, you'll begin to think like the test makers, not the test takers, and your score will improve.
Reasons Answers May Be Wrong Understanding how to eliminate incorrect answer choices saves time and increases accuracy. Of course the test writers are trying to "trick" you. If you understand the tricks they frequently throw at you, you'll work faster to eliminate wrong answers and you'll be less likely to be deceived by them. When trying to eliminate wrong answers remember to think like a test writer, not a test taker. Remember to cross out each wrong answer in the test booklet; don't waste time rereading these wrong answers. Wrong answers can be: 1. Contradictory to the passage. If you read the passage carefully, and paraphrase accurately you won't be tricked into the time-consuming process of rereading it to find what the author really said. 2. Irrelevant or not addressed in the passage. Again, poor readers are tricked into rereading to look for ideas that weren't there in the first place. Readers who are accurate at paraphrasing can quickly eliminate the irrelevant or "never addressed" answer choice. 3. Unreasonable. If the answer makes you shake your head and ask, "Where did they get that idea?" it's unreasonable. You should be able to spot unreasonable answer choices quickly. 4. Too general or too specific for the question. Understand the degree of specificity that you need for a correct answer. For instance, if the question asks for the best title of a passage, you need a general answer, one that encompasses the content of the entire essay. On the other hand, if you're asked about the author's use of a certain quotation, the correct answer is likely to be quite specific. Finally, never forget that the wrong answer is wrong for a specific reason and will always have an inaccurate word or phrase. Practice crossing out the exact word or phrase that is wrong and you'll find you can perform faster and with greater confidence. The correct answer will not have a single word that is inaccurate.
Question Categories to Expect In general, the test questions tend to fall into just a few categories. By becoming familiar with these areas, you can more quickly understand what you're being asked. Also, you'll be more comfortable with the test format and able to work faster. As with all testing strategies, your practice in recognizing the question types before the test is essential. A brief analysis of these questions types follows.
Questions about Rhetoric The majority of the questions on the test are of this type and test your ability to understand how language works in each passage. These questions ask you to analyze the syntax (word order and word choice), point of view, and figurative language and its effects. Your mere recognition of these elements is not enough; you must be able to understand precisely how and why the devices of rhetoric produce particular effects. Some of the ways this question type may be worded on the test are * The shift in point of view has the effect of ... * The syntax of lines _____ to _____ serves to ... * Which of the following choices best describes what "_____" symbolizes? * The second sentence is unified by metaphorical references to ... * As lines _____ and _____ are constructed, "_____" is parallel to which of the following? * The antecedent for "_____" is ... * The third sentence remains coherent because of the use of ... * The phrase "_____" has the effect of ... * The style of the passage can best be characterized as ... * The sentence "______" is chiefly remarkable for its ...
Questions about the Author's Meaning and Purpose These question types also appear frequently on the test. They measure your ability to interpret the author's theme, meaning, or purpose. As with the rhetorical questions, these questions are closely tied to specific word choices; however, now you must determine why the author chooses the wording, not what effect it produces. These questions demonstrate the understanding of the author's thematic reason for choosing certain phrases. Some of the ways this question type may be worded are * Which of the following best identifies the meaning of "_____"? * Which of the following best describes the author's purpose in the last sentence? * The main purpose of "_____" is to make clear ... * The author emphasizes "_____" in order to ... * The sympathy referred to in line _____ is called "_____" because it ... * What is the function of _____? * By "_____," the author most probably means ... * In context, which of the following meanings are contained in "_____"?
Questions about the Main Idea These questions also appear quite frequently; they test your understanding of the author's ideas, attitude, and tone. To prepare for these questions, paraphrase everything that you read. First, make yourself practice this skill in writing - literally write down an author's point in a sentence or two. After such practice, you'll be able to do it internally while you read, and you'll have greater comprehension. Some of the ways these questions may be worded are * The theme of the second paragraph is ... * The speaker's attitude is best described as one of ... * The speaker interests the audience by stressing the idea that ... * It can be inferred from the description of _____ that which of the following qualities are valued by the author? * In context, the sentence "_____" is best interpreted as which of the following? * The atmosphere is one of ... * Which of the following would the author be LEAST likely to encourage? * Which of the following is true about the various assertions made in the passage? * All of the following ideas may be found in the passage EXCEPT ...
Questions about Organization and Structure Appearing less frequently than the first three question types, these questions test your ability to perceive how the passage is organized. For example, you need to know if the passage follows a comparison/contrast structure or if it gives a definition followed by examples. Other passages may be organized around descriptive statements that then lead to a generalization. These are just a few of the methods an author may use to organize ideas. You also need to understand how the structure of the passage works. For example, you must know how one paragraph relates to another paragraph or how a single sentence works within a paragraph. Some of the ways this question type may be worded are * The quotation "_____" signals a shift from ... * The speaker's mention of "_____" is appropriate to the development of her argument by ... * The type of argument employed by the author is most similar to which of the following? * The speaker describes _____ in an order best described as moving from ... * The relationship between _____ and _____ is explained primarily by the use of which of the following? * The author's discussion depends on which of the following structures? * Which of the following best describes the function of the third paragraph in relation to the preceding two? (Continues...)
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