AP Lit and AP Lang Multiple Choice Improvement Tips

Introduction

• Presenter: Tim Freitas from the Garden of English
• Topic: Improving AP Lit and AP Lang multiple choice scores
• Purpose: Provide a top-five countdown of actionable tips

Tip #5: Read More

• Action: Read regularly, without distractions (e.g., phone notifications)
• Types of Reading:
  • Books, magazines, websites, blogs
  • Suggestions:
    • Sports: Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com
    • Nature: National Geographic
    • Pop Culture: The New Yorker
  • Poetry: Poetry Foundation.org (free resources)
• Outcome: Builds reading skills and correlates with higher multiple choice scores

Tip #4: Practice Multiple Choice Questions

• Frequency: Practice often
• Benefits: Increases reading output
• Resources: AP Lang
  • Garden of English's Ultimate Review Packet
  • Includes 23+ readings, 130+ questions
• Resources: AP Lit
  • Marco Learning
• Additional Practice: Ask teacher to open up AP Classroom for more practice
• Strategy:
  • After answering, reason why the correct answer is right
  • Find textual evidence to support the answer
  • Engages 'thinking about thinking' to improve cognitive skills

Tip #3: Keep Reading Despite Unknown Words

• Strategy: Use context clues
• Example: "The Triune Tale of Diminutive Swine"
  • Triune: Think "tri" (three)
  • Diminutive: Infer "little" from context
• Method:
  • Circle unknown words
  • Draw arrows to contextual words
  • Deconstruct words (e.g., laborious contains "labor")

Tip #2: Develop a Multiple Choice Game Plan

• Time Management:
  • Work efficiently for 50-55 minutes
  • Use last 5 minutes to bubble in unanswered questions
  • Choose one letter or vary answers
  • Any answer is better than none
• Content Strategy:
  • Handle difficult readings first/last based on preference
  • Avoid bubble sheet errors
  • Adapt strategy based on strengths (e.g., writing vs. reading for AP Lang)

Tip #1: Recognize Common Wrong Answer Traits

• Lead Distractors:
  • Half-true answers with something false
  • Entirely true answers but irrelevant to current question
  • Vague answers vs. precise ones
• Strategy:
  • Choose answers that are entirely correct
  • Eliminate answers that don’t directly answer the question
  • Prefer specific over vague answers

Conclusion

• Resources:
  • Ultimate review packet for AP Lang
  • Subscribe to the Garden of English for more content
• Final Note:
  • Tailor strategies to individual strengths and preferences
  • Preparing a game plan can alleviate test anxiety