AP Lit & Comp 5/ Ten commandments of AP Lit 2.Important tips and reminders 3.AP Lit survival kit

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1 AP Lit & Comp 5/ Ten commandments of AP Lit 2.Important tips and reminders 3.AP Lit survival kit

2 The Ten Commandments of AP Lit I am the Prompt, thy Prompt; thou shalt have no other Prompt before me. Thou shalt read the Prompt with rapt attention; the Prompt is thy friend. Thou shalt address the Prompt. Thou shalt not just get the general idea of the Prompt, nor shalt thou fight the Prompt or substitute thine own ideas for the Prompt, or simply restate the Prompt. Thou shalt not postpone, omit or bury thy Thesis Statement. Thou shalt not commit plot summary, nor shalt though cohabit with Reading Comprehension, for it is an abomination in my sight.

3 The Ten Commandments of AP Lit Thou shalt not commit free-floating generalization, but shall support and develop thy every assertion. Thou shalt not confuse complexity with confusion, or subtlety with indecisiveness or shifting perspective with selfcontradiction; thou shalt not attribute thine own insensitivity or ignorance to authorial ineptitude. The fact that thou gettest not the point doesn't mean that the passage hath no point: thou hast missed the point. Deal with it. Thou shalt read every MC question with the same exquisite care that thou devotest to the essay Prompt: thou shalt not 'get the drift.' By the same token, thou shalt strive to read what the writer actually wrote, not what thou expectest him or her to have written.

4 The Ten Commandments of AP Lit Thou shalt not finish early. Thou shalt spend plenty of thy time planning thine essay responses and reading them over. Thou shalt guess in an educated manner when thou knowest not the answers. Thou shalt not merely identify literary and stylistic devices, but shalt SHOW how they function. Thou shalt never permit thyself to become discouraged: I am the prompt, thy Prompt. Thou shalt maintain thy focus, attention and confidence. Yea, though thou hast totally screwed up thy last essay, this next essay maketh a fresh start.

5 THE POETRY ESSAY 1. Find the heart of the prompt. 2. Read the poem SLOWLY, in sentences. Read to figure out the heart of the prompt BEFORE you figure out which devices you ll discuss. Read the poem more than once. 3. Organize your body paragraphs by concepts (or by devices.) TREXEX 4. Use snippets for your examples. LOTS of them. 5. Poem titles go in quotation marks.

6 THE POETRY ESSAY 6. Remember that your thesis should address the heart of the prompt: you can also mention the devices. 7. Try to talk about the poem s overall meaning in some way. 8. Write a concluding statement that goes in its own paragraph make it something new or insightful not just a repeat of your thesis. Connect it to heart of the prompt or overall meaning.

7 THE PROSE ESSAY 1. Find the heart of the prompt. 2. Read the passage slowly, annotating carefully for heart of the prompt and meaning. 3. After you ve figured out how you ll respond to the heart of the prompt, choose the devices you ll discuss. 4. Write a thesis that addresses the heart of the prompt. 5. Organize your body paragraphs by characteristics rather than devices.

8 THE PROSE ESSAY 6. Each body paragraph should be organized by TREXEX. 7. Use direct quotes for your examples and explain each one thoroughly, connecting it back to the heart of the prompt. 8. Finish with at least one strong, insightful concluding sentence don t repeat the thesis say something new that s connected to the universality of the heart of the prompt.

9 FREE RESPONSE ESSAY 1. Make a task list that includes everything the prompt wants you to do. 2. Choose the work you ll use and the theme you re going to focus on from that work. Then write a strong thesis (use the ultimately template you ve memorized.) 3. Organize your body paragraphs according to TREXEX. Blend in lots of specific examples from the work. Connect each paragraph back to MOWAW (theme.)

10 FREE RESPONSE ESSAY 4. Finish with at least one strong, insightful concluding sentence don t repeat the thesis say something new that s connected to the universality of the heart of the prompt. 5. Book titles are underlined. 6. Review your flashcards!

11 Synecdoche (SIN EK DUH KEE) uses a part of something to represent the whole Examples of synecdoche: The word bread refers to food or money as in, Writing is my bread and butter. The word suits refers to businessmen. Example in literature: The western wave was all a-flame. The day was well was nigh done! Almost upon the western wave Rested the broad bright Sun The western wave is a synecdoche as it refers to the sea by the name of one of its parts i.e. wave. 11

12 12 Synecdoche vs. metonymy Synecdoche refers to the whole of a thing by the name of any one of its parts. For example, calling a car wheels is a synecdoche because a part of a car wheels stands for the whole car. In metonymy, the word used to describe another thing is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not necessarily a part of it. For example, crown that refers to power or authority is a metonymy used to replace the word king or queen. So metonymy is more of a direct substitute of one term for another.

13 13 APOSTROPHE Apostrophe when an author or speaker addresses (talks to) an abstract concept that cannot answer. Examples: Oh, cruel fate Bright flower thou art. Death be Not Proud Blank verse poetry written in iambic pentameter that doesn t rhyme Free verse poetry that has no rhyme OR meter Sestina poetry in lines of six Sonnet 14 line poem; the shift is always at line 8

14 14 LAST FEW TERMS Iambic pentameter an iamb = 1 unstressed (u) then 1 stressed (/) syllable (de DUMM) Iambic pentameter = 5 iambs per line Example: But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Types of imagery: visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, olefactory Remember enjambment & endstop Caesura a pause that occurs within a line of poetry. 'Sing a song of sixpence, // a pocket full of rye.

15 WHAT AP READERS LOOK FOR 1. Fully develop your essays: try to write at least 2 pages, 2.5 if possible. 2. Integrate your quotations gracefully. (1) into your analysis of literary devices (2) with an interpretation of meaning. (3) Thoroughly explain the relevance of the quote to the prompt and your analysis. You have to interpret its significance to the work, your thesis, and the prompt. SHOW, don t tell.

16 WHAT AP READERS LOOK FOR 3. Spend time planning your essay (10 minutes), and find some angle, within the heart of the prompt, that you feel passionate about, whether emotionally, intellectually, or philosophically (passion moves readers). 4. If the prompt refers to literary devices or any other technical aspects of the work, ignore the reference and ask first, What is the heart of the prompt? THEN, ask How is that message delivered? At this point, the devices should suggest themselves in a context in which the technicalities of the work will be seen to create its effectiveness rather than obscuring its power.

17 Wrong M/C answer choices follow patterns They require only a surface reading, not a close understanding. They are simplistic they have less depth. They give generalizations when specificity is required. They are unrelated to the question. They are unrelated to the material of the passage. One part of the answer is correct, but not the other.

18 Remember common answer options: 1 Best answer (most defensible) 1 Also correct (but not as defensible or correct as the best answer) 2 Will be plausible but not truly possible 1 Will be a misread: an answer that supports a misreading of the passage. Sometimes this can be a pronoun/antecedent error. Simply substitute the noun for the pronoun to eliminate distracters. USE POE on the multiple choice questions power of elimination. Have a LOD ready tomorrow morning (letter of the day)

19 Poetry prompt reminders Remember to take the time to annotate the poem or poems, before you write the essay. Look for deeper meaning (what is the poem saying about life (or whatever subject it s addressing)? Heart of the prompt Then, for each element you discuss, connect how the element helps the author get to this meaning. This is what the readers are looking for! Do not say narrator. Refer to the poem s main character as the speaker. Refer to the author as the poet. Poem titles are in quotation marks Cite lines of poetry in snippets to PROVE how the author is showing meaning. Try to include three snippets (at least) per paragraph (or per element.)

20 PROSE prompt reminders Box, circle or underline the key words in the prompt. Make sure you address these things in your essay. Find the heart of the prompt. Read the passage slowly and carefully. Actually form the words with your mouth, so you can hear the reading in your head. Remember to take the time to annotate as you re reading. Use brackets around paragraphs, underline or box things, etc. before you write the essay. Look for HOW the author is using literary devices to accomplish characterization or convey meaning. This is what the readers are looking for! Excerpts from novels are underlined. Short story titles go in quotes. Refer to the author by first and last name, then by last name only. Cite lines from the passage in snippets to PROVE how the author is creating characterization or showing meaning.

21 Must haves for the open quest. 1. You MUST discuss MOWAW (meaning of the work as a whole). If you don t do this, your score drops to a You MUST discuss which techniques the author uses to portray the MOWAW. 3. You need specific textual support. You won t be able to use quotes, but you need to give specific examples from the work (so a specific character s actions, a specific scene, a specific event, etc.) 4. You must have a clear thesis. Don t repeat the prompt wordfor-word. Use the thesis template we learned. Try to add a little of your own style and flair. Thesis goes in the first paragraph (or is your first paragraph exclusively). 5. Circle or box key words and tasks in the prompt. You MUST address all parts of the prompt. Failure to do so, again, drops your score to a This essay prompt is all about theme. What methods does the author use to convey meaning (MOWAW)? Use the thesis statement formula we learned in class earlier this year.

22 Must haves for the OEQ 7. This essay is all about showcasing your analysis abilities. Do NOT summarize the plot. The person who scores your essay will be familiar with the work you re using. 8. Organize clearly in paragraphs. Best bet? A brief intro or just your thesis with mention of theme. Paragraph 1 = discuss first example/technique and relate to theme. Paragraph 2 = discuss second example and relate to theme. Paragraph 3 = discuss third example and relate to theme. You need at least a concluding statement. A brief concluding paragraph is better, one in which you reiterate which methods the author uses to make meaning. 9. If specific literary techniques are given in the prompt, address ALL of them with concrete examples. If the choice is yours, choose the most sophisticated ones possible. 10. Punctuation and handwriting count. Underline book titles and pay attention to detail. WRITE IN PRESENT TENSE. 11. Use ALL the time given. Proofread closely, if time allows.

23 Thesis formula Here is a formula for writing a thesis statement that ironically won't read as formulaic. This model provides is a thesis statement which is sophisticated, in-depth, and complex. MEMORIZE THIS FORMULA! In the, (name the specific genre) (title of text punctuated correctly) (author s full name) (reflects upon, examines, or other SPICY verb), (idea, issue or problem) highlighting the tension between and, (central opposition) (central opposition) ultimately revealing. (THEME statement about the human condition that transcends setting.) *Note how this formula identifies the central topic, recognizes complexity, and states theme--an ideal combination, as the AP Lit exam is all about complexity.

24 GENERAL REMINDERS Watch a funny video or two right before you head into the test. Dress in layers and stay hydrated. Bring water with you in a sealed bottle or cup. Drink the same amount of caffeine you would normally have prior to the exam (no more or no less.) Eat breakfast that is high in protein. Even an Egg McMuffin would be good. Bring a high protein snack Bring extra pencils and pens and a watch with no alarm. Believe in yourself! You have prepped for this all year and know more than you think.

25 BELIEVE IN YOURSELF I feel very confident about your abilities and the likelihood of you performing well on the exam. If I believe in you, you should definitely believe in you!

26 MONDAY & TUESDAY NIGHTS Review your mini data works sheets and the practice OEQ prompts we filled out. Maybe read through the OEQ prompts. Look through the sample prose prompts online. Read and annotate a few passages and jot down how you would write the essay. Perhaps do a few M/C questions on Learnerator. Review verb/tone/lit term flashcards on Classroom. SPICY VERBS

The prose prompt will always be an excerpt from a short story or novel.

The prose prompt will always be an excerpt from a short story or novel. AP Lit & Comp 3/1 17 1. Under the Feet of Jesus and Where are you Going? 2. AP Essay Tips & What AP Readers Look For 3. Prose prompt timed writing: 40 minutes Prose Prompts The prose prompt will always