If you're looking for a must know set of tips when it comes to
tackling your AP English Literature exam, then this video is for you.
Stick with me until the end, because we're about to get you go over five study tips
for, what to do at home, five study tips for multiple choice questions as well
as five study tips for free response.
By the end of this video, you'll have a better understanding of what
it takes to score a four or five on your AP English Literature exam.
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Without further ado, though, let's get into these 15 AP English Lit tips.
Tip number one is to read as much as possible and also make sure that
you're reading as widely as possible.
You should be reading everything from epic poetry to Victorian
novels, to the New York articles and even BuzzFeed list of articles.
By reading a combination of highbrow as well as lowbrow content, you're going
to have a wider breadth of knowledge when it comes to the different styles
of writing that there are in English.
We recommend that you make a schedule and you stick to it
when it comes to reading at home.
Reading regularly allows you to develop a broader vocabulary while also enhancing
your ability to recognize differences in sentence structure, as well as syntax.
Tip number two is to become familiar with the Western canon.
This refers to a body of high culture literature, music,
arts philosophy, and more.
You will often see these sorts of selections on the
AP English Literature exam.
The canon contains all of the classics from authors like Homer.
The reason why you want to have a basic understanding of these texts is
because it allows you to cultivate a better understanding of how the English
tradition has evolved over time.
This is what's known as these so called conversation of literature, which is
the innumerable and number of ways that authors and their works communicate
and interact with one another.
It's also important to expose yourself to the challenges that the Western canon had.
In the eighties and nineties, there was a Canon war in which there wasn't
enough representation of traditionally underrepresented minorities.
Progressive's aimed to dismantle the canon by promoting more of the stories
of behind African-Americans queers and other underrepresented minorities.
This friction between the advocates and the opponents of the cannon is
super important when understanding how literary criticism has changed over time.
When you're able to demonstrate your understanding of this,
you'll greatly improve the chances that you'll score five.
Tip number three is to read Thomas Foster's How to Read
Literature Like a Professor.
This book is a lively and entertaining breakdown of many commonly used
literary devices as seen in literature.
It goes over topics like symbolism, themes, motifs, and more.
It is a great way for you to start thinking more deeply about
literature and also to begin refining your close reading skills.
It also discusses a variety of works that will allow you to grab more
familiarity with the Western Canon.
It's super accessible so make sure you buy it and mark it up and use it
regularly throughout your AP Lit course.
Tip number four is to make sure that you're making flashcards
and reviewing them regularly.
You want to make sure that you have a strong understanding of literary
devices, authors, works and rhetorical strategies so that you're not trying to
think about the definition come test day.
It should be more or less automatic on testing.
So, the easiest way to do this is to create a set of flashcards
that you are regularly reviewing for at least 30 minutes a day.
This way, when it comes time for the test day, you're going to be more
than prepared to start listing out and explaining all these different
literary elements that you know.
Tip five is to form a study group.
Whenever people are reading different literary works, everybody is
bound to have a slightly different interpretation from another person.
So, teaming up with a pair of friends or study buddies will allow you to
have a healthy conversation in terms of the different takes that you have
in the work that you are all reading.
Discussion is a great way to facilitate greater comprehension
of different works as well as to investigate these works more deeply.
Now that we've gone over five study tips for studying at home for AP
English Literature, let's jump into five multiple choice strategies.
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The first tip when it comes to the multiple choice section
should be pretty obvious.
And it is to practice, practice, and practice some more.
When it comes to these practice questions, you're going to be asked to do a lot.
You're going to be asked to analyze all sorts of literary
devices, techniques and motifs.
So it's really important that you get your reps in so that you can easily
identify these sorts of different literary devices when they come up on the exam.
Tip number two is to sharpen your close reading skills.
Whatever method works for you, the key here is that you are
actively engaging with the text.
For some people, it means reading something quickly and then reading a
second time for deeper comprehension whereas for other people, it comes
in the form of underlining, circling, leaving stars and writing in the margin.
The important thing here is to find the method that works for you and to make
sure that you are regularly actively reading using close reading strategies.
If you needed more help on close reading strategies, be sure
to check out the Albert blog.
We have some resources to help you out there.
Tip number three is to look over the questions before you
start digging into the passage.
This is largely dependent on the type of student that you are.
But if you're the type of student that struggles with difficult poetry
or poetry that's written in old prose, and you might find it easier
to first check out the questions before you start reading the passage.
This way you can start thinking about what the questions are going to be
asking of you and be prepared to answer those questions, as opposed
to seeing those questions for the first time after reading the passage.
Tip number four is to use the process of elimination.
In most situations you can eliminate one or two answer
selections from the selections.
And so you should always aim to do so because it will significantly
improve the chances that you can get that particular MCQ question correct.
It's important to remember that the AP English Literature exam does not
penalize you for getting questions wrong.
So as long as you can start narrowing down the answer choices, it'll help you
in terms of improving your chances of doing well on the multiple choice section.
If the strategy isn't working for a particular question, or you're spending
way too much time on a question, just circle it and come back to it later.
You can then apply the process of elimination a second time and
see where it lands you at the end of that particular section.
If you use the process of elimination, it's really important that you don't get
hung up on a limiting answer choices.
The purpose of this technique is so that you can take a test more efficiently,
more so than just spending too much time on one particular question.
That leads us naturally to the final tip for AP English Literature, which is
don't be afraid to make a good guess.
On the AP English Lit exam, you don't get penalized for any
questions that you get wrong.
And so it makes sense for you to at least put an answer choice down for
every single question in the section.
As much as possible, try to put in some educated guesses, but in the case
where you are running out of time, it is helpful to just put something down.
So you at least have a chance of getting a question right.
Now let's jump into five FRQ tips when it comes to AP English Literature.
The first tip is to make sure that you're practicing with
the previously released exams.
There's really no easier way to start learning the rubrics and
what the graders are looking for than taking the actual past exams.
This is because oftentimes the College Board reuses the core
skills that are going to be assessed of students come testing.
And so by using AP central and all of these previously released exams,
you'll start to familiarize yourself with the ways that the College Board
asks you these questions, as well as how students have scored in the
past with respective responses.
That leads us to tip number two, which is to make sure that you're
exploring and understanding fully how the rubric is scored.
If you know each component part of how you're going to be assessed, then
you know how to write for the greater.
It can be really difficult to include every single element they're looking for,
especially the point on sophistication.
So by reviewing the rubric, we can get a better understanding of how to
score a perfect score on our essays.
Be sure to include a thesis that is clearly defensible
and states clear position.
It's also important that you include evidence as well as compelling
commentary that support your thesis.
Remember the key to a great thesis is that it's clear and then it's defensible.
Tip number three is to pay attention to the task verbs that
are outlined in your prompt.
The most common words are analyze, choose and read.
When you're asked to analyze something, you have to look at it methodically.
Look at the topic of the question and think about the difference interpretations
and explanations that you need to include.
When you're asked to choose something, it's pretty clear that you have to
choose something from the provided works that have been shared.
And when you're asked to read something, that's also clear, pretty much you have
to look at what's been printed in the passages that are provided for you.
Tip number four is to make sure that you have a strong understanding
of your literary devices.
This has already been mentioned several times throughout this video.
And so we're going to emphasize it one more time.
Most FRQs are going to ask you to analyze and unpack how these
devices impact things like the mood or the tone of the overall piece.
If you need help here, we recommend picking up the Foster book on How to
Read Literature Like a Professor, or to check out the Albert blog for 15 English
Literature literary devices to know.
And our final tip when it comes to the FRQ section is to make sure that you
are fine tuning your thesis statement.
This is the hardest thing to often get points on.
And if you don't have a strong thesis, then the rest of your essay or your
free response is going to struggle.
If you need help here, we recommend that you check out a variety of
different universities and what they teach their students when
it comes to constructing thesis.
UNC Chapel Hill has a great thesis statement handout that might be
helpful for you as you start practicing crafting your thesis statement.
There you have it.
15 AP English Literature tips and tricks for when it comes to tackling
the multiple choice section, as well as the free response section.
Hopefully you can take these tips on the test day to increase your
chances of getting a four or a five.
If you found this video helpful, be sure to hit that like button below
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