Useful Links for Exams and Papers

Useful Links for Exams and Papers

The College Board website contains links to past free response questions used on the AP English literature and composition exam. You can also view sample essays written by students, and see how they were scored. Use these prompts to practice outlining and to get an idea of the types of questions you will encounter on future exams:

The following links are designed to help you refresh your memory on literary terms. The first is to a set on Quizlet which helps you define and memorize them. The second is for a website that gives definitions and examples of each one.

Quizlet:

Literary Devices:

The Purdue OWL will help answer questions you have about citing in the MLA format:

The Ten Commandments of the Advanced Placement Literature examination

1. 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 your own ideas for the Prompt.

2. Thou shalt not postpone, omit, or bury thy Thesis Statement.

3. Thou shalt not dwell with Plot-Summary, nor shalt thou cohabit with Padding of

Writing, for it is an abomination in my sight. Neither shalt thou be satisfied with

mere Reading Comprehension for thy Prompt is an analytic and interpretive

Prompt.

4. Thou shalt not commit Free-Floating Generalization, but shall support and

develop thine every assertion with Concrete Details.

5. Thou shalt not mistake complexity for confusion, or subtlety for indecisiveness;

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 and thus must reread more

carefully.

6. Thou shalt read every Multiple-Choice question with the same exquisite care that thou devotest to the Essay Prompt: thou shalt not "get the drift." By the same

token, shalt thou strive to read what the writer actually wrote, not what thou

expectest him or her to have written.

7. Thou shalt not finish early. Thou shalt spend an abundance of thy time planning

thine essay responses and any time left over editing them.

8. Honor thy percentages by guessing thoughtfully when thou art not sure of the

answers. Thou shalt guess when thou knowest not the answers and can

eliminateth two of the four answers.

9. Thou shalt not merely identify stylistic and literary devices, but shalt show how

they function and provide examples.

10. 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 mutilated thy last essay, the next essay maketh a fresh start.