AP English Language and Composition
Course Description, Effective FaL| 2014
SampleAP EnglishLanguageand CompositionExamOuestions The following multiple-choice and free-response exam questions are typical of those used on past AP English Language and Composition Exams.
Ouestions SampleMultiple-Choice QuestionsI -I I. Read the following passagecarefully before you chooseyour answers. England. Thispassage is excerpted from an essaywritten in nineteenth-century It hasbeen well said that the highest aim in education is analogousto the highest aim in mathematics,namely,to obtain not resultsbvt powers,not particular solutions,but the meansby which endlesssolutions may be wrought. He is the most effectiveeducatorwho aims lessat perfecting specificacquirementsthan at producing that mental condition which rendersacquirementseasy,and leads to their useful application;who doesnot seekto make his pupils moral by enjoining particular coursesof action, but by bringing into activity the feelingsand sympathiesthat must issuein noble action. On the sameground it may be said that the most effective writer is not he who announcesa particular discovery, who convincesmen of a particular conclusion,who demonstratesthat this measureis right and that measurewrong; but he who rousesin others the activities that must issuein discovery,who awakes men from their indifferenceto the right and the wrong, who nervestheir energiesto seekfor the truth and live up to it at whatevercost.The influence of such a writer is dynamic. He doesnot teachmen how to use sword and musket,but he inspirestheir souls with courageand sendsa strong will into their muscles.He doesnot, perhaps,enrich your stock of data,but he clearsawaythe film from your eyesthat you may searchfor data to somepurpose.He does not, perhaps,convinceyou, but he strikesyou, undeceivesyou, animatesyou. You are not directly fed by his books, but you arebraced asby a walk up to an alpine summit, and yet subduedto calm and reverenceasby the sublime things to be seenfrom 'that summit.
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AP English Language and Composition
Course Description, Effective FaL| 2014
Sucha writer is ThomasCarlyle.It is an idle question to askwhether his books will be read a century hence:ifthey were all burnt asthe grandest of Sutteesron his funeral pile, it would be only like cutting down an oak after its acornshavesown a forest.For there is hardly a superior or active mind of this generationthat has not been modified by Carlyle'swritings; there has hardlybeen an English book written for the last ten or twelve yearsthat would not havebeen different if Carlyle had not lived. The characterofhis influence is best seenin the fact that many of the men who havethe leastagreement with his opinions are those to whom the reading of Sartor Resartls was an epoch in the history oftheir minds. The extent of his influence may be best seenin the fact that ideaswhich were startling noveltieswhen he first wrote them are now becomecommon-places. And we think few men will be found to saythat this influence on the whole has not been for good. There are plenty who question the justice of Carlyleb estimatesof past men and past times, plentywho quarrel with the exaggerationsof the latter-Day Pamphlets,and who are as far aspossiblefrom looking for an amendmentof things from a Carlylian theocracywith the greatestmart',asa ]oshuawho is to smite the wicked (and the stupid) till the going down of the sun.2But for any large nature,those points ofdifference are quite incidental. It is not as a theorist, but as a great and beautiful human nature, that Carlyle influencesus. You may meet a man whosewisdom seemsunimpeachable,sinceyou find him entirely in agreementwith yourself;but this oracular man of unexceptionableopinions has a green eye,a wiry hand, and altogethera Wesen,or demeanour,that makesthe world look blank to you, and whose unexceptionableopinions becomea bore; while another man who dealsin what you cannot but think dangerousparadoxes',warms your heart by the pressureof his hand, and looks out on the world with so clear and loving an eye,that nature seemsto reflect the light of his glanceupon your own feeling.So it is with Carlyle.When he is sayingthe very oppositeof what we think, he saysit so finely, with so hearty
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A suttee is a now-obsolete Hindu funeral practice. Carlyle believed that great men, or heroes, shaped history through their personal actions and divine inspiration. Joshua, a military leader and successor to Moses, Ied the Jewish people to the Promised Land.
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AP English Langr:age and Composition
Course Description, Effective FaL[ 2074
conviction-he makesthe object about which we difer stand out in such grand reliefunder the clear light of his strong and honest intellect-he appeals so constantlyto our senseof the manly and the truthful-that we areobligedto say'Hear!hear!'to the writer beforewe can givethe decorous'Oh! oh!' to his opinions. . What is the relationship betweenthe two paragraphsin the passage? (A) The first paragraphdescribesstrengthsof a writer that Carlyle exhibits, and the second discusseshis legacy. (B) The first paragraphsurveysvarious tlpes ofwriters, and the secondfocuseson Carlyle. (C) The fiisi paragraphdescribesCarlyle'scritics, and the seconddepictshis supporters. (D) The first paragraphconsiderswho influenced Carlyle,and the secondlists those he influenced.
(E) The first paragraphexplainsCarlylds major ideas,and the secondevaluateshis predictions. . Which of the following best representsthe author'sintended audience? (A) Individuals who are fairly well acquaintedwith Carlyle'swriting (B) Readerswho are having trouble understandingCarlyle'sprose (C) Writers who hope to produce books that are like Carlyle's (D) Instructors looking for different waysto teach Carlyle (E) Scholarsseekinginformation about Carlyle'spersonallife . Lines5-L2 ("He is ... noble action') contrast (A) the acquisition of skills and the possessionof aptitude (B) the labor ofreasoningand the exhilarationofacting (C) the disseminationof knowledgeand the cultivation of intellectual and moral powers (D) the traits ofpractical studentsand those of creativethinkers (E) the benefitsoflearning and the rewardsofteaching
. The author usesthe phrase"On the sameground" (lines 12-13) to setup a comparisonbetween (A) the aims of mathematicsand those of education (B) conceptuallypowerful writers and exemplaryeducators (C) intellectual challengesfacedby writers and those facedby readers (D) the formulation of solutions and the identification of problems (E) scientific writing and inspirational writing
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AP English Language and Composition
Course Description, Effective FaLL2014
;. On the basisof the first paragraph,ThomasCarlyle is best characterizedas a writer who is (A) ambitious,seekingto increasethe number of peoplebuying his books (B) revolutionary,agitating his readersto adopt a radically new worldview (C) charismatic,enticing his readersto support his views and beliefs (D) provocative,compelling his readersto reach their own conclusions (E) masterful, overpoweringhis readerswith a senseof aweand veneration i. The "acorns"(line 38) represent (A) Carlyle'syoung children (B) Carlyle'slessprominent contemporaries (C) ideas_i4, Carlyle'sbooks (D) books written about Carlyle (E) those who are critical of Carlyle '. In lines 47-48,the author refersto "an epoch in the history of their minds" to (A) illustrate the waysin which other intellectualsdisagreedwith Carlyle (B) define the meaning of the title Sartor Resartus (C) question the continued relevanceof Carlyle'sideas (D) describethe major impact that Carlyle had on other people (E) characterizethe arduousprocessof reading Sartor Resartus t. The author mentions the Latter-Day Pamphlets(lines 55-56) primarily to (A) provide an exampleof what is indisputably'good" (line 52) (B) identify the book that discusses"past men and past times" (line 54) (C) acknowledgesome of the concernsheld by the "plenty" (line 54) (D) justify Carlyle'sdesirefor "an amendmentof things" (line 57) (E) explain Carlyle'sinspiration for the theory of the "greatestman"' (line 58) ). Which rhetorical strategydoesthe author adopt in lines influencesus"X
-$ (""Ihe character...
(A) Shegoeson the offensive,berating opponentsof Carlyle for their absenceof wisdom, judgment, and foresight. (B) Sheacknowledgesbut discreditsother arguments,accusingCarlyles critics of misunderstandingthe originality of Carlyle'sideas. (C) Sheclaims that most people do not recognizeCarlyle'sgenius,suggestingthat only a discerning few are capableofdoing so. (D) Shecitesfacts to counter opposition to Carlyle'seminence,claiming that all of Carlyle's judgments are unassailable. (E) Shegivesexamplesof Carlyle'sfar-reachinginfluence,noting that evencriticism of Carlyle implies praise.
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AP English Language and Composition
Course Description, Effective Fall 2014
10.What purposedo lines63-74 ("Youmay ... own feeling")serve? (A) They contrast the appealof a writer who merely confirms his readers'views with that of a writer who boldly challengesthem. (B) They developan analogybetweenthe kinds of individuals people are attractedto and the kinds of writing they prefer. (C) They challengethe idea that writers modify their ideasto appealto a wide rangeof readers. (D) They examinewhether relationshipsbasedon sharedideasand interestsare rewarding to both parties. (E) They provide examplesfrom various writers in which the appearanceof good and evil is deceptive. 11.In lines 75-83 ("When he ... his opinions"), the author developsher rhetorical purpose by (A) contrasting "he" and "we" to set Carlyle apart and show how he is critical of everyoneelse (i)) inserting dashesto highlight Carlyle'smost influential ideasand opinions (C) employing dramatically urgent adverbsto createa surprising conclusion for the reader (D) delayingthe conclusion of the independentclauseto build up the reader'ssense of anticipation (E) utilizing the parallel "Hearl hear!" and "Oh! oh!" to imitate a chorus of approvalfor Carlyle
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Questions12-24, Read the following passagecarefully before you chooseyour answers publishedin the 1940s. Thispassageconsists of excerpts from an essay It is the fate ofactors to leaveonly picture postcards behind them. Every night when the curtain goesdown the beautiful coloured canvasis rubbed out. What remains is at best only a wavering,insubstantial phantom-a verbal life on the lips of the living. Ellen Terrywas well awareof it. Shetried herself, overcomeby the greatnessof Irving as Hamlet and indignant at the caricaturesofhis detractors,to describewhat sheremembered.It was in vain. She dropped her pen in despair."Oh God, that I were a wfiterl" shbcried. "surely a writer could not string words together about Henry Irving's Hamlet and say nothing,nothingi' It never struck her, humble asshe was,and obsessedby her lack ofbook learning, that shewas,among other things, a writer. It never occurred to her when shewrote her autobiography,or scribbled pageafter pageto Bernard Shawlate at night, dead tired after a rehearsal,that shewas "writingl'The words in her beautiful rapid hand bubbled offher pen. With dashesand notes of exclamationshetried to give them the verytone and stressof the spokenword. It is true, shecould not build a housewith words, one room opening out ofanother, and a staircaseconnectingthe whole. But whatevershetook up becamein her warm, sensitivegraspa tool. If it was a rolling-pin, shemade perfect pastry.If it was a carving knife, perfect slices fell from the leg of mutton. If it were a pen, words peeledofl somebroken,somesuspendedin mid-air, but all far more expressivethan the tappingsof the professionaltyp ewriter. With her pen then at odds and endsof time shehas painted a self-portrait. It is not an Academyportrait, glazed,framed, complete.It is rather a bundle of loose leavesupon eachof which shehas dashedoffa sketch for a portrait-here a nose,here an arm, here a foot, and there a mere scribblein the margin. The sketches done in different moods, from different angles,sometimes contradicteachother... . Which, then, of all thesewomen is the real Ellen Terry? How arewe to put the scatteredsketches together?Is shemother, wife, cook, critic, actress, or should shehavebeen, after all, a painter?Eachpart seemsthe right part until shethrows it asideand plays another.Somethingof Ellen Terry it seemsoverflowed
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AP English Language and Composition
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could every part and remained unacted.Shakespeare not fit her; not Ibsen; nor Shaw.The stagecould not hold her; nor the nursery.But there is, after all, a greaterdramatist than Shakespeare, Ibsen, or Shaw Thereis Nature. Hers is so vast a stage,and so innumerablea companyof actors,that for the most part shefobs them offwith a tag or two. They come on and they go offwithout breaking the ranks. But now and againNature createsa new part, an original part. The actorswho act that part alwaysdefy our attemptsto name them. They will not act the stock parts-they forget the words, they improvise others of their own. But when they come on the stagefalls like a pack of cardsand the limelights are extinguished. That was Ellen Terry'sfate-to act a new part. And thus while other actors are rememberedbecausethey were Hamlet, Phddre,or Cleopatra,Ellen Terry is rememberedbecauseshewas Ellen Terrv.
12.Which of the following statementsis best supportedby information given in the passage? (A) Terry never focusedon one career;shewas skilled at so many things that shedid not excel in any one thing. (B) Terry was so clever an actressthat her portrayal of a role seemedto changeevery night. (C) ShawencouragedTerry to becomea play-wright by carefully tutoring her in creatingplots and characters. (D) BecauseTerry lacked confidencein certain of her skills, shenever fully realizedshewas a person ofrare talents and gifts.
(E) BecauseTerry did not havenatural talent for either writing or acting, shestruggledto learn her crafts and becamegreatthrough sheerwillpower. 13.The author'sattitude toward Terry can bestbe describedas (A) superiorand condescending (B) unbiasedand dispassionate (C) sympatheticand admiring (D) curious and skeptical (E) conciliatory and forgiving 14. In line 1, "picture postcards"functions asa metaphor for the (A) published text of a play (B) audience'simpressionsof the actors'performances (C) critical reviewsof plays (D) plays in which the actorsin the companyhavepreviously performed (E) stagedesigner'ssketchesofsets and scenes
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AP English Language and Composition
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15. The passageimplies that the primary enemy of the "beautiful coloured canvas"and the "wavering, insubstantialphantonl' (lines 3 and 4-5) is the (A) cost of producing plays (B) whims of critics (C) passage of time (D) incredulity of audiences (E) shortcomingsof dramatists 16. The phrase'h verbal life on the lips of the living" (line 5) suggeststhat (A) performanceslive only in the memories of those who witnessand speakof them (B) actorsdo not take the trouble to explain their art to the public (C) the reviewsof critics havea powerful influence on the popularity of a production (D) dramatiststry to write dialoguethat imitates ordinary spokenlanguage (E) audiencesrespond to the realism ofthe theater
17.What is the relationship of the secondand third sentences(lines 2-5) to the first sentenc (lines 1-2)? (A) They are structurally lesscomplex than the first. (B) They are expressedin lessconditional terms than the first. (C) They introduce new ideasnot mentioned in the first. (D) They clarify and expandon the first. (E) They question the generalizationmade in the first. 18.The pronoun "it" (line 6) refersto which of the following? (A) 'fate" (line 1) (B) 'turtain'(line 2) (C) 'tanvas" (line 3) (D) "phantom'(line 5) (E) '1ife"(line 5) 19.The effectof italicizing the words"nothing, nothin{' (line 13) is to (A) emphasizeTerryt senseof frustration (B) indicate a sarcastictone (C) suggestthe difficulty of writing greatparts for actors (D) link a clear senseof purpose to successin writing (E) imply that Terry'sweaknessin writing is her tendencyto exaggerate
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AP English Langrrage and Composition
Course Description, Effective Fail 2074
20. The words "bubbled off" (line 19) and "peeledof" (line 28), usedto describethe way Terry wrote, emphasize (A) polish and sophistication (B) thoughtfulnessand application (C) bluntnessand indiscretion (D) mystery and imagination (E) easeand spontaneity 21. Which of the following stylistic featuresis usedmost extensivelyin lines 25-30 ? (A) Inversion of normal subject/verb/objectorder (B) Repetition of sentencestructure (C) Periodic sentencestructure (D) Sentencefragmentsfor emphasis (E) Use of connotativemeaningsthat add complexity 22.1he effectof mentioningan'Academyportrait" (line 32) is to (A) imply that Terry deservedto haveher portrait painted by a great artist (B) suggestthat Terry was adept at self-expressionboth in writing and in painting (C) clarify the informal nature of Terry'sself-portrait through contrast (D) hint that Terry'sself-absorptionpreventedher from writing about herself dispassionately (E) blame Terry for her rebellion againstthe conventionsof art forms 23.lhe "sketches"(line 36) aremost probably (A) responsesto reviewerswho havecriticized Terryb acting (B) paintings byTerry of other actors (C) stagedirections from playwrights (D) self-revelatoryremarks (E) descriptionsof charactersTerry hasportrayed 24.1}.reauthor suggeststhat Shakespeare, ShaWand Ibsen could not "fit" (line 46) Terry chiefly because (A) the parts they createddid not allow Terry to make useof every aspectof her talents (B) their dramatic talentswere focusedon plot rather than on character (C) Terrywas better at conveyingcertain kinds of charactersand emotions than shewas at conveyingothers (D) their playswere set in historical periods diferent from the one in which Terry lived (E) the speechesthey wrote for their femalecharacterswere written in accentsand dialects different from Terry's
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AP English Language and Composition
Course Description, Effective FaLL2074
Questions25-37. Read the following pa$sagecarefullybefore you chooseyour answers. Thispassageis takenfrom a bookthat examinesCanadianbookclubs. So pronounced is the book-club phenomenon that the format has spreadto other venuesand media, the most famous of thesebeing the jbook club component of Oprah Winfrey's televisiontalk show Stagedlike an actual book-group meeting, with invited discussantsand a cozy living-room setting, the Winfrey show can boost a featuredtitle to instant bestsellerdomand turn authors into stars.There arenow'book clubs'online,in bookstores,and functioning as consumerfocus groups for publishers.t Colleges,bookstores,and resortshaverecently begun to develop'readers'retreatsl2Newsletters, magazines,newspapers,and published guidesadvise readershow to find, establish,and managesuccessful clubs.' The widespreadpopularity of thesereading groups has evenoccasioneda form of'book-club backlashl In a newspaperopinion piecetitled'Why I Wont |oin the Book Clubl one contributor expressedalarm that reading was becoming another scheduledactivity to be slotted in'like the trip to the gym and the grocery store';self-improving readers'pof books as they would vitamin tablets.But books 'arenot about scheduleslauthor StephanieNolen argues;rather, they are 'about submergingyourself ... about getting lost, about getting consumed.'aConsiderableattention was garneredby another article, detailing the darker side of someNew York City reading groups. Headlined'Book-Club LoversWagea War of Words' when reprinted by the Globeand MalL it could equally well havebeen titled 'When Book Clubs Go Bad': 'No longer just friendly social gatheringswith a vaguecontinuing-educationagenda,many of today'sbook groups havebecomeliterary pressure cookers,marked by aggressiveintellectual oneupmanship and unabashedsocial skirmishing. In
For an example of an online 'book club'-this one produced by a mass-market circulation women's magazine-see Conversations (Book Club) on Chateleine Connects at g/chatelaine-book-club/. http://wvvrfir,chatelaine.com/livin For example, Vancouver bookseller Celia Duthie is developingf such 'retreats' at a country inn, There are discussion periods and visiis by authors and, most importantly, time to read. See Keyes, 'Out of the Woods.'
'Some popular guides are Greenwood et al., TheGo on Girl!; Jacobson, TheReadingGroupHandbook;and Saal, Tfte New YorkPublic Library Guide to ReadingGroups.Anew entry to the field, developed with a particular eye to the needs of Canadian clubs, is Heft and O'Brien, Build a BetterBookClubNolen, 'Why I Won't Join the Book OIub.'
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living rooms and bookshops,clubs are frazzling under the stress,giving rise to a whole new profession:the book-group therapist.'sThe clubs that Elaine Daspin describeshere seemto be functioning as unconsciousness-rather than consciousness-raising sessions,where competitive readersbattle for interpretive supremacy.While book-club therapists may well be confined to the rarefiedworlds of the Upper EastSideor Long Island, authorsofrecent book-club guidesreiteratethe need to establish common purposes,regular routines, and guidelines for thorough preparation. Cleariy;the positivesoutweigh the pitfalls; book clubs are in demand becausethey offer individual readersan extra dimension of appreciationand understanding.Yet despitethe fact that shared discussionofliterary texts is also the foundation ofliterary study in school,college,and university classrooms,literarytheorists andreader-response critics haveyet to devotemuch attention to such sharedand synergisticstudy,insteadconstruing readersas isolatesor abstractions.(Studiestend to focus on the emotional responsesor cognitive activities ofindividual readers,or to infer such reactionsby examining the properties of a literary text.) But club and classroomparticipants know that there is something different, something added,about sharing and discussingliterature with other people.
25. The organizationofthe passage can bestbedescribedas (A) personal narrative followed by analysis (B) empirical data followed by conjecture (C) nonjudgmental explanationof a current phenomenon followed by a question (D) descriptiveanalysisfollowed by a final judgment (E) condemnation of a practice followed by partial acceptance 26. In context, the author placesthe term "book club"'in quotation marks in lines 3 and 9 in order to (A) show that theseare humorous examples (B) highlight how formal someof theseclubs are (C) revealthat the book clubsthat appearonline or on television are unsatisfactory (D) suggestthat the term is being broadenedbeyond its original meaning (E) imply that many book club membersdo not like the term
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Daspin, 'Book-Club Lovers Wage a War of Words.' The piece originally appeared in tll.e WalIStreetJournal.
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AP English Language and Composition
Course Description, Effective FaIl 2014
27.T}.efirst paragraph(lines 1-15) servesto (A) explain why the author enjoysone way of reading (B) describethe extensionof a particular activity into nontraditional areas (C) make generalizationsthat will be developedlater (D) explorewaysin which people can structure free time (E) detail the power of media and massmarketing to censor 28. According to lines 23-26, StephanieNolens primary criticism of book clubsis that they (A) are too programmed (B) do not offer enoughvariety (C) causg_rqaders to be anxious (D) overlook many classics (E) forego quality for quantity 29.The clubs referred to in line 39 are discussedin (A) the online discussiongroup of a particular book club (B) a study sponsoredby book club participants (C) an editorial in a Canadianmagazine (D) a guide written by Elaine Daspin (E) an article published in the Wall StreetJournal 30. The "recentbook-club guides" (lines 45-46) tend to emphasize (A) how book clubs need to be structured and regular in order to succeed (B) how difficult it is to start a book club in New York (C) how often even the best book clubs fail (D) the variety of reasonsthat peoplehavefor starting book clubs (E) the challengesof selectingbooks for discussion 31. The last paragraph(lines 49-64) marks a shift from (A) popular to academiccontexts (B) supportedto unsound generalizations (C) impersonal to personalexamples (D) subtle irony to explicit sarcasm (E) neutral to negativecharacterizationofbook clubs 32.7he function of lines 52-58 ("Yetdespite... abstractions")is to (A) argue.forthe value of a particular literary theory (B) explain how important it is not to make abstractjudgments (C) point out a discrepancybetweenteachingpracticesand literary theory (D) highlight the demand for a way to measureemotional responsesto texts (E) explorethe author'sviews about reading in isolation
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