Ace the AP Lang Multiple Choice Reading Passage: Annotations & Answer Explanations

Summary

In this video, the presenter provides a detailed guide on how to approach the reading passage section of the AP English Language exam. Using a sample passage from the College Board’s AP Lang Course and Exam Description, she demonstrates strategies for answering multiple-choice questions, such as skimming questions first, identifying line references, and analyzing the writer's tone, exigence, and rhetorical strategies. She emphasizes the importance of understanding context, recognizing double standards, and critically assessing answer choices with specific evidence from the text. The video also offers practical tips for improving reading comprehension and test performance.

Takeaways

• 😀 Skim the questions first to identify line references before reading the passage to improve your efficiency in answering questions.
• 😀 Consider two approaches for answering questions: read the passage entirely first, or read and answer questions as you go through the lines.
• 😀 The writer's exigence (motivation) in the passage is rooted in women's powerlessness due to their lack of voting rights, which she argues is driving their radical actions.
• 😀 The writer contrasts the treatment of men's and women's responses to injustice, highlighting double standards in society.
• 😀 The speaker emphasizes that even though American women may seem privileged, they still face the necessity for revolutionary action to gain voting rights.
• 😀 The tone in the second paragraph is insistent and bold, with a focus on the urgency of the issue and the need for radical methods.
• 😀 The writer criticizes critics of British feminists for misunderstanding their reasons for using radical methods, suggesting that the critics fail to grasp the importance of their actions.
• 😀 The use of hypothetical scenarios in the passage aims to demonstrate that voting is a proven, effective method to address political grievances.
• 😀 The writer stresses the significance of being able to protest for rights, even in the face of societal perceptions of women’s supposed privilege.
• 😀 Pay attention to key phrases and diction that can help determine tone, including intensifiers like 'quite' and 'absolutely,' which highlight the writer's impassioned stance.
• 😀 Always base your answers on specific lines in the passage, and avoid making assumptions that aren’t directly supported by the text.

Q & A

What strategy does the speaker recommend for approaching the AP English Language exam's reading passage multiple choice section?

The speaker recommends skimming the questions first, highlighting line references in the passage, and then either reading the entire passage before answering the questions or answering them as you reach each line reference.

What does the term 'exigence' mean in the context of the passage?

'Exigence' refers to the factors that motivate the writer or speaker to create the text, often tied to the urgency or circumstances that provoke the argument.

What is the writer's exigence in the passage, based on the speaker's analysis?

The writer's exigence is the powerlessness of women due to their lack of voting rights, which motivates her to advocate for militant methods to bring about political change.

In the first paragraph, what contrast does the writer make between men's and women's reactions to injustice?

The writer contrasts the different ways men and women are treated when protesting injustice, noting that men are supported, whereas women are not.

How does the writer characterize the necessity of revolutionary methods for American women?

The writer emphasizes the necessity for American women to adopt revolutionary methods, even though they are perceived as having many privileges, due to the complacency of American men towards the lack of women's rights.

What tone does the writer use in the second paragraph when discussing the lack of women's rights?

The writer uses a bold and forceful tone, emphasizing the urgency and absolute nature of the issues at hand through words like 'quite calmly' and 'absolutely'.

What is the writer's stance on critics of British feminists in the third paragraph?

The writer criticizes the logic of those who dismiss the methods of British feminists as irrational, arguing that these critics misunderstand the feminists' reasons for using property damage as a form of protest.

What is the purpose of the hypothetical scenario introduced in the fourth paragraph?

The hypothetical scenario is used to illustrate that voting is an effective way to address grievances, contrasting it with the more radical methods women have to use in the absence of voting rights.

In the final part of the passage, how does the writer use the 'either/or' construction?

The writer uses the 'either/or' construction to present two options for women: submit indefinitely to their lack of voting rights or revolt and protest, with the latter offering a chance for change.

What key strategies does the speaker recommend for approaching multiple-choice questions in the AP Lang exam?

The speaker suggests underlining line references in the passage, writing down your own answers before looking at answer choices, practicing identifying tone and diction, and focusing on finding direct evidence from the passage to support your answers.