George Ehrenhaft - Barrons AP English Language and Composition

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Copyright 2015, 2013, 2012, 2010, 2008 by Barrons Educational Series, Inc.

Previous edition Copyright 2004 under the title How to Prepare for the AP English Language and Composition . Prior editions Copyright 2000, 1997, 1992, 1987, 1984, 1980, and 1974 under the title How to Prepare for AP English by Barrons Educational Series, Inc.

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eISBN: 978-1-4380-6734-6
Revised e-Book publication: February, 2015

CONTENTS

If youre aiming for a score of on the AP English Language and Composition exam, this book can help. But to reach your goal, here are five things that you MUST do:

Familiarize yourself with the language of rhetoric. Both the short-answer and essay questions require that you know how authors employ rhetorical strategies to create effects and convey meaning. Become conversant with the functions of tone, syntax, imagery, irony, point of view, and the other rhetorical techniques.

Become an annotation addict. Nothing will build your skill in prose analysis better than a steady diet of annotation. Begin by reading nonfiction prose passages in this book and elsewhere. Resolve to figure out exactly what each author did to compose the passage. Identify rhetorical techniques, but more important, try to explain why the author chose each rhetorical component.

Review documentation basics. By learning the anatomy of footnotes youll be ready to answer multiple-choice questions that ask you to interpret documentation. Also, to earn a top score on the synthesis essay, know how to weave source material into your text and correctly document where it came from.

Brush up on basic grammar skills. Dont bother memorizing terminology. Few, if any, multiple-choice questions require it. Concentrate on writing error-free essays because essay scores suffer when grammar rules are broken. Proofread all your practice essays. Look particularly for

sentences errors

lack of agreement between subjects and verbs

incorrect pronoun usage

errors in verb choice

Plan and practice an essay-writing process. Develop a process for writing an essay in no more than forty minutes. Build in time to read the question, pick a main idea and decide how to support it. Before you start writing, list your ideas and arrange them in sensible order. While composing your essay, be mindful of the need to:

introduce your topic

develop coherent paragraphs

vary sentences

choose the best words to express ideas

provide a brief conclusion

Set aside time for editing and proofreading.

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Use the hyperlinks in this e-Book to help you navigate through content, browse Internet resources, and click between practice questions and answers.

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