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Examples of AP Language Multiple-Choice Questions
The following is not an exhaustive list, but it should give you some ideas of the kinds of questions that fit into the six types of AP Language multiple-choice questions our PowerPoint presentation covered. The passage itself will teach you its questions!
1.The specific-line question
Which of the following best describes the rhetorical function of the secondsentence in the passage?
Which of the following phrases does the author use to illustrate the notion of “an unnatural and pretentious writing style”? [Answers are quotes followed by specific line numbers.]
In lines 10–32 of the passage, the author uses an extended analogy between [The answersare a list of five different pairs]
In line 17, “common speech’’ refers to [The answers are five plausible definitions of the phrase “common speech.”]
The ability discussed in lines 35–38 is referred to elsewhere as which of the following? [Answers are quotes followed by specific line numbers.]
The author’s observation in the sentence beginning “It is clear’’ (lines 49–51) is best described as an example of which of the following? [The answers include various rhetorical or literary analysis tools we’ve learned.]
The speaker mentions Beethoven’s Fifth and Macbeth (lines 27–28) as examples of which of the following?
The description of the “delicate balance’’ (line 41) achieved at jazz jam sessions contributes to the unity of the passage in which of the following ways?
2.The passage-wide question
The author’s tone in the passage as a whole is best described as [The answers are often in pairs (e.g., “wry and optimistic.”). The pairs are good and bad: good because you won’t jump at a single word, but bad because you have twice the analysis to do: both descriptions must be correct. It’s also good because if you don’t know what a term in one of the answers means, you can still get the right answer through process of elimination.]
The speaker in the passage can best be described as a person who
The style of the passage as a whole is most accurately characterized as [The answers are often in pairs, such as “abstract and allusive.”]
The speaker’s attitude toward the jazz musicians is best described as one of [The answers to these questions are often in adjective-noun combinations, such as “feigned intimacy.”]
The speaker suggests that the jazz musicians to whom he refers accomplish which of the following by means of their art? [Answers are often in sentences.]
3.The footnote question
Which of the following is an accurate reading of footnote 2?
The purpose of footnote 4 is to inform the reader that the quotation in line 49
4.The extraction question
Which of the following analogies by the speaker would most likely be used by his opponent?
In Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the reader can infer that
5.The multiple-multiple-choice question
In line 52, “those’’ refers to which of the following?
I.“words’’ (line 45)
II.“circumlocutions’’ (line 46)
III.“associations’’ (line 46)
[This question asks for close attention to text: what is the antecedent to the pronoun? But any questions from 1 through 4 above could be converted into a multiple-multiple-choice question.
6.The inverted question
According to the speaker, the jazz musicians that he knew as a boy attempted to do all of the following except [Any questions from 1 through 4 above could be converted into an inverted question.]
Rubric
Description / Grade: A / Grade: B / Grade: C / Grade: F12 questions total: 3 specific line, 3 passage wide, 2 footnote, 1 extraction, 2 multiple-multiple, and 1 inverted / All right / Almost all right / Most right / Right half of the time or less
Questions as a whole evince a deep understanding of the passage and reflect many major rhetorical aspects / Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor
Wrong answers are tempting but, on deeper reflection, wrong. No more than one really obvious wrong answer. / Almost always / Usually / Most of the time / Half of the time or less
Questions are written well from a grammatical and syntactical standpoint / Almost always / Usually / Most of the time / Half of the time or less