/ AP Language Final Review
Fall 2013

The final will be part Scantron and part essay. The exam will cover all of the works that we have read this semester (including the summer reading). It is all-inclusive—anything presented in the texts or in class is “fair game.” Below is a list of works that will appear on the final. The exam will ask you to make connections between/among texts based on content, rhetorical strategies, purpose, audience, etc. In addition, you should be prepared to identify important quotations. You will also be called upon to analyze and connect works you have not seen before.

Major Works:

1 Dead in Attic—Chris Rose (all of the original version, but only up to p. 137 in the expanded edition.)

The Demon in the Freezer—Richard Preston

The Devil in the White City—Erik Larson

Short Works:

Both introductions to 1 Dead in Attic

“The Nightmare after Katrina”—Nancy Gibbs

“Hurricane Katrina Slams into Gulf Coast; Dozens Are Dead”—Joseph B. Treaster and Kate Zernike

 “More Horrible than Truth: News Reports”—David Carr

“Why Katrina’s Victims Aren’t Refugees: Musings on a ‘Dirty’ Word”—Adeline Masquelier

“Just Walk on By: Black Men in Public Spaces”—Brent Staples

Through the Dark Continent (excerpt)—Sir Henry Morton Stanley

Travels in West Africa (excerpts)—Mary Kingsley

Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon (excerpts)— Ghiglieri & Myers

“Who Killed Easter Island”—Jared Diamond

“Lost in Translation”—Lera Boroditsky

You’re Wearing That? (excerpt)—Deborah Tannen

The Language of Oppression (excerpt)—Haig A. Bosmajian

“Dehumanizing People and Euphemizing War”—Haig A. Bosmajian

“AIDS: The Linguistic Battlefield”—Michael Callen

“How to Tame a Wild Tongue”—Gloria Anzaldúa

“Politics and the English Language”—George Orwell

Rhetorical Terms:Be prepared to identify rhetorical terms in passages from different works. Also be prepared to discuss the effects of their use in different contexts. A sampling of terms you should know and love:

Diction
Syntax
Parallel syntax
Synecdoche Metonymy Metaphor / Hyperbole
Asyndeton
Polysyndeton
Epistrophe
Anaphora
Simile / Euphemism
Jargon
Paradox
Oxymoron
Synesthesia Onomatopoeia / Appeal to Ethos
Appeal to Pathos
Appeal to Logos
Antecedent
Assonance
Alliteration / Consonance
Loose/Periodic sentence
Simple sentence Complex sentence
Compound sentence
Compound-complex

Format: Various—multiple choice, matching, and essay questions.

Final Exam Essay Grading Rubric

100 / Exceptional answer. Clear, sophisticated thesis. Original argument with specific, detailed support, and clear explanations. Observations are very perceptive. Does not focus on evidence or points that were discussed in class. Anticipates counterarguments. There is often an element of risk to these responses. They tend not to be “safe” answers.
95 / Excellent answer. Clear, sophisticated thesis. Original argument with specific, detailed support, and clear explanations. Less perceptive than the 100s. Does not focus on evidence or points that were discussed in class. May not anticipate counterarguments as well as the 100s.
90 / Very good answer. Clear thesis. Original argument with slightly weaker support, or not entirely original argument with fresh, new evidence. Does not focus on evidence or points that were discussed in class. Lacks the astute observations of the 95 or 100 essay, and may not anticipate counterarguments well, but strong writing nonetheless.
85 / Good answer. Clear thesis. Original argument with fairly weak support, or a partly original argument with excellent support and some new evidence. May be somewhat weaker in explanations and prose, but still a solid response.
80 / Adequate answer. Clear thesis. Partly original argument with good support and some new evidence. May be more general than the 85s, or answer may be more obvious. May be less focused. May need additional examples to really prove case. Writing may be noticeably weaker than the 85s or 90s.
75 / Fair answer. Clear thesis. Makes a clear, logical argument that is supported by textual evidence. Evidence may be rather weak and/or may not be explained very well. Some evidence may have been discussed in class, but at least some new evidence or insight exists. Writing may be immature or marred by multiple grammatical mistakes.
70 / Poor answer, but makes a logical argument and does include some textual evidence. Thesis may not be totally clear, or may really occur only at end of argument. Essay may be underdeveloped and/or poorly explained. Not all evidence may support argument well. Writing may be weak.
60 / Problematic answer. May contain an illogical argument, factual errors, little to no evidence, or only rehash what has been discussed in class. May be mostly generalizations and unsupported claims. Thesis may be vague or may not exist at all.
50
and below / Seriously problematic paper. Major factual errors. Usually very underdeveloped or unfocused. May lack a thesis, evidence, or coherent argument. May summarize or offer personal response instead of the analysis and synthesis asked for.

Essay Tips:You should also be able to compare readings in terms of language use, purpose, etc. with supporting examples (without having the works in front of you). Obviously I do not expect you to be able to quote from memory, but you should be able to recall specifics. Your arguments in the essay portion should not be based on generalizations or just passages that we discussed in class. This has been a problem for some of you in the past. Make sure you don’t make the same mistakes on this exam. Show me that you read and understood the works and their nuances. I am looking for independent, original thinking supported by specific evidence.

How to Prepare: Look back over your annotations, notes from class, graded discussion questions, etc. Many of the texts from this semester are short enough to reread (so do so!), and you should review the annotations and charts of the ones that are too long to reread. I would spread out all of the works in one place, and start thinking about possible connections of all types. Some people have had success making one huge chart for the final exam, with everything in one place.

In many ways, this final exam will resemble the regular unit tests. Keep that in mind as you study. Some of you went in underprepared for previous unit tests. Make sure that you have really studied for this exam. It will not be an easy, content-based test that you can pass if you have only a vague recollection of the texts.

Also, studying in groups can help! Find some friends to get together with!

*Note: Yes, of course you are responsible for readings and information discussed on days that you were absent!