Y O U N E E D T O K N O W W H E R E Y O U R S T R E N G T H S A R E , A N D H O W T O A P P R O A C H E A C H T Y P E O F Q U E S T I O N

TYPES OF MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS PART 1

VOCABULARY

• Many vocabulary questions are “vocabulary-in-text” questions• However, vocabulary is also extended to

answering Literary Term questions (if you don’t know what onomatopoeia is, you won’t be able to determine whether or not a passage has it)

ATTACKING THE QUESTIONS

• 1 – If you are directed to a specific line, reread the whole sentence or, if it’s very long, the whole grammatical unit containing the word.• This mean that if it’s a piece of very old

text, just focus on the clause

•2 – restate the sentence or clause, substituting a word of your own for the word the exam is asking about•Make sure your substitution hasn’t altered the meaning!

• 3 – Match your substitution to the answer choices• You should find a match. If you don’t, recheck

the sentence and adjust your paraphrasing• BE CAREFUL. Generally one or two of the

answer choices are definitions of the word, but wrong in context. Don’t just grab the first word that matches – make sure it makes sense

WHAT VOCAB-IN-CONTEXT LOOKS LIKE:

•What is the meaning of _________ in line__?• In the context of line __, what is the best definition of __?• In line __, ___ may be defined as ….

LET’S TRY ONE:

• It struck me very deep this afternoon going with a hackney coach from Lord Treasurer’s down Holborne. The coachman I found to drive easily and easily, at last stood still, and come down hardly able to stand, and told me that he was suddenly struck very sick, and almost blind, he could not see; so I light and went into another coach, with a sad heart for the poor man and for myself also, lest he should have been struck with the plague.

• It struck me very deep this afternoon going with a hackney coach from Lord Treasurer’s down Holborne. The coachman I found to drive easily and easily, at last stood still, and come down hardly able to stand, and told me that he was suddenly struck very sick, and almost blind, he could not see; so I light and went into another coach, with a sad heart for the poor man and for myself also, lest he should have been struck with the plague.

In the context of line 5, the best definition of “light” isa) Featherweightb) Illuminatedc) Got downd) Arrivede) Paid

LOOK AT THE LINE CONTAINING THE WORD

• It struck me very deep this afternoon going with a hackney coach from Lord Treasurer’s down Holborne. The coachman I found to drive easily and easily, at last stood still, and come down hardly able to stand, and told me that he was suddenly struck very sick, and almost blind, he could not see; so I light and went into another coach, with a sad heart for the poor man and for myself also, lest he should have been struck with the plague.

FOCUS ON WHERE THE WORD APPEARS

• It struck me very deep this afternoon going with a hackney coach from Lord Treasurer’s down Holborne. The coachman I found to drive easily and easily, at last stood still, and come down hardly able to stand, and told me that he was suddenly struck very sick, and almost blind, he could not see; so I light and went into another coach, with a sad heart for the poor man and for myself also, lest he should have been struck with the plague.

RESTATE IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS

• so I light and went into another coach, with a sad heart for the poor man and for myself also, lest he should have been struck with the plague.

• It struck me very deep this afternoon going with a hackney coach from Lord Treasurer’s down Holborne. The coachman I found to drive easily and easily, at last stood still, and come down hardly able to stand, and told me that he was suddenly struck very sick, and almost blind, he could not see; so I light and went into another coach, with a sad heart for the poor man and for myself also, lest he should have been struck with the plague.

In the context of line 5, the best definition of “light” isa) Featherweightb) Illuminatedc) Got downd) Arrivede) Paid

• It struck me very deep this afternoon going with a hackney coach from Lord Treasurer’s down Holborne. The coachman I found to drive easily and easily, at last stood still, and come down hardly able to stand, and told me that he was suddenly struck very sick, and almost blind, he could not see; so I light and went into another coach, with a sad heart for the poor man and for myself also, lest he should have been struck with the plague.

In the context of line 5, the best definition of “light” isa) Featherweightb) Illuminatedc) Got downd) Arrivede) Paid

LITERARY VOCABULARY QUESTIONS

• These questions ask you to identify a rhetorical technique in a particular paragraph or section of a passage … or they will ask which technique does not appear. They will capitalize DOESN’T or EXCEPT in this case.

• What is the dominant rhetorical device in lines 1-8?• Lines 1-8 might be characterized as …• All of the following appear in lines 1-8

EXCEPT…• Lines 5-8 employ which of the following?• Line 5 marks a shift from _____ to …• (these are generally going to be filled

with a literary term)

LET’S TRY ONE:

• I told him that it was certainly wrong to deceive the old man, and that it was his duty to tell him of the impositions practiced by his young master. I assured him that the old man would not be slow to comprehend the whole, and that there the matter would end. William thought it might with the old man, but not with him. He said he did not mind the smart of the whip, he but did not like the idea of being whipped.

• I told him that it was certainly wrong to deceive the old man, and that it was his duty to tell him of the impositions practiced by his young master. I assured him that the old man would not be slow to comprehend the whole, and that there the matter would end. William thought it might with the old man, but not with him. He said he did not mind the smart of the whip, he but did not like the idea of being whipped.

Which of the following is the dominant rhetorical device in lines 1-6?a) Analogyb) Personificationc) Hyperboled) Parallelisme) Understatement

WHAT DO ALL OF THESE TERMS MEAN?

a) Analogyb) Personificationc) Hyperboled) Parallelisme) Understatement

a) Analogy - comparisonb) Personification – the attribution of humanlike

qualities c) Hyperbole - exaggerationd) Parallelism – repetition of the same sentence

structure within one sentence or consecutive sentences

e) Understatement – opposite of exaggeration

• I told him that it was certainly wrong to deceive the old man, and that it was his duty to tell him of the impositions practiced by his young master. I assured him that the old man would not be slow to comprehend the whole, and that there the matter would end. William thought it might with the old man, but not with him. He said he did not mind the smart of the whip, he but did not like the idea of being whipped.

FACT QUESTIONS

• These questions ask who did what to whom, when, why, and how.• They also test whether you can identify the

author’s argument in favor of or against a proposal.• You may also be asked about whether or not a 29-

word sentence means the same as another shorter sentence.

THE QUESTIONS CAN BE FAIRLY EASY …

• Read the lines indicated in the question stem• A fact question often (but not always) contains a line reference

• If no line numbers are specified, check your annotations• Restate the question in your own words• For example, if the question asks, “In lines 1-8, the motive

changing carriages may best be characterized as …” The paraphrase is “according to lines 1-8, why did he change carriages?”

• If you can, state the answer in your own words and then see if there is an answer that fits

• If you can’t come up with a possible answer, test each answer choice • Follow the general rules – eliminate the wrong answers and guess

A NEW DEVELOPMENT IN AP QUESTIONS

• Ask about source citations• You don’t have to create a citation, but you

do have to recognize elements of the citations they show you• For example, the difference between a

book and an article citation• Or, they may ask about the overall

purpose of a citation

LET’S TRY ONE…

28. Paul A. Volker Jr Interview, 200329. Paul A. Volker and Toyoo Gyohten, Changing Fortunes (New York: Times Books, 1992), p. 16430. Paul A. Volker Jr. interview, 2003

28. Paul A. Volker Jr Interview, 200329. Paul A. Volker and Toyoo Gyohten, Changing Fortunes (New York: Times Books, 1992), p. 16430. Paul A. Volker Jr. interview, 2003

Which of the following statements is true, according to the citations for this passage?a) Much of the information comes from an interview conducted

by Paul A. Volker Jr b) Paul A. Volker and Toyoo Gyohten wrote and article entitled

Changing Fortunes c) Volker and Gyohten’s article was published in The New York

Timesd) The article that Volker and Gyohten wrote is on page 164 of a

book entitled Changing Fortunese) The author relied on primary source material

a) Much of the information comes from an interview conducted by Paul A. Volker Jr – none of the interviews were conducted by Volker; rather they were with him

b) Paul A. Volker and Toyoo Gyohten wrote and article entitled Changing Fortunes – it’s a book, not an article (we know because it’s in italics)

c) Volker and Gyohten’s article was published in The New York Times – nothing indicates that this was published in the NYT

d) The article that Volker and Gyohten wrote is on page 164 of a book entitled Changing Fortunes – it’s not an article, first of all…

e) The author relied on primary source material