English language - Barbara L. Murphy 2021
A walk through the diagnostic/master exam
Determine your test readiness
CHAPTER 3 A Walk Through the Diagnostic/Master Exam
CHAPTER 3 A walk through the diagnostic/master exam
IN THIS CHAPTER
Summary: Familiarize yourself with the diagnostic exam.
Key Ideas
Examine the multiple-choice section in Section I of the exam.
Peruse the essay questions in Section II.
“You know, from my experience with AP exams, I’ve learned never to assume anything.”
— Jeremy G., AP student
What follows is our version of an AP English Language and Composition exam we use throughout this book to demonstrate processes, examples, terms, and so forth. We call this our Diagnostic/Master exam. You will not be taking this exam at this point, but we would like you to “walk through” the exam with us, now.
The first part of this 3¼-hour exam is always going to be the multiple-choice section, which lasts 1 hour. It comprises primarily nonfiction. The multiple-choice section of the Diagnostic/Master exam contains several passages from different time periods and of different styles and purposes. It may include letters, essays, journal entries, editorials, speeches, and excerpts from longer works. The multiple-choice questions for each selection were developed to provide you with a wide range of question types and terminology that have been used in the actual AP English Language and Composition exams over the years.
To begin to know how the exam is structured, take some time now to look through the multiple-choice section of the Diagnostic/Master exam. Do not try to answer questions; just peruse the types of passages and questions.
✵ Review all of the pages of the test and familiarize yourself with their format.
✵ See where the long and short readings are.
✵ Check the total number of questions and know what you are facing.
✵ Check out the essay prompts.
A Word About Our Sample Student Essays
We field-tested each of the essay questions in a variety of high schools, both public and private. We could have chosen to present essays that would have “knocked your socks off”; however, we chose to present samples we feel are truly representative of the essays usually written within the time constraints of the exam.
These essays are indicative of a wide range of styles and levels of acceptability. We want you to recognize that there is not one model to which all essays must conform.
“To Thine Own Self Be True” (Polonius—Hamlet)
This well-known caveat is always the very best advice and especially appropriate for the writer. Listen to your teacher’s advice; listen to our advice; listen to your own voice. That’s the voice we want to “hear” in your writing. Use natural vocabulary and present honest observations. It is wonderful to read professional criticism, but you cannot adopt another’s ideas and remain true to your own thoughts. Trust your brain—if you’ve prepared well, you’ll do well.
DIAGNOSTIC/MASTER EXAM ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Section I
The multiple-choice section of the exam will have 45 questions.
✵ 20—25 will be related to close reading/analysis.
✵ 20—25 will be related to the rhetorical situation.
Total Time—1 hour
Carefully read the following passages and answer the accompanying questions.
Questions 1—12 are based on the following passage from “Samuel Johnson on Pope,” which appeared in The Lives of the English Poets (1779—1781).
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. provide a character sketch of Pope
B. examine the principles of poetic style
C. criticize Dryden
D. present a model for future poets
E. create an opportunity for the writer to show off his own skills
2. The passage discusses a contrast among all of the following except:
A. prose and poetry
B. Pope and Dryden
C. body and mind
D. poverty and wealth
E. body and soul
3. The thesis is located in line(s)
A. 1
B. 7—8
C. 11
D. 20—21
E. 36—37
4. The character of Pope is developed by all of the following except:
A. examples
B. comparison
C. contrast
D. satire
E. description
5. According to the passage, Pope and Dryden are
A. rivals
B. equally intelligent
C. outdated
D. equally physically attractive
E. in debt
6. From the passage, the reader may infer that Pope
A. was extravagant
B. was a man of the people
C. was jealous of Dryden
D. had a desire to be popular
E. had a bitter, satirical nature
7. “If the flights” (35) means
A. Pope’s writing will outlive Dryden’s
B. both Pope and Dryden are equal
C. Pope is not idealistic
D. Pope is more wordy
E. Pope is not as bright as Dryden
8. Lines 20—24 indicate that Dryden was what type of writer?
A. one who labored over his thoughts
B. one who wrote only for himself
C. one who wrote only for the critics
D. one who wrote to please Pope
E. one who did not revise
9. The tone of the passage is
A. informal and affectionate
B. formal and objective
C. condescending and paternalistic
D. laudatory and reverent
E. critical and negative
10. In the context of the passage, “until he had nothing left to be forgiven” (29) means
A. Pope outraged his readers
B. Pope suffered from writer’s block
C. Pope exhausted his subject matter
D. Pope’s prose was revised to perfection
E. Pope cared about the opinions of his readers
11. “Shaven” and “leveled” in line 34 indicate that Pope’s style of writing was
A. natural
B. richly ornamented
C. highly controlled
D. mechanical
E. analytical
12. Based on a close reading of the final paragraph of the passage, the reader could infer that the author
A. looks on both writers equally
B. prefers the work of Pope
C. sees the two writers as inferior to his own writing style
D. indicates no preference
E. prefers the work of Dryden
Questions 13—23 are based on the following excerpt from Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “Politics and Warfare,” which appears in The Man-Made World: Our Androcentric Culture (1911).
13. The author’s main purpose in the passage is to
A. argue for women being drafted
B. criticize colonialism
C. present a pacifist philosophy
D. criticize the male-dominated society
E. protest tariffs
14. In paragraph 2, the author maintains that men support their position on equality for women based upon which of the following approaches?
A. begging the question
B. a syllogism using a faulty premise
C. an appeal to emotion
D. circular reasoning
E. an ad hoc argument
15. Using textual clues, one can conclude that “androcentric” most probably means
A. robot-centered
B. world-centered
C. female-centered
D. self-centered
E. male-centered
16. In paragraph 4, “increasingly injurious as society progresses” is reinforced by all of the following except:
A. “ill effects already touched on” [paragraph 4]
B. “active war” [paragraph 4]
C. “weaker nations to be ’conquered’ and ’annexed’” [paragraph 5]
D. “illegitimate expenses of fighting” [paragraph 6]
E. “Women do not understand politics” [paragraph 8]
17. In addition to indicating a direct quotation, the author uses quotation marks to indicate
A. the jargon of politics and warfare
B. the coining of a phrase
C. a definition
D. the author’s scholarship
E. that the author does not take responsibility for her words
18. According to the author, men view the primary purpose of government to be
A. educating the people
B. solving the “mass of public problems”
C. obtaining as much power as possible
D. economics
E. health
19. The argument shifts from a discussion of warfare to a discussion of politics in the first sentence of which of the following paragraphs?
A. paragraph 4
B. paragraph 5
C. paragraph 6
D. paragraph 7
E. paragraph 9
20. The tone of the passage is best described as
A. ambivalent
B. reverent
C. condescending
D. accusatory
E. indifferent
21. To present her argument, Gilman primarily uses which of the following rhetorical strategies?
A. process
B. definition
C. cause and effect
D. narration
E. description
Questions 22—30 are based on author Ernest J. Gaines’s introduction to his 2000 short film titled An Obsession, which is about a cemetery on the Riverlake plantation that he bought and is dedicated to preserving.
An Obsession by Ernest Gaines
22. The exigence for Gaines’s passage is
A. the need for funding to further the author’s cause
B. the possibility that the author may lose his plantation
C. the growing possibility that the unmarked graves of slaves and other plantation workers may be lost to developers and farmers
D. a protest movement to save unmarked graves of slaves
E. the 400th anniversary of the first slave being brought into the Virginia colony
23. The function of the first paragraph is to
A. establish the setting of the issue Gaines wishes to address
B. begin developing the historical background of the location
C. build a contrast between the accepted importance of the plantation to the lack of care paid to the cemetery
D. emphasize that the cemetery has no name that might protect it
E. develop the personal connection the author has with the location
24. Which item could most appropriately be added to end the series in paragraph 2 beginning with, My ancestors for over a hundred years planted the sugarcane here . . .
A. and, when it was time, profited nothing from it
B. and, when it was time, left the plantation to pursue new lives
C. and, when it was time, were buried next to those fields
D. and, when it was time, bought their freedom
E. and, when it was time, reseeded the land for new crops
25. The thesis is located in which paragraph?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
E. 5
26. Which of the following is the major rhetorical strategy the author uses to support his thesis?
A. appeal to emotions through historical anecdotes
B. appeal to the audience’s sense of guilt
C. appeal to author’s credibility through personal anecdotes
D. appeal to reason through an overview of legal issues
E. appeal to the audience’s sense of historical precedence
27. Which of the following sentences could best be added to the end of paragraph 4?
A. The destruction of these cemeteries across the nation is an example of systematic racism.
B. It is urgent that we continue to speak up for the people buried in these cemeteries until we can find a lasting way to protect them.
C. The lack of empathy on the part of these landowners needs to be punished in the civil court system.
D. I speak to all of you today in the hopes that you will support our efforts to save these sites by contacting your local states representatives.
E. It is necessary that permanent monuments are erected in these rural cemeteries to acknowledge the forgotten.
28. Which of the following best describes the author’s purpose in including the following direct quotation in paragraph 5?
The interviewer asked me what would I like on my headstone and I said,
“To lie with those who have no marks.”
A. adds needed pacing
B. presents an ironic counterbalance to the direct quotation in paragraph 4
C. presents an illustration of the thesis
D. appeals to the emotions of the audience
E. emphasizes the author’s reportorial approach to his subject
29. The rhetorical purpose of the set of dashes used in the last sentence is to
A. supply an aside to the audience
B. provide an overview of the author’s literary works
C. provide a continuation of the list begun at the start of this sentence
D. emphasize what is stated in the sentence in the last paragraph beginning with Not only did they encourage me . . .
E. enumerate what their lives consisted of
30. Carefully read the following two sentences:
I’ve said many times before that my novels, my short stories, are just continuations of the letters that I started writing for them some fifty years ago, and since I’ve tried to say something about their lives on paper—their joy, their sorrows, their love, their fears, their pride, their compassion—I think it is only my duty now to do as much as I can to see that they lie in peace forever. (Original sentence)
I’ve said many times before that my novels, my short stories, are just continuations of the letters that I started writing for them some fifty years ago, and since I’ve tried to say something about their lives on paper—their joy, their sorrows, their love, their fears, their pride, their compassion—It is my duty to see that they lie in peace forever. (A second version)
What does the original imply that the second version does not?
A. The author will continue to write as much and as often as he can to benefit his ancestor’s memories.
B. The author will take his story to audiences across the Nation.
C. The author is thinking about running for public office to secure the rights of his Louisiana ancestors.
D. Instead of writing for and about his ancestors, the author will act on their behalf.
E. The author is retiring from writing and will work solely to support the Riverlake Plantation cemetery.
Questions 31—41 are connected to the following essay written in response to a prompt concerned with what constitutes healthy eating.
To Eat or Not to Eat Healthy Foods
31. The writer wants to add the following sentence to the fourth paragraph to provide further information.
For instance, Thomas Walsh, the CEO of the Eat Healthy; Live Longer Institute, travels throughout the United States advocating for healthy eating.
Where would this sentence best be placed?
A. before the first sentence
B. after the second sentence
C. before the fourth sentence
D. after the fourth sentence
E. after the last sentence
32. The author uses which major rhetorical appeal to support and develop the thesis?
A. appeal of reason
B. appeal to emotions
C. appeal to authority
D. appeal to timeliness and opportunity
E. appeal to commonality
33. What is the rhetorical effect of using equal signs in the last sentence of paragraph 3?
A. continuation of the “mathematical” image
B. appeal to those who are convinced when confronted with cause and effect
C. a sense of irony
D. a sense of inevitability
E. a sense of balance
34. The author’s purpose can best be stated as
A. advocating for a limit on the consumption of red meat
B. highlighting some of the difficulties related to food and the environment
C. criticizing those who recommend limiting meat production
D. reviewing the current state of research about food production and its effect on the environment
E. defending those who favor high taxes on both those who produce meat and those who consume it.
35. In context, which choice best combines the last two sentences in paragraph 4?
A. No change
B. To save billions of dollars and “millions of lives,” Mark Bittman recommends taxing high-fat and high-calorie processed foods.
C. According to Mark Bittman and many other food experts, one way to save billions of dollars and “millions of lives” is to tax high-fat and high-calorie processed food.
D. Saving billions of dollars and saving “millions of lives,” would be the major result of taxing high-fat and high-calorie processed food, argues Mark Bittman and many other food experts.
E. To encourage people to avoid high-fat, and high-calorie processed foods, Mark Bittman and other healthy food advocate taxing these foods, which will save billions of dollars in health care and save “millions of lives.”
36. The logic of the fourth paragraph would be better served if the sentence beginning with As previously mentioned, red meat . . . were placed
A. at the beginning of the paragraph, before the sentence beginning with And, . . .
B. before the last sentence beginning with He sees it . . .
C. after the first sentence
D. before the next to last sentence beginning with Mark Bittman . . .
E. after the last sentence
37. The writer wants to more clearly introduce the thesis of the essay in the first paragraph. Which of the following versions of the first sentence beginning with My friends and I . . . would best serve that purpose?
A. No change
B. My friends and I recently saw a Reuters/Ipsos online poll.
C. My friends and I are like most Americans when it comes to eating healthy.
D. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll indicates Americans are looking to government to solve the questions revolving around healthy eating.
E. The results of a recent Reuters/Ipsos online poll about attitudes toward eating healthy should be of interest to us all.
38. In the last sentence of the first paragraph, the writer hopes to lead the reader into an examination of some of the recent research and recommendations of experts and organizations connected to healthy eating and to the environment. Which version of this last sentence best accomplishes this goal?
A. No change
B. This question and others related to healthy eating and the environment have been the subject of many research projects and recommendations.
C. Here is what some of the experts in healthy eating recommend.
D. It’s difficult to come to any conclusion about healthy eating and the environment.
E. Research seems to favor the government solving this problem.
39. The obvious exigence for this essay is
A. an assigned writing prompt
B. a concern for the environment
C. fear of eating the wrong foods
D. anger with climate change
E. desire to change people’s attitude toward healthy eating
40. Which of the following does the writer NOT assume about the audience?
A. They have eaten fast food.
B. They have had experience with paying taxes.
C. They have a working knowledge of environmental science.
D. They have an interest in protecting the environment.
E. They have an interest in eating healthy.
41. The last sentence of the essay beginning with Right now, I’m . . . indicates to the reader that the writer most probably
A. will find a compromise when dealing with food choices and their effects on the environment
B. is confused about what to do about food choices and the environment
C. will keep in mind the relationship between food choices and their effects on the environment when grocery shopping or eating out
D. will advocate for corporations to become more active in protecting the environment
E. will advocate for government taking a larger role in addressing this situation
Questions 42—45 are based on the following letter to the editor published in Newsday on August 23, 2019.
History Evolves as Scholars Learn More
This is a letter to the editor, and by definition it is brief. If the author wished to further develop this into an essay of around 500—800 words, he might consider the following:
42. The location of the thesis of this letter is
A. all of paragraph one
B. the last sentence of paragraph 2
C. the first sentence of paragraph 3
D. he last sentence of paragraph 4
E. all of the last paragraph
43. The writer is considering placing the last sentence someplace else in the letter. Considering the rhetorical situation, including the exigence, what would be the best placement?
A. as is
B. at the very beginning
C. before paragraph 2
D. before paragraph 3
E. before paragraph 4
44. The writer wants an effective transition from the introductory paragraph to the main idea of the text. Which of the following would best achieve this goal?
A. Leave as is.
B. One critic is a contributing editor to Reason magazine.
C. A recent edition of this newspaper published one of these conservative opinions.
D. One of these conservative writers is Newsday columnist Cathy Young who writes that . . . [sentence continues as in the original].
E. I read one of these opinions in a recent edition of this newspaper.
45. The writer wants to add the following sentence to the text to provide additional information.
It should be noted that “1619 Project” was published to correspond with the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first African slaves in Jamestown, the first English settlement in North America.
Where would the sentence best be placed?
A. the beginning of the first paragraph
B. the end of the first paragraph
C. the beginning of the second paragraph
D. the end of the second paragraph
E. the end of the last paragraph
End of section I
The second part of the test is the 2¼-hour essay writing section. This is taken after the break following completion of the multiple-choice section of the exam. You will be required to write three different essays: analysis, synthesis, and argument.
Because The College Board wants to make certain that directions and expectations are clear to those taking the exam, each type of essay prompt will have a stable (standard) wording. Only the specifics related to the text and/or context will change. At the end of each prompt will be a list of instructions prescribed by The College Board as printed in the AP English Language and Composition Course and Exam Description, pp. 11—113.
The analysis prompt asks you to analyze the author’s purpose and how he achieves it. The argument question requires you to take a position on an issue and develop it with appropriate evidence. The synthesis prompt directs you to carefully read several sources related to a specific topic and to cite at least three of these sources to support and/or illustrate your position.
The additional 15 minutes is to allow time for careful reading and annotation of each of the prompts and all of the resources provided for the synthesis essay. You are not required to spend this time only reading prompts and sources. But, we recommend that you do so.
You may begin once you feel you have an understanding of the demands of each prompt. Remember: READ THE PROMPT.
Section II
Total Time—2¼ hours
Question 1
(Suggested time—45 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total score for Section II.)
English Language and Composition
Reading Time: 15 minutes
Suggested Writing Time: 40 minutes
A recent Supreme Court decision has provoked much debate about private property rights. In it, the court ruled that the city of New London was within the bounds of the U.S. Constitution when it condemned private property for use in a redevelopment plan. This ruling is an example of the classic debate between individual rights versus the greater good.
Carefully read the following sources, including any introductory information. Then, in an essay that synthesizes at least three of the sources for support, take a position that adddresses the government’s right to take property from one private owner to give to another to further economic development constitutes a permissible “public use” under the Fifth Amendment.
Make certain that you take a position and that the essay centers on your argument. Use the sources to support your reasoning; avoid simply summarizing the sources. You may refer to the sources by their letters (Source A, Source B, etc.) or by the identifiers in the parentheses below.
Source A (U.S. Constitution); Source B (60 Minutes); Source C (Kelo decision); Source D (Koterba, political cartoon); Source E (Broder); Source F (Britt, political cartoon); Source G (CNN and American Survey)
✵ Provide evidence from at least three of the provided sources to support the thesis. Indicate clearly the sources used through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. Sources may be cited as Source A, Source B, etc., or by using the description in parentheses.
✵ Explain the relationship between the evidence and the thesis.
✵ Demonstrate an understanding of the rhetorical situation.
✵ Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating the argument.
Source A
“Amendments.” The United States Constitution, 1787.
The following is a section from the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
Note: This is known as eminent domain, which refers to the power of government to take private property for “public use” if the owner is fairly compensated. Eminent domain has been used to build roads, schools, and utility lines. Cities also have used it to transfer property from unwilling sellers to developers who want to build shopping malls, offices, or other projects.
Source B
Adapted from the July 4, 2004, edition of 60 Minutes. Available at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/60minutes/main575343.shtml.
The following is part of an interview conducted for the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes. In it, the audience is introduced to a couple whose house had been taken by the local government for development of condos.
Jim and Joanne Saleet are refusing to sell the home they’ve lived in for 38 years. They live in a quiet neighborhood of single-family houses in Lakewood, Ohio, just outside Cleveland. The City of Lakewood is trying to use eminent domain to force the Saleets out to make way for more expensive condominiums. But the Saleets are telling the town, “Hell no! They won’t go.”
“The bottom line is this is morally wrong, what they’re doing here. This is our home. And we’re going to stay here. And I’m gonna fight them tooth and nail. I’ve just begun to fight,” says Jim Saleet. “We talked about this when we were dating. I used to point to the houses and say, ’Joanne, one of these days, we’re going to have one of these houses.’ And I meant it. And I worked hard.”
Jim Saleet worked in the pharmaceutical industry, paid off his house, and then retired. Now, he and his wife plan to spend the rest of their days there, and pass their house on to their children.
But Lakewood’s mayor, Madeleine Cain, has other plans. She wants to tear down the Saleets’ home, plus 55 homes around it, along with four apartment buildings and more than a dozen businesses.
Why? So that private developers can build high-priced condos, and a high-end shopping mall, and, thus, raise Lakewood’s property tax base.
The mayor told 60 Minutes that she sought out a developer for the project because Lakewood’s aging tax base has been shrinking, and the city simply needs more money.
“This is about Lakewood’s future. Lakewood cannot survive without a strengthened tax base. Is it right to consider this a public good? Absolutely,” says the mayor, who admits that it’s difficult and unfortunate that the Saleets are being asked to give up their home.
The Saleets live in an area called Scenic Park, and because it is so scenic, it’s a prime place to build upscale condominiums. With great views, over the Rocky River, those condos will be a cinch to sell. But the condos can’t go up unless the city can remove the Saleets and their neighbors through eminent domain. And, to legally invoke eminent domain, the city had to certify that this scenic park area is, really, “blighted.”
“We’re not blighted. This is an area that we absolutely love. This is a close-knit, beautiful neighborhood. It’s what America’s all about,” says Jim Saleet. “And, Mike, you don’t know how humiliating this is to have people tell you, ’You live in a blighted area,’ and how degrading this is.”
“The term ’blighted’ is a statutory word,” says Mayor Cain. “It is, it really doesn’t have a lot to do with whether or not your home is painted. . . . A statutory term is used to describe an area. The question is whether or not that area can be used for a higher and better use.”
Source C
Kelo v. New London. U.S. Supreme Court 125 S. Ct. 2655.
The following is a brief overview of a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005.
Susette Kelo, et al. v. City of New London, et al., 125 S. Ct. 2655 (2005), more commonly Kelo v. New London, is a land-use law case argued before the United States Supreme Court on February 22, 2005. The case arose from a city’s use of eminent domain to condemn privately owned real property so that it could be used as part of a comprehensive redevelopment plan.
The owners sued the city in Connecticut courts, arguing that the city had misused its eminent domain power. The power of eminent domain is limited by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The Fifth Amendment, which restricts the actions of the federal government, says, in part, that “private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation”; under Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, this limitation is also imposed on the actions of U.S. state and local governments. Kelo and the other appellants argued that economic development, the stated purpose of the Development Corporation, did not qualify as public use.
The Supreme Court’s Ruling: This 5:4 decision holds that the governmental taking of property from one private owner to give to another in furtherance of economic development constitutes a permissible “public use” under the Fifth Amendment.
Source D
Koterba, Jeff, Omaha World Herald. Available at http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/EminentDomain/4.asp.
The following political cartoon appeared in an Omaha, Nebraska, newspaper.
Jeff Koterba, Omaha World Herald, NE
Source E
Broder, John M, “States Curbing Right to Seize Private Homes.” New York Times, February 21, 2006.
The following passage is excerpted from an article published in the New York Times.
“Our opposition to eminent domain is not across the board,” he [Scott G. Bullock of the Institute for Justice] said. “It has an important but limited role in government planning and the building of roads, parks, and public buildings. What we oppose is eminent domain abuse for private development, and we are encouraging legislators to curtail it.”
More neutral observers expressed concern that state officials, in their zeal to protect homeowners and small businesses, would handcuff local governments that are trying to revitalize dying cities and fill in blighted areas with projects that produce tax revenues and jobs.
“It’s fair to say that many states are on the verge of seriously overreacting to the Kelo decision,” said John D. Echeverria, executive director of the Georgetown Environmental Law and Policy Institute and an authority on land-use policy. “The danger is that some legislators are going to attempt to destroy what is a significant and sometimes painful but essential government power. The extremist position is a prescription for economic decline for many metropolitan areas around the country.”
Source F
Britt, Chris, The State Journal-Register. Available at http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/EminentDomain/4.asp.
The following political cartoon appeared in a Springfield, Illinois, newspaper.
Chris Britt, Springfield, IL — The State Journal-Register
Source G
Andres, Gary J., “The Kelo Backlash.” Washington Times, August 29, 2005.
CNN Pollserver, “Local governments should be able to seize homes and businesses.” Quick Vote, June 23, 2005. Available at http://www.cnn.com/POLLSERVER/results/18442.exclude.html.
The following are the results of two surveys/polls. The first appeared in a Washington Times article, and the second was commissioned by CNN.
American Survey | July 14—17, 2005
An American Survey of 800 registered voters nationwide shows 68 percent favoring legislative limits on the government’s ability to take private property away from owners, with 62 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of independents and 70 percent of Republicans supporting such limits.
This QuickVote is not scientific and reflects the opinions of only those Internet users who have chosen to participate. The results cannot be assumed to represent the opinions of Internet users in general, nor the public as a whole.
Question 2
(Suggested time—45 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total score for Section II.)
The following paragraphs are from the opening of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. Compose a well-written essay analyzing the rhetorical choices Capote makes to convey his characterization of Holcomb and its citizens. In your response you should do the following:
✵ Respond to the prompt with a thesis that analyzes the writer’s rhetorical choices.
✵ Select and use evidence to develop and support your line of reasoning.
✵ Explain the relationship between the evidence and your thesis.
✵ Demonstrate an understanding of the rhetorical situation.
✵ Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.
Question 3
(Suggested time—45 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total score for Section II.)
In his famous “Vast Wasteland” address to the National Association of Broadcasters in May of 1961, Newton Minow, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, spoke about the power of television to influence the taste, knowledge, and opinions of its viewers around the world. Carefully read the following, paying close attention to how timely it is today, especially in light of the Internet, smartphones, social media, and digital games, etc.
Minow ended his speech warning that “The power of instantaneous sight and sound is without precedent in mankind’s history. This is an awesome power. It has limitless capabilities for good—and for evil. And it carries with it awesome responsibilities—responsibilities which you and [the government] cannot escape . . .”
Using your own knowledge and your own experiences or reading, write a carefully constructed essay in which you present your position on Minnow’s ideas about mass media and technology.
In your response you should do the following:
✵ Respond to the prompt with a thesis that may establish a line of reasoning.
✵ Explain the relationship between the evidence and your thesis.
✵ Select and use evidence to develop and support your line of reasoning.
✵ Demonstrate an understanding of the rhetorical situation.
End of section II
“Even though I was ’turned off’ by the thought of having to read old-fashioned writing, I was really proud of myself once I found out that I could make sense out of it when I concentrated and focused the way my teacher showed us.”
—Sean V.S.,AP student
So, that’s what the Advanced Placement English Language exam looks like.
If you’re being honest with yourself, you’re probably feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point. DON’T BE AFRAID TO ADMIT IT. This is primarily why we are going to deconstruct this entire Diagnostic/Master exam for you and with you throughout this book. By the time you reach Practice Exams 1 and 2, you should be feeling much more confident and comfortable about doing well on the AP English Language and Composition exam.
As you progress through this book, you will:
✵ take each section of the Diagnostic/Master exam;
✵ read the explanations for the answers to the multiple-choice questions;
✵ read sample student essays written in response to each of the three prompts;
✵ read the rubrics and ratings of the student essays; and
✵ evaluate your own performance in light of this information.