For many students, preparation for the AP English test is underway. This test is scheduled for May 13, 2020, and consists of 45 multiple-choice questions and the writing of three essays. The students are given one hour to answer the multiple choice questions and two hours and 15 minutes to write the free-response essays.

The benefits of taking the exam for a student, are not only seeing the expectations of college writing, but also the potential earning of college credits. If a student gets a passing score, of 4 or higher on the exam, they will be given college credits that will save them time and money in the long run. By passing the exam, there will be one less college class that a student has to take to earn their degree, which saves them money.

Junior AP English teacher, Mrs. Montiel, is preparing her students for the test by giving timed writes in class, expanding on details of the different types of essays, going over the grading rubrics that will be used on the test, and expanding her students’ vocabulary.

When asked how students usually do on the test, Montiel said, “The score that a student receives depends on the preparation and the effort that they put into class and the test.”

To help prepare for the test outside of class, students should go over vocabulary words, read grading rubrics, stay up-to-date on current events, and utilize writing assignments for practice.

The multiple-choice questions account for 45% of the exam score and the essays are responsible for 55% of the exam score. The multiple-choice questions include five sets of questions, about 23-25 of which are reading questions asking the students to read and analyze nonfiction text. About 20-22 of them are writing questions that ask students to consider potential revisions to given text.

Students have to write three essays using the free-response prompts that are given for each type of essay. The synthesis essay includes six to seven texts about a topic in which students will have to make an argument that supports their thesis. For the rhetorical analysis essay, students will read given text and analyze how the writer’s language choices contribute to the purpose and meaning of the text. For the argumentative essay, students will create an argument that responds to a given topic using evidence from the texts.