Wednesday, August 20, 2014

#2 AP Multiple Choice Test Reflection

Reading literature can be tough enough for some people. But reading literature in a timed, test-taking environment can exacerbate that challenge.

Yesterday, I took my first AP Literature multiple choice exam for practice, and below I share my results.

I found that my strengths in literary analysis include reading with the right pacing, although I struggle with close reading and comprehending right away. Also, the practice exam we took, poetry seemed to be more comfortable for me. I’m also good at making educated guesses.
 
One of my weaknesses was answering a question towards the end that contradicted an earlier question. I need to do a better job to “maintain an open mind” and “consider both answers.” (5STA5) I’m also not very good at using logical strategies like process of elimination and  fill in the blank.
 
My plan to improve is to read more challenging texts throughout the course and work on comprehension and analysis.  I am used to responding to text emotionally, however, I need to advance that and analyze the text to gain even understanding. I also hope to go beyond my comfort zone of contemporary work and read older texts, like Jane Eyre and Shakespeare, to help me for the type of passages on the exam.
 
I plan on taking multiple practices tests to become familiar with the pacing of the exam and the types of AP questions.
 
Some of my goals for this year:
 
Before the AP exam, I want to be a more interactive, close reader.
 
Referring back to the text of course is necessary sometimes in the exam, however, I want to have better comprehension the first time I read -- that way I avoid wasting time to go back and understand the basic meaning.
 
I want to be familiar with all the technical literature terms that could be on the exam.

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