<p>So I'm self-studying for AP English Lit. Exam and I'm trying to come up with a good reading list to go through for the exam. Could anyone please post what books they read for their AP class or used to self-study!? Thankx everybody!!</p>
<p>I read:
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne
Part of Huck Finn, which would probably suck to have to read on your own.</p>
<p>I had a pretty awful teacher last year, and we only read around 3 books all year (including over the summer). With that, I thought that I was totally screwed for the exam, but ended up coming out with a 5. I guess it just goes to show that there are no real “required reads” for AP Lit – I didn’t recognize anything on the suggested book list for the open question, so I ended up having to use Scarlet Letter to talk about justice. It worked out alright, evidently :P</p>
<p>So what do you think I should concentrate on when preparing for the exam? Does style matter much or are the readers mostly concerned about the content of the free-response essays?</p>
<p>[AP</a> Literature: Titles from Free Response Questions since 1971](<a href=“http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/AP/APtitles.html]AP”>http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/AP/APtitles.html)</p>
<p>Scroll down towards the bottom. It has the most used books for the FRQ. Some of those are extremely short, more novellas than actual novels, such as Heart of Darkness.</p>
<p>In my opinion, style is absolutely the most important component. If you’re a good writer, your argument doesn’t matter very much (that is, as long as you MAKE and argument – if you don’t, you won’t break a ‘5’ on any essay.)</p>
<p>The best written essays have extremely strong intros with clear theses. I would spend most of my time focusing on those two components. Try to make some type of model for your essays so that you have structure down before you even know what you’re writing about. For example, I found that starting my essays with quotes was a great way to go, and added a lot of credibility to my argument. Others hate starting with quotes, and instead make a broad statement that applies to both life and the text (ie “The struggle for acceptance is a time-honored blah blah.”) </p>
<p>Content is obviously important as well. The biggest piece of advice that I can give you is this: ARGUE. If you can make a point and provide clear examples<a href=“direct%20references%20to%20the%20text%20in%20essays%201%20and%202,%20and%20specific%20scenes%20and%20instances%20in%20essay%203”>/U</a> throughout your essay, you’ll be golden.</p>
<p>I hope that I answered your question, but let me know if there’s anything else.</p>
<p>@mada34: yeah I totally get what you mean. I guess one needs to develop a balance between content and style in making a convincing argument. I think i picked that up when preparing for the ap english lang last year!! Thankx alot for your advice!! Also, what do you think is the best way to prepare for the multiple choice section…is it purely the ability to analyze and interpret literature or is it also tricks or certain ways of finding the best answer as in the SAT?! Feel free to add anything you think i should do before the exam! Thankx again!</p>
<p>For the 3rd FRQ, I’d recommend reading “Invisible Man” and “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead”, because they appear on almost every AP Exam! Although I’ve heard “Invisible Man” is quite a difficult one to read, these are recommendations from my AP Lit teacher. Also, you should read “Animal Farm” and “The Catcher in the Rye” if you haven’t already, just because they are quick and fun reads. “The Catcher in the Rye” also appears on the AP Exam every so often. For more book suggestions, you could go to AP Central and look up the novels that have appeared on past exams, or on the link that iwaitz4u posted above. Enjoy!</p>