<p>Which one should I take if I"m studying on my own? I need a 4/5 on one of these to get exempt from an Expo as a freshmen. Which one is easier?</p>
<p>How much writing experience do you have? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Do you prefer non-fiction or fiction? Do you have the time to read multiple novels?</p>
<p>I'd do Lang.</p>
<p>I have the same question. In answer to your questions, princessbell:</p>
<p>I have lots of writing experience and have won many writing competitions. I have a good sense of grammar and I'm pretty good at interpreting texts and stuff (I got a 800 W and a 730 CR on the SATs). I am not very good at knowing the technical names for things, like what the indirect object pronoun is and poetic terms and stuff. I prefer fiction to nonfiction. I have read enough classics to get through but not a lot of "older" classics--mostly Steinbeck, Richard Wright, and James Joyce versus the Brontes or Jane Austen.</p>
<p>Can you tell me what basically do the 2 tests cover? And why they are different from each other?</p>
<p>From experience, I can tell you that the Lit exam has more questions like "which of the following phrases established the dark tone of the story" and the essays are basically compare/contrast two works and other similar questions. It seemed exactly like the SAT II Lit, except with 3 essays tacked on.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about Lang though.</p>
<p>Lang has questions about specific techniques (allusion, allegory, metaphor, etc.). It takes a little vocab study to get the technical stuff down.</p>
<p>The three essays usually include one about the rhetorical techniques of the writer of a passage, so being able to analyze that type of writing is an important skill.</p>
<p>I would recommend Lang.</p>
<p>Lang multiple choice is pretty much literary devices (you have to know what they mean, like litotes and such)</p>
<p>The essays are 1. Analyze a passage for literary devices, 2. Argumentative, and 3. pretty much a DBQ but without having to have historical knowledge.</p>
<p>I have no idea about Lit though. Lang isn't too hard IMO</p>
<p>um u better be in love with poetry and Shakespeare if you plan on taking ap lit because that is pretty much what the ap test is composed of</p>
<p>personally i like lit better because it is less mechanical, more room for expression, and the content is enjoyable but that is just my personality</p>
<p>I got a 5 on the AP Lang test and I don't foresee any difference this year with AP Lit. The essays are VERY different in where the score is focused, in my opinion. I struggled initially in AP Lit because I was stuck in the AP Lang format. </p>
<p>AP Language is all about organization and structural analysis. If you can create a cogent argument in 4-6 very well organized, concise paragraphs, then you basically get an 8 or a 9 every time. It doesn't matter really *what *your analysis is, just that you show it very well. So if the essay is to 'analyze the literary devices' in a piece, you could choose, say, diction, tone, and syntax. But you could also find other things and write about those as well, for an equally high score. As long as you get 2-3 examples for each device and analyze them clearly in the context of the passage, you are set. (obviously, if they ask for specific devices, you'll need to find specific devices. but there isn't really a single thing that you need to 'get' in order to do well)</p>
<p>AP Lit, on the other hand, requires analysis of content. you don't need an opening or a closing at all. you can literally just dive in and start writing, but it has to have some actual knowledge of the stuff you're writing about. The essays are also different, somewhat. </p>
<p>For instance, my most recent essay wasn't actually about a book--it was a letter from a poet laureate criticizing Bronte's writing. The second part of the essay was Bronte's letter back. The essay asked how the content and tone of each letter revealed both the individual who wrote it and the prevailing attitude towards women's writing at the time. </p>
<p>There were several points in the essay that you needed to get:
1) The poet laureate was a Victorian-era man with Victorian-era beliefs; that is, he was a misogynist. He thought she shouldn't write because she would be neglecting her duties.
2) His tone was dismissive in his first paragraph, then critical in the second paragraph (due to his professional nature and THEN his misogyny)
3) Bronte's response is careful, calculated, and *very *sarcastic.
4) She mimics his professional-then-critical format to the T.
5) Her entire letter is filled with double entendres that serve the dual purpose of seeming subservient to the poet's ideas about women while subtly-but-deftly asserting her right to write.</p>
<p>it really isn't that hard if you can analyze content well. that's the key. oh, and you need to remember the storyline of probably 3 books for the essays. you'll be reading them throughout the year, and if your teacher is proficient then they'll be stuck in your head pretty well.</p>
<p>I'd say Lang. you can't study for it! The MC is like the CR on the SAT. Dunno about the MC on the Lit test. However, acing the essays is the easiest way to a 5.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the response.
I guess I am going to take Lang.
I am probably going to get a study book because my AP class is a joke.
Thanks again.</p>
<p>I'm going to go for Lit, thanks!</p>
<p>not to divert from the OP, but what class in general is more helpful? AP Lang or Lit.? which one is more beneficial and will help more in the long run? i am thinking about pre-med.</p>
<p>I'd definetely say Lang is more "useful" if you're not into the humanties. It teaches you how to write with a purpose, whereas I think that Lit is more for those who care about Literature and want to write to analyze fictional texts.</p>
<p>Despite what the math/science hawks that dominate CC might lead you to believe, AP English Language has the smallest % of 5's of ANY AP test. Although it's definitely within reach, getting a five isn't cakewalk. My teacher is one of the actual graders for the AP test and to score a 9 on an essay (it's out of 9) you have to be stylistically very fluid. The content for an 8 and 9 can be more or less the same. </p>
<p>And the multiple choice, IMO, is much harder than anything you will ever see on the SAT.</p>