<p>Could someone explain the differences between the literature and language AP tests? Also, do juniors tend to take one of the tests and seniors the other?</p>
<p>i've been wanting to know the same thing.</p>
<p>juniors usually take ap english lang and seniors english lit.</p>
<p>^not that kind of difference! I"m talking about the difference in course material ( what's taught). that's exactly why you're a sciencenerd.</p>
<p>i thought they were pretty much the same except the literature test includes poetry and is easy if you read a couple of books</p>
<p>English Lit is more about reading and analyzing literature and learning all the lit terminology (i.e. personification, symbolism, etc.). You're also mostly writing about specific literature and how the author achieves certain things.
English Lang is still about reading, but it's more about becoming a better writer yourself. (I think it's called AP English Language & COMPOSITION).
I'm not completely sure about English Language b/c I haven't taken it yet (my school does AP Lit junior year and AP eng lang senior year) but I took Lit last year and the exam is all about analyzing literature.</p>
<p>English language & Composition involves a ton of rhetoric terms that
you have to know very well and be able to use; Not being intimately
familiar with the rhetoric usage will cost you dearly on the multiple choice.</p>
<p>English literature is more forgiving. You are required to have read a
smattering of books (and poetry) that you will have to use in your
essays. The multiple choice is relatively simpler (compared to English
Language). </p>
<p>Senioritis + English Language could be a lethal mixture ....hmmm maybe
that is why msot schools including mine insist on doing English Language
in Junior year and Literature inSenior year...:)</p>
<p>yeah, you definitely want to take lit after comp... it makes lit so much easier</p>
<p>lit also has composition in its full name</p>
<p>^ i was going to say that.</p>
<p>Also, for English Language, it's not about what you say, it's all about how you say it. In other words, if you sound like you know what you're talking about, you'll get a good score on the essay, if you do have something good to say. If you sound stupid, you'll score low.</p>
<p>You don't have to memorize a bazillion rhetoric terms. Just know apostrophe, imagery, tone, purpose, audience, alliteration, rhetorical question, parallel structure, and stuff like that. You don't need to know zeugma or anything like that.</p>
<p>For English Lang, focus more on writing skills than knowledge of rhetoric. It's really like a long Verbal SAT</p>
<p>is lit typically easier than lang?</p>
<p>Depends on whether you are better at reading or writing.</p>
<p>well the two official names for the courses are AP English Literature & Composition and AP English Language & Composition. Both have Composition in their titles as collegeboard shows. Also, when i took the AP exam it had composition in the title of the english lit exam....and also, on my transcript it says ADV PL ENG LIT COMP.....both have composition in their titles so i dont think it matter as far as that....i took both...in language we focused on writing and rhetoric.....in literature we focused on novels/novellas and poetry</p>