<p>I'm currently a rising Senior and an international student, and I'm planning on taking 5 AP exams the following year: AP Cal BC, APUSH, APUNGP, AP macro economy and AP psychology. But I'm also thinking of replacing US history with one of the AP English exams. I consider myself a decent English speaker and writer. On the recent ACT exam, I got 34 on English and 30 on Reading, and 10 on the Essay. I think I am pretty familiar with English grammar, and have read many American and British literature (I think I read approximately 50% of the college board recommendation list). My guidance counselor told me both AP English exams are pretty tough, but suggested AP English Lang if I really wanted to give it a shot. I don't know how both exams are like, so I'd really appreciate it if you guys could give me a really honest evaluation on the two AP English exams.. :) Which one should I choose?</p>
<p>I took (well, self-studied) AP English Language last year, and am taking AP English Literature this year, so this is how I see them:</p>
<p>AP English Language:
Despite it’s name, it’s actually quite analysis based. </p>
<p>The free response is short passages where they ask you questions like “what is the tone of X paragraph” or “which of these would be an accurate summary of X” and so on. There’s also some vocabulary, but it wasn’t excessive (at least to me). </p>
<p>The three essays include: one where you take six sources on a topic and choose a side to write about, a rhetoric analysis one where you just describe the rhetoric devices used in a passage, and one where you’re given a topic and write something about it (I think…not sure if I remembered it completely accurately).</p>
<p>I used Princeton Review to study, but I’ve heard Cliff Notes is best. Mostly I made flash cards of the rhetoric terms and then did practice essays. </p>
<p>AP English Literature:
Also analysis based, but this time on literature instead of nonfiction sources / passages. It’s very reading intensive, but from what I heard, AP Lang is also more reading based than how I did it…</p>
<p>The hardest part, from what I’ve heard, is one essay where you’re given a general topic and have to pick a book you know well to write about (stuff like “use of metaphors” and so on). </p>
<p>I’m using Princeton Review again, this time working through the book more closely. </p>
<p>General comparison:
AP Lit is generally considered harder, just because it’s so literature-heavy, and some people just really dislike/can’t understand poetry or Shakespeare or something else. It depends on how you think: do you prefer to analyze passages and how they’re written (what makes it?) or prefer literature analysis? </p>
<p>I personally think AP Lang is easier, just because you don’t need to know a book well for that last AP Lit essay, but since you like literature you might differ. Good luck with whatever you choose!</p>
<p>“The free response is short passages where they ask you questions like “what is the tone of X paragraph” or “which of these would be an accurate summary of X” and so on. There’s also some vocabulary, but it wasn’t excessive (at least to me).”</p>
<p>Do the MCQs also ask general critical reading questions like those that appear in SAT or ACT reading section? (stuff like “it can be inferred from paragraph 3 that the narrator is blah blah”) or are they more grammar and technique-heavy? </p>
<p>I haven’t taken the SAT or ACT yet (I took AP Lang as a freshman), but if I remember correctly there was some about the narrator, sort of like what you said. Questions like “the narrator has ___ opinion of X” and so on. I’d recommend that you borrow a AP prep book from the library, or look at sample questions on Collegeboard’s website, since I’m not sure how well I’m remembering this. </p>