<p>I have questions for people with experience with the AP English Literature exam.</p>
<p>For the third essay question--the "open-ended" prompt--what is the purpose of providing the list of titles for students to potentially reference? Is it to help out students by giving them examples that relate to the topic? Is it to make essay-reading easier for the readers? </p>
<p>All of the prompts say something to the effect of "Use one of the following titles, or another work of similar quality." Do you think that using a work not on the list is a mistake? Does it indicate that the essay-writer is not broadly well-read?</p>
<p>If someone has read one or more of the titles on the list, but is more familiar with a different classic work not on the list, which would you advice him/her to write about?</p>
<p>I took the AP Lit exam last year. My teacher explained that the purpose of the titles was indeed to simply make suggestions to the students taking the exam. Often times, students may not have a work off of the top of their head or they are so nervous that they can't decide which to use. The list simply gives suggestions of works for students to utilize which the readers are familiar with.
Not using a work on the list is perfectly fine to my understaning. It is inadvisable to use an unknown work, however, because it makes it more difficult for the readers to understand your essay. Typically, if you use a pretty well-known work not on the list, one of the many graders will have read it or will know enough about it to grade your essay properly.</p>
<p>Yes, you can still use a book that is not on the recommended list. Note on the #3 question it always says "or a work of similar literary merit."</p>
<p>Now on that note, has anyone read The Scarlet Pimpernel by Orcazy (I think.) It is a novel about the French Revolution. Can I use that novel for the AP Literature exam?
Thanks guys.</p>
<p>The titles are just used to recommend students to use titles of "literary merit," which basically means books that have literary devices inside them.</p>
<p>Some books are sometimes despised by AP English Lit graders, such as Harry Potter (I've read the first 6 books; however, my lit teacher told everybody in my class not to use it because some graders might not like it), because they are commonly read by most people in the nation. </p>
<p>Which books and poems have everybody been reading so far?</p>
<p>I only read what had been required of me by my school curriculum, and I managed to "ace" the exam.</p>
<p>You should follow the list that's provided for you.
If your school is worth its mettle, you will have covered a majority of the books that are listed for you.</p>
<p>"literary merit" is self-explanatory.
This test requires you to write, not to think.</p>
<p>Well, I read much of Dickinson's poems and Heartr of darkness and Alice's adventures in wonderland and going after cacciato and Hamlet and the Stranger. and some modern poems.</p>
<p>^^^^ You CAN'T use poetry. You will get a zero on your essay if you do. </p>
<p>Actually from what I heard from my lit teacher, when they didn't have the list, kids just honestly couldn't think of any novels that could apply to the prompt.</p>