5 Steps to a 5: AP English Language

2022 Barbara L. Murphy

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 CONTENTS

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Credits
Introduction: The Five-Step Program

STEP 1 Set Up Your Study Program

1 What You Need to Know About the AP English
Language and Composition Exam
Background on the AP English Language and
Composition Exam
Reasons for Taking the AP English Language and
Composition Exam
What You Need to Know About the AP English Language
and Composition Exam
2 How to Plan Your Time
Three Approaches to Prepare for the AP English
Language and Composition Exam

STEP 2 Determine Your Test Readiness

3 A Walk Through the Diagnostic/Master Exam

STEP 3 Develop Strategies for Success

4 Section I of the Exam—The Multiple-Choice
Questions
Introduction to the Multiple-Choice Section of the Exam
Types of Multiple-Choice Questions
 Scoring the Multiple-Choice Section
Strategies for Answering the Multiple-Choice Questions
The Time Is at Hand
Answer Sheet for Diagnostic Multiple-Choice Questions
Diagnostic/Master Exam
Explanations of Answers to the Multiple-Choice
Questions
Introduction to Chapters 5, 6, and 7
5 Introduction to the Analysis Essay
Some Basics
Types of Analysis Essay Prompts
Rating the Analysis Essay
The Unicorn 6
A Consideration of Complexity
Timing and Planning the Analysis Essay
Working the Prompt
Reading and Notating the Passage
Developing the Opening Paragraph
Writing the Body of the Essay
Sample Student Essays
Rating the Essays
Other Types of Analysis Essays
Writing the Body of the Essay
Rapid Review
6 Introduction to the Argumentative Essay
Some Basics
Timing and Planning the Essay
Working the Prompt
Developing the Opening Paragraph
Developing the Body of the Essay
Sample Student Essays
Rating the Essays
 Rapid Review
7 Introduction to the Synthesis Essay
Some Basics
Timing and Planning the Synthesis Essay
Working the Prompt
Developing the Opening Paragraph
Developing the Body of the Essay
Writing the Conclusion
Sample Synthesis Essay from the Master Exam
Sample Student Essays
Rating the Essays
Rapid Review

STEP 4 Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High

8 Comprehensive Review—Analysis
Some Basics
Rhetorical Strategies
About Style
The “Connective Tissue” Issue
Voice: Pen, Paper, Action!
Says/Does
A Few Words About Coherence
An Essay Editing and Revision Template
Rapid Review
9 Comprehensive Review—Argument
Some Basics
The Argument
Reading the Argument
Writing the Argument
Rapid Review
10 Comprehensive Review—Synthesis
Some Basics
 A Few Comments Before Beginning
Strategies
A Note About Summary, Paraphrase, and Inference
Final Comment
Rapid Review

STEP 5 Build Your Test-Taking Confidence

Practice Exam 1
Answer Sheet
Section I
Section II
Answer Key
Explanations of Answers to the Multiple-Choice Section
Sample Student Essays
Practice Exam 2
Answer Sheet
Section I
Section II
Answer Key
Explanations of Answers to the Multiple-Choice Section
Sample Student Essays

Appendixes
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Websites
 PREFACE

Welcome to our latest revised AP English Language class. As we said

in the earlier versions of this book, we are, first and foremost,
teachers who have taught Advanced Placement to literally thousands
of students who successfully took the AP exam. With this guide, we
hope to share with you what we know, as well as what we have
learned from our own students.
We see you as a student in our class—only quieter! Our
philosophy has always been NOT to teach only for the AP test.
Instead, our goal is to develop those insights, appreciations, and
skills that lead to advanced levels of facility with a wide range of
texts. These are the same skills that will enable you to do well on
the AP English Language exam. Our aim is to remove your anxiety
and to improve your comfort level with the test. We believe that you
are already motivated to succeed; otherwise, you would not have
come this far. And, obviously, you would not have purchased this
prep book.
Because you are already in an AP English class, this book is going
to supplement your course readings, analysis, and writing. We are
going to give you the opportunity to practice processes and
techniques that we know from experience REALLY WORK! If you
apply the techniques and processes presented in this book, we are
confident you can succeed both in the course and on the exam.
We have listened to comments and suggestions from both
instructors and students of AP English Language. Keeping their
thoughts in mind, this revised text has more interactive activities and
practice to help hone those skills needed to do well in class and on
the AP English Language exam. In addition, there are special review
questions and activities related to specific chapters that McGraw Hill
has available on its website devoted to the 5 Steps series. There you
can test how well you have internalized the material in the chapter.
Let’s begin.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Our love and appreciation to Leah and Allan for their constant
support and encouragement. Special thanks to our professional
mentors who have guided us throughout our careers: Steven
Piorkowski and Howard Damon. To the following for their support
and suggestions: Diane Antonucci, Jodi Rice, Margaret Cross Rice,
Pat Kelley, Stephanie Tidwell, Sandi Forsythe, Arthurine Dunn,
Dominic Constanzi, Virginia DeFrancisci, Christine Scharf—thank you.
The authors want to acknowledge the participation, insights, and
feedback provided us by the following colleagues and students:

East Islip High School:

Teacher: Marge Grossgold
Students: Kyle Hill, Jamie Ray

Freeport High School:

Teacher: Virginia DeFrancisci
Students: Nicole Bailey, Raymond Cowan, Shyanne Gardner, Mia
Sorrentino

Garden City High School:

Teachers: Mary Watts, Ed Schmeider
Students: Alexandra Wertis, Michael Marino

Jericho High School:

Teachers: Diane Antonucci, Patricia Gulitti
Students: Vikas Anand, Jenna Butner, Shinae Lee, Josh Levine,
Boyang Li, Anish Mashettiwar, Erica Ross, Sherli
Yeroushalmi, Qi Yu
Kings Park High School:
Teacher: Jeanne Palm
Students: Fred Langer, Stephanie Kersling, Janet Lee

Moro Bay High School:

Teacher: Michelle Dowell
Students: Katey Maruska, Heather Spellacy

Roslyn High School:

Student: Jenna Kahn

Wellington High School:

Teacher: Margaret Cross Rice
Student: Annaliesa Copan

Also, our thanks to Yale University students Danielle Tumminio and

Jilian Cabot Fletcher. We’d also like to acknowledge the collaborative
and inventive participants in the recent AP English Language
Institutes held at Goucher College, Molloy College, in Lewes,
Delaware; and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for their contributions
and constructive comments.
 ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Barbara L. Murphy taught AP Language and other college-level

courses at Jericho High School for more than 26 years. She has been
a reader of the AP Language and Composition exam since 1993 and
is a consultant for the College Board’s AP Language and
Composition, for which she has conducted workshops, conferences,
and Summer Institutes.
After earning her BA from Duquesne University and her MA from
the University of Pittsburgh, Ms. Murphy did her doctoral course
work at Columbia University. She also holds professional
certifications in still photography and motion picture production and
is one of the founding members of the women’s film company Ishtar
Films.

Estelle M. Rankin taught AP Literature at Jericho High School for

more than 25 years. She was honored with the AP Literature Teacher
of the Year award by the College Board in 1996. She also received
the Long Island Teacher of the Year award in 1990. She was the
recipient of the Cornell University Presidential Scholars’ Award and
has been recognized by the C.W. Post Master Teachers Program.
Ms. Rankin earned her BA from Adelphi University and her MA
from Hofstra University. She has pursued further graduate work in
the field of creative studies at Queens College and Brooklyn College.
She has done extensive work in the research and development of
film, drama, and creative writing curricula, SAT prep, and the new
NYS Regents benchmarks for English, and has participated in
numerous AP Literature conferences and workshops. Ms. Rankin is
currently a College Board consultant for pre-AP and AP English. Her
finest teachers were her parents, Edward and Sylvia Stern.
Ms. Murphy and Ms. Rankin are also the coauthors of McGraw Hill’s 5
Steps to a 5: AP English Literature, Writing the AP English Essay,
and Writing an Outstanding College Application Essay.
 CREDITS

Cartoon by Jim Sizemore used with permission of Cartoon Stock Ltd.

(www.CartoonStock.com).

Ciardi, John. “The Middle Drawer.” Saturday Review, October 3,

1964.

Editorial cartoon by Chris Britt used with permission of the

cartoonist.

Editorial cartoon by Clay Bennett © 2006 The Christian Science

Monitor (www.csmonitor.com). All rights reserved.

Editorial cartoon by Jeff Koterba/Omaha World-Herald.

“Eminent Domain,” excerpt from 60 Minutes, July 4, 2004. Reprinted

by permission of CBS News Archives.

From In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, copyright © by Truman

Capote and renewed 1993 by Alan U. Schwartz. Used by permission
of Random House, Inc.

From “Introduction,” The Best Essays of 1988. Reprinted by

permission of Russell & Volkening as agents for the author. Copyright
© 1988 by Annie Dillard.

From “States Curbing Right to Seize Private Houses,” by John Broder

from the New York Times on the Web © The New York Times
Company. Reprinted with permission.
From “The Case for Flag-Burning. . .,” an editorial published June 27,
2006. Copyright © 2006 Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with
permission.

From What Is Marriage For? by E. J. Graff. Copyright © 1999.

Reprinted by permission of Beacon Press, Boston.

Gaines, Ernest J. “An Obsession.” From “Three Minutes of Less.”

Copyright © 2000 by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. Reprinted by
permission of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation.

Jencks, Christopher. From a review and discussion of American

Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation’s Drive to End Welfare
appearing in The New York Review of Books, December 15, 2005.
Reprinted with permission from The New York Review of Books.
Copyright © 2005 NYREV, Inc.

Lapham, Lewis. Excerpt from Money and Class in America: Notes

and Observations on Our Civil Religion. Copyright © 1988 by Lewis
Lapham. Reprinted by permission.

Lindberg, Todd. “The Star Spangled Banner.” Copyright © 2006 The

Washington Times LLC. This reprint does not constitute or imply any
endorsement or sponsorship of any product, service, company or
organization.

Napolin, Leah. From “Automania.” Used with permission of the

author’s estate.

O’Neill, Jesse. From The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of

Affluence. Copyright © 1997 The Affluenza Project. Reprinted by
permission.

Pitts, Leonard. “Warning: Beware of Idiot Warning Labels.” Baltimore

Sun, May 30, 2000, https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-
2000-05-30-0005270015-story.html.
Ramos, Wendy. “Prose Analysis Flow Chart.”

Rosenblatt, Roger. “Tell Me a Story.” From the November 22, 2005,

broadcast of The PBS Newshour, pbs.org/newshour/show/tell-me-a-
story.

Sekula, Allen. “Reading an Archive.” From Blasted Allegories.

Copyright © 1987 by MIT. Used by permission of the publisher, MIT
Press.

“The Voice of the Story, the Story as Voice,” an excerpt from

“Reading Blind”; first appeared in The Best American Short Stories
1989 © 1989 O.W. Toad, Ltd.

Thurnberg, Greta. Speech to the United Nations Climate Action

Summit, September 23, 2019.

Urban, Dennis. “History Evolves as Scholars Learn More.” Newsday

“Letters to the Editor,” August 23, 2019.
 INTRODUCTION: THE FIVE-
STEP PROGRAM

Some Basics
Reading
We believe that reading should be an exciting interaction between
you and the writer. You must bring your own context to the
experience, and you must feel comfortable reaching for and
exploring ideas. You are an adventurer on a journey of exploration,
and we act as your guides. We set the itinerary, but you will set your
own pace. You can feel free to “stop and smell the roses” or to
explore new territory.

The Journey
On any journey, each traveler sees something different on new
horizons. So, too, each student is free to personalize his or her own
literary experience, provided he or she tries at all times to strive for
excellence and accuracy.

Critical Thinking
There are no tricks to critical thinking. Those who claim to guarantee
you a 5 by using gimmicks are doing you a disservice. No one can
guarantee a 5. However, the reading and writing skills you will
review, practice, and master will give you the very best chance to do
your very best. You will have the opportunity to learn, to practice,
and to master the critical thinking processes that can empower you
to achieve your highest score.
Philosophy of This Book: In the Beginning . . .
This is an important concept for us, because we believe that if you
focus on the beginning, the rest will fall into place. When you
purchased this book and decided to work your way through it, you
were beginning your journey to the AP English Language and
Composition exam. We will be with you every step of the way.

Why This Book?

We believe we have something unique to offer you. For more than
25 years we have addressed the needs of AP students just like you,
and we have been fortunate to learn from these students. Therefore,
the contents of this book reflect genuine student concerns and
needs. This is a student-oriented book. We will not overwhelm you
with pompous language, mislead you with inaccurate information
and tasks, or lull you into a false sense of confidence through cutesy
shortcuts. We stand behind every suggestion, process, and question
we present. There is no “busywork” in this book.
We know you will not do every activity we suggest. Therefore,
think of this text as a resource and guide to accompany you on your
AP English Language and Composition exam journey throughout the
year. This book is designed to serve many purposes. It will:
• clarify requirements for the AP English Language and
Composition exam;
• provide you with test practice;
• show you models and rubrics on which you can model and
evaluate your own work;
• anticipate and answer your questions;
• enrich your understanding and appreciation of the writing
process;
• help you pace yourself; and
• make you aware of the Five Steps to Mastering the AP English
Language and Composition exam.
Organization of the Book
We know that your primary concern is information about the AP
English Language and Composition exam; therefore, we begin at the
beginning with an overview of the AP exam in general. We then
introduce you to the Diagnostic/Master exam we use throughout the
book to show you the “ins and outs” of an AP test. In separate
chapters, you will become familiar with both sections of the exam.
We lead you through the multiple-choice questions and how to go
about answering them, and we take you through the essay
questions and approaches to writing these essays.
Because you must be fluent in the language and the process of
composition, synthesis, and analysis, we provide a full
comprehensive review part in analysis, synthesis, and argument.
This review is not a mere listing of terms and concepts. Rather, it is
a series of practices that will hone your analytical and writing skills.
However, do not fear. You will find terms and concepts clearly
delineated within their contexts. We will also provide you with
annotated suggestions for high-interest readings for analysis,
synthesis, and argument.
After carefully working your way through Chapters 4 through 10,
you may wish to go to McGraw Hill’s 5 Step series website which
provides review, reinforcement, and enrichment questions that refer
to the skills covered in each chapter. You can compare your
response(s) with what we provide on the website for this book:
www.mhpracticeplus.com
A separate section of this book contains the practice exams. Here
is where you will test your own skills. You may be sure that the
selections included in each exam are on an AP level. The multiple-
choice questions provide practice with types of questions asked on
AP exams. The essay questions are designed to cover the techniques
and terms required by the AP exam. The free-response essays are
both challenging and specific, but broad enough to suit all curricula.
After taking each exam, you can check yourself against the
explanations of every multiple-choice question and the ratings of the
sample student essays.
The final part is one you should not pass over. It contains a
glossary of terms, a bibliography of works that may be of importance
to you, and a list of websites related to the AP English Language and
Composition exam.

Introduction to the Five-Step

Preparation Program
The Five-Step Preparation Program is a powerful tool designed to
provide you with the best possible skills, strategies, and practice to
help lead you to that perfect 5 on the AP English Language and
Composition exam administered each May to more than 250,000
high school students. Each of the five steps will provide you with the
opportunity to get closer and closer to the 5, which is the “Holy
Grail” to all AP students.

Step 1: Set Up Your Study Program

• Month-by-month: September through May
• The calendar year: January through May
• Basic training: the 4 to 6 weeks before the exam

Step 2: Determine Your Test Readiness

• A comprehensive review of the exam
• One “Diagnostic/Master exam” you will go through step by step
and question by question to build your confidence level
• Explanation of multiple-choice answers

Step 3: Develop Strategies for Success

• Learn about the test itself
• Learn to read multiple-choice questions
• Learn how to answer multiple-choice questions, including
whether or not to guess
• Learn how to deconstruct the essay prompts
• Learn how to plan the essay

Step 4: Review the Knowledge You Need to

Score High
• A comprehensive review of analysis and argument
• Practice activities that will hone your skills in close reading
• Practice activities in critical thinking
• Practice activities in critical/analytical/argumentative writing

Step 5: Build Your Test-Taking Confidence

• The opportunity to take a Diagnostic/Master exam
• Time management techniques/skills
• Two practice exams that test how well-honed your skills are
• Rubrics for self-evaluation
Finally, at the back of the book you’ll find additional resources to
aid your preparation. These include:
• Glossary of terms
• Bibliography for further reading
• Websites related to the AP English Language exam

The Graphics Used in This Book

To emphasize particular skills and strategies, we use several icons
throughout this book. An icon in the margin will alert you that you
should pay particular attention to the accompanying text. We use
three icons:
This icon points out a very important concept or fact that you should
not pass over.

This icon calls your attention to a problem-solving strategy that you

may want to try.

This icon indicates a tip that you might find useful.

In addition, bold and bold underlined words indicate terms

included in the Glossary.
Scattered throughout the book are marginal notes and numerous
shaded boxes. We urge you to pay close attention to them because
they can provide tips, hints, strategies, and further explanations to
help you reach your full potential.
 STEP 1

Set Up Your Study Program

CHAPTER 1 What You Need to Know About the AP

English Language and Composition Exam
CHAPTER 2 How to Plan Your Time
 CHAPTER 1

What You Need to Know About

the AP English Language and
Composition Exam

IN THIS CHAPTER
Summary: Information about the AP English Language and
Composition exam and its scoring.

Key Ideas
Learn answers to frequently asked questions.
Learn how your final score is calculated.
Learn tips for successfully taking the exam.
The College Board has introduced changes to
the AP English Language exam that will be
reflected in the next exam.
You should be aware of the following:
The rating of the exam will remain 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Multiple choice will comprise 45% of the final score, with the
essay section of the exam comprising 55%.
• The first MAJOR CHANGE is the multiple-choice section
of the exam.
• Multiple-choice questions will number only 45.
• Approximately 40 percent of the multiple-choice questions
will be specifically related to the revision of a given text.
• There are no changes to the types of prompts (FRQ):
synthesis + rhetorical analysis + argument.
• There is renewed emphasis on skills development in
both sections of the exam.
• The second MAJOR CHANGE is in the method of rating
essays.
• From holistic to analytic
• From 9 points to 6 points
• 6 points
✔ 1 point for thesis/claim
✔ 4 points for appropriate evidence and commentary
✔ 1 point for syntax and complexity

Background on the AP English

Language and Composition Exam
What Is the AP Program?
The Advanced Placement program was begun by the College Board
in 1955 to construct standard achievement exams that would allow
highly motivated high school students the opportunity to be awarded
advanced placement as freshmen in colleges and universities in the
United States. Today, there are more than 39 courses and exams
with over 2.7 million students from every state in the nation, and
from foreign countries, taking the annual exams in May.
As is obvious, the AP programs are designed for high school
students who want to take college-level courses. In our case, the AP
English Language and Composition course and exam are designed to
involve high school students in college-level English studies in both
the use and structure of language and composition.

Who Writes the AP English Language and

Composition Exam?
According to the College Board, the AP Comp exam is created by a
group of college and high school English instructors called the “AP
Development Committee.” Their job is to ensure that the annual AP
Comp exam reflects what is being taught and studied in college-level
English classes at the high schools.
This committee writes a large number of multiple-choice
questions that are pretested and evaluated for clarity,
appropriateness, and range of possible answers. The committee also
generates a pool of essay questions, pretests them, and chooses
those questions that best represent the full range of the scoring
scale to allow the AP readers to evaluate the essays equitably.
It is important to remember that the AP English Language and
Composition exam is thoroughly evaluated after it is administered
each year. This way, the College Board can use the results to make
course suggestions and to plan future tests.

What Are the AP Scores and Who Receives

Them?
Once you have taken the exam and it has been scored, your test will
be given one of five numbers by the College Board.
• 5 indicates you are extremely well qualified.
• 4 indicates you are well qualified.
• 3 indicates you are qualified.
• 2 indicates you are possibly qualified.
• 1 indicates you are not qualified to receive college credit.
Your score is reported first to your college or university, second
to your high school, and third to you. All the reporting is usually
completed by the middle to end of July.

Reasons for Taking the AP English

Language and Composition Exam
Why Would I Want to Take the AP English
Language and Composition Exam?
Good question. Why put yourself through a year of intensive study,
pressure, stress, and preparation? To be honest, only you can
answer that question. However, over the years, our students have
indicated to us that there are several reasons why they were willing
to take the risk and to put in the effort.
• For personal satisfaction
• To compare themselves with other students across the nation
• Because colleges look favorably on the applications of students
who elect to enroll in AP courses
• To receive college credit or advanced standing at their colleges or
universities
• A love of the subject
• So the family will be proud of them
 There are plenty of other reasons, but hopefully, no matter what
the other reasons might be, the top reason for your enrolling in the
AP English Language and Composition course and taking the exam
in May is to feel good about yourself and the challenges you have
met.

What You Need to Know About the

AP English Language and
Composition Exam
If I Don’t Take an AP Composition Course, Can
I Still Take the AP English Language and
Composition Exam?
Yes. Although the AP English Language and Composition exam is
designed for the student who has had a year’s course in AP English
Language and Composition, there are high schools that do not offer
this type of course, and the students in these high schools have also
done well on the exam. However, if your high school does offer an
AP Composition course, by all means take advantage of it and the
structured background it will provide you.

How Is the AP English Language and

Composition Exam Organized?
The exam has two parts and is scheduled to last 3 hours and 15
minutes. The first section is a set of multiple-choice questions based
on a series of prose passages. You will have 1 hour to complete this
part of the test. The second section of the exam is a 2-hour and 15-
minute essay writing segment consisting of three different essays:
analysis, argument, and synthesis. According to the College Board’s
AP English Language and Composition Exam Instructions,
the 15-minute reading period in Section II is recommended, not
required. Students are strongly encouraged to use the reading
period to read the questions and sources and plan their responses.
They may begin writing their responses during that time if they
choose to do so. However, our advice is to use this time for careful
reading.
After you complete the multiple-choice section, you will hand in
your test booklet and scan sheet, and you will be given a brief
break. Note that you will not be able to return to the multiple-choice
questions when you return to the examination room.

Must I Check the Box at the End of the Essay

Booklet That Allows the AP People to Use My
Essays as Samples for Research?
No. This is simply a way for the College Board to make certain that it
has your permission if it decides to use one or more of your essays
as a model. The readers of your essays pay no attention to whether
or not that box is checked. Checking the box will not affect your
grade either.

How Is My AP English Language and

Composition Exam Scored?
Let’s look at the basics first. The multiple-choice section counts for
45% of your total score, and the essay section counts for 55%. Next
comes a four-part calculation: the raw scoring of the multiple-choice
section, the raw scoring of the essay section, the calculation of the
composite score, and the conversion of the composite score into the
AP grade of 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1.

How Is the Multiple-Choice Section Scored?

The scan sheet with your answers is run through a computer that
counts the number of correct answers. Questions left blank and
questions answered incorrectly are treated the same and get no
points. There is no longer a “guessing penalty,” which formerly
involved the deduction of a fraction of a point for answering a
question but getting it wrong.

How Is My Essay Section Scored?

Each of your essays is read by a different, trained AP reader called a
“faculty consultant.” The AP/College Board people have developed a
highly successful training program for its readers, together with
many opportunities for checks and double checks of essays to
ensure a fair and equitable reading of each essay.
The scoring guides are carefully developed by the chief faculty
consultant, question leader, table leaders, and content experts. All
faculty consultants are then trained to read and score just one essay
question on the exam. They become experts in that one essay
question. No one knows the identity of any writer. The identification
numbers and names are covered, and the exam booklets are
randomly distributed to the readers in packets of 25 randomly
chosen essays. Table leaders and the question leader review samples
of each reader’s scores to ensure quality standards are constant.
Each essay is scored as 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, plus 0, with 6 the highest
possible score. Once your essay is given a number from 6 to 1, the
next set of calculations is completed using a formula developed to
account for the score of each essay. This is the raw score for the
essay section of the exam.

How Do They Calculate My Composite Score?

You need to do a little math here: 150 is the total composite score
for the AP English Language and Composition test. Fifty-five percent
of this score is the essay section; that equals 82.5 points. Forty-five
percent of the composite score is the multiple-choice section, which
equals 67.5 points. Each of your three essays is scored on a 6-point
scale; therefore, each point is worth 4.58. You would divide the
number of multiple-choice questions by 67.5. For example, if there
were 45 questions, each point of the raw score would be multiplied
by 1.5. If you add together the raw scores of each of the two
sections, you will have a composite score.

How Is My Composite Data Turned into the

Score Reported to My College?
Remember that the total composite scores needed to earn a 5, 4, 3,
2, or 1 differ each year. This is determined by a committee of
AP/College Board/ETS directors, experts, and statisticians. The score
is based on such items as:
• AP distribution over the past three years
• Comparability studies
• Observations of the chief faculty consultant
• Frequency distributions of scores on each section and the essays
• Average scores on each exam section and essays
However, over the years a trend can be observed that indicates
the number of points required to achieve a specific score.
• 150–100 points = 5
• 99–86 = 4
• 85–67 = 3
2 and 1 fall below this range. You do not want to go there.

What Should I Bring to the Exam?

• Several pencils
• A good eraser
• Several BLACK pens (black ink is easier on the eyes)
• A watch
• Something to drink—water is best
• A quiet snack, such as Life Savers
• Tissues

Are There Additional Recommendations?

• Allow plenty of time to get to the test site.
• Wear comfortable clothing.
• Eat a light breakfast or lunch.
• Remind yourself that you are well prepared and that the test is
an enjoyable challenge and a chance to share your knowledge. Be
proud of yourself! You worked hard all year. Now is your time to
shine.

Is There Anything Special I Should Do the

Night Before the Exam?
We certainly don’t advocate last-minute cramming, and, if you’ve
been following the guidelines, you won’t have to. However, there
may be a slight value to some last minute review. Spend the night
before the exam relaxing with family or friends. Watch a movie; play
a game; gab on the telephone, blog, or Twitter; and then find a
quiet spot. While you’re unwinding, flip through your own notebook
and review sheets. By now, you’re bound to be ready to drift off to
sleep. Pleasant dreams.
 CHAPTER 2

How to Plan Your Time

IN THIS CHAPTER
Summary: Assess your own study patterns and preparation plans.

Key Ideas
Explore three approaches.
Choose a calendar that works for you.

Three Approaches to Prepare for the

AP English Language and
Composition Exam
No one knows your study habits, likes, and dislikes better than you.
You are the only one who can decide which approach you want
and/or need to adopt to prepare for the AP English Language and
Composition exam. Look at the brief profiles below. These may help
you to place yourself in a particular prep mode.
You are a full-year prep student (Approach A) if:
1. You like to plan for a vacation or the prom a year in advance.
2. You never think of missing a practice session, whether it’s for
your favorite sport, musical instrument, or activity.
3. You like detailed planning and everything in its place.
4. You feel you must be thoroughly prepared.
5. You hate surprises.
6. You are always early for appointments.
You are a one-semester prep student (Approach B) if:
1. You begin to plan for your vacation or the prom 4 to 5 months
before the event.
2. You are willing to plan ahead to feel comfortable in stressful
situations, but are okay with skipping some details.
3. You feel more comfortable when you know what to expect, but
a surprise or two does not floor you.
4. You are always on time for appointments.
You are a 4- to 6-week prep student (Approach C) if:
1. You accept or find a date for the prom a week before the big
day.
2. You work best under pressure and close deadlines.
3. You feel very confident with the skills and background you’ve
learned in your AP English Language and Composition class.
4. You decided late in the year to take the exam.
5. You like surprises.
 6. You feel okay if you arrive 10 to 15 minutes late for an
appointment.

CALENDARS FOR PREPARING FOR THE

AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND
COMPOSITION EXAM
Calendar for Approach A: Yearlong Preparation
for the AP English Language and Composition
Exam

Although its primary purpose is to prepare you for the AP English

Language and Composition exam you will take in May, this book can
enrich your study of language and composition, your analytical skills,
and your writing skills.
 Calendar for Approach B: Semester-Long
Preparation for the AP English Language and
Composition Exam

The following calendar assumes that you have completed one

semester of language and composition and will use those skills you
have been practicing to prepare you for the May exam. You still have
plenty of time to supplement your course work by taking our study
recommendations, maintaining literary notations, doing outside
readings, and so forth. We divide the next 16 weeks into a workable
program of preparation for you.
 Calendar for Approach C:4- to 6-Week
Preparation for the AP English Language and
Composition Exam

At this point, we assume that you have been developing your

argumentative, analytical, and writing skills in your English class for
more than six months. You will, therefore, use this book primarily as
a specific guide to the AP English Language and Composition exam.
Remember, there is a solid review section in this book, to which you
should refer.
Given the time constraints, now is not the time to try to expand
your AP curriculum. Rather, it is the time to limit and refine what you
already do know.

“One of the first steps to success on the AP exam is knowing your

own study habits.”
—Margaret R., AP Language teacher
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 J. C. Hoadley

I was able to get from our landlord and purchasers of our tools the
necessary extension of time, and made the engine for him. It and the
loom were each a complete success. Mr. Waters told me long after
that he never observed a single variation from exact uniformity of
motion, without which his loom would have had to be abandoned.
I had one day the pleasure of meeting there the president of the
Lancaster mills, the only other great industry of Clinton, who had
come over expressly to examine the running of our engine. Before
he left he said to me that the engine certainly presented a
remarkable advance in steam engineering.
I saw there one thing that interested me greatly. That was, the
method of painting wire cloth. This was carried on in a large tower
high enough to enable a twenty-yard length of the “cloth” to be
suspended in it. This was taken through a tub of paint, and drawn
slowly upward between three successive pairs of rollers, the last pair
of india-rubber, held firmly together. By these the paint was
squeezed into every corner, both sides were thoroughly painted, and
the surplus paint removed, so that every mesh was clear, a uniform
perfection unattainable by hand painting, and two boys would paint
in ten minutes as much as a painter could paint in a day. I think this
was an invention by Mr. Waters.
With the completion of the engine for the Clinton Wire Cloth
Company, the manufacture of the high-speed engine was closed for
three years, from the spring of 1873 to the spring of 1876.
This long rest proved to be most valuable. Looking back upon it, I
have always been impressed with its importance at that very time to
the development of the high-speed system.
The design of the engine needed to be revised, and this revision
involved study, to which time and leisure were essential.
I had also an order from Elliott Brothers of London, to prepare a
new and enlarged edition of the pamphlet descriptive of the Richards
Indicator. I determined to make this a comprehensive book,
embracing new information required by the steam engineer, so far as
I knew it. This was published simultaneously in London and New
York in the summer of 1874.
 I was enabled also to turn to account the report of the experiments
of M. Regnault, which I had been at so much trouble to get, and with
the help of English authorities to prepare and embody in this book
Tables of the Properties of Saturated Steam, which the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers honored me by adopting as its
standard.
I felt warranted in giving to this edition an amended title, as
follows: “A treatise on the Richards Steam Engine Indicator, and the
Development and Application of Force in the Steam Engine.”
This also was a job requiring much time and undivided application.
It is needless to say that without this long and entire rest from
business neither of these tasks could have been undertaken.
I found in the Astor Library a remarkable old book, entitled “Canon
triangulorum,” published at Frankfurt in 1612, containing a Table of
Natural Trigonometrical Functions, computed for every minute of arc,
and extended to the fifteenth place of decimals. The column of
versed sines enabled me to prepare tables exhibiting the rates of
acceleration and retardation of the motion of a piston controlled by a
crank, neglecting the effect of the angular vibration of the
connecting-rod. This effect was afterwards shown separately. For my
treatment of this subject, I must refer the reader to the book itself.
A little incident in connection with this work, which made a deep
impression on my mind, and has since afforded me some food for
reflection, seems worth relating. The printing was done in London,
and I did not see the proof, so I had to take especial pains with the
copy, having no opportunity to revise it. I was living in Harlem, and at
one time having no suitable envelope for mailing, and none being
obtainable there, I took a Third Avenue horse-car for an eight-mile
ride down to the New York post office, intending to get some
envelopes at a stationery store on Beekman Street, and mail the
portion of the copy which I then had ready at the general post office.
I had hardly taken my seat when Mr. Allen got into the car. He was
living in Mott Haven, and I had not seen him for a long time. Besides
ourselves the car was nearly if not quite empty. He came and sat
down by me, and I opened my copy and read to him something in
which I knew he would be interested. He said to me, in his gentle
way, “You would not express it exactly that way, would you?” On the
instant it flashed on my mind that I had made a stupid blunder, and I
replied, “I guess I wouldn’t,” and, thanking him for calling my
attention to it, I left the car, and returned home and corrected it. I
have quite forgotten what the point was, and if I remembered it, I
would not tell. But I have often asked myself who sent Mr. Allen
there, saving me from publishing a mortifying blunder. I expect some
sweet spirit will tell me before long.

The Prototype of the Modern High-speed Engine, Fly-wheel Side.

The Prototype of the Modern High-speed Engine, Crank Side.

 As soon as this book was off my hands, I devoted myself to the
revision and standardizing of the engine.
As made up to that time, it was not reversible, and the valves
could not be handled. It could not therefore be used in rolling-mills,
the field to which I felt already that it was especially adapted.
Moreover, every engine should be capable of being backed in
starting, as otherwise whenever it had stopped with the piston at a
point later than the latest point of cut-off, or say in the last half of the
stroke, which it would do half the time, it would need to be pulled
around by hand to a position in which one of the admission ports
would be open. This in a large engine, or one connected with
extensive lines of shafting, would be a serious matter, so much so
that in some engines little starting cylinders are required.

Longitudinal Section of Cylinder and Valves.

Cross-section of Cylinder and Valves.
 Elevation and Plan of Valve Connections.

I had also determined to use the equilibrium admission valves with

adjustable pressure plates, according to the drawings sent to me by
Mr. Allen in 1863, and to abandon the separate steam chest, and put
the exhaust valves on the opposite side of the cylinder.
Then the engine needed to be standardized, so as to cover the
field with the fewest number of sizes, symmetrically distributed. The
existing practice with all makers of engines had been to let the
purchaser dictate the size and speed of the engine he wanted, a
practice which resulted in a lot of patterns and drawings not adapted
to other people’s requirements, and not properly distributed. For an
organized manufacturing business, this habit must be entirely broken
up.
Mr. Allen had in his shop in Mott Haven an unoccupied second
story, in which I had stored our patterns and drawings and drawing
implements. Here I established my quarters, and spent my working
hours until this second job was finished.
 The two perspective views of opposite sides of the engine, show
these changes as they appear externally, and the remaining views
show some constructive details.
These latter show the exhaust valves transferred to the front side
of the engine, and located so as to drain the cylinder, and the
admission valves set at different elevations, to accommodate the
differential connection, the abandonment of the separate steam-
chest, and this chest with the exhaust chambers cast with the
cylinder, with openings over the valves; the levers by which the
differential movements are given to the admission valves; and the
single-link rod, and the gab by which this rod is unhooked, with the
method of moving the admission valves by hand.
In place of the levers on the steam rock shaft, I at that time drew
cast-iron disks, which being polished and vibrating in place I thought
very handsome. They gave me lots of trouble, till I learned enough to
get rid of them, the story of which I will tell by and by. The front view
shows the admission valve stems balanced by being extended
through at the back end, a feature which helped the governor action
when high steam pressures were employed, but which was
abandoned as unnecessary after I abandoned the disks on the
rocker shaft.
 First Arrangement of Exhaust Valves.

The first two figures show the valves in section and the adjustable
pressure plate and mode of its adjustment. The closeness of the
piston to the head may be observed. I never allowed more than one-
eighth inch clearance, and never had a piston touch the head. This
was because the connecting-rod maintained a constant length, the
wear of the boxes being taken up in the same direction.
These illustrations show the exhaust valves after alteration made
several years later in Philadelphia. As first designed by me, these
are shown in the foregoing sectional views. As will be seen, the
exhaust valves lay with their backs towards the cylinder, worked
under the pressure of the steam in the cylinder, made four openings
for release and exhausted through the cover.
I consented to the change in Philadelphia because this
arrangement involved too much waste room, but the change was not
satisfactory after all. I had become possessed with the idea that the
engine running at high speed needed 50 per cent. more room for
exhausting than for admission. This was not the case. I have always
regretted that I did not retain this design, and content myself with
reducing the exhaust area.
 The lightness of the piston in this view will be observed. This was
a special design for adapting the engine to be run at 200 revolutions,
giving 1200 feet piston travel per minute. The stuffing-box was a
freak which was abandoned.
The next figures show the valve-stem guides, rocking-levers,
coupling-rods and gab, which latter when thrown over unhooks the
link-rod, as is done on steamboat engines.
The following figures show the construction of the main bearing
with adjustments on opposite sides, by which the shaft is kept in
exact line, and shows also the solid support of the shaft quite out to
the hub of the crank. This view contains one error. The cap is not
made a binder. I relied on the strength of the thick continuous web of
the bed under the boxes in addition to the depth of the bed. But we
once had a bed break right here under enormous strain, and since
then the caps have been made binders. It will be observed that the
wedges are drawn upward to tighten the boxes. It is not necessary to
explain why.
Main Bearing.
 Front View of Wiper
Section on the Line a-b
Center Line of Shaft

Eccentric and Crosshead Pin Crank-pin Lubricator.

Lubricator.

The above left-hand cut shows the automatic lubricator of the

eccentric and the cross-head pin. The stud A, on the eccentric strap
and on the strap of the connecting-rod, carries a curved blade, a,
which at the beginning of each forward stroke rises to take the drop
of oil from the stem of the sight-feed lubricator. This is set on an arm
fixed on the cap of the main-bearing and on a bridge between the
upper guide-bars. The drop is made sure to come to this central
point by a wire B filling the brass tube, grooved on opposite sides
and terminating in a point.
The automatic lubrication of the crank-pin presented a still more
serious problem. It was solved by the construction shown, in the right
hand view, which will be understood without further description. It will
be seen that here the oil tube is inclined, and the drop follows it to a
point on its lower side. Both these lubricators proved absolutely
reliable. The last one is equally applicable on double-crank engines.
Fly-wheels.
Made
Dimensions when Practicable
of to Serve also
Cylinders. Travel Indicated Powers. as Belt-Drums.
Revolutions of Piston Without With
of Crank in Feet Conden- Conden- Weight
Bore. Stroke. per Minute. per Minute. sation. sation. Diameter. of Rim. V

Horse Horse
Inches. Inches. Powers. Powers. Feet. Inches. Lbs.
6 12 350 700 25 3 350
7 12 350 700 35 3 6 400
8 16 280 746 45 60 4 650
9 16 280 746 60 75 4 6 700
10 20 230 766 75 100 5 1300
11.5 20 230 766 100 125 5 6 1450
13 24 200 800 130 160 6 6 2100
14.5 24 200 800 160 200 7 2350
16 30 165 825 200 260 8 4000
18 30 165 825 250 330 9 4000
20 36 140 840 320 400 10 6000
22 36 140 840 400 500 11 6000
24 42 125 875 480 620 12
26 42 125 875 560 730 13
28 48 112.5 900 670 870 16
 32 48 112.5 900 870 1140
36 48 112.5 900 1100 1430
40 48 112.5 900 1360 1750
44 48 112.5 900 1600 2100

The powers are those given by an initial pressure of 85 lbs. on the square inch, cut
one quarter of the stroke. For the best economy steam should not be cut off earli
unless a higher pressure is carried. At the latest point of cut off, the powers de
double those given in the above Table. The engines can be worked under
pressures, with corresponding increase of power.

After considerable study I finally adopted the above table of

standard sizes and speeds, covering the ground from 25 horse-
power up with nineteen sizes.
As the bed could not be reversed, I needed both a right-hand and
a left-hand bed for each size. I avoided half of this expense in
patterns by planning two diameters of cylinders with the same
stroke, and making one bed answer for both.
Until I found something else to do, I employed myself in preparing
complete drawings for three or four smaller sizes of engines; a work
which afterwards proved exceedingly useful.
 CHAPTER XXI

Production of an Original Surface Plate.

will introduce here a description of the method of

producing an original surface plate.
The production of mechanically true planes by the
method of scraping was first suggested by Mr.
Whitworth, and was brought to perfection in his works.
Having had and having improved the opportunity there
to study this system, and having employed it largely in the
manufacture of high-speed engines, it seems to me that an account
of it should find a place in these reminiscences, especially as the
importance of mechanical truth is coming to be more and more
realized in this country. I will therefore describe the process of
producing an original standard surface plate.
The first point, of course, is the design. The square form, 30
inches square, has been found most suitable. I could not, however,
use this form myself, a long surface plate being required for the
guide-bars and steam-chest joints of my engine.
The plate must be incapable of deflection. To insure this it is ribbed
on the under side with ribs seven inches deep, and is supported at
three points, equidistant from each other and from the center, so that
its equal support cannot vary, whatever may be the surface on which
it stands. It is provided on two opposite sides with handles, by which
it can be lifted and rotated. The arrangement of the ribs and feet is
here shown.
It must be cast of hard and close-grained iron, which will possess
the most durable qualities, in a baked mold without a cope, so that
the gas shall escape most freely. As cast, the plate should be one
inch thick. About three eighths of an inch is planed off, removing all
dirt, and leaving a perfectly sound surface, with a thickness of about
five eighths of an inch. Three of these plates are made. After these
have been planed, their edges squared and steel handles put in they
are delivered to the fitter.

Surface Plate for Producing a True Plane.

 I will first describe the tool used in scraping. Originally this was a
hooked tool, and the scraping was done by a drawing motion. Two of
these tools were employed, one for the roughing work, in which the
hook projected downward about three quarters of an inch, and the
other for fine scraping. In the latter the hook projected downward
only about one quarter of an inch, and absolute freedom from
vibration was aimed at. These tools were used for a number of
years, but afterwards a radical change was made. The modern
method is to employ a single straight tool, like a carpenter’s chisel,
about an inch and a quarter wide and an eighth of an inch thick, with
a square end. This end is slightly curved, and its corners are
rounded to avoid scratching the plate. The scraping is done by a
pushing motion.
This tool has been found preferable on all accounts. Projections
needing to be removed are in front of the tool, instead of being
covered by it. The tool is perfectly rigid, and can be inclined to the
surface at any desired angle. The cutting edge is a square angle,
and being well supported keeps sharp for a considerably longer time
than when it is an acute angle, and when ground or honed two
edges are formed. Moreover, the pushing motion is preferred.
Two of the plates only are first brought together. For disclosing the
high points, one of these is covered with a raddle made of finely
sifted red lead and oil. This is made quite stiff, and all of it that can
be removed by the palm of the hand is rubbed off, leaving only a
very thin uniform film on the surface. Any dust having been carefully
removed from both surfaces by a soft brush, one of these plates is
inverted on the other, and at one corner each plate is marked in the
edge with a prick-punch. The upper plate is then rubbed about on
the lower one for, say, half a minute. When lifted off, the high
portions of the surfaces are shown on one plate by the raddle put on,
and on the other by that rubbed off. The workman then gives to
these parts of the surfaces a general scraping, giving to his tool a
long sweep, say from four to six inches. This is repeated two or three
times, the stroke being shortened each time, and the upper plate
being placed in a position at right angles with its last one, which can
be determined by the prick-punch marks. This change of position is
necessary to avoid a cross-wind or spiral form. The scraping should
now extend over the entire surfaces, and these should have a
general uniform bearing on each other, with the points of contact
uniformly distributed and equally distinct. The work should be
continued in the same way until all these requirements are fulfilled.
Now appears the use of the third plate. The two surfaces thus
formed are sure to be, one of them convex and the other concave, in
some corresponding degree. The workman now numbers the plates,
by numbers stamped in the edges, these being marked Nos. 1 and
2, and the third plate No. 3. No. 2 is now set aside, and No. 3 is
scraped to fit No. 1. It is thus made a duplicate of No. 2. Next, No. 1
is set aside and Nos. 2 and 3 are brought together. Supposing these
to be convex, they will bear together at the middle point, on which
the upper plate will rock, and the degree of their convexity will thus
be shown. The workman then in the same manner scrapes these
plates equally to the best of his judgment, until their entire surfaces
are brought together, with equal distribution of the points of contact.
These two surfaces will now again be, one convex and the other
concave, though in a much less degree. The next step is to apply
No. 1, which is concave, to either No. 2 or No. 3, and scrape it to fit.
It is then applied to the other, of which it has now been made a
duplicate, and the same process is repeated, until the three plates
can be interchanged in any way, and will have a uniform general
bearing on each other, with equal distribution and distinctness of the
points of contact. We have thus, in a general way, produced three
demonstrated true planes, but the surfaces are yet far from the
desired approximation to absolute truth.
Now follows the fine scraping, which is not attempted until general
truth has thus been established. The object of this is to multiply the
points of contact and perfect their equal distribution and prominence.
For this operation no raddle is used, but the surfaces are rubbed
together dry. When the plates are separated, the points of contact
shine like stars. Here skill and care are pre-eminently required. The
scraping takes off only a dust. If too strong depressions may be
made deeper than before, and requiring the reduction of the entire
surface. The superiority of the modern tool is now especially shown.
By lowering the angle of the tool, the workman presents the slightly
curved edge to the surface in a position as nearly parallel with it as
he desires. Interchanges similar to the former ones are now
repeated, until the bright points are brought as close together as is
desired, with uniform distribution and distinctness. The tedious
operation is now finished, and these bright points remain as
witnesses.
The three plates were necessary to the production of one. They
have also a permanent use. They are indispensable to the
preservation of the true plane, which it has cost so much patient
labor to produce. The date of their completion is stamped on their
edges. Then plates 1 and 2 are put away in the store-room, their
surfaces carefully protected from rust or injury, which last is best
avoided by inverting one on the other, and No. 3 is put into use. A
prominent use is for the production of smaller plates or straight-
edges adapted to special purposes. After a while, perhaps in a little
while, this plate loses its truth by unequal wear. Indeed, speaking
with absolute truth, it may be said that the first time this plate is used
it is ruined. But by taking pains to use different parts of its surface as
equally as possible, it may be kept in fair condition for some time. It
can at any time be restored to its original condition by scraping it to
No. 2, taking the same pains to turn it one quarter way around at
every rub. In the course of time No. 2 will itself become worn
unequally, when its truth can be restored by rubbing it on No. 1.
Finally the three plates can all be restored to their original condition
by rubbing them together interchangeably as at first. Thus the true
plane can be absolutely perpetuated.
The importance of this work can only be realized when we
consider that the true plane affords the only means by which true
cylindrical work also can be either produced or verified. It is thus
seen to be fundamental to all mechanical truth.
 CHAPTER XXII

Efforts to Resume the Manufacture. I Exhibit the Engine to Mr. Holley. Contract
with Mr. Phillips. Sale of Engine to Mr. Peters.

n the years ’74 and ’75 I was filled with eagerness to

get the engine on its legs again, and tried a number of
schemes in vain. One morning I read in the paper that
Alexander L. Holley had just returned from Europe,
where he had been making a tour of the steel-making
establishments, studying both the Bessemer and the
open hearth or Siemens-Martin processes, on a scheme of
interchanging improvements in manufacture between American and
foreign licensees under both these systems.
It occurred to me that Mr. Holley might be the very man I wanted. If
he could be got to recommend the engine to the steel-makers, they
might take it up for their own use. I had not applied the engine in
rolling-mill work, but felt sure that it would prove especially adapted
to that service. So I called on Mr. Holley at his home in Brooklyn. I
had never before met him, but I found that he knew something about
the engine from its exhibition in Paris, and from his brother-in-law,
Frederick J. Slade, then an officer of the New Jersey Steel Company,
and who was one of the engine’s warm admirers. I have already
mentioned Mr. Slade and the help he gave me while in Paris in
solving the problem of piston acceleration.
Alexander Lyman Holley