❮ 17
CHAPTER
A Walk Through the Diagnostic/
Master Exam
IN THIS CHAPTER
Summary: Familiarize yourself with the diagnostic exam.Key Ideas
✪ Examine the multiple-choice section in Section I of the exam.
✪ Peruse the essay questions in Section II.What follows is our version of an AP English Language and Composition exam we use
throughout this book to demonstrate processes, examples, terms, and so forth. We call this
our Diagnostic/Master exam. You will not be taking this exam at this point, but we would
like you to “walk through” the exam with us, now.
The first part of this 3^1 ⁄ 4 -hour exam is always going to be the multiple-choice section,
which lasts 1 hour. It comprises both fiction and non fiction. The multiple-choice section of
the Diagnostic/Master exam con tains several passages from different time periods and of dif-
ferent styles and purposes. It may include letters, essays, journal entries, editorials, speeches,
and excerpts from longer works. The multiple-choice questions for each selection were devel-
oped to provide you with a wide range of question types and terminology that have been used
in the actual AP English Lan guage and Composition exams over the years.
To begin to know how the exam is structured, take some time now to look through the
multiple-choice section of the Diagnostic/Master exam. Do not try to answer questions;
just peruse the types of passages and questions.- Review all of the pages of the test and familiarize yourself with their format.
- See where the long and short readings are.
KEY IDEA3
“You know, from my
experience with AP
exams, I’ve learned
never to assume
anything.”
— Jeremy G.,
AP student