Transcript Ten Commandments for Taking the AP English Language Test

The Ten Commandments
of AP Literature
I am the Prompt, thy Prompt; thou shalt
have no other Prompt before me. Thou shalt
read the Prompt with rapt attention; the
Prompt is thy friend. Thou shalt address the
Prompt. Thou shalt not just get the gist of
the Prompt, nor shalt thou fight the Prompt
or substitute thine own ideas for the Prompt
or simply restate the Prompt.
Yea, though others around thee may be
scribbling hastily, thou shalt not begin
until thou hast planned
profitably. Verily, thou shalt not
wander into the valley of clichés, but
looketh deeper to behold the glory of
insight. Thou shalt not postpone, omit,
or bury thy Thesis Statement.
Thou shalt not confuse complexity with
confusion, or subtlety with indecisiveness;
thou shalt not attribute thine own
insensitivity or ignorance to authorial
ineptitude. The fact that thou gettest not
the point doth not mean that the passage
hath no point: thou hast missed the
point. Deal with it.
Thou shalt not commit plot-summary,
nor shalt thou cohabit with Reading
Comprehension. Thou shalt not begin
thy body paragraphs with plot events
and known facts rather than
thoughtful, supportable ideas that
address the prompt*, for it is an
abomination in my sight.
Thou shalt not merely identify literary,
rhetorical, and stylistic devices in the
passage and poem, but shalt show how
they function and evaluate their
effectiveness.
Thou shalt not commit free-floating
generalization in the essays, but shall
support and develop thy every
assertion with details from the text
whilst demonstrating a depth of
analysis.
Thou shalt not finish early. Thou shalt
spend plenty of time planning thine
essay responses and shalt save enough
time at the end of the test to read them
over for careless mistakes.
Thou shalt read every multiple choice
question with the same exquisite care
that thou devotest to the essay Prompt:
thou shalt not just ‘get the drift.’ By the
same token, thou shalt strive to read
what the writer actually wrote, not
what thou dost expect him or her to
have written.
Thou shalt guess when thou knowest
not the answer. Thou shalt not do so
blindly, but shalt listen to thy gut,
eliminate, and make an educated
guess. Thou shalt not choose an
answer simply because thou knoweth
not the meaning. Feareth not to guess,
for points can be gotten therewith.
Thou shalt never permit thyself to
become discouraged: I am the Prompt,
thy Prompt. Thou shalt maintain thy
focus, attention, and confidence. Yea,
though thou hast totally screwed up
thy last essay, this essay maketh a fresh
start.
 Adapted from Martin Beller’s 10 Commandments for AP
Literature
 Revisions by Carole Ford, Carole Hamilton, and Lisa K.
Simmons, 2011
 2012 Revisions by M. Willshire 