The news is out: the multiple choice portion of the AP English exams will have only four—not five—answer choices. Say what?? Change of any kind tends to bring about uncertainty and mixed emotions, but we can all agree that reducing answer options will make the multiple choice portion of the exam less of a beast. We are hopeful this change yields increased focus, less fatigue going into the essay portion of the exam, and a more accurate depiction of a student’s understanding of a passage. Not only will this save students time, but students should be less mentally taxed after each passage since there’s less to work through.
So how does preparing students for the multiple choice portion of the exam change? While it may not be a drastic change, here are some strategies that we can emphasize in our classes moving forward.
Classroom Strategies:
- The best way to prepare for multiple choice is to consistently provide close reading opportunities. We remind students of this every time we annotate, discuss, or carefully examine a portion of the text; the best way to become a better reader is by reading. Test-taking strategies and multiple-choice practice can never replace the daily and weekly activities that build the reading muscle. This should be the primary focus of multiple choice practice from day one in our classrooms.
With that being the foundation, here are some other things to remember.
- Students should narrow their answers using the Process of Elimination (POE). Coaching students to literally cross off answers not only helps with second-guessing but also saves time if students choose to come back to the question later. Students should be able to identify the correct answer and the distractor more easily with only four answer choices.
- Speaking of distractors, these usually fall into a few categories. The first is that a portion of the answer is correct but not all of the answer is correct. Sometimes answers may have two parts, such as a noun followed by a prepositional phrase: literally, two portions to consider. These questions and answers from Marge Piercy’s poem “To Be of Use” in the AP® Course and Exam Description (p. 145) are good examples for training:
11. The poem as a whole is best understood as a
(A) eulogy for a lost age of real work
(B) plea for work to be less burdensome
(C) vindication of the humanity of workers
(D) celebration of earnest work and workers
(E) defense of unusual types of work and workers
19. The speaker mentions “wine or oil” (line 22) and “corn” (line 23) to highlight the
(A) misguided values of many museums
(B) useful commodities supplied by work
(C) functional nature of some venerated objects
(D) enigmatic purpose of certain historical artifacts
(E) artistry implicit in mundane items
Students may want to place a check over each of the two parts as they narrow choices, ensuring that both parts are correct. Another way a distractor can be wrong is when an answer may appear to be correct but is not correct in the context of the text. Consider this question from “To Be of Use.” Reading and applying knowledge from the entire stanza helps contextualize the question and leads students to the correct answer.
15. In the poem, the term “parlor generals” (line 15) most probably refers to individuals who
(A) behave with unrelenting valor on the battlefield
(B) view their work obligations as enforced military service
(C) have retired from illustrious careers, only to be forgotten
(D) have performed deeds because they sought public praise
(E) hold forth as experts on work they have never accomplished
- Finally, if a student has narrowed to two answers and doesn’t know which is the correct one, they should check their choices against answers that they believe to be correct. Correct answers will never contradict each other, so use knowledge from prior questions to lead to the correct answer.
Classroom Practice Activities
While the exam is changing, our classroom practice remains steady. Teachers should offer students many opportunities throughout the course to practice and discuss multiple choice questions in both timed drills and low-stakes activities. Here are some of our favorite ways to get students engaged with multiple choice questions:
- Around the World: Students work through a passage individually or in a group. Have letters A, B, C, and D posted around the room. Students move to the letter they believe is the correct answer when reviewing the questions. Students can defend their answer and others have the opportunity to change their mind and move to another letter or stay and defend their answer. Benefits—Students are able to hear each other’s reasoning and defense of an answer, students are able to change their mind, the activity offers the teacher and students a visual of what percentage agree with with each answer, and students are up and out of their seats.
- Letter Groups: Students complete a multiple choice passage on their own or in groups. Randomly group students into A, B, C, and D groups. Each group has to decide whether their answer is the correct or incorrect answer for each question in the passage and offer textual support as to why. Once the groups are finished, discuss the questions as a class, giving each group a chance to provide their reasoning. If two groups believe their answer to be correct, the class will vote to determine which group they believe is correct after hearing each group’s explanations. Benefits—Allows a thorough discussion not only of correct answers but of distractors, and forces students to close read and consider answers they may otherwise disregard.
- Right Answers Only: Students read and answer a passage individually. Students compare answers and discuss with a partner or small groups. Teacher provides the correct answers. Students volunteer to explain why the answer is correct using textual evidence. Benefits—Students are eager to participate when they already know the answer is correct, and the students who chose the incorrect answer can hear the reasoning from their classmate. Students are required to include textual evidence.
- Derby Day: Project race grid image on the board. Assign each group (2–4 students) a number and a horse by passing out a horse to each group. Place all the horses on the starting line using tape or a magnet. Distribute a passage for students to complete together. When a team thinks they know the answer to the first question, one of them will come up to the teacher to check it. If they are right, they go up to the board and advance their horse one square on the race grid. Once that student at the board returns to their seat, they can start on their next question. If the answer is wrong, the horse remains stationary, and the group reassesses their answer choice until they get it correct to move on to the next question. The members in the group must take turns coming up to check their answers, and there is a penalty of waiting 5 seconds (using the timer on their phone) if they guess wrong. They may discuss during this time, but can’t approach the teacher with a different answer until the 5 seconds is up. The first team to the finish line wins! Benefits—Students are up and moving, and competitive students will love this game. Speed and accuracy are emphasized, as well as teamwork and discussion.
- Lucky Eggs: Fill a big bowl with plastic eggs. In each egg, place a piece of paper with a letter (A–D) on it. Give each group a small whiteboard or scrap paper to write their answer on. Pass out a passage for students to complete together. Once all groups have completed the questions, go through the questions one at a time, having the groups display their answer choice on their small whiteboard or paper. Groups that get the answer correct earn a point; groups that get the answer incorrect do not earn a point. Groups that are correct earn the opportunity to pull two eggs from the basket. If the letters in the eggs match the letter of the correct answer, they earn an additional point (possibly 2 points!). If they don’t match, nothing happens. Return the eggs back to the basket after every question. The team with the most points at the end wins. Benefits—Students are working together and motivated by the eggs. Chance is involved, but that’s what makes it fun!
- Questions/No Answers: Students are given a passage and questions but no answers. Students read the passage and the questions and then hypothesize what the answers will be in small groups. You write the correct answers on note cards and pass them around to different groups, and students align answers with the questions. Review as a class. Benefits—Students focus on the stem of the question and learn how to read with intent and trust their instincts about answers.
Students should have ample opportunity to practice strategies before exam day, including answering multiple choice questions in a digital format before the test. There are many ways to take a test, and they should know their plan, having had plenty of practice in class building up to the big day in May. Practice may not make perfect, but it certainly helps students to feel more confident and ready so they can walk into the exam room prepared and set up for success.
Multiple Choice on the Digital AP® Exam
AP® Language and Literature Exams will only be offered digitally starting next year. For strategies to get students ready for the digital exam, for practical ways to integrate digital practice into the classroom, and to learn more about what the digital exam will look like, watch Melissa’s webinar “Refining Your Teaching Strategies for the Digital AP® Exams” on the College Board AP® Educators channel. This webinar explains the Bluebook testing app experience and how Melissa refines her classroom instruction practices to support students taking digital AP Exams.
AP® is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.
Melissa Alter Smith teaches at Lake Norman Charter High School in North Carolina and was the 2017 District Teacher of the Year. She is an AP® Reader, AP® Consultant, the creator of the #TeachLivingPoets hashtag and https://teachlivingpoets.com, and the co-author of Teach Living Poets (2021) and The Norton Guide to AP® Literature: Writing & Skills (2022). She is a frequent presenter and keynote speaker, a member of an advisory board to the Library of Congress’ Poet Laureate Project educational toolkit, and the conversation host for W.W. Norton’s Poets on Poetry series.
Photo: Melissa Alter Smith
Image Credit: Lisa Crates Photography
Susan Barber teaches AP® English Literature at Midtown High School in Atlanta, Georgia, and serves on the AP® Literature Development Committee. She is the coauthor of The Norton Guide to AP® Literature: Writing & Skills (2022), ELA consultant, and speaker. Susan is most proud of the work she does on a daily basis in E216 and never tires of the beauty and chaos of the classroom which are chronicled at MuchAdoAboutTeaching.com.
Photo: Susan Barber
Image Credit: Hannah Coleman Photography