FREE AP English Language and Composition Synthesis Practice Test

Question 1

Which method does the author use to draw the reader's attention to the passage's unique subject?

Accepted Answer

beginning each paragraph with the same subject

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use of parallel structure

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identifying herself with her audience

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use of passive voice

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use of anecdote

Question 2

The reader can infer from a close reading of the opening sentence that the author attributes the demise of the "novel of concept" to

Accepted Answer

artificiality

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reliance on historical data

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appeal to philosophy

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real life and situations

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simplicity

Question 3

The author's main rhetorical device in creating the opening paragraph is

Accepted Answer

cause and effect

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definition

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description

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process

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narration

Question 4

Dillard says, "The essayist does what we do with our lives; the essayist thinks about actual things. He can make sense of them analytically or artistically," near the end of the third paragraph. The most likely reason for the author's decision to write two separate sentences rather than creating a single, longer sentence using a listing is that the essayist does what we do with our lives.

Accepted Answer

both subjects are of equal importance, although separate processes

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to reinforce cause and effect

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to highlight the criticism of fictional writing

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to create a parallel situation

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to contrast the two ideas

Question 5

The term "there" in sentence three of paragraph 3, which begins with "The true world...," relates to

Accepted Answer

the real world

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poetry

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the fictional world

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short stories

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novels

Question 6

The second paragraph's main rhetorical device that the author employs is

Accepted Answer

contrast and comparison

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argument

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narration

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analogy

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description

Question 7

The author is best categorized as follows in terms of her viewpoint on her subject:

Accepted Answer

an advocate

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an artist

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an innovator

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an adversary

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a critic

Question 8

Which of the following lines from the passage provides an illustration of parallel structure?

Accepted Answer

In either case he renders the real world coherent and meaningful; even if only bits of it, and even if that coherence and meaning reside only inside small texts.

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… that is the convention and the covenant between the nonfiction writer and his reader.

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The elements in any nonfiction should be true not only artistically—the connections must hold at base …

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But eschewing it served to limit fiction's materials a little further, and likely contributed to our being left with the short story of scant idea.

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The essay may deal in metaphor better than the poem can, in some ways, because prose may expand what the lyric poem must compress.

Question 9

Which of the following best describes how the short story writer and the essayist differ?

Accepted Answer

fundamental reality

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content

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presentation

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reflection

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clarity of purpose

Question 10

The passage's tone is best characterized as

Accepted Answer

confident and informative

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clinical and moralistic

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impartial and critical

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condescending and formal

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candid and colloquial