AP English Diagnostic Test

The set-up of the test surprised me, because I had originally thought that there would be more multiple choice questions and that instead of reading and analyzing passages and then answering questions about them, we would be questioned on the books we read in class this year. Instead, most of the exam involves us analyzing the passages given in the exam, using the methods we will have learned this year.  While surprising, I found out that I liked this approach because it didn’t require any kind of memorization. It just basically tests your understanding and how well you can analyze the different types of literature, such as poetry. In general, this section went alright, but I realized that some of the questions I got wrong had more to do with the words they used in the question instead of misunderstanding the passage. Some of the questions and answer choices used words that aren’t really in my basic vocabulary, and while I have heard them used, I wasn’t confident in their meaning and therefore had some difficulty picking an answer. Now, broadening my vocabulary is a goal I have to work on for the year. The essay portion of the test was an unwelcome surprise because I hadn’t realized there would be that many essays. After completing the essays, I realized that I knew more than I thought I did which made me feel more confident. However, I definitely need to learn much more on analyzing literature, especially for the poetry sections. Also, out of the entire list of books given for reference in the 3^rd essay section, I had only read 3 books, which severely limited my essay options. Hopefully by the end of the year, I will have read many more books on that list, so I can have more options for topics for my essay.  Overall, for a diagnostic test, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and therefore has given me more confidence for the class.