Failed American Lit

[LaceyLady]

It has been two years since I took English Lit. I got an AP English Literature study guide from the library. The AP exam does not require specific recall of facts (authors, works, etc.), instead it focuses on analyzing and interpreting, so I used the AP study guide to help prepare for that aspect of the exam. For information on the specific works, authors, etc. I used my high school English Lit. textbook, and also read important novels, plays, and poems. Any textbook or study guide for English Lit. should work.

I would suggest reading works by Shakespeare, Dickens, and other famous English authors. Even if you do not read many whole books, make sure you are familiar with the style of writing characteristic of each author and literary movement, as well as the plot, theme, and characters of each well known book or play. You may be asked to match a quote from a work with the author, movement, or tittle of the work. Other questions may give you the name of a work and ask for its author, characters, plot, or the movement or time period the work is associated with. Or you may have to match a plot, set of characters, or literary movement to an author. As an example, I have not read many of Shakespeare's plays, but I read enough to be familiar with his style of writing, I learned what time period he lived in (1500s to 1600s), what literary movement he is associated with (Elizabethan or English Renaissance), and the plots and characters of his most famous plays (Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Nights Dream, etc.).

Also don't forget the poems, much of the exam is about poetry. Be familiar with the style, works, and literary movements of each of the important poets (such as John Milton, Walter Raleigh, Thomas Gray, etc.). And make sure to read and be familiar with the important poems.

As with any literature exam, study literary terms and work on analyzing and interpreting both poetry and prose.

Sorry for such a long post.

Good luck on your exam.