AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam

Total Questions: 30

Passage 1: From Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841)

There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy
is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse,
as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing
corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is
given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but
he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine
providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of
events. Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the
genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was
seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being.

And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent
destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing
before a revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty
effort, and advancing on Chaos and the Dark.

Questions for Passage 1

1.​ In the first paragraph, Emerson emphasizes the idea of self-reliance through the
metaphor of: A) Education as imitation​
B) Agriculture as individual effort​
C) War as a moral trial​
D) Industry as salvation​
E) Music as harmony​

2.​ Emerson's command to “Trust thyself” most nearly suggests that: A) One must isolate
oneself from others​
B) All people are equally trustworthy​
C) Self-belief is the foundation of greatness​
D) Divinity is external and should be sought​
E) Conformity ensures social harmony
 3.​ The reference to “great men” is meant to: A) Diminish contemporary thinkers​
B) Illustrate the failure of modern education​
C) Advocate for religious obedience​
D) Serve as a model for personal authenticity​
E) Critique traditional authority​

4.​ The tone of the passage is best described as: A) Humble and self-deprecating​
B) Urgent and admonishing​
C) Inspirational and assertive​
D) Detached and meditative​
E) Skeptical and cautious​

5.​ Emerson’s central claim is that: A) People are inherently flawed and need guidance​
B) Personal integrity comes from communal validation​
C) Authentic living arises from faith in one’s inner self​
D) Success is determined by divine intervention​
E) One’s value is derived from imitation of the past​

Passage 2 (Short): From A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift (1729)

I have been assured by a very knowing American…that a young healthy child well
nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether
stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled…

Questions for Passage 2

6.​ The passage is an example of: A) Literal policy suggestion​

B) Earnest economic reform​
C) Political satire​
D) Historical fiction​
E) Philosophical argument​

7.​ Swift's use of culinary language is meant to: A) Praise gourmet dining​
B) Shock the reader​
C) Endorse cruelty​
D) Legitimize absurdity​
E) Explore dietary habits​

8.​ The tone of the passage is best described as: A) Reverent​

B) Sardonic​
C) Lamenting​
D) Clinical​
E) Cautious​
 9.​ Swift is primarily criticizing: A) Irish parenting​
B) British policy and social indifference​
C) Dublin’s economy​
D) Overpopulation​
E) American culture​

10.​The absurdity of the proposal helps Swift: A) Clarify policy​

B) Promote cruelty​
C) Reveal apathy toward the poor​
D) Offer a culinary trend​
E) Confuse his critics​

Passage 3 (Long – 290 words): From The Death of the Moth by Virginia
Woolf (1942)

Moths that fly by day are not properly to be called moths; they do not excite that
pleasant sense of dark autumn nights and ivy-blossom which the commonest
yellow-underwing asleep in the shadow of the curtain never fails to rouse in us.
They are hybrid creatures, neither gay like butterflies nor somber like their own
species. Nevertheless, the present specimen, with his narrow hay-colored wings,
fringed with a tassel of the same color, seemed to be content with life.

It was a pleasant morning, mid-September, mild, benignant, yet with a keener

breath than that of summer. The plough was already scoring the field opposite the
window, and where the share had been, the earth looked white as though it had
been newly washed. The birds were singing, and the rooks were flapping in the
blue air, and one could not help watching the moth.

It was little or nothing but life. It was life. And watching it one was reminded of all
the energy that lies behind things, and of the invincible spirit with which life faces
death. It was as if someone had taken a tiny bead of pure life and flung it on the
wind, to float in the window and to struggle there until death came.

The struggle was over. The insignificant little creature now knew death. As I looked
at the dead moth, this minute wayfarer seemed to say: “Death is stronger than I
am.”
Questions for Passage 3

11.​Woolf uses the moth as a symbol of: A) Transformation​

B) The battle between life and death​
C) Joyful resistance​
D) Inconvenience​
E) Monotony​

12.​The tone of the passage is best described as: A) Detached and clinical​
B) Reflective and solemn​
C) Defiant and optimistic​
D) Indifferent and factual​
E) Romantic and celebratory​

13.​The author’s attention to natural details serves to: A) Emphasize the banality of life​
B) Create a sensory environment to heighten the emotional impact​
C) Distract from the main narrative​
D) Suggest human superiority​
E) Critique scientific detachment​

14.​What rhetorical device is most prominent in “It was life. And watching it one was
reminded…”? A) Hyperbole​
B) Synecdoche​
C) Personification​
D) Simile​
E) Apostrophe​

15.​Woolf’s central claim is that: A) All creatures live meaningless lives​

B) Nature is indifferent to human suffering​
C) Even the smallest life contains meaning and struggle​
D) Death should not be feared​
E) Death and life are illusions​
Passage 4 (Short): From Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)

When someone works for less pay than she can live on…she has made a great
sacrifice for you…The ‘working poor,’ as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the
major philanthropists of our society.

Questions for Passage 4

16.​Ehrenreich’s claim is that: A) The working poor are socially honored​

B) Wealthy individuals should give more​
C) Low-wage workers subsidize society through their labor​
D) The poor need to organize​
E) Philanthropy is outdated​

17.​The tone of the phrase “approvingly termed” is: A) Ironic​

B) Grateful​
C) Defensive​
D) Hopeful​
E) Respectful​

18.​Ehrenreich’s comparison of workers to philanthropists serves to: A) Create sympathy

through exaggeration​
B) Highlight irony and injustice​
C) Encourage more donations​
D) Critique charity organizations​
E) Undermine low-wage work​

19.​The rhetorical appeal most used is: A) Logos​

B) Pathos​
C) Ethos​
D) Mythos​
E) Kairos​

20.​The purpose of the passage is to: A) Defend economic policy​

B) Mock charitable organizations​
C) Acknowledge the sacrifices of low-wage workers​
D) Argue against employment​
E) Recommend wage freezes​
Passage 5 (Long – 265 words): From The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du
Bois (1903)

After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian,
the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in
this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only
lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar
sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self
through the eyes of others…One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro;
two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings…

The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife—this longing to attain
self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this
merging, he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost…He would not Africanize
America, for America has too much to teach the world; and he would not bleach his
Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism…

He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an

American…

Questions for Passage 5

21.​The phrase “double-consciousness” refers to: A) Intellectual superiority​

B) Racial pride​
C) A divided sense of identity​
D) A religious awakening​
E) A psychological disorder​

22.​Du Bois’s tone is: A) Detached​

B) Wistful​
C) Urgent and dignified​
D) Defiant and angry​
E) Casual​

23.​What is the “veil” a metaphor for? A) Illusion and ignorance​

B) Social separation and misunderstanding​
C) Academic secrecy​
D) Ancestral memory​
E) Cultural inheritance

​
 24.​The author’s purpose is to: A) Promote assimilation​
B) Encourage rebellion​
C) Define Black American identity and its complexity​
D) Celebrate multiculturalism​
E) Demand reparations​

25.​Du Bois believes that true progress for Black Americans involves: A) Discarding cultural
roots​
B) Accepting inferiority​
C) Harmonizing both identities​
D) Embracing nationalism​
E) Returning to Africa​

Passage 6 (Short): From Sojourner Truth’s Speech (1851)

That man over there says women need to be helped into carriages…Nobody ever
helps me into carriages…And ain’t I a woman?

Questions for Passage 6

26.​Truth’s repeated question “Ain’t I a woman?” serves to: A) Appeal to logic​

B) Undermine her own argument​
C) Emphasize her equality and humanity​
D) Reject femininity​
E) Mock other women​

27.​The rhetorical device used most prominently is: A) Allusion​

B) Hyperbole​
C) Irony​
D) Repetition​
E) Euphemism​

28.​Truth's tone can best be described as: A) Passive​

B) Sarcastic​
C) Defiant​
D) Melancholic​
E) Bitter

​
29.​The author uses her personal experience to: A) Entertain​
B) Reject labor​
C) Advocate for racial and gender equality​
D) Exaggerate hardship​
E) Avoid politics​

30.​Which of the following best captures the central argument of the speech? A) Women are
naturally weaker​
B) Only rich women deserve rights​
C) Black women are unfairly excluded from rights granted to others​
D) Men should be silent​
E) Labor is noble