Practice Test 12 - AP English Literature and Composition

20 questions. Answer them in any order, then submit to see your score and every explanation.

Read the following excerpt from a short story: The protagonist returns to her childhood home and finds the backyard swing set has been removed. In its place is a smooth patch of grass her mother calls "a correction." The protagonist presses her foot into the soil and feels "metal still sleeping underneath." Which thesis best develops an arguable claim about memory in the excerpt?
In the following excerpt from a short story, a young man attends a protest for the first time: The crowd moved like a single animal, surging and pausing. The air smelled of sweat and marker ink. At the edge of the square, a statue was wrapped in caution tape, its bronze face striped and half-blind, and nearby a row of police bikes stood parked, their handlebars aligned with unnerving neatness. He held his sign and noticed how confetti from an earlier parade still clung in the gutter, damp and gray, as if celebration and anger had been pressed into the same street. What do the bolded setting details most strongly suggest about the protest environment?
Read the following poem excerpt and answer the question. At the community garden, I press seeds into soil with the blunt patience of my thumbs. The packet promises basil—summer in a word. A woman beside me sings to her rows, off-key, fearless. I water until the dirt darkens, until it holds the shine of a coin. Then I label the stake with today's date, as if naming could make the future arrive. Which choice best captures how the excerpt's literal gardening supports its figurative meaning?
Read the poem below, in which the speaker recounts a childhood superstition. We held our breath passing the cemetery, as if lungs could offend. Now I drive by talking on speakerphone, windows down, letting the air move through me. Still, sometimes, without warning, my chest tightens, and I swallow silence like a penny. How does the poem's structure—contrasting "We" in the past with "I" in the present, then ending with a return of the old feeling—contribute to its meaning?
Read the poem below and answer the question that follows. Title: "Clock Change" We set the clocks back and the house pretends it has more time. The microwave blinks 12:00, stubborn. I move the hands on the wall clock and feel like a small god over minutes. Outside, dusk arrives too early, offended. Then **I look at your sleeping face and realize time doesn't obey us— it only lets us adjust the display.** I pull the blanket higher. The night keeps its appointment. What is the primary function of time doesn't obey us... adjust the display?
Read the excerpt from a short story: Carmen's aunt swore the old house was haunted, but Carmen suspected it was simply lonely. The floorboards sighed under her steps, and the wallpaper peeled like tired skin. In the attic, she found a trunk filled with letters tied in ribbon, each one unopened. The handwriting on the top envelope matched her grandmother's, elegant and severe. Carmen held the bundle and felt as if she'd discovered a secret that had been waiting decades to speak. She thought of Bluebeard's key, not because she expected blood, but because some doors change you the moment you unlock them. What is the primary function of the allusion to Bluebeard's key?
In the following excerpt from an original drama, a teacher speaks privately with a student who has been accused of cheating. Consider the function of the simile in the dialogue. MR. IBRAHIM: Tell me what happened before I hear it from the office. LENA: They already decided. MR. IBRAHIM: I haven't. LENA: You will. Everyone does. MR. IBRAHIM: If you're innocent, say so. LENA: Innocent is like a clean shirt in the rain—it doesn't stay clean long enough for anyone to notice. Which choice best describes the function of the bolded simile?
Read the following excerpt from a short story: The antique shop owner spoke in whispers, as if loudness could crack the porcelain. Ben wandered through narrow aisles, careful not to brush anything with his coat. In the back, a music box played a tune that kept forgetting its own ending. Ben opened a drawer and found a stack of postcards addressed to no one; he read them anyway, practicing intimacy with strangers who could not ask him for any in return. Dust rose in a soft cloud. How does the writer's control of composition in the highlighted sentence most contribute to characterization?
Read the following excerpt from an original drama. [Late afternoon in a public library's genealogy room. The fluorescent lights flicker in a slow rhythm. The air smells faintly of dust and copier toner. A "QUIET" sign hangs crooked, as if it has been bumped many times. On a long table: stacks of brittle newspapers, a magnifying glass, and a small hand sanitizer bottle nearly empty.] ELI (whispering too loudly): It's all here. Every year. Every name. MS. DALCA (without looking up from her stamp): Names, yes. People, less so. ELI (running a finger along a column): If I find him in print, I can stop guessing. [The light above ELI buzzes; he flinches, then forces his hand steady on the page.] MS. DALCA: Don't press. They tear. ELI: I won't— [He presses anyway; the paper cracks softly. He freezes, then rubs sanitizer into his hands until they shine.] Which choice best explains how the setting shapes ELI's characterization through the emphasized elements? Focus on the flickering fluorescent lights, the brittle newspapers, and the crooked "QUIET" sign.
In the excerpt below, a narrator describes a school assembly as part of a group: We sat cross-legged on the gym floor, our knees making small islands in the sea of polished wood. The principal's voice bounced off the bleachers and returned thinner, as if the room refused to hold it. We clapped when told to clap, and we laughed when the visiting speaker paused for laughter, but we did it with the careful timing of people practicing belonging. When the lights dimmed for the slideshow, we all pretended not to be relieved. Which choice best describes the function of the point of view in the excerpt?
In the following excerpt, a narrator describes riding a bus through her neighborhood after moving away for several years: "The bus crawled past the corner store where we used to buy candy with coins warmed in our fists. The new sign was brighter, but the windows still carried that dim film of grease and dust, and I felt the old urge to look away, as if I were peeking into someone else's life without permission. A boy in a hoodie darted across the street between cars, and the driver honked; the sound didn't scold so much as announce itself, a tired warning spoken in a familiar language. When we passed my old apartment building, I tried to match the balconies to the memories, but the memories wouldn't line up, and I wondered whether the place had changed or whether I had simply learned to misremember with confidence." What do the bolded details most strongly suggest about the narrator's perspective?
Read the excerpt from an original drama passage and answer the question. [A cramped office. Two desks face each other. A plant droops in a corner. The air conditioner rattles.] HARRIET: You sent the email. OWEN: I drafted it. HARRIET: It went out. OWEN: I didn't hit send. HARRIET: Funny how things go out when you don't hit send. OWEN: It was in the outbox? HARRIET: It was in everyone's inbox. OWEN: What did it say? HARRIET: You know what it said. OWEN: I don't. HARRIET: You don't "know" when knowing would cost you. OWEN: That's not fair. HARRIET: Fair is a word people use when they want the math to forgive them. OWEN: (Swallows) I was trying to protect us. HARRIET: Us? OWEN: The team. HARRIET: When you say "us," you mean the part of you that won't be blamed. How does Harriet's perspective—signaled by "You don't 'know' when knowing would cost you" and "When you say 'us,' you mean…"—most shape the conflict?
Read the following original poem excerpt embedded here: "On the voicemail, your words arrive already fading, like chalk left out in rain. I replay them until the speaker hisses with age. Each time, your laugh is a door almost closing, and I keep my finger on the button, refusing the silence its turn." A student claims: The poem depicts grief as an attempt to delay inevitable absence through repetition. Which option best explains how the bolded details support that claim by connecting evidence to reasoning?
In the following excerpt from an original drama, a professor, Dr. Sen, meets with a student, Miles, accused of plagiarism. Dr. Sen speaks with controlled formality; Miles speaks with defensive intimacy. Consider the function of their contrast in the bolded exchange. DR. SEN: The similarity report indicates substantial overlap. MILES: It indicates the computer thinks I'm a liar. DR. SEN: It indicates the text matches. MILES: Because the text is what you wanted. DR. SEN: I wanted your thinking. MILES: My thinking doesn't sound like your rubric. DR. SEN: Your thinking doesn't require someone else's sentences. MILES: You call them sentences. I call them a ladder. DR. SEN: "A ladder you borrow without asking is still theft." MILES: "A ladder you refuse to lend is still a wall." Which choice best describes the function of the contrast between Dr. Sen and Miles in the excerpt?
Read the poem and answer the question. Title: "Visitor's Log" I sign my name where the docent points— ink pooling like a small confession. The portrait's eyes keep their varnished calm, and I keep mine on the velvet rope. I pretend I know the painter's grief, how he thinned it with turpentine, but really I'm counting the exit signs, their green mouths quietly saying: go. When the audio guide asks what I feel, I choose "awe," because it's available. My coat still smells like the bus's heat, and the museum air forgives nothing. At home, I tell you the woman in the frame looked almost like you—almost— and I do not mention how, in the gift shop, I bought a postcard to prove I was there. How does the speaker's perspective—marked by "I pretend," "really I'm counting," and "I choose 'awe'"—most affect the poem's meaning?
Read the following original poem: At the bus stop, winter presses close. A woman offers her scarf to a boy; he refuses, cheeks red as alarms. The schedule board blinks delays. Above us, the wind counts our bones like change in an open palm. How does the wind counts our bones function literally and figuratively?
Read the poem below, in which a speaker reflects on a strained relationship with a mentor. Title: "Drafts" You returned my pages with margins crowded, red ink like a small weather. "Clarify," you wrote, and "Again," and once, only once: "Good." I rewrote at the café, stirring my coffee until it cooled. Each sentence I fixed made room for a different mistake. Years later, I teach. A student hands me her work and waits, eyes wide. I hear myself say "Again" with your exact tired kindness. That night, I find your old note in a book I never returned. The paper has thinned. The word "Good" is still there, quiet as a held breath. How does the poem's time-shifting sequence—from receiving critiques, to rewriting, to becoming a teacher, and finally to rediscovering the note—primarily shape the poem's central idea?
Read the excerpt from a short story: The museum guard told Sam he couldn't sketch inside the exhibit, so Sam stood with his hands in his pockets and tried to draw with his eyes instead. The painting—an ocean in winter—looked like it had been made from bruises. Sam wanted to remember it exactly, to carry it home intact, but the details already blurred as he turned away. Outside, the city traffic roared, impatient and bright. Sam thought of Lot's wife, not salt and scripture, but the cost of looking back when the world insists you keep moving. What is the primary function of the allusion to Lot's wife?
In a story about a boy visiting his mother in prison, Eli rehearses cheerful stories to avoid making her sad. His mother asks about school, friends, food—anything but herself. Eli nods and smiles. As the visit ends, his mother presses her palm to the glass divider. Eli hesitates, embarrassed by the guards watching, then presses his own palm to hers, aligning the lines of their hands through the glass. His throat tightens. What is the primary function of the bolded event? presses his own palm to hers, aligning the lines of their hands through the glass
In the following original drama excerpt, analyze how the sequence and pacing of key moments develop the scene's central tension. A small public library just before closing. A clock ticks loudly. A "QUIET" sign hangs slightly crooked. ALMA (70s), librarian, stamps returns. JORDAN (16) hovers near the desk with a backpack half-zipped. MS. REED (40s), Jordan's mother, stands rigidly by the door. ALMA: Five minutes. JORDAN: I just need— MS. REED: We're leaving. Jordan pulls a book from the backpack: a worn paperback with sticky notes. JORDAN: I checked it out under Dad's card. MS. REED: You don't have Dad's card. JORDAN: I found it. Alma pauses her stamping. ALMA: That card was canceled. Jordan's voice cracks. JORDAN: But the system let me. MS. REED: The system doesn't know what it's doing. Jordan opens the book to a page of underlines. JORDAN: He wrote in it. MS. REED: He ruined it. Alma reaches for the book, then stops. ALMA: That's not— (The overhead lights flicker once, as if the building is blinking.) Jordan's grip tightens. JORDAN: If I return it, it disappears again. MS. REED: It's a book. JORDAN: It's proof. Ms. Reed steps forward. MS. REED: Proof of what. Jordan swallows. JORDAN: That he was here. A beat. The clock ticks. (Alma unlocks a drawer and removes a thin file folder labeled with Jordan's last name.) Alma: Your father asked me to keep this. Ms. Reed's face hardens. MS. REED: He had no right. Jordan reaches for the folder. ALMA: Not yet. (A recorded voice over the intercom: "The library is now closed.") No one moves. Which choice best describes the function of the sequence/pacing of the bolded moments in the excerpt?

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