The AP English exam has three primary challenges:

• Reading comprehension under pressure: You have 1 hour to read and analyze multiple passages, which many students find rushed, especially when texts are dense or unfamiliar in style.
• Essay timing: Writing three quality essays in 2 hours 15 minutes requires strong planning and drafting skills—students often struggle with staying organized or run out of time for their final essay.
• Rhetorical analysis: Students frequently misidentify rhetorical devices or fail to connect them to the author's overall purpose, which weakens their essay scores significantly.

AP English tutoring covers the full curriculum: analyzing rhetoric and argument, understanding literary elements (character, theme, symbolism, tone), essay writing strategies for all three exam sections (multiple choice, argument essay, and rhetoric essay), and test-taking tactics. Tutors also help you develop close reading skills, manage test anxiety, and create a personalized study schedule leading up to the exam. With Chicago's diverse student population and varying school curricula across the city's 12 school districts, tutors adapt their approach to align with what your specific school emphasizes.

Ideally, you should begin serious prep 3-4 months before the May exam date. This gives you time to strengthen foundational skills, work through practice essays, and refine your approach based on your performance. If you're already in spring semester, even 6-8 weeks of focused tutoring can make a meaningful difference, especially if you target your specific weak areas. Most students benefit from consistent weekly sessions paired with independent practice between meetings—this combination of guided instruction and retrieval practice is where real improvement happens.

Practice tests are essential for AP English success. They help you identify content gaps, build stamina for the full 3-hour exam, and get comfortable with the question formats and time constraints. The most effective approach is taking full, timed practice tests every 2-3 weeks, then reviewing your mistakes thoroughly with a tutor. Rather than just looking at the correct answer, work to understand why you missed it—was it a timing issue, a comprehension problem, or a gap in identifying rhetorical devices? Tutors help you extract maximum learning from each practice test and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Varsity Tutors connects you with expert tutors for students in Chicago who specialize in AP English and understand the exam inside and out. You can specify your goals—whether you want to boost your overall score, strengthen a specific essay type, or build confidence before test day—and get matched with a tutor whose expertise fits your needs. Tutors work with your schedule and learning style, providing personalized instruction that adapts based on your progress and areas of difficulty.

Each essay requires a different approach. For the argument essay, spend 5-10 minutes planning your thesis and evidence before writing—this prevents rambling and strengthens your overall structure. For the rhetorical analysis essay, identify 2-3 key rhetorical devices and explain how each supports the author's purpose; avoid listing devices without analysis. For the synthesis essay, quickly identify which sources you'll use and organize them by argument before drafting. Across all three, reserve the last 5 minutes to proofread for clarity and grammar. Tutors help you practice these strategies under timed conditions so they become automatic by exam day, reducing test anxiety and improving your scores.