AP Language and Composition Multiple Choice Stems
1. The speaker’s primary purpose in the passage is to
2. The phrase, “ ” functions primarily as
3. The attitude of the entire passage (or parts of the passage) is one of
4. The author uses this (a certain image) for the purpose of
5. The main rhetorical strategy of the ___ paragraph is for the purpose of
6. The word “ ” in context of line ___ is best interpreted to mean
7. By lines ___, it can be interpreted to mean
8. The reason for the shift in tone is due to
9. The phrase “ ” in line ___ refers to which of the following
10. The word/phrase “ ” in line ___ refers to which of the following
11. In relation to the passage as a whole, the statement in the first sentence presents
12. In lines ___, “ ” the speaker employs which of the following rhetorical strategies
13. Which of the following best summarizes the main topic of the passage
14. In the sentence beginning “ ” the speaker employs all of the following EXCEPT
15. The style of the passage as a whole is most accurately characterized as
16. The principle contrast employed by the author in the passage (paragraph) is between
17. The primary rhetorical function of lines --- “ ” is to
18. The speaker’s reference to “ ” serves primarily to
19. The tone of the passage shifts from one of ___ to one of ___
20. The second sentence lines ___ is unified by metaphorical references pertaining to (frame
of reference)
21. It can be inferred by the description of ___that which of the following qualities are valued
by the speaker
22. The antecedent for “it” in the clause “ ” is
23. The type of argument employed by the speaker is most similar to which of the following
24. The speaker describes ___ in an order best described as from the (loudest to softest)
25. The pattern of exposition exemplified in the passage is best described as
26. The point of view indicated in the phrase “ ” in line ___ is that of
27. The atmosphere established in the ___ sentence in line ___ is that of
28. The ___ sentence in line ___ remains coherent chiefly because of its use of
a. Parallel syntactic structure
b. Colloquial and idiomatic diction
c. A series of prepositional phrases
d. Periodic sentence structure
e. Retrospective point of view
2. The function of the three clauses introduced by “that” in lines ___ is to
3. The sentence “ ” in lines ___ contains which of the following
4. Which of the following best describes the function of the third paragraph in relation to the
two paragraphs that precede it
5. The passage is an appeal for a
6. The primary rhetorical function of lines ___ is to
7. In the passage, the speaker makes all of the following assumptions about his/her readers
EXCEPT
8. The diction in the passage is best described as
9. One prominent stylistic characteristic of the ___ paragraph is the use of
