The AP English exam consists of two parts; multiple choice and three essays. Within these essays, the student is asked to analyze a piece of literary work. During these essays, it is common for a student to use words that are used far too often in these essays. In order to stand out, we've learned words to use in replacement for words such as 'the reader', 'show', and 'use'. Today, we worked in teams finding words to replace these. Some of the words we came up with to use in place of 'the reader' are: the observer, the audience, and scholar. We also came up with a list of words to replace the word 'show', which included: portrays, illustrates, and displays. Last, we made a list of words to use in our essays that replaced the word 'use'. Here's a few words that we came up with: employs, practices, and utilize. These are just a few examples of words that can be used in the AP English exam's writing portion in order to capture and keep the observer's attention.
    When writing a paper, especially one on a piece of literature, a thesis is very important to have. A thesis is a proposition advanced as an argument. In other words, a thesis is the theme or subject of a paper. Three traits that a thesis possesses are that it is arguable, contains literary terms, and is clear and concise.A thesis should be able to summarize the literary work, state the genre, and state the author of the work within one to two sentences.
    The author of the short story 'American History' is Judith Ortiz Cofer. She is a Puerto Rican native. This short story takes place in 1963, precisely on the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. This is one president that many people from many different walks of life could agree on as a good, fit president. The location of this story is in Paterson, New Jersey. The main character of this story is a 9th-grade girl, who is a native of Puerto Rico. Although she has been living in the United States for a while, she is still adjusting to her home. She really enjoys reading and literature.
    One symbol in this story was the door to Eugene's house, which was painted green, which was described as the color of hope. This door stood between the main character and Eugene, and was the only thing keeping them from their study date. This is all that is on the her mind, even the president of the country has been shot and killed. However, the color of the door is ironic because she ends up being denied entry into the house.
    This short story is a 'coming of age' story. At the beginning, the main character is only worried about getting to know Eugene. By the end of the story, the character's main focus is still Eugene, but realizes that she should be upset about the president's death instead of the cancellation of the study-date. The end of the story explains how she is looking out of a window at the crisp white snow, but won't look down at the dirty snow on the ground. This symbolizes how she only thinks about Eugene, and is aware of the president's death. However, she doesn't want to pay attention to the mess, but only to what she finds appealing.




    Irony is a very significant element in literature. However, the meaning of irony is often confused with a simple 'coincidence'. Irony is a figure of speech in which the intended meaning and the actual meaning differ. There are four major types of irony. These consist of situational irony, verbal irony, dramatic irony, and tragic irony. Irony involves a difference or contrast between appearance and reality. Examples of situational and dramatic irony includes what is and what ought to be, what is and what seems to be, what is and what one wishes to be, and what is and what one expects to be. The three most common types of irony include verbal, situational, and dramatic.
There are many literary elements that help to create a remarkable peice of literature. Some of these elements are easy to point out in the text, while others require a little more digging. Here is a list of literary elements that are often used in the most popular works of literature.
Allusion http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/allusion?s=ts
Alliteration http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alliteration?s=t
Analogy http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/analogy?s=t
Antithesis http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antithesis?s=t
Archetype http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/archetype?s=t
Characterization http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/characterization?s=t
Circumlocution http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/circumlocution
Conflict http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conflict?s=t
Diction http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/diction?s=t
Epithet http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epithet?s=t
Epiphany http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epiphany?s=t
Euphemism http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/euphemism
Flashback http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/flashback?s=t
Foil http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/foil?s=t
Foreshadowing http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/foreshadow?s=t
Hubris http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hubris?s=t
Hyperbole http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hyperbole?s=t
Imagery http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/imagery?s=t
Irony http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Irony?s=t
Litotes http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Litotes?s=t
Malapropism http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/malapropism?s=t
Metaphor http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/metaphor?s=t
Mixed Metaphor http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mixed%20metaphor?fromAsk=true&o=100074
Metonymy http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/metonymy?s=t
Motif http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/motif?s=t
Paradox http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/paradox?s=t
Parallelism http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Parallelism
Personification http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/personification?s=t
Point of View http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/point+of+view?s=t
Setting http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/setting?s=t
Simile http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/similie?s=t
Subplot http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/subplot?s=t
Suspense http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/suspense?s=t
Symbolism http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/symbolism?s=t
Syntax http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/syntax?s=t
Theme http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/theme?s=t
Tone http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tone?s=t
Understatement http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/understatement?s=t
    Suspense is created in the short story "How I Met My Husband" in more than one way. First, the feeling of whether or not Edie will be caught wearing the dress captivates the reader. The part of the story when Edie is waiting for Chris Watter's letter also creates suspense. This is because the reader doesn't know whether or not the letter is coming. The story makes the reader wonder "what happens next". An example of mystery in this story would be Chris Watters' reason for packing up and leaving suddenly. An example of dilemma would be Chris Watters' intinmate actions with e
    The concept of point of view is very complex. Point of view is the perspective of a story. There are seven different points of view. Here is a list of them:
    1. Omniscient
    2. Third-Person Limited (major character)
    3. Third-Person Limited (minor character)
    4. First Person (major character)
    5. First Person (minor character)
    6. Objective (dramatic)
    7. Second-Person
Each of these types of points of view differ from another in their own ways. When a story is told in first person, the story is coming directly from someone who is previlant in the story. A story told in thrid-person comes from someone in the story, but is not the main character. There are three types of third-person roles. One is third-person omniscient, which is told in third-person by the narrator of the story with unlimited knowledge and prerogatives. Some examples of what a third-person omniscient character could be compared to includes Sanata Clause or God. Third-person limited is when the story is told in third-person from the viewpoint of a character that is in the story. Third-Person stream of consciousness presents the random thoughts going through a character's head within a certain period of time.
    When reading a story, point of view can effect the narrator's credibilty. For example, an omniscient character is all knowing. A first person character
When reading a peice of writing, one may tend to make inferences without even noticing. An inference is a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning. The short story "The Interlopers" is a good story to make inferences on. An example quote from this text would be "And a long series of poaching affrays and similar scandals had enbittered the relationships between the families for three generations. The neighbor feud had grown into a personal one since Ulnch had come to the head of his family." It can be inferred from this quote that Ulnch might have killed his feuding neighbors.
    The plot and structure of a peice of writing are very important. Plot is the sequence of incidents or events through which an author constructs a story. A lot of skilled authors are careful to present the sequence in a significant order. The plot of a story is not the action itself, but the way the author arranges the action toward a specific end.
    The plot of a story always consists of key things or are effected by certain things. There is always a conflict, or a clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills in the plot of a story. These conflicts include person vs. person, person vs. the environment, and person vs. themself. Every plot also includes a protagonist and an antagonist. The protagonist is the central character in the story. The antagonist is the force against the protagonist. Not every story includes suspense, but it is a great deal of the plot for the stories that do. There are two types of suspense; mystery and dilemma. A mystery is an unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves explanation. Dilemma is a position in which he/she must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable. The sudden turn in a plot that is unjustified by the situation or characters is
    There are different types of connotation. Informative connotations are socially agreed upon. These types of connotations have "impersonal" meanings. Affective connotations are auras of personal feelings they arouse. The affect describes a patient or a client's disposition. The effect of a connotation is the emotion around it.
    Positive supposition is linked to connotations. A positive supposition is putting a positive connotation on a phrase to get a better reaction out of someone. Some people use negative connotations on things they say in order to get negative reactions. For example, there is a difference between one saying, "Wow! Your hair looks great, did you do something new?", versus someone saying, "Wow! You look different, did you actually