Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(13 customer reviews) 28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
The One to Get,
December 31, 2007 Steve - See all my reviews
This review is from: CliffsAP English Language and Composition (Paperback)
I had a really bad experience with my AP Lang class; the teacher never did anything relevant to the AP exam, and all we did was read novels and put together scrapbooks that somehow related to the books. When May arrived, I knew that I was in trouble, and I borrowed this book from my library, and I absolutely attribute my 5 on the exam to it. The practice questions are extremely similar to the real thing, and the explanations are in the right line of thinking that you have to bring the exam in order to do well, and that's all that this exam is about, just how you think. The essay samples are also really well evaluated, and the book offers a glossary on literary terms that you'll have to know. The book is good for quick preparation (I literally had a little over a week with this book) and long-term practice (which is what I wish I had done instead of freaking out a week beforehand). This is definitely the book to get!
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Middling quality,
May 20, 2007 Penelope Lake - See all my reviews
This review is from: CliffsAP English Language and Composition (Paperback)
A decent book, but flawed in a few ways. Provides enough information about the test itself, but focuses more on practice tests - which is probably the best way to prepare.
However, the practice tests are mediocre at best. The multiple-choice sections are decent, but a number of the questions are a bit iffy. Each practice test includes answers and explanations. The explanations are frequently insufficient; often they would say no more than "Answer D is the only correct answer choice". This isn't an explanation - it's a restatement of the answer. Of course, many of the explanations were good; a few even detailed why each particular answer choice was wrong. However, I encountered far more vague explanations than thorough explanations. The book also fails to deal with documentation questions on the multiple choice. Each practice test includes one or two, but when I took the AP there were four or five documentation questions. Furthermore, these questions were more varied than...Read more
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
The BEST help you will ever need!,
December 19, 2006 M. Paolini "Mommy Reader" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: CliffsAP English Language and Composition (Paperback)
I used the the first edition of this book with my students for years and the newly-updated edition is even better than before! VERY practical advice and REAL examples from the author's students, so it's not some adult trying to be a teenager. Don't let the Cliff's title fool you--this is quality instruction from an experienced educator!
