Score Higher on AP Spanish Lang 2024: MCQ Tips from Students

Multiple Choice Questions

This guide organizes advice from past students who got 4s and 5s on their exams. We hope it gives you some new ideas and tools for your study sessions. But remember, everyone's different—what works for one student might not work for you. If you've got a study method that's doing the trick, stick with it. Think of this as extra help, not a must-do overhaul.

📌 Overview

• Students are given Spanish print sources and are asked to define vocabulary meanings, identify main ideas and supporting details, identify author’s point of view, and demonstrate cultural knowledge. Students are asked comprehension questions about audio sources that may or may not be paired with print materials.
• 50% of Exam Score
• 40 minutes for 30 written questions, or 1 min 20 sec per question
• 55 minutes for 35 audio-based questions, or 1 min 35 sec per question

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💭 General Advice

Tips on mindset, strategy, structure, time management, and any other high level things to know

• Practicing + studying with past AP materials that have been on previous tests massively helps with confidence going into the exam!
• Make sure to keep an eye on the clock - some proctors won’t let you know how much time you have remaining. You have around a minute and a half for each question so staying within that range will make sure you’re on track during the exam.
• Take some time to familiarize yourself with the format of the test, so there are no surprises on exam day!
• It’s ALWAYS better to over prepare than under prepare. Give yourself adequate time to study (a few days in advance to prevent burnout) so you can conquer whatever questions you may see on the test!
• Sometimes when speaking in another language, you get more caught up on the fact you’re not speaking your native language rather than the objective of communication. Focus on what you’re trying to say/understand instead of the translation logistics - it makes things much more cohesive and digestible.
• Familiarize yourself with the six main themes of AP Spanish! How does each question fall under a theme?
• Practice tests!!!! Practice tests have been the most useful study tool. Make sure you take at the very least one full length practice test before your exam. This will give you an idea of what to expect on test day and how to pace yourself.
• When writing the email, use the email provided as reference. Don’t copy it and try to use varied vocabulary, but it is a great starting point for formatting your email.
• Memorize key transition words you will need for your writing and cultural comparisons. You don’t have to memorize them all, choose a few to keep in your word bank for the day of the test.
• Vocabulary: Prioritize building and diversifying your vocabulary. A strong vocabulary enhances comprehension and aids in answering questions.
  • This also goes hand in hand with your listening skills, practice listening to various audio sources, including different accents and speeds. This will help with your overall comprehension skills as for the audio section of the MCQ you never know from what region that person is from, making certain accents/words hard to understand.
• Make sure you understand WHAT the question is asking you (reread the question)!
• The questions will more than likely ask you to identify one of the following:
  • Main ideas & details of the text
  • Purpose
  • Intended audience
  • Techniques the author uses to communicate the idea/message
  • Point of view/perspective

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🤔 Before you Bubble

What should a student do in the first few minutes, before they start answering?

• Take three deep breaths!! The nerves in the room will affect you greatly so make sure to calm yourself down a bit :)
• Lock in and make sure there are no distractions.
• Remember you have been preparing for this and are ready to tackle the test. Do not let the nerves get to you.
• Mental Outline: Form a mental outline or strategy for how you’ll approach the questions, considering the structure of the section. Mentally plan how much time you’ll allocate to each question, ensuring you’re using your time effectively.

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🤓 Understanding the Sources

• Always read the title of the source provided!
• What is this communicating? What theme does this fall under? How are they trying to communicate this idea/concept?
• What is the context for this situation? Is there context provided? Who is the author + what is their viewpoint?
• If sources are often challenging for you, try reading the questions before reading the source so you’ll have an idea of what the source will be about before diving in.
• Mark down key ideas, characters, feelings and attitudes presented in the text.
• Evaluate Source Reliability: Assess the reliability and credibility of the sources, considering the author’s expertise and potential biases. Consider why it was created; understanding the motivation behind it can illuminate its purpose and intended message.
  • Pay attention to cultural nuances within the sources, as they can significantly impact the interpretation and meaning of the content.

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✏️ Choosing the Best Answer

• Eliminate distractors - answers that are obviously wrong.
• If there are two similar answers, reread the question and choose whichever answer more specifically responds to the prompt.
• Don’t overthink it! Second guessing yourself is a vicious cycle.
• Most of your answers will be in the text, go back and try to find them if you are unsure—but stay wary of time.
• Remember you can flag a question and come back to it if you find yourself stuck, sometimes following questions can help you answer previous questions.
• Educated Guess: If a question remains unclear despite analysis, make an educated guess based on your understanding and any relevant information, choose the most plausible answer. Avoid leaving blanks, DO NOT leave a question unanswered; as long as you take a reasonable guess there’s a chance it could be correct.

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👂🏽Tips for Listening

• When you listen for the first time, make an outline of what the general idea + main theme of the recording was. After that go back and fill in specific details during the second time listening.
• Don’t zone out! The recordings are short so just make sure you don’t day dream because you only have two opportunities to understand them.
• Pre-scan Questions: Quickly glance over the questions related to the upcoming audio before it begins playing. Identify key terms or specific details mentioned in the questions. In doing so, during the playback keep an ear out for the anticipated keywords or information relevant to the questions your pre-scanned to help get answers.

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🤨 How to Deal with Unfamiliar Words

• Use the words around it to gather context clues on what it could mean!
• Is this word a cognate?
• What words have similar prefixes or suffixes? They most likely have similar denotations.
• If understanding the word is crucial to the question then make sure to decipher it, if it’s not that important then don’t let it trip you up!
• Revisit: If time permits, revisit questions with unfamiliar words after completing the rest of the section. Sometimes insights gained from answering other questions may help decipher previously challenging terms.