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In order to write an effective multiple-choice passage, you will need to use multiple-choice "stems." Those are the basic questions most AP passages include as part of their question set.
Stems (Certain words are underlined for emphasis)
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Let’s Make Sock Cake!
One common distractor type is the sock cake type. In writing your own distractor, make sure that PART OF IT is accurate, but part of it is not. For example, let's say you had a speaker who wrote a poem expressing his undying antipathy toward pineapple pizza. A distractor or two might look like this: The author's attitude toward pineapple pizza can BEST be described as A. Hopefully disparaging
One trick is to come up with the right answer and then put in a word as part of an "and" construction that pulls it away from the actual answer. Let's say we have a passage about a family that is very good about attending religious services. Example: The attitude of the Jones family toward their religion was one of A. Strict observation of ritual and a complacency regarding doctrine. The "and" part throws off this answer. You might have textual support about attending religious services being consistent with strict observation of ritual. Cool. However, "complacency" throws that answer off the right track. The fact that it's a less-common word is part of the distractor game here. The "Line 45" Rule, or Why Five Above, Five Below Matters If there's a line reference question, the correct answer MUST be in line 45, but remember that context *really, really* matters. For example, in line 45, Catherine Earnshaw may declare that she could never marry Heathcliff. However, in lines 46 through 50, let's say she talks about how her love for Heathcliff is all-consuming. The answer MUST be verifiable by the information present in line 45, if that's what the question is talking about. For instance, a correct answer choice might express some idea like, "In line 45, Catherine Earnshaw expresses her..."
OPPOSITES (DON'T) ATTRACT One of the classic distractor options is to put in a choice that is literally the opposite of the right answer. Sometimes these opposites can stem from misreading the passage, or sometimes they can stem from cultural attitudes or well-worn tropes that the passage doesn't necessarily support. Great choice for at least one distractor in a question set. |