Cracking the AP English Literature, 2002-2003 Edition

Rating:
Summary: Great Guide
Review: I have been an AP English teacher for five years, and I believe that this book is very useful. It is written in a very simple, easy-to-understand format. It is definitely not a book that would turn students off. There were two things I found out that I never knew before. There's a neat graph that has multiple choice questions on one axis and essay questions (average scores) on the other, so you can see how well you need to do on each part to get a 3 or above. I also appreciated the explanation of the multiple choice test. You get a point for a right answer, no points for a blank, and a deduction of 1/4 point for a wrong answer.
I honestly don't see why the person gave this guide a 1. It is not bad at all. It says right on it that there are "only" two practice tests. If you want more, you can get the Barron's, AP Cliffs Notes, and other guides as a supplement. Her complaint is a bit like someone who buys a Madonna greatest hits cd, then complains that there are no "new songs." Totally illogical. You should at least get this book out of the library.

Rating:
Summary: Great Guide
Review: I have been an AP English teacher for five years, and I believe that this book is very useful. It is written in a very simple, easy-to-understand format. It is definitely not a book that would turn students off. There were two things I found out that I never knew before. There's a neat graph that has multiple choice questions on one axis and essay questions (average scores) on the other, so you can see how well you need to do on each part to get a 3 or above. I also appreciated the explanation of the multiple choice test. You get a point for a right answer, no points for a blank, and a deduction of 1/4 point for a wrong answer.
I honestly don't see why the person gave this guide a 1. It is not bad at all. It says right on it that there are "only" two practice tests. If you want more, you can get the Barron's, AP Cliffs Notes, and other guides as a supplement. Her complaint is a bit like someone who buys a Madonna greatest hits cd, then complains that there are no "new songs." Totally illogical. You should at least get this book out of the library.

Rating:
Summary: Simple and to the point.
Review: This was a useful book that didn't go too far and beyond the basics of the AP English test. The test taking tips were ones that I never heard from my teacher and they made a lot of sense. I improved my multiple chocie score considerably by following the system in this book. As for the essay portion I'm not sure if this book, or any book, can help with any more than structure and grammer. You need to know how to write the AP essays on your own. This book can help you boost your essay scores, NOT teach you how to write one (it says that right in the book).
Overall, it was VERY helpful, and I would recomend getting it at least a month ahead of time, if not more. ---afterthought-I wish I had got the book at like 2 months before, I was disappointed I only got a 3 :(

Rating:
Summary: Stay far away from this one..
Review: To start off, ugh. What a disgusting guide. I'm amazed that they can call it a "guide." It's more of a low quality kind of toilet paper.
My two major gripes are that there are not enough practice questions, and that the few answers of those included are not explained correctly. That's true of all English Literature review books, since the questions are all somewhat subjective, but this book contains the most severe problems.
From cover to cover I finished this "book" in 1 hour. It's much too small to be effective. That's unfortunate, because if it had been a bit better, this book might have been worth your time. Move along, I recommend Peterson's AP Success.. Not great, but definately better.