AP English Literature Cheatsheets

AP English Literature, unit by unit

What each unit's one-page cheatsheet covers. Open a unit to read the start of its sheet.

1. Unit 2: Intro to Poetry

   Character in Poetry: Perspective & Motive · Line & Stanza Breaks: Structure as Meaning · Contrasts & Shifts: Signaling Change · Simile: Explicit Comparison · Metaphor: Implied Comparison · Word Choice & Imagery: Repetition & Sound · Building a Literary Argument · Common Confusions & Test Moves

2. Unit 3: Intro to Longer Fiction & Drama

   Character Expectations & Interpretation · Character Perspective & Motive · Dynamic vs. Static Characters · Internal vs. External Conflict · Plot, Events & Significance · Building Arguments: Thesis & Claims · Evidence & Commentary

3. Unit 4: Character, Conflict, & Storytelling in Short Fiction

   Character Agency & Values · Perspective & Tone in Narration · Setting & Character Connection · Narrator & Point of View · Coherence & Composition Control · Plot Patterns & Structural Contrasts · Building Literary Arguments

4. Unit 5: Structure & Figurative Language in Poetry

   Closed vs. Open Form · Personification & Allusion · Building a Thesis & Line of Reasoning · Literal vs. Figurative Language · Metaphor & Extended Metaphor · Coherence & Transitions · Imagery & Sensory Details · Evidence & Commentary Strategy · Question-Solving Checklist

5. Unit 6: Literary Techniques in Longer Works

   Character Complexity & Perspective · Symbol & Symbolic Meaning · Narrator Reliability & Perspective · Narrative Structure & Complexity · Building a Literary Argument · Evidence & Commentary Strategy

6. Unit 7: Complexities in Short Fiction

   Character Change & Epiphany · Symbols & Motifs · Narrator Reliability & Perspective · Character Relationships & Groups · Setting: Function & Change · Figurative Language · Narrative Pacing & Time · Building Literary Arguments