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|  | Observations of the Chief Reader
The following information about the free-response section was provided by Reynaldo Jimenez, the Chief Reader for AP Spanish, after the 2001 AP Reading.
Paragraph Completion and Discrete Sentence Fill-ins
Although a question dealing with demonstrative pronouns did not appear on the 2001 exam, the AP Development Committee wants to make Spanish teachers aware of the decision made by the Real Academia de la Lengua, regarding accent marks on demonstrative pronouns: As always, demonstrative adjectives (ese, este, aquel) and their feminine and plural forms are not accentuated. Demonstrative pronouns generally no longer require accent marks. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but students at this level hardly ever encounter these exceptions. In the future, if a question appears on the AP Spanish Exam in which students are asked to produce the correct demonstrative pronoun, answers with or without accents will be accepted as correct. - Students must pay close attention to the directions given in the exercise. With respect to the paragraph, students can only write one word in each blank; with respect to the sentences, students are instructed that they may write one or more words which means: a simple tense, a compound tense, and a reflexive pronoun plus conjugated verb, in the case of a reflexive construction.
- Students must know the different parts of speech that constitute the sentence in Spanish (pronouns, adjectives, participles, prepositions, and so on), their function, and the grammatical rules that govern them.
- Students should practice reading paragraphs and analyzing different parts of speech in context; i.e., reading exercises should be used both for the purpose of acquiring vocabulary and for establishing connections between different parts of speech, identifying referents and relations between words, establishing time references, and applying grammatical rules.
Composition - Students should be exposed, on a regular basis, to readings where a higher register of vocabulary is learned and incorporated into their own writing.
- As in previous years, we continue to see errors in basic structures, while at the same time certain "memorized" complex structures, such as an occasional imperfect subjunctive or other memorized patterns of the conditional and subjunctive. Students must progress systematically from basic to more complex structures; i.e., they must show solid command of basic structures (such as present and past tense conjugations in the indicative) before venturing inconsistently into more complex areas of the language.
- Attention to organization (premise or thesis statement > elaboration of thesis > conclusion), and to the conventions of the written language must also be part of the teaching/learning process at the AP level.
- The area of content or relevance and thorough treatment of topic must be understood as an important element in the writing process as it is in the grading criteria. It is important to recognize that "thoroughness" implies not only length (at least 200 hundred words are expected) but also depth. A certain level of abstraction, beyond the reference to the immediate, familiar experience (although clearly stipulated in this question) is encouraged to attain the higher scores. In this sense, thorough treatment, wide range of vocabulary, complex structures, organization, and conventions of the written language should be viewed as closely interrelated.
- Students tend to perform better in the oral sections of the exam than in the written parts. This may be due to a number of variables, including more exposure to the spoken language throughout the United States, focus of instruction, and increased travel. While this is all very laudable in the context of desired functional ability with the language, teachers must continue to place equal, if not more, emphasis on other skills, such as reading and writing.
Picture Sequence - Students should listen carefully to the instructions in this exercise. They are instructed to answer as fully as possible within the allocated time. This means description and narration.
- Practice with elements of speech that enhance cohesion (prepositions, conjunctions, relative pronouns) as well as listening exercises from a variety of sources and registers (to expand vocabulary, gain awareness of complex structures, and improve pronunciation) are highly recommended.
- At the higher levels, thorough and detailed narration is expected. To enhance their chances to obtain the higher scores in this exercise, students should attempt to complete the sequence of frames. Remember that the exercise is not only about description, but narration as well.
Directed Responses - Students should focus on the topic at hand and be able to deliver thorough responses in precise vocabulary.
- Close attention to agreements and control of verb conjugations should be part of regular class reviews as well as training students to speak in (short) paragraphs, i.e., beyond the sentence level.
- Although this is an exercise in oral production and functionality, understanding the question accurately is an essential component of the exercise. Exposing students to different registers of the language (newscasts, conversations or dialogues, and mini-presentations) followed by some instrument to quickly evaluate comprehension would be helpful.
Call for Submissions
AP Central welcomes submissions of exam tips. If you have tips you would like to submit, please e-mail them to ExamTips@collegeboard.org.
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