LF3 - Lesson: The AP English Literature Exam

A multiple choice test is completed while an alarm clock keeps time.The AP English Literature Exam

Congratulations!

You’ve finished the content of the course; if you are taking the AP English Literature Exam, the following might help you to review and reflect on how to score well on the exam.

For those of you who might not be taking the exam, please continue with the course content. Be sure to contact your instructor if you have any questions at this point in the course.

The information on this page comes from AP Central.

Exam Format

The AP English Literature and Composition Exam has consistent question types, weighting, and scoring guidelines every year, so you can know what to expect on exam day. There will also be a consistent range of difficulty in the reading passages across all versions of the exam from year to year. The free-response questions will be scored using analytic rubrics, rather than the previous holistic rubrics.

Section I: Multiple Choice

55 Questions | 1 Hour | 45% of Exam Score

  • Includes 5 sets of questions with 8–13 questions per set.
  • Each set is preceded by a passage of prose fiction, drama, or poetry of varying difficulty.
  • The multiple-choice section will always include at least 2 prose fiction passages (this may include drama) and at least 2 poetry passages.

Section II: Free Response

3 Questions | 2 Hours | 55% of Exam Score

  • Students write essays that respond to 3 free-response prompts from the following categories:
    • A literary analysis of a given poem
    • A literary analysis of a given passage of prose fiction (this may include drama)
    • An analysis that examines a specific concept, issue, or element in a work selected by the student. In responding to Question 3, students should select a work of fiction that will be appropriate to the question. A general rule is to use a work that is similar in quality to those they have read in their AP class(es).

Practice Activity

Take some time to review your previous MC and essay scores from this course. By doing so, you can start to gain a better idea of where you can gain points by reviewing and studying. While every year's exam is a new experience, the common elements stay the same from year to year. This course has provided several opportunities for you to test your skills based on those expectations, so reviewing your previous work is a valuable tool in preparing for the exam.

Final Thoughts

In this course, you have thought about literature in a deep and reflective way. You have also had test preparation in each module with both the Multiple-Choice and FRQ practice. If you have done all the assignments to the best of your ability, then you should be ready to take the AP English Literature Exam. Once again congratulations on finishing the course, and good luck on the Final Exam and AP English Literature Exam.

[CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Links to an external site.] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION - INTENDED ONLY FOR USE WITHIN LESSON.
Have a nice day Photo/Shutterstock.com. Image used under license from Shutterstock.com and may not be repurposed.