AP English Language and

Composition
About the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®)
The Advanced Placement Program® has enabled millions of students to take college-level courses and earn college credit, advanced placement, or
both, while still in high school. AP Exams are given each year in May. Students who earn a qualifying score on an AP Exam are typically eligible, in
college, to receive credit, placement into advanced courses, or both. Every aspect of AP course and exam development is the result of collaboration
between AP teachers and college faculty. They work together to develop AP courses and exams, set scoring standards, and score the exams. College
faculty review every AP teacher’s course syllabus.

AP English Program
Each unit culminates in a Personal Progress Check. made up of 1) a
The College Board offers two courses in English studies, each free-response question and scoring rubric for the teacher to
designed to provide high school students the opportunity to engage administer in class or online and 2) online multiple-choice questions
with a typical introductory-level college English curriculum. that provide each student with personalized feedback and the teacher
with a class summary of skills.
The AP English Language and Composition course focuses on the
development and revision of evidence-based analytic and The following big ideas serve as the foundation of the course,
argumentative writing and the rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts. enabling students to create meaningful connections among concepts.
Each big idea correlates with an enduring understanding, a long-term
The AP English Literature and Composition course focuses on
takeaway related to the big idea:
reading, analyzing, and writing about imaginative literature (fiction,
poetry, drama) from various periods. ■ Rhetorical Situation: Individuals write within a particular
There is no prescribed sequence of study, and a school may offer one situation and make strategic writing choices based on that
or both courses. situation.
■ Claims and Evidence: Writers make claims about subjects, rely
on evidence that supports the reasoning that justifies the claim,
AP English Language and Composition
and often acknowledge or respond to other, possibly opposing,
Course Overview arguments.
■ Reasoning and Organization: Writers guide understanding of
The AP English Language and Composition course focuses on the a text’s lines of reasoning and claims through that text’s
development and revision of evidence-based analytic and organization and integration of evidence.
argumentative writing, the rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts, and
the decisions writers make as they compose and revise. Students ■ Style: The rhetorical situation informs the strategic stylistic
evaluate, synthesize, and cite research to support their arguments. choices that writers make.
Additionally, they read and analyze rhetorical elements and their
effects in nonfiction texts—including images as forms of text—from a
range of disciplines and historical periods.
Course Skills
The following skill categories, tied to the big ideas, describe what skills
RECOMMENDED PREREQUISITES students should develop during the course:
■ Rhetorical Situation – Reading: Explain how writers’ choices
There are no prerequisite courses for AP English Language and
Composition. Students should be able to read and comprehend reflect the components of the rhetorical situation.
college-level texts and write grammatically correct, complete ■ Rhetorical Situation – Writing: Make strategic choices in a
sentences. text to address a rhetorical situation.
■ Claims and Evidence – Reading: Identify and describe the
claims and evidence of an argument.
AP English Language and Composition
■ Claims and Evidence – Writing: Analyze and select evidence
Course Content
to develop and refine a claim.
■ Reasoning and Organization – Reading: Describe the
The course skills are organized within nine units that scaffold student
development of the analysis and composition skills required for reasoning, organization, and development of an argument.
college credit. For each unit, the teacher selects a theme or topic and ■ Reasoning and Organization – Writing: Use organization and
then chooses texts, typically short nonfiction pieces, that enable commentary to illuminate the line of reasoning in an argument.
students to practice and develop the reading and writing skills for that ■ Style – Reading: Explain how writers’ stylistic choices
unit.
contribute to the purpose of an argument.
 ■ Style – Writing: Select words and use elements of composition to advance an argument.

AP English Language and Composition Exam Structure

AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION EXAM: Format of Assessment

3 HOURS, 15 MINUTES
Section I: Multiple-choice | 45 Questions | 60 Minutes |
Assessment Overview 45% of Exam Score
The AP English Language and Composition Exam assesses student ■ Includes 23–25 Reading Questions
understanding of the skills and essential knowledge outlined in the
course framework. The exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long and ■ Includes 20–22 Writing Questions
includes 45 multiple-choice questions and 3 free-response questions.
Section II: Free-response | 3 Questions | 2 Hours, 15 Minutes
55% of Exam Score

■ Question 1: Synthesis (6 points).

■ Question 2: Rhetorical Analysis (6 points).
■ Question 3: Argument (6 points).

Exam Components

Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

Students are given a passage of writing and asked to respond to In sentence 3 (reproduced below), which of the following versions of the
a set of prompts and questions based on the passage. Below is underlined text best establishes the writer’s position on the main
one example. argument of the passage?

In the opening paragraph (lines 1–10), the writer contrasts a The Orbiter mission failure is just one reason, albeit an extremely
hypothetical rhetorical situation with her own primarily to expensive one, that the United States needs to abandon future Mars
survey missions.
(A) illustrate the double standards for men and women in the
political realm.
(B) explain why women are more reluctant to adopt revolutionary (A) (as it is now)
methods than men. (B) should consider privatizing space exploration
(C) emphasize the influence of women on democratic culture in
the United States. (C) needs to adopt the metric system
(D) suggest that American women’s civil rights have been eroded (D) should partner with other countries on future missions to outer space
in the twentieth century. (E) must stress STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
(E) highlight the obstacles women encounter when emigrating mathematics) education starting at an early age
from other countries.

Sample Free-Response Question

In May 2012, former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was the first African American woman to hold that position, gave
a commencement speech to the graduating class of Southern Methodist University, a private university in Dallas, Texas. The passage below
is an excerpt from that speech. Read the passage carefully. Write an essay that analyzes the rhetorical choices Rice makes to convey her
message to her audience.

In your response, you should do the following:

♦ Respond to the prompt with a thesis that analyzes the writer’s rhetorical choices.
♦ Select and use evidence to develop and support your line of reasoning.
♦ Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning.
♦ Demonstrate an understanding of the rhetorical situation.
♦ Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.

Educators: apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-language-and-composition
Students: apstudents.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-language-and-composition

© 2021 College Board. 00558-040 (Updated January 2021)