Learn about the elements that define effective argument and composition through the critical analysis and interpretation of complex texts.
Understand the interactions among a writer’s purpose, audience, subject, and genre and how each of these contributes to effective writing. Enhance your own writing skills and understand better each stage of the writing process as you develop expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions.
Download AP English Language and Composition overview
About the Exam
The exam is approximately three hours and 15 minutes long and has two parts — multiple choice and free response. The multiple choice section is worth 45% and the free response section is worth 55% of the final exam grade.
Section I: Multiple Choice — 52-55 questions; 1 hour
The multiple choice section tests your ability to read closely and analyze the rhetoric of prose passages.
Total scores on the multiple-choice section are based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points are not deducted for incorrect answers and no points are awarded for unanswered questions.
Section II: Free Response — 3 free-response questions; 2 hours, 15 minutes, which includes a 15-minute reading period.
The free response prompts test your skill in composition and requires close reading, thoughtful rhetorical analysis, and purposeful argumentation. This section also includes a synthesis prompt that tests your ability to effectively compose an argument of your own by combining and citing several supplied sources, including at least one visual source.
Practice for the exam
Understand the interactions among a writer’s purpose, audience, subject, and genre and how each of these contributes to effective writing. Enhance your own writing skills and understand better each stage of the writing process as you develop expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions.
Download AP English Language and Composition overview
About the Exam
The exam is approximately three hours and 15 minutes long and has two parts — multiple choice and free response. The multiple choice section is worth 45% and the free response section is worth 55% of the final exam grade.
Section I: Multiple Choice — 52-55 questions; 1 hour
The multiple choice section tests your ability to read closely and analyze the rhetoric of prose passages.
Total scores on the multiple-choice section are based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points are not deducted for incorrect answers and no points are awarded for unanswered questions.
Section II: Free Response — 3 free-response questions; 2 hours, 15 minutes, which includes a 15-minute reading period.
The free response prompts test your skill in composition and requires close reading, thoughtful rhetorical analysis, and purposeful argumentation. This section also includes a synthesis prompt that tests your ability to effectively compose an argument of your own by combining and citing several supplied sources, including at least one visual source.
Practice for the exam