Intro to the AP Exam
The Structure of the AP Language Exam
Multiple Choice (MCQ)
This section is 60 minutes long. You will read a series of passages and answer questions related to reading and writing skills covered in the course.
45%
Free Response (FRQs)
This section is 120 minutes long, plus a 15-minute reading period. During this time, you will write three (3) essays in response to 3 different prompts
55%
Multiple Choice
60 Minutes -- 45 questions
Reading Questions (2 sets, 23-25 questions) ask about:
Writing Questions (3 sets, 20-22 questions) ask you to assess the effectiveness of sample passages, and to make recommendations for revision.
MCQ Reading Questions Example
1. Which of the following best describes the writer’s exigence in the passage?
(A) The lack of interest among eligible voters in the political process
(B) The growing trend of using violence to address women’s employment concerns
(C) The limited resources available to women for changing existing power structures
(D) Widening disparities in the socioeconomic circumstances of American and British women
(E) Public resentment of the high tax rate imposed by the government
2. In the opening paragraph (lines 1–9), the writer contrasts a hypothetical rhetorical situation with her own primarily to
(A) illustrate the double standards for men and women in the political realm
(B) explain why women are more reluctant to adopt revolutionary methods than men
(C) emphasize the influence of women on democratic culture in the United States
(D) suggest that American women’s civil rights have been eroded in the twentieth century
(E) highlight the obstacles women encounter when emigrating from other countries
MCQ Writing Questions Example
1. Which of the following sentences, if placed before sentence 1, would both capture the audience’s interest and provide the most effective introduction to the topic of the paragraph?
(A) NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter was launched on December 11, 1998, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
(B) On September 23, 1999, NASA officials were aghast when the $125 million Mars Climate Orbiter vanished as it prepared to enter the red planet’s orbit.
(C) As part of a new set of missions intended to survey the planet Mars, the Mars Climate Orbiter was launched by NASA scientists to study Mars’s climate and weather.
(D) When NASA officials lost contact with their Mars Climate Orbiter on September 23, 1999, they immediately instigated a search for the spacecraft using NASA’s Deep Space Network of radio antennae.
(E) The Mars Climate Orbiter carried two instruments when it attempted and failed to enter Mars’s orbit in September, 1999: the Mars Climate Orbiter Color Imager (MARCI) and the Pressure Modulated Infrared Radiometer (PMIRR).
2. In sentence 3 (reproduced below), which of the following versions of the underlined text best establishes the writer’s position on the main argument of the passage?
The Orbiter mission failure is just one reason, albeit an extremely expensive one, that the United States needs to abandon future Mars survey missions.
(A) (as it is now)
(B) should consider privatizing space exploration
(C) needs to adopt the metric system
(D) should partner with other countries on future missions to outer space
(E) must stress STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education starting at an early age
Essay 1: Synthesis Essay
Approx. 40 minutes + 15 minutes reading time
Synthesis Prompt Example
As the Internet age changes what and how people read, there has been considerable debate about the future of public libraries. While some commentators question whether libraries can stay relevant, others see new possibilities for libraries in the changing dynamics of today’s society.
Carefully read the six sources, found on the AP English Language and Composition Classroom Resources Page, including the introductory information for each source. Write an essay that synthesizes material from at least three of the sources and develops your position on the role, if any, that public libraries should serve in the future.
Source A (Kranich)
Source B (calendar)
Source C (Shank)
Source D (charts)
Source E (Siegler)
Source F (ALA)
Essay 2: Rhetorical Analysis
Approx. 40 minutes
Rhetorical Analysis Prompt Example
Essay 3: Argument
Approx. 40 Minutes
Argument Prompt Example
The late Barbara Jordan, a former United States representative, once warned, “[T]his is the great danger America faces—that we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups: city against suburb, region against region, individual against individual; each seeking to satisfy private wants.”
Write an essay that argues your position on Jordan’s claim that “private wants” threaten national identity.
Essay Scoring
6-point AP Argument Rubric
Creating an Argumentative Thesis
X; however, A and B. Therefore, Y.
X; however, A and B, therefore, Y.
Although X, A and B suggest that Y.
Despite X, Y because A and B.
While some have suggested X, given A and B, it is my view that Y.
Synthesis Practice
You have 15 minutes to read and understand the 6 sources.
6-point AP Argument Rubric, cont’d
With your group
Review your assigned Source.
6-point AP Argument Rubric, cont’d