AP English Literature and Composition Exam: Essential FAQ 

Are you preparing for the AP Literature and Composition exam? Then, you must have all kinds of questions about it! From “How long is the AP Lit exam?” to “How do you write an AP Lit essay?” and “What skills do you need to handle free-response questions?”

Well, the good news is that you are in the right place! We’ll help you get all the answers you need and equip you with the information that gives you a solid head start. Keep reading!

Why Should You Take the AP English Literature and Composition Exam?

Let’s begin with the most basic (and a bit of Shakespearean) question: should you take the AP English Literature and Composition exam or not? Why take it in the first place? There are several reasons, but the main one is simple – you can get college credit if you do well on the exam.

Overall, taking AP courses is a way to show the college team that you are ready for the academic-level program. This means you can handle more intensive and harder work in college classes.

The bottom line is simple – AP test-takers can gain invaluable knowledge for future personal, academic, and professional success. Plus, this can make you feel more confident as you start your new education stage.

How Do You Understand If the AP English Lit Exam Is Right For You?

Not everyone can easily decide if an AP English Literature and Composition course is right for them. That’s normal! Let’s start with the obvious thing: if you are considering majoring in English in college, taking AP English Literature and Composition is not just an option for you; it is a necessity.

The main focus of AP English Literature and Composition is Reading. So, ask yourself if you are interested in diving deep into great works of poetry, fiction, and drama. Make sure you’re comfortable tackling texts and working on them for hours.

But let’s say your interest in Literature is not that strong. Should you take AP English Literature and Composition, then? It depends because you can get several useful and quite universal skills during this course. Like what?

For starters, you can hone your critical reading skills, which are invaluable across various disciplines. Secondly, no matter what your major is, you can always benefit from what you learn in other AP classes. Finally, when you are in college, you will still have to read a lot. By going through numerous pieces of literature now, you will be able to cope with the college pace easier.

What Is the English Literature and Composition Exam Format?

In 2024, schools can administer an AP English Literature exam either as a traditional paper test or as a digital exam, like the DSAT. Yet, make sure to check the official College Board website for the latest information, as anything may change. Alternatively, to find out which format you’ll face, you can contact your AP teachers.

What else do you need to know? Starting with the 2025 exam, multiple-choice questions in the AP English Literature and Composition test will have four answer choices instead of five. The College Board already implemented this change in many AP courses, and studies suggest this step could enhance the exam experience for students.

What Is AP Lit Exam Course Content and Structure?

The AP English Literature and Composition course content comprises nine units. To compile it, the College Board used input from educators and an analysis of both high school and college courses and textbooks. The exam mainly focuses on assessing skills and knowledge across three main genres. Basically, these units include what students should learn to qualify for college credit or placement.

Here’s an overview of the units and their respective exam weighting in the multiple-choice section:

• Units 1, 4, and 7: Short Fiction (42%–49%)
• Units 2, 5, and 8: Poetry (36%–45%)
• Units 3, 6, and 9: Longer Fiction or Drama (15%–18%)

Now, let’s take a look at the structure. The AP English Literature exam has two main parts: multiple-choice questions and free-response questions.

Source: College Board

Multiple-Choice Section:

• There are 55 questions.
• You have 60 minutes to answer them.
• The questions come in 5 sets, each with 8-13 questions.
• Each set has questions based on a passage of prose fiction, drama, or poetry.
• You will get at least 2 prose fiction passages and at least 2 poetry passages.

Free-Response Section:

• There are 3 questions; each requires you to write an essay.
• You have 2 hours to answer them.
• Two questions will require you to analyze a poem and a prose fiction passage.
• The third question will ask you to discuss a concept, issue, or element in a literary work.

How to Prepare for the AP Lit Exam?

Now that you know all the structural details, it is time to learn how to prepare for the test so that your total exam score is high. The first thing you need to do is hone your reading skills. It is an absolute must. It requires going through a lot of prose fiction, analyzing it, and learning literary techniques. This means practicing with texts of varying difficulty. How can you do that without overwhelming yourself?

1. Start with short fiction to get comfortable with reading. Later, you can move on to longer works like novels. Don’t just look through the plot; focus on literary analysis by identifying common literary devices like simile, metaphor, and symbolism. Practice looking for and analyzing the six main skill categories tested on the exam: character, setting, structure, narration, word choice, and figurative language.

2. Practice answering questions in both sections of the exam. When preparing for the multiple-choice section, focus on developing strong analytical skills to identify the correct answer based on the passage you have to read. In the free-response essay section, you’ll need to show your ability to write essays in a clear and organized way. Learn to use textual evidence from the passage to support your literary arguments.

3. Use all prep resources available to you. There are many resources for preparation, including practice questions from the past years. You can always get practice exams in the College Board’s AP Classroom. Review all these materials to know what to expect on the test. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll feel on exam day! Remember, the key to a high score is your ability to understand literary merit through strong textual evidence. If it still seems too complicated, consider getting some help by working with a tutor.

What Skills Should You Develop for the Exam?

The AP English Literature and Composition course emphasizes specific skills that students should work on throughout the year. So, here are the 6 big ideas assessed in the exam:

Source: College Board

Based on these big ideas, the AP English Literature and Composition Exam assesses a number of skills. These are different for the multiple-choice and free-response sections.

The multiple-choice questions test the following seven skills:

Source: College Board

At the same time, the free-response section will assess the following skills:

• How well you respond to the prompt with a thesis with a defensible interpretation.
• Whether you can choose and apply evidence that supports your reasoning.
• If you can justify how the evidence you provide supports your reasoning.
• Whether you’re using appropriate grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation when communicating your argument.

What Is the Reading List for the AP English Literature and Composition Exam?

There isn’t a required reading list for the AP English Literature exam. You might wonder, “What should I read, then?” The College Board provides a list of recommended authors. This list includes:

If you want to find out more about the specific works you need to read before the exam, check out our blog on the AP Literature reading list.

What Is the Best Time to Take the AP English Lit Exam?

Students usually take the AP English Literature and Composition in high school, and there are good reasons for that. First, this course involves a lot of reading and writing. It’s best to take AP English Literature and Composition when you can spend hours going through complex texts, which is not always an easy task. Besides, when you’re in high school, you regularly practice your writing skills.

You should also feel comfortable meeting the technical requirements. Even if you’re well aware of how long the AP Lit exam is, you need excellent time management skills to tackle it. After all, you have to review long materials, consider all the answers, write an essay with a persuasive literary argument, and still leave some time to check your responses and grammar. Plus, even if you start preparing early, the AP Lit exam format may still be too challenging – these are college-level tasks, after all!

What Should You Bring to the Exam?

One of the approaches that helps you get rid of any unnecessary stress is to prepare everything you need for the test. Here’s the list of the essentials:

• No. 2 pencils for the multiple-choice answer sheet.
• Pens (black or dark blue ink) to fill out exam booklet covers and write free-response questions.
• Photo ID if you’re taking the exam at a different school (government-issued or school-issued). They may also require ID in the international test centers.
• College Board SSD Accommodations Letter if you have approved accommodations.
• A watch that doesn’t beep or make noises and has no internet access or an alarm.
• A testing device that meets AP Program criteria for digital AP Exams.

What If You Don’t Do Well on the AP Lit Exam?

One of the main fears of all test takers is to fail the exam. In reality, you don’t have to worry too much! The first thing you should know is that a low score on the exam doesn’t affect your GPA. Your grade in the AP English Literature and Composition class comes from your coursework, not your exam score.

Now, the good news is that a bad score doesn’t mean the colleges you aim for will see your results. Only you can decide when and to whom to send your AP exam scores. So, if you get a result you don’t like, simply don’t share it with colleges. If you retake the test and get a better score, send the higher score instead of the old one.

Conclusion

You can never be certain of the exact questions you get on the AP English Literature and Composition exam. However, by following the steps above, you’ll be well-prepared to tackle any challenge. Make sure to read and practice a lot. Don’t lose track of time during the exam, and make sure you bring everything you need on the test day. All the luck!