AP Lit Referenced Titles as (and ).
AP Literature Open Prompts, 1970-2024, as , , and (Thanks to Claudia Felske).
AP Literature Poetry Prompts, 1970 to 2024, as .
AP Literature Poetry Prompts with Poems, 1970 to 2024, as .
AP Poets Referenced, 1970-2024, as .
AP Literature Prose Prompts, 1970 to 2024, as .
AP Literature Prose Passages, 1970 to 2024, as .
AP Prose Writers Referenced, 1970-2024, as .
AP Prose Prompts Rewritten with Stable Wording, as (Thanks to Tia Miller).
Overview of AP Literature Stable Pronots, as and as .
Interesting re-grouping of AP Literature prompts by subjects (Thanks to Ann Elizabeth Richards). , , and .
All Three AP Language Free Response Prompts, 1970 to 2024, as .
AP Language Prose Passages, 1982 to 2024, as (Thanks to Chris Godat).
Overview of AP Language Stable Prompts, as and as .
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Each prompt is now a separate dated file with prompt, scoring guide (6-point and/or 9-point), sample student essays, comments -- whatever I have, attached. Released multiple-choice exams are in a separate folder. . | ||
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You can still use the to locate which file holds the scored sample essays. |
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AP Central & YouTube -- Finding your way around the Advanced Placement website can be tricky. Direct links listed below (with some of those acronyms defined).
AP English FaceBook Groups
Teacher Sites -- Where have all the teachers gone? On sabbatical, into administration, to commercial sites, to retirement. So sorry.
Terminology
Writing Help
Literary Theory and Criticism
Miscellaneous Resources -- $ Resource Requiring Payment
“The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
(uses College Board’s My Roads) | (Greek & Roman Mythology) (National Poetry Month) (an ekphrastic unit) | by Anthony Doerr (Film) -- yes, a fan page with YouTube links to all the great John Green short videos. |
You may find other useful materials at Assignments , Handouts OR Yummy Bytes .
If you download or print anything from this site, please consider making at least a $10.00 donation through PayPal. I can maintain and expand this website only with your help.
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15 min read • july 11, 2024
We know that studying for your AP exams can be stressful, but Fiveable has your back! We created a study plan to help you crush your AP English Literature exam. This guide will continue to update with information about the 2025 exams, as well as helpful resources to help you do your best on test day. Unlock Cram Mode for access to our cram events—students who have successfully passed their AP exams will answer your questions and guide your last-minute studying LIVE! And don't miss out on unlimited access to our database of thousands of practice questions.
Going into test day, this is the exam format to expect:
Multiple Choice | 1 Hour | 45% of Exam Score - 55 questions total - 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. - Will always include at least 2 prose fiction passages (this may include drama) and at least 2 poetry passages. Free Response | 2 hours | 55% of your score
View an example set of questions and the corresponding scoring guidelines from the College Board to get an idea of what they look for in your responses!
Check out our study plan below to find resources and tools to prepare for your AP English Literature exam.
The exam is on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 8:00 AM your local time—this will be a paper test at your school.
Before you begin studying, take some time to get organized.
🖥 Create a study space.
Make sure you have a designated place at home to study. Somewhere you can keep all of your materials, where you can focus on learning, and where you are comfortable. Spend some time prepping the space with everything you need and you can even let others in the family know that this is your study space.
📚 Organize your study materials.
Get your notebook, textbook, prep books, or whatever other physical materials you have. Also, create a space for you to keep track of review. Start a new section in your notebook to take notes or start a Google Doc to keep track of your notes. Get yourself set up!
📅 Plan designated times for studying.
The hardest part about studying from home is sticking to a routine. Decide on one hour every day that you can dedicate to studying. This can be any time of the day, whatever works best for you. Set a timer on your phone for that time and really try to stick to it. The routine will help you stay on track.
🏆 Decide on an accountability plan.
How will you hold yourself accountable to this study plan? You may or may not have a teacher or rules set up to help you stay on track, so you need to set some for yourself. First, set your goal. This could be studying for x number of hours or getting through a unit. Then, create a reward for yourself. If you reach your goal, then x. This will help stay focused!
🌱 unit 1: intro to short fiction, big takeaways:.
Unit 1 is the first prose analysis unit, focusing on short fiction. It helps to establish your prose analysis vocabulary, focusing on identifying and describing basic literary elements such as plot, narrator, and setting. This unit also gives the foundations for writing analyses of text, beginning with paragraph structuring and claim defense.
📚 Read these study guides:
Unit 1 Overview: Introduction to Short Fiction
1.1 Interpreting the role of character in fiction
1.2 Identifying and interpreting setting
1.3 Identifying how a story’s structure affects interpretation
1.4 Understanding and interpreting a narrator’s perspective
1.5 Reading texts literally and figuratively
1.6 The basics of literary analysis 🎥 Watch these videos:
Prose Prompt Deconstruction : An overview of the Prose Analysis prompt and strategies for preparing to respond
What Lit Is : An overview of the course and exam and their expectations 📰 Check out this articles:
[object Object] : Short stories of literary merit to stretch your analysis muscles ✍️ Practice
Best Quizlet Decks for AP English Literature : Practice with these quizlets to strengthen your AP Lit vocabulary!
Unit 2 is the first poetry analysis unit, focusing on everyone's favorite figurative language devices -- metaphor and simile . Because poems often have a specific form, this unit also begins analysis of form/structure and also looks at contrasts in a text (which create the complexity that the exam expects you to analyze). All of these poetic elements, though, are being analyzed for their function in the poem -- this unit helps you practice looking for why authors make the choices that they do.
This unit continues the work of Unit 1 in developing paragraphs that establish a claim and provide evidence to support that claim. It’s more important that you can write a stable, defensible, claim-based paragraph at this point than it is that you can write an entire essay (that might not be as strong).
Unit 2 Overview: Introduction to Poetry
2.1 Identifying characters in poetry
2.2 Understanding & interpreting meaning in poetic structure
2.3 Analyzing word choice to find meaning
2.4 Identifying techniques in poetry to analyze literary works 🎥 Watch these videos:
Literary Device Review : An overview of some literary devices that you may have forgotten, or an introduction to some new ones that you want in your analysis vocabulary.
Defending a Claim : Before practicing your paragraphs, watch this stream for guidance in building a claim from the passage in response to a prompt.
How to Read a Poem : A stream dedicated to developing poetry reading skills, including a useful acronym (SIFT) for prioritizing important elements of a poem.
Annotating for Understanding: This stream guides you through the annotation process, making sure that you are annotating purposefully, and developing your own library of symbols. 📰 Check out these articles:
Poetry Overview : Our Fiveable guide to the poetry analysis question -- what to expect and what you need to do to respond effectively.
Here we go with the novels! Because the exam’s literary argument essay (also affectionately known as Q3 in the Lit circles) asks students to analyze a novel-length text, it’s important to get practice on analyzing novels or plays (did someone say, Shakespeare?). This unit boils down to paying closer attention to character and plot, with a sprinkling of setting analysis. Because novels are longer than short stories, not only can authors spread out the creation of literary elements and go deeper, but you can see more about how it’s done.
In terms of composition, this unit starts discussing the development of a thesis statement! So now we can establish a thesis, and then support it with a paragraph (or two). This means we’re also starting to create a line of reasoning that is introduced in the thesis statement, and supported in the body of your essay.
Unit 3 Overview: Introduction to Longer Fiction and Drama
3.1 Interpreting character description and perspective
3.2 Character evolution throughout a narrative
3.3 Conflict and plot development
3.4 Interpreting symbolism
3.5 Identifying evidence and supporting literary arguments 🎥 Watch these videos:
Theme Statements and Thesis Statements: This stream distinguishes between these two important statements in a Q3 response, and further discusses thesis statements in general.
Annotating for Analysis, part 2: This stream is more about annotating an exam prompt, and then preparing to respond to it.
Characters and Relationships : All about characterization, with terms and tips for understanding the creation of characters and why they matter. 📰 Check out these articles:
Fiveable study guide to the Literary Argument prompt
Because of the way that the AP Lit units are structured, we spiral skills and text types, so this is phase 2 of short fiction analysis. While the first short fiction unit was focused on identifying and describing elements, now you’re being asked to explain the function (that why again) and describe relationships.
This unit also asks you to start analyzing how those relationships and elements are created by authors. That means you are reading more closely for diction and syntax and paying more attention to how a speaker/narrator’s perspective is shown to you.
We’re still working on defensible thesis statements and building commentary to make clear connections between our claim and the evidence. This is what builds the line of reasoning and earns a 4 in evidence and commentary on the Lit rubric.
Unit 4 Overview: Character, Conflict, and Storytelling
4.1 Protagonists, antagonists, character relationships, and conflict
4.2 Character interactions with setting and its significance
4.3 Archetypes in literature
4.4 Types of narration like stream of consciousness
4.5 Narrative distance, tone, and perspective 🎥 Watch these videos:
Prose Analysis Prompt Deconstruction and Strategies : Before you read the text, make sure that you know the task before you, and you’re ready to read with that in mind.
Q2 Thesis and Introduction : There are some exam-taking tips in here, from a college freshman who conquered the exam. She also discusses forming a thesis and an introduction that works. Quickly.
Q2 Evidence and Commentary : Practicing creating commentary to respond to the prompt efficiently. This stream uses practice prompts to show the process of reading a text with the prompt in mind to select evidence while reading. 📰 Check out these articles:
Short Fiction Overview : Revisit this guide! Read the section on “How to Read a Short Story. Like, Really Read It.”
💎 Check out this stream on creating a "boot camp" that was originally meant for teachers, but gives guidelines and suggestions on how to dive into short fiction. ✍️ Practice
AP Lit Prose Analysis Practice Prompt Answers & Feedback – [object Object] (Diction): The focus of this practice prompt is diction – analyzing it AND using it yourself, with a little syntax thrown in! Try it yourself and compare it with student responses and feedback.
AP Lit Prose Analysis Practice Prompt Samples & Feedback – [object Object] : Practicing prose analysis is a great way to prep for the AP exam! Respond to this practice prompt and review practice writing samples and their corresponding feedback.
AP Lit Prose Analysis Practice Essays & Feedback – [object Object] : Writing essays is a great way to practice prose analysis and prep for the AP exam! Review student responses for an essay prompt and corresponding feedback
We’re going back to poems! This unit asks you to “identify and explain the function” of various poetic elements and devices. All at the same time. Those literary devices you learned in Poetry I might come in handy here, but the analysis is more about why the author made those choices about repetition, reference, comparison, etc.
In order to select the most significant, “relevant, and sufficient” evidence to support your line of reasoning from your thesis , you have to know the function of the personification or metaphor or imagery. Ask yourself, “Why would the author write ____ instead of ____?” This helps you analyze the connotations of the choice, and therefore the function in the text.
By now, we’re writing a thesis plus paragraphs. This is also an opportunity to work on the organization of your essays (hint: organizing by the device is neither efficient nor sophisticated; try to find a shift or two in the poem and use them to develop your paragraph chunks.
Unit 5 Overview: Structure and Figurative Language
5.1 Traits of closed and open structures in poetry
5.2 Use of techniques like imagery and hyperbole
5.3 Types of comparisons in poetry including personification and allusion
5.4 Identifying and interpreting extended metaphors 🎥 Watch these videos:
How Form Creates Meaning: Learn about poetry-specific choices authors make, and what elements of form look like in practice. Also, explore a couple of common forms and why they might be used.
Open Poetry Study : An opportunity to practice some of the skills from “How to Read a Poem ”.
Q1 Evidence and Commentary : Follow the process of reading a poem and selecting evidence in real-time. You can have an essay before it’s through.
The complexity of Poetry: This is an opportunity to look specifically at how poets create tensions and complexity in their work. Since this complexity is always a point of analysis on the exam, you can study how it works, and how to write about it
Because novels are longer stories, we can look at more elements at a time. That’s what this unit wants from you -- examining speaker perspective and reliability, the formation and function of literary or contextual symbolism, characterization, character relationships and contrasts, the function of plot events, etc. All at the same time.
What you need to know: The bottom line of reading for Q3 is the meaning of the work as a whole or theme . And you might not fully understand what that is until the novel or play is finished, but you can start to build ideas around what BIG IDEA the author is addressing. Your job is to keep track of how characters, plot, and setting contribute to the discussion of this big idea (like greed or isolation or jealousy or love or anger or insanity).
Unit 6 Overview: Literary Techniques in Longer Works
6.1 Interpreting foil characters
6.2 Understanding and interpreting character complexity
6.3 Understanding nonlinear narrative structures like flashbacks and foreshadowing
6.4 The effect of narrative tone and bias on reading
6.5 Characters as symbols, metaphors, and archetypes
6.6 Developing literary arguments within a broader context of works 🎥 Watch these videos:
Finding Theme Through Characterization : A discussion of the function of characterization as it applies to the meaning of the work as a whole.
🎥 Watch these videos:
Multiple Choice Intro : an introduction to the AP Literature multiple choice -- an overview of the weights, number and types of questions you will encounter, with some tips for practice and preparation.
Prose MC Strategies and Practice: covers all aspects of the Multiple Choice section of the AP Lit Exam, including tips on-time efficiency, annotation, and picking the best answer choice. This is followed by 2 sets of practice passages and questions and explanations for each of the provided answer choices. 📰 Check out these articles:
English Literature Multiple Choice Study Guide
AP English Literature Multiple Choice Help (MCQ) ✍️ Practice
AP English Lit MCQ Practice Tests
The last three units of AP Lit ask you to dig even deeper into what you're reading to analyze it. In Unit 7, you'll focus on how characters fit into the societal and historical context of the work they're in, and how those features can become important facets of stories. Importantly, you'll be asked to analyze how complexity develops over the course of the story.
Unit 8 will introduce you to more complicated techniques in poetry that are harder to spot and analyze. You will be asked to identify and analyze devices like punctuation and structural patterns, juxtaposition, paradox, irony, symbols, conceits, and allusions. Although these are a little harder to correctly identify in poetry, if you can master them, they can earn you major points on the exam. Additionally, you'll learn about how to correctly cite and attribute information when writing literary analysis!
The final unit of AP Lit will task you with creating even more nuanced analyses of longer works and drama. To do this, we'll look at how characters change over the course of the plot and react to the resolution of the narrative, how suspense, resolution, and plot development contribute the meaning of a work, and how inconsistencies and differing perspectives create nuance in longer works.
Breaking Down an Exam Prompt: A discussion of how to break down an AP Literature exam prompt into smaller questions. We end with some do's, don'ts, and common pitfalls for students writing AP Literature essays.
Commentary and Sophistication FAQs: Review the criteria for earning maximum evidence/commentary points and the one sophistication point from the rubric. Next, read scored examples and see what they earned in those two categories. ✍️ Practice
AP English Literature Free Response Questions (FRQ) – Past Prompts : A sortable list of all the AP English Literature free-response questions.
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Download free-response questions from this year's exam and past exams along with scoring guidelines, sample responses from exam takers, and scoring distributions. If you are using assistive technology and need help accessing these PDFs in another format, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 212-713-8333 or by email at ssd@info ...
AP® English Literature and Composition 2022 Scoring Guidelines. Reporting Category Scoring Criteria . Row A Thesis (0-1 points) 0 points . For any of the following: • There is no defensible thesis. • The intended thesis only restates the prompt. • The intended thesis provides a summary of the issue with no apparent or coherent claim.
Here are some tips to help you improve your skills: 1. Understand the prompt: Begin by reading the prompt carefully and underlining or highlighting key words and phrases. Make sure you fully comprehend what the question is asking before you start to brainstorm possible works and analyze them. 2.
AP English Literature and Composition Sample Student Responses ... • There is a thesis, but it does not respond to the prompt. 1 point : Responds to the prompt with a thesis that presents a defensible interpretation of the passage. Decision Rules and Scoring Notes ...
The essays often demonstrate a lack of control over the conventions of composition: inadequate development of ideas, accumulation of errors, or a focus that is unclear, inconsistent, or repetitive. Essays scored a 3 may contain significant misreading and/or demonstrate inept writing. 2-1 These essays compound several writing weaknesses.
Q2 Prose Essay: Overview. Prose passage from: Novel (usually the opening chapter / scene) Short story. A dialogue between characters. Framework for Question: "Read the following ___ carefully. Then write an essay in which you discuss the author's complex attitudes towards ____ and also discuss the devices (such as ___, ___, or ____) the ...
Question 2: Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle. The score should reflect the quality of the essay as a whole — its content, style, and mechanics. Reward the students for what they do well. The score for an exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by 1 point above the otherwise appropriate score.
to engage the prompt are equally (and presents personal thoughts in place of analysis: "My opinion of they had a better . AP ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION 2016 SCORING COMMENTARY . essentially forces her to conform to or be ostracized by discouraging her expression through unique, handwriting") detract from the overall clarity of the ...
The AP Lit prose essay is the second of the three essays included in the free-response section of the AP Lit exam, lasting around 40 minutes in total. A prose passage of approximately 500 to 700 words and a prompt will be given to guide your analytical essay. Worth about 18% of your total grade, the essay will be graded out of six points ...
The AP Literature Exam is a three-hour exam that contains two sections in this order: An hour-long, 55-question multiple-choice section. A two-hour, three-question free-response section. The exam tests your ability to analyze works and excerpts of literature and cogently communicate that analysis in essay form.
This is a great set of AP English Literature flashcards from Quizlet which covers 235 key vocabulary words. AP English Literature | Practice Exams | Free Response | Vocab | Study Guides. Every AP English Literature & Composition practice exam that is available online. Hundreds of challenging questions along with detailed explanations.
And more. . . Advanced Placement® Language and Literature Tests from 1970 to 2024. AP Language and LiteratureTests Reorganized: Each prompt is now a separate dated file with prompt, scoring guide (6-point and/or 9-point), sample student essays, comments -- whatever I have, attached. Released multiple-choice exams are in a separate folder.
AP English Literature and Composition 2022 Free-Response Questions Author: ETS Subject: Free-Response Questions from the 2022 AP English Literature and Composition Exam Keywords: English Literature and Composition; Free-Response Questions; 2022; exam resources; exam information; teaching resources; exam practice Created Date: 10/19/2021 1:40:00 PM
AP Lit: Prose Analysis. There are three types of free-response questions on the AP Literature exam. You will be given 120 minutes to read two pieces of text and write all three essays, so you should take approximately 40 minutes to write each one. The entire free-response section is worth 55% of your total exam score.
Question 1. (Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.) Read carefully the following poem by Richard Wilbur, first published in 1949. Then, write an essay in which you analyze how the speaker describes the juggler and what that description reveals about the speaker.
Q2 Evidence and Commentary: Practicing creating commentary to respond to the prompt efficiently. This stream uses practice prompts to show the process of reading a text with the prompt in mind to select evidence while reading. ... AP Lit Prose Analysis Practice Essays & Feedback - [object Object]: ... Breaking Down an Exam Prompt: A ...
Description. Before jumping into a full AP English Literature and Composition Question Two Prose Essay give your students some scaffolded practice by having them outline and reflect on a prompt in small groups. This lesson uses the 2016 Mayor of Casterbridge (Thomas Hardy) passage and the prompt is updated using the 2019 exam changes.
Provide your students with more practice options on the Question 2 Prose Essay for the AP English Literature and Composition Exam using excerpts from Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper.". What's Included. Four excerpts and unique prompts ; Each passage is created using the standard AP Literature Q2 prompt template - these are NOT official AP Prompts.
AP English Literature and Composition Question 2: Prose Analysis (2019) Sample Student Responses 4 Sample P [1] Society's point of view always has a tendency to shape who people are. In the novel The Rise of Silas Lapham, by William Dean Howell, two sisters of different nature both view societal point of view as foreign.
Provide your students with more practice options on the Question 2 Prose Essay for the AP English Literature and Composition Exam using excerpts from Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre.. What's Included. Five excerpts and unique prompts from chapters 1-7 of the novel. Each passage is created using the standard AP Literature Q2 prompt template - these are NOT official AP Prompts.
AP English Literature Scoring Rubric, Free-Response Question 1-3 | SG 1 Scoring Rubric for Question 1: Poetry Analysis 6 points Reporting Category Scoring Criteria Row A Thesis (0-1 points) 7.B 0 points For any of the following: • There is no defensible thesis. • The intended thesis only restates the prompt.
Use this packet/lesson to help your students prepare for the AP Lit. exam's prose essay questions.. The sample prompts and sample response are 100% NEW and ORIGINAL, so students will NOT be able to search for answers online.. Your students will feel less stressed and be extremely grateful to you for letting them behind the scenes to see what the prose prompts are like and what a great response ...
Provide your students with more practice options on the Question 2 Prose Essay for the AP English Literature and Composition Exam using excerpts from Amy Tan's short story "Two Kinds." "Two Kinds" is a chapter from Tan's The Joy Luck Club and features the story of Jing-mei and her mother as they navigate her mother's wish to be a child prodigy.