The AP Exam will be given in May 2021. Students are encouraged to take the AP Exam if they choose, but it is not a requirement of the class that they do so. At this point in time, the College Board is planning for students to take the traditional in-person exams. If that should change due to COVID-19, we will let students and families know what the changes are and how that might affect them.
Earn College Credit. The Advanced Placement (AP) classes are designed to be the equivalent of first-year introductory college courses. Earning a "qualifying" score of 3 or above can earn you college credit at many colleges and universities.
Each school has their own policy,which you can look up by institution here: apstudents.collegeboard.org/getting-credit-placement/search-policies
As a general guideline: most junior and community colleges grant 3 English credits for a score of 3 or higher on both AP Lang and AP Literature. At some universities, UC Berkeley for example, you need a score of 4 or higher. Often students who score well on both AP Lang and AP Literature are placed into upper level or elective English classes.
Another good reason is to test yourself. The test is similar to what you could expect from a Semester Final in a college class.
On May 5, 2021 students will have the opportunity to take the official AP LITERATURE exam. Students will have one hour to read 4 or 5 passages and answer approximately 54 multiple choice questions about the Literature selections. Traditionally, two of the passages are prose and two or three of the passages are poetry. Passages range from 16th century sonnets to contemporary pieces. The multiple choice score counts for 45% of your AP Exam score.
After a short break, students take the essay portion of the test. During the essay exam, students have two hours in which to write three essays. The essay portion of the test counts for 55% of the student’s AP score.
Students are given a poem (16th C. to contemporary) and asked to analyze its symbolism, tone, use of language, and meaning as a whole.
Students are given a short passage (usually about a page in length) to read and analyze. Students will be given a specific task in the essay (e.g. analyze and explain how the author reveals hints about the character’s perspective through the character’s interaction with his/her surroundings.) Quite frequently, this is a 19th century text, but it can also be a 20th century or contemporary prose passage.
Students will be given a topic (i.e. discuss an important symbol and how it functions throughout the text). Students are expected to choose a work of Literary Merit and respond to this prompt with an in-depth analysis of the text WITHOUT retelling the plot. Every book we read during the year is in preparation for this question. Students will fill out and keep a Q3 Prep Sheet for each book we read and review these notes prior to going into the exam. It is a good idea to have 2 or 3 books well prepared that you could use to answer any prompt in this category.
While the essays are presented in this order, students can write the essays in any order they choose. Each essay is scored on a scale of 1-6. This NEW RUBRIC (effective 2020) grants students one point each for thesis and complexity, and up to 4 points for their discussion and analysis of the text.
The students’ essay scores are tallied and weighted and added to the multiple-choice score to get a total score for the exam. When students get their test results, they will see only a number from 1-5. While there is no pass/fail on the test, students need to get a score of 3 or higher to earn what is considered a "qualifying" score.