AP ITALIAN 

       INFORMAZIONI E RISORSE

 FORMAT OF THE AP EXAM

About the Exam.      SYLLABUS

  Exam Day 2026

Friday

May 8th

8:00 AM

Exam Resources

• AP Italian Language and Culture Course & Exam Description (PDF)(Opens in new window)

The exam is approximately 3 hours long and has two sections — multiple choice and free-response.

Section I: Multiple Choice | ~70 questions | ~1 hour and 20 minutes | 50% of final Exam Score

The multiple choice questions ask you to identify the main ideas, significant details, purpose, and intended audience of a variety of audio and written texts and to make inferences and predictions based on them.

• Part A: 30 to 34 questions | ~25 minutes

  • Questions relating to a variety of audio sources, including some authentic materials, such as: conversations, announcements, instructions, advertisements, and news reports. All audio sources in this section are played once.

• Part B: 36 to 40 questions | ~55 minutes

  • Questions relating to a variety of authentic print materials including journalistic and literary texts, announcements, advertisements, tables, and charts.

Section II: Free-response | 4 tasks | ~1 hour and 28 minutes | 50% of final Exam Score

• Part A: Written Tasks | ~70 minutes

  • Interpersonal Writing: Read and reply to an email message (15 minutes)

  • Presentational Writing: Write a persuasive essay based on three sources, including an article, a table or graphic, and a related audio source (played twice), that present different viewpoints on a topic (~55 minutes total: 15 minutes to review materials plus 40 minutes to write). You will have access to the print sources and any notes you may take on the audio during the entire 40-minute writing period.

• Part B: Spoken Responses | ~18 minutes

  • Interpersonal Speaking: Participate in 5 exchanges in a simulated conversation (20 seconds for each response). For this conversation, you will be provided with a preview of the conversation, including an outline of each exchange. 

  • Presentational Speaking: Deliver a 2 minute presentation in response to a prompt on a cultural topic comparing cultural features of your own community to those of an area of the Italian-speaking world.

                 DIFFERENT THEMES TO COVER:

     Theme: Global Challenges / Sfide globali Recommended Contexts:

• Economy / Mercato del lavoro •

Education / Scuola ed istruzione •

Environment / Ambiente •

Food and Nutrition / Alimentazione •

Human Rights / Diritti umani

• Migrations and Borders / Migrazioni e frontiere

• Politics / Politica

     Theme: Science and Technology / Scienza e tecnologia Recommended Contexts:

• Alternative Resources / Fonti ed energie alternative

• Discoveries and Inventions / Scoperte ed invenzioni

• Ethics / Scelte etiche e morali

• Health and Medicine / Salute e medicina

• The Internet and Its Social Impact / La rete ed il suo impatto sociale

• Personal Technology and Communication / Uso personale della tecnologia

    Theme: Contemporary Life / Vita contemporanea Recommended Contexts:

• Education and Career / Istruzione e formazione

• Holidays and Celebrations / Feste, sagre e tradizioni

• Housing and Shelter / Abitazioni

• Leisure, Travel and Tourism / Viaggi e tempo libero

• Mass Media / Mezzi di comunicazione

• Sports and Fitness / Sport e benessere

• Work / Il mondo del lavoro

    Theme: Personal and Public Identities / Identità privata e pubblica Recommended Contexts:

• Gender and Sexuality / Genere e sessualità

• History and Geography / Storia e geografia

• Identity and Integration/ Identità ed integrazione

• Italians in the World / Gli italiani nel mondo

• Language and Identity / Lingue ed identità

• Political Views / Politica attuale e prospettive

• Societal Beliefs and Personal Values / Credenze diffuse e valori personali

   Theme: Families and Communities / Famiglia e società Recommended Contexts: • Family Structures / La famiglia attraverso i tempi

• Generational Relationships / Rapporti generazionali

• Individualism and Solidarity / Individualismo e solidarietà

• Personal Relationships / Rapporti personali

• Social Benefits / Stato sociale

• Urban, Suburban, and Rural Life / Vita in città, periferia e campagna

• Youth Culture / I giovani oggi

   Theme: Beauty and Aesthetics / Bellezza ed estetica Recommended Contexts: • Architecture / Architettura

• Conservation and Restoration / Tutela dei beni artistici e culturali

• Fashion and Design / Moda e design

• Ideals of Beauty / Ideali di bellezza

• Literature / Letteratura

• Music / Musica

• Performing Arts / Il mondo dello spettacolo

• Visual Arts / Arti visive