How long is the AP Lang exam

About the Exam

Exam Overview
The AP English Language and Composition Exam will test your understanding of the literary concepts covered in the course units, as well as your ability to analyze texts and develop written arguments based on your interpretations.

Exam Duration
3hrs 15mins

Exam Date

• Tue, May 9, 2023,
  8 AM Local

  AP English Language and Composition Exam

  This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP English Language and Composition Exam.

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Exam Components

Excerpts from nonfiction texts are accompanied by several multiple-choice questions:

• 23–25 Reading questions: You’ll be asked to read and analyze nonfiction texts.
• 20–22 Writing questions: You’ll be asked to read like a writer and consider revisions to the text.

The 2 hour and 15 minute time limit for this section includes a 15-minute reading period.

In the free-response section, you’ll respond to three questions with written answers. This section tests your skill in composition in three areas:

• Synthesis: After reading 6–7 texts about a topic (including visual and quantitative sources), you will compose an argument that combines and cites at least 3 of the sources to support your thesis.
• Rhetorical analysis: You will read a nonfiction text and analyze how the writer’s language choices contribute to the intended meaning and purpose of the text.
• Argument: You will create an evidence-based argument that responds to a given topic.

Exam Essentials

Exam Preparation

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Additional Information

The AP® English Language exam tests your knowledge of English language and focuses on rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts, along with the development and revision of well-reasoned, evidence-centered analytic and argumentative writing.

To help you prepare, let’s break down the AP® English Language exam into sections and look at some tips on how to tackle each section effectively under the given time constraints — AP® test time management is crucial to success on the exam.

How Long is the AP® English Language Exam?

The AP® English Language exam has two sections. The total exam is three hours and 15 minutes long. The details of each section and part are outlined in the table below:

First, let’s look at Section I in greater detail to help you prepare for this first part of the exam.

How Long is the AP® English Language Exam Section I?

The first part of Section I of the AP® English Language Exam is Multiple Choice. You will have one hour to answer 52-55 questions, which works out to slightly over one minute per question. This part accounts for 45% of your total exam score.

Here, you are given excerpts from various non-fiction texts, each of which are accompanied by several multiple-choice questions. In the past, students have received four or five passages, each with approximate 10 questions to answer.

The questions can be broken down into eight buckets:

1. Reading Comprehension
2. Implication
3. Overall Passage Analysis
4. Relationship Between Parts of Text
5. Interpretation of Figurative Language
6. Purpose of Part of Text
7. Rhetorical Strategy
8. Style and Effect

It is in your best interest to practice all of theses to determine which areas your are weaker in.

How to Manage Your Time in Section I of the AP® English Language Exam

While the exam structure may appear daunting, there are some things you should keep in mind to maximize your score on Section I:

1. It is important to recognize that the multiple-choice questions associated with each reading are independent. If you are having trouble answering some questions associated with one reading, don’t waste your valuable time struggling. Remember, you don’t have much more than one minute per question! Instead, move on to the next passage, where you may have more success in answering questions correctly. Cut your losses when you have to, and keep in mind that you can always double back to work on skipped questions if you have enough time. And in case you can’t figure out the correct answer, just take an educated guess, as there is no penalty for incorrect answers.
2. Read the questions briefly before diving into the passages. Often, the passages can be dense and contain information that is not necessary to answer the subsequent multiple-choice questions. By reading the questions and the associated answer choices, you will have a sense of what themes to search for when you are reading. If there are questions asking for analysis of a certain line in the passage, you will know in advance to read that line closely. As a result, you will hopefully be able to more easily isolate the answers to certain questions without having to backtrack and comb through the passage again. This should help you avoid spending too much time on one question.

Hopefully, these tips will help you with your AP® English Language test time management. Now, let’s break down Section II of the AP® English Language Exam.

How Long is the AP® English Language Exam Section II?

Section II of the AP® English Language Exam is the Free Response Section. As you would expect, you are not given any choices to select. You have 15 minutes to peruse the sources provided, and two hours to answer three questions using the evidence. You are allowed to begin writing during the reading period if you would like. This section accounts for 55% of your total exam score.

These questions will test your ability to quickly formulate arguments, form inferences, and craft analysis drawn from the sources provided to you. If you don’t understand early on how to go about following the instructions on the exam, you might find this portion more difficult than the multiple-choice section.

According to CollegeBoard, this section has three prompts:

1. Synthesis: Students read several texts about a topic and create an argument that synthesizes at least three of the sources to support their thesis.
2. Rhetorical analysis: Students read a nonfiction text and analyze how the writer’s language choices contribute to his or her purpose and intended meaning for the text.
3. Argument: Students create an evidence-based argument that responds to a given topic.

How to Manage Your Time in Section II of the AP® English Language Exam

Free Response questions can be a little scary because you can’t guess if you’re not sure of yourself. However, we believe these AP® test time management tips will help you ace Section II:

1. Read the question multiple times to understand what is truly being asked. Getting to the core of the prompt will help you craft a concise thesis that serves as the centerpiece to your entire response.
2. Following the thesis, construct a road map that serves as a guide to your reader. It will serve as an outline for your subsequent paragraphs and conveys how they relate to your thesis. Organize the rest of your essay with topic sentences that directly follow from your thesis and provide a summary of the rest of the paragraph. Then, provide context, cite your evidence, and lastly, dive into the analysis that relates your evidence to your thesis. Following this strategy will develop a clear structure that will add clarity to your essay.
3. Rely on your sources to bolster your argument. They are provided to you so you use them — don’t neglect to reference all your sources because you may initially understand how they can be used. Take some time to isolate the main theme of each source and select a few quotes that complement your argument. Make sure that you avoid repeating yourself — instead of summarizing the evidence you provide, try to dig one level deeper to explain why you incorporated it into your essay and how it relates to your thesis.
4. Become familiar with the grading rubrics for the essay questions. With the 2020 redesign came new rubrics for the AP® Lang essay section. Previously, essays were scored using holistic rubrics, on a scale of 0-9. Starting with the 2019 exam, students’ essays will be graded with new analytic rubrics. Each essay is worth up to 6 points. Think of the new rubrics as a How To Guide to getting a 6 on each essay.

How to Practice Time Management for AP® English Language?

In addition to the AP® test time management tips provided above, you may find it helpful to consult this post, which outlines the ultimate list of tips for the AP® English Language exam. The post discusses the specific topics which will be covered on the exam, common types of questions and general strategies to help you solve them, along with a list of tips from AP® English Language teachers. And if you want to get some practice, check out these practice questions. The more you practice, the more familiarity you will build with different types of questions. Eventually, you will be able to identify which areas you are weaker in and can direct the bulk of your studying efforts to improving your understanding of those concepts.

Don’t forget to time yourself while you work on practice questions so you can test yourself on managing your time as well as reviewing concepts. Some multiple-choice questions are notorious for being significant time drains, which can cost you when answering the rest of Section I questions. If you find yourself stuck on a multiple-choice question for more than a couple of minutes, it may be in your best interest to cut your losses and utilize the process of elimination to guess the most likely answer. Don’t let one question you can’t solve prevent you from answering multiple questions you can.

Hopefully, these tips help with your AP® test time management. Best of luck with your exam!

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