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AP English Literature & Composition Exam

The AP English Literature and Composition course focuses on both reading a wide variety of literature (across genres and time periods) and writing in-depth analytical essays about what you read. The reading assignments cover a range of genres — prose fiction, drama, poetry — and require critical analysis; writing assignments emphasize evaluation, interpretation, and argumentation about literary works.

The AP English Literature Exam format is:

Multiple-Choice Section
-55 questions
-Time: 60 minutes
-Worth 45% of your total exam score
-The questions are grouped into 5 sets; each set is preceded by a passage (prose fiction, drama, or poetry) followed by 8–13 questions.
-The section always includes at least two passages of prose fiction (or drama) and at least two of poetry

Free-Response Section
-3 essay questions
-Time: 2 hours total for all three essays
-Worth 55% of your total exam score
-Typical essay prompts:
  • A literary analysis of a given poem
  • A literary analysis of a given passage of prose fiction (which may include drama)
  • A literary argument: analyze a specific concept, issue, or element in a work of your choosing (of sufficient literary merit and appropriate to the prompt)

When is the AP English Literature Exam?

For 2026, the scheduled exam date for AP English Literature and Composition is Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 8:00 AM local time. The exam is now administered digitally (unless accommodations require otherwise). Students complete both multiple-choice and free-response sections through the Bluebook testing app.

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