AP English Literature and Composition (AP Lit): complete guide to the exam, units and skills
A complete guide to AP English Literature and Composition (AP Lit). Explains the College Board exam format (multiple choice plus three free-response essays), the nine skill-progression units, the six big ideas (character, setting, structure, narration, figurative language, literary argumentation), and how to study for a 5, with links to the Unit 1 and Unit 2 dot points.
AP English Literature and Composition (AP Lit) is a College Board course in close reading and literary interpretation: reading prose fiction, poetry, and drama carefully and writing evidence-based interpretive arguments. Its nine units are a progression of skills across short fiction, poetry, and longer fiction or drama rather than a list of set texts. This page is the index for our AP Lit content: below is a map of the exam, the big ideas and skills, and the study approach, with links to the dot-point pages we have published.
The exam at a glance
The AP Lit exam is scored 1 to 5 and has two sections:
- Section I. 55 multiple choice questions (1 hour) on several passages of prose fiction and poetry, testing close reading and interpretation. This section is 45 percent of the score.
- Section II. Three free-response essays (2 hours): the poetry analysis essay, the prose fiction analysis essay, and the literary argument essay. This section is 55 percent of the score.
The three essays
Each essay is scored on the same 6-point rubric (1 thesis, 4 evidence and commentary, 1 sophistication), so practice them separately but apply the same rubric discipline.
- Poetry analysis essay. Analyze how a poet uses poetic techniques to convey meaning or a complex attitude.
- Prose fiction analysis essay. Analyze how a writer uses literary techniques in a fiction passage to develop a character, relationship, or meaning.
- Literary argument essay. Develop an interpretation of a whole work you have studied, using your own recalled evidence, with no passage provided.
The six big ideas and skills
The course is organized around six big ideas, each a skill category that the units develop:
- Character (CHR). How characters and speakers reveal traits, motives, and attitudes.
- Setting (SET). The function of time and place in a text.
- Structure (STR). How the arrangement of a text, including poetic form, shapes meaning.
- Narration (NAR). Point of view and the narrator's perspective and reliability.
- Figurative Language (FIG). Word choice, imagery, simile, metaphor, and other figures.
- Literary Argumentation (LAN). Building and defending an interpretation with evidence and commentary.
The nine units
AP Lit runs through nine skill-progression units across three kinds of text; each revisits the big ideas at greater depth:
- Unit 1: Short Fiction I.
- Unit 2: Poetry I.
- Unit 3: Longer Fiction or Drama I.
- Unit 4: Short Fiction II.
- Unit 5: Poetry II.
- Unit 6: Longer Fiction or Drama II.
- Unit 7: Short Fiction III.
- Unit 8: Poetry III.
- Unit 9: Longer Fiction or Drama III.
How to study AP Lit
- Learn skills, not facts. The exam tests close reading and interpretation, so practice the moves, not memorized content.
- Read fiction and poetry closely and practice reading speaker, structure, and figurative language quickly.
- Drill the three essays separately against the shared 6-point rubric.
- Write commentary that explains meaning, not labels: the upper half of every rubric rewards interpretation.
- Use released exams from AP Central to practice timing and wording.
Unit 1 (Short Fiction I): the dot points
Our coverage of Unit 1, one page per teachable skill:
- Character Traits and Motives
- Setting and Its Function
- Plot, Conflict, and Structure
- Narration and Point of View
- Narrator Perspective and Reliability
- Reading Short Fiction Closely
- Developing a Literary Argument
- Foundations of the Prose Fiction Analysis Essay
Unit 2 (Poetry I): the dot points
Our coverage of Unit 2, one page per teachable skill:
- The Speaker in Poetry
- Poetic Structure: Line and Stanza
- Contrasts and Shifts in Poetry
- Word Choice and Connotation
- Imagery in Poetry
- Simile and Metaphor
- Reading a Poem Closely
- Foundations of the Poetry Analysis Essay
Unit 3 (Longer Fiction or Drama I): the dot points
Our coverage of Unit 3, one page per teachable skill:
- Character in Longer Works
- Dynamic and Static Characters
- Setting and Values in Longer Works
- Significant Events in Plot
- Conflict in Longer Works
- Thesis and Line of Reasoning
- Evidence and Commentary in an Argument
Unit 4 (Short Fiction II): the dot points
Our coverage of Unit 4, one page per teachable skill:
- Contrasting Characters
- Character Relationships
- Setting and Character Relationship
- How Plot Orders Events
- Contrasts Within a Text
- Point of View and Its Function
- Diction, Syntax, and Perspective
Unit 5 (Poetry II): the dot points
Our coverage of Unit 5, one page per teachable skill:
- Structure in Poetry
- Literal and Figurative Meaning
- The Language of a Poem
- Metaphor in Poetry
- Personification
- Allusion
- Sequencing an Argument About a Poem
Unit 6 (Longer Fiction or Drama II): the dot points
Our coverage of Unit 6, one page per teachable skill:
- Structure of a Whole Work
- Contrasts in Longer Works
- Symbolism in Longer Works
- Metaphor and Allusion in Longer Works
- Motif and Meaningful Language
- Organizing the Literary Argument Essay
Unit 7 (Short Fiction III): the dot points
Our coverage of Unit 7, one page per teachable skill:
- Complex Characters
- The Sequence of Events
- The Unreliable Narrator
- Symbol in Short Fiction
- Reading for Tension and Ambiguity
- Integrating Techniques in the Prose Essay
Unit 8 (Poetry III): the dot points
Our coverage of Unit 8, one page per teachable skill:
- The Complex Speaker
- Setting in Poetry
- The Sequence of a Poem
- Symbol in Poetry
- Simile as Extended Comparison
- Conveying a Complex Attitude
Unit 9 (Longer Fiction or Drama III): the dot points
Our coverage of Unit 9, one page per teachable skill:
- Complex Characters in Longer Works
- Character Development and the Whole Work
- The Climax and Resolution
- Conflict and Theme
- Narrative Perspective in Longer Works
- Interpreting the Work as a Whole
- The Complete Literary Argument Essay
Deep-dive guides
- How to write the AP Lit prose fiction analysis essay, a full walkthrough of the 6-point rubric and a worked plan.
For the official Course and Exam Description
The College Board publishes the full AP English Literature and Composition Course and Exam Description, past free-response questions, and scoring guidelines at AP Central. Always study from the current CED and the College Board's own released exams, because the units, skills, and rubrics are set by the board.
English Literature guides
In-depth written guides with paired practice quizzes.
English Literature practice quizzes
Multiple-choice drills with worked answer explanations. Your scores stay on this device.
The AP system, explained
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