Search results
Download free-response questions from past AP English Language & Composition exams, along with scoring guidelines, sample responses, and scoring distributions.
- 2007 Scoring Statistics
Scoring statistics for the 2007 AP English Language and...
- 2007 Scoring Statistics
Testing yourself with AP® English Language past exams is a great way to identify which topics need more revision, so you can ensure that you are revising as effectively as possible to help you get ready for your AP® English Language exam. Visit all of our College Board AP® Past Exams here.
- 6 points
- Question 3
- Thesis (0–1) points: 1
- Thesis (0–1 points): 1
- Evidence and Commentary (0–4 points): 1
Many people spend long hours trying to achieve perfection in their personal or professional lives. Similarly, people often demand perfection from others, creating expectations that may be challenging to live up to. In contrast, some people think perfection is not attainable or desirable. Write an essay that argues your position on the value of stri...
Note: Student samples are quoted verbatim and may contain spelling and grammatical errors.
The thesis, which is stated at the end of paragraph 1, takes a nuanced position on the value of striving for perfection: “While there are drawbacks to being encouraged to be perfect from a young age, perfection is something to strive for especially in one’s professional life, although there should be more room for mistakes in one’s personal life.” ...
The response makes a defensible claim in the second and third sentences of paragraph 1. This multisentence thesis distinguishes between perfection itself and the act of striving for it: “The value of perfection is none because it simply doesn’t exist. However, the act of striving for perfection holds much value.”
The evidence provided in the response is mostly general, with references to a “‘perfect person’” and the “perfect student” but with very little explanation or commentary to link the evidence to the argument (e.g., “my whole life I wanted to be the perfect student, soccer player, and daughter. Life, however, does not work that way”). Much of the com...
- Ad Hominem: An argument based on the failings of an adversary rather than on the merits of the case; a logical fallacy that involves a personal attack.
- Adjective: The part of speech (or word class) that modifies a noun or a pronoun.
- Adverb: The part of speech (or word class) that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
- Allegory: Extending a metaphor so that objects, persons, and actions in a text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text.
The following list of 37 terms, based on consulting both the AP English Language and Composition Course and Exam Description and free-response material from past years, provides an important overview of the major AP Lang rhetorical devices and techniques you need to know.
AP English Language and Composition Course Description, Effective Fall 2014 Questions 12–24. Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers.
People also ask
How many AP Lang terms are there?
What is AP Language?
What does antecedent mean in AP Language?
What is a aphorism in AP Language?
Of the following, the most critical terms for AP Language are: diction, syntax, tone, imagery, figurative language, point-of-view, detail, pacing, shift, connotation, denotation and theme.
