AP English Language and Composition, AP exams, 55%

Section II: Free Response

Section II asks for three essays in two hours and fifteen minutes, opening with a fifteen-minute reading period intended for the synthesis sources. Each essay is scored on the same six-point rubric: one point for a defensible thesis, up to four for evidence and commentary, and one for sophistication of thought. College Board suggests roughly forty minutes per essay.

Position: 2 of 2 exam sections
Published weighting: 55% in the official framework
Questions: 3 questions
Time: 135 minutes
Topics covered: 6 topics in this guide

What is covered

Topics inside this exam section.

These topics describe the scope students most often review for this part of AP English Language and Composition. Treat them as a study checklist rather than an exhaustive list of what a single exam form can sample.

Synthesis essay: Take a position on an issue and support it with evidence from at least three provided sources, cited and used as support rather than summarized.
Rhetorical analysis essay: Explain how a writer's choices advance a purpose for a specific audience, using the passage as evidence for your claims.
Argument essay: Defend a position on a prompt using your own knowledge, experience, and reading, with a clear line of reasoning.
Defensible thesis statements: The rubric's first point: a thesis that responds to the prompt with a position that could reasonably be argued against.
Evidence and commentary: The rubric's largest band: specific evidence plus commentary that connects each piece back to the line of reasoning.
Sophistication: The rubric's final point, earned through nuance, situating the argument in a broader context, or vivid, controlled style.

Study tips

How to practice Free response.

Section-specific guidance that follows from how this material is usually tested.

Practice the fifteen-minute reading period as its own skill: annotate sources, pick three, and outline before the clock starts.
Draft thesis statements from old prompts in batches of ten; the first rubric point is the cheapest to secure.
Score your own essays with the published rubric and rewrite only the weakest paragraph rather than the whole piece.
Time at least one full three-essay session before exam day to build writing stamina.

Where this fits

Section II: Free Response is 2 of 2 exam sections in the AP English Language and Composition guide, and it carries a published weighting of 55% in the official framework. Use the full guide to balance it against everything else you have to review.

Back to the AP English Language and Composition guide Official exam information

Sample Free response questions

Practice questions, not yet expert-reviewed

Original practice questions written to the published framework for this section. No expert has reviewed them, and they are not taken from any official exam. Try each one before you open the answer.

Question 1Foundational
How many points can a single AP English Language and Composition essay earn on the analytic rubric?
1. AFour
2. BSix
3. CNine
4. DTen
Show answer
Answer: B. Six
Each essay is scored out of six points: one for a defensible thesis, up to four for evidence and commentary, and one for sophistication. All three essays use that same rubric, which is why rubric practice transfers across the whole section.
Key insight: One thesis point, four evidence and commentary points, one sophistication point.
Question 2Foundational
Which AP English Language essay requires you to support your position with evidence from at least three provided sources?
1. AThe synthesis essay
2. BThe rhetorical analysis essay
3. CThe argument essay
4. DThe literary argument essay
Show answer
Answer: A. The synthesis essay
The synthesis essay supplies a source packet and requires citing at least three of the sources as support for your own position. The rhetorical analysis essay uses one passage as its subject rather than as sources, and the argument essay draws on your own knowledge and reading.
Key insight: Synthesis uses sources as evidence for your claim, not as material to summarize.
Question 3Intermediate
Which row of the AP English Language essay rubric rewards a response that situates its argument in a broader context or sustains a vivid, controlled style?
1. AThesis
2. BEvidence and commentary
3. CSophistication
4. DConventions
Show answer
Answer: C. Sophistication
The sophistication point recognizes nuance, broader significance, or consistently strong style across an entire response. It is not a paragraph you add at the end, and this rubric has no conventions row at all.
Key insight: Sophistication is earned across the whole essay, not in one sentence.
Question 4Intermediate
What must a thesis do to earn the first point on the AP English Language essay rubric?
1. APresent a defensible position that responds to the prompt
2. BPreview three body paragraphs in order
3. CInclude a direct quotation from a source
4. DAppear as the final sentence of the introduction
Show answer
Answer: A. Present a defensible position that responds to the prompt
The rubric awards the point for a defensible thesis that answers the prompt, wherever it appears in the response. A three-part preview or a quotation may accompany the thesis, but neither is required and neither earns the point by itself.
Key insight: Defensible means a reasonable reader could argue the other side.
Question 5Advanced
In a rhetorical analysis essay, what must commentary do beyond identifying a writer's choice?
1. AExplain how the choice advances the writer's purpose for a particular audience
2. BName the device with its Greek or Latin term
3. CSummarize the passage in the order it unfolds
4. DCompare the passage with a text studied in class
Show answer
Answer: A. Explain how the choice advances the writer's purpose for a particular audience
Points come from explaining effect: why a choice was made and what it accomplishes for that audience and purpose. Naming a device without that explanation is identification, which the rubric does not reward, and summary replaces analysis rather than supporting it.
Key insight: Device spotting earns nothing; explaining effect on purpose and audience earns the points.

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Section II: Free Response