AP exams, 2 exam sections
AP Latin exam guide
Read Vergil and Pliny closely, read unseen Latin at sight, and argue about a Latin text with evidence.
Follows the fall 2025 course and exam description, from 4 May 2026
Overview
What AP Latin covers.
AP Latin is built on required Latin readings from Vergil's Aeneid and Pliny the Younger's Letters, plus prose and poetry chosen by the teacher and four course project passages that College Board releases each summer. The course develops reading and comprehension, description of style and context, and analysis of a Latin text supported by evidence.
The exam is three hours and splits evenly between two sections. Section I is 52 multiple-choice questions in 65 minutes: discrete sight-reading questions, short sets and long sets on syllabus and sight passages. Section II is five free-response questions in 115 minutes: a short-answer set, a translation, a short essay on a syllabus passage, and two short essays on the course project passages. Two in-class project checkpoints also count toward the score.
Most of the score rests on reading and comprehending Latin, so daily work on both the syllabus text and unseen Latin pays off most. The three short essays reward an interpretation supported by specific textual, stylistic and contextual evidence from the Latin.
At a glance
- Structure
- Section I: 52 multiple-choice questions; Section II: 5 free-response questions
- Timing
- 65 minutes for multiple choice; 115 minutes for free response
- Weighting
- Multiple choice 50%, free response 50%, including 2% for two in-class course project checkpoints
- Required syllabus
- Selections in Latin from Vergil's Aeneid Books 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, and 12 and Pliny the Younger's Letters, plus teacher's choice prose and poetry and four course project passages
- Delivery
- Digital in College Board's Bluebook app; confirm the delivery mode published for your exam year
- Score range
- 1 to 5
- Governing body
- College Board
- Who takes it
- Students in their third or later year of Latin who want college credit or placement in intermediate Latin.
Scoring
The exam reports a score from 1 to 5, with multiple choice and free response weighted 50% each; two in-class course project checkpoints make up 2% within the free-response half. The translation is scored in 15 segments, so an imperfect but literal rendering still earns points, and the short essays are scored on the interpretation and on how specific Latin evidence supports it.
Exam structure
Exam sections
AP Latin covers 2 exam sections. Open one for its topics, published weighting, and section-specific study tips.
Section I: Multiple Choice
50%Section I is 52 questions in 65 minutes. Twenty discrete questions each rest on a short unseen phrase from Pliny, Vergil, or…
52 questions, 65 minutes, 6 topics
Section II: Free Response
50%Section II is five questions in 115 minutes: a set of short-answer questions on a syllabus passage, a translation scored in 15…
5 questions, 115 minutes, 6 topics
Study strategies
How to work through this exam.
These strategies follow from the exam's own structure. Adapt them to the time you actually have each week.
- Split each study session between the required readings and unseen Latin so sight reading never lags.
- Translate in writing rather than reading translations in your head; scored translation is a written skill.
- Work through the four course project passages as soon as they are released, and keep notes for both checkpoints and the exam.
- Build vocabulary from the syllabus itself; frequency within Vergil and Pliny beats generic word lists.
- Learn to support an interpretation with Latin evidence, quoting briefly and explaining precisely what the words do.
- Practice complete timed sections so the 115-minute free-response block is familiar before exam day.
Common questions
AP Latin questions students ask.
What Latin is on the required syllabus?
Selections in Latin come from Vergil's Aeneid Books 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, and 12 and Pliny the Younger's Letters, alongside prose and poetry chosen by your teacher and four course project passages. Confirm the line and letter selections in College Board's course and exam description.
How is the exam structured?
Section I is 52 multiple-choice questions in 65 minutes, weighted 50%. Section II is five free-response questions in 115 minutes, weighted 50% together with two in-class course project checkpoints.
What is the course project?
Each summer College Board releases four Latin passages, two prose and two poetry, from a range of authors and periods. You study them during the year, complete two checkpoint activities in class, and write two short essays on them on the exam.
How literal should the translation be?
Very. The translation is scored in segments for accuracy, so rendering each construction faithfully earns more than a smooth paraphrase. Awkward but accurate English scores better than elegant but loose English.
How much sight reading is on the exam?
A large share of Section I uses Latin that is not on the syllabus, including all twenty discrete questions. Regular sight practice in prose and verse is one of the highest-value habits in the course.
Is AP Latin a digital exam?
College Board administers AP Latin in its Bluebook digital testing app. Confirm the delivery mode for your administration year with College Board or your AP coordinator.
Before you build the schedule
Exam structures change. Confirm the current format, eligibility, and policies with College Board before you commit to a study plan.
Official exam information opens in a new tabMarkdown version of this guide for citation, offline reading, and language models.
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