ap lit a story essay

AP English Literature and Composition

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About the Course

What makes a work of literature great? In AP English Literature and Composition, you’ll examine how authors and poets create meaning through their rich, purposeful use of language. As you write and refine essays about literature, you’ll develop the skills of analysis and composition that will allow you to communicate your interpretation effectively.

New for 2024-25: MCQs Will Have Four Answer Choices

Starting in the 2024-25 school year, AP English Literature and Composition multiple-choice questions (MCQs) will have four answer choices instead of five. This change will take effect with the 2025 exam. All resources have been updated to reflect this change. 

Skills You'll Learn

Read a text closely and draw conclusions from details

Identify the techniques used by an author and their effects

Develop an interpretation of a text

Present your interpretation and make an argument for it in writing

Equivalency and Prerequisites

College course equivalent.

An introductory college-level literature course

Recommended Prerequisites

Wed, May 7, 2025

AP English Literature and Composition Exam

This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP English Literature and Composition Exam.

About the Units

The course content outlined below is organized into commonly taught units of study that provide one possible sequence for the course. Your teacher may choose to organize the course content differently based on local priorities and preferences.

Course Content

Unit 1: short fiction i.

You’ll learn critical reading skills to help you critically read, interpret, and analyze prose.

Topics may include:

• Interpreting the role of character in fiction
• Identifying and interpreting setting
• Understanding how a story’s structure affects interpretations
• Understanding and interpreting a narrator’s perspective
• Reading texts literally and figuratively
• The basics of literary analysis

Unit 2: Poetry I

You’ll continue your critical reading exploration in poetry and learn to analyze similar elements within a wide variety of poems.

• Identifying characters in poetry
• Understanding and interpreting meaning in poetic structure
• Analyzing word choice to find meaning
• Identifying techniques like contrast, simile, metaphor, and alliteration

Unit 3: Longer Fiction or Drama I

You’ll observe how the literary techniques you’ve explored in prior units unfold over the course of longer works and analyze how characters develop and interact over the course of a narrative.

• Interpreting character description and perspective
• Character evolution throughout a narrative
• Conflict and plot development
• Interpreting symbolism
• Identifying evidence and supporting literary arguments

Unit 4: Short Fiction II

You’ll delve deeper into the roles of character and conflict in fiction and explore how a narrator’s perspective can color storytelling.

• Protagonists, antagonists, character relationships, and conflict
• Character interactions with setting and its significance
• Archetypes in literature
• Types of narration like stream of consciousness
• Narrative distance, tone, and perspective

Unit 5: Poetry II

You’ll study different forms of poetry and examine how structure and figurative language can create and impact meaning.

• Traits of closed and open structures in poetry
• Use of techniques like imagery and hyperbole
• Types of comparisons in poetry including personification and allusion
• Identifying and interpreting extended metaphors

Unit 6: Longer Fiction or Drama II

You’ll analyze how various literary techniques play out and shift over the course of longer works, charting how characters change (or don’t) as they’re affected by developments in the plot.

• Interpreting foil characters
• Understanding and interpreting character motives
• Understanding nonlinear narrative structures like flashbacks and foreshadowing
• The effect of narrative tone and bias on reading
• Characters as symbols, metaphors, and archetypes
• Developing literary arguments within a broader context of works

Unit 7: Short Fiction III

You’ll examine how works of fiction interact with and comment on the world around them and the society their authors live or lived in.

• Sudden and more gradual change in characters
• Epiphany as a driver of plot
• Relationships between characters and groups
• Character interactions with settings
• The significance of the pacing of a narrative
• Setting as a symbol
• Interpreting texts in their historical and societal contexts

Unit 8: Poetry III

You’ll develop your interpretation of poetry further by examining how contrasts, ambiguous language, and various other techniques can add layers of meaning to a poetic work.

• Looking at punctuation and structural patterns
• Interpreting juxtaposition, paradox, and irony
• How ambiguity can allow for various interpretations
• Identifying symbols, conceits, and allusions
• Learning proper attribution and citation in literary analysis

Unit 9: Longer Fiction or Drama III

You’ll consider longer narratives in the context of the various techniques and interpretations you’ve learned in prior units and build a nuanced analysis of each complex work as a whole.

• Looking at a character’s response to the resolution of a narrative
• Suspense, resolution, and plot development
• Narrative inconsistencies and contrasting perspectives

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AP English Literature and Composition Course and Exam Description

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How to Write the AP Lit Prose Essay with Examples

March 30, 2024

AP Lit Prose Essay Examples – The College Board’s Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Course is one of the most enriching experiences that high school students can have. It exposes you to literature that most people don’t encounter until college , and it helps you develop analytical and critical thinking skills that will enhance the quality of your life, both inside and outside of school. The AP Lit Exam reflects the rigor of the course. The exam uses consistent question types, weighting, and scoring parameters each year . This means that, as you prepare for the exam, you can look at previous questions, responses, score criteria, and scorer commentary to help you practice until your essays are perfect.

What is the AP Lit Free Response testing? 

In AP Literature, you read books, short stories, and poetry, and you learn how to commit the complex act of literary analysis . But what does that mean? Well, “to analyze” literally means breaking a larger idea into smaller and smaller pieces until the pieces are small enough that they can help us to understand the larger idea. When we’re performing literary analysis, we’re breaking down a piece of literature into smaller and smaller pieces until we can use those pieces to better understand the piece of literature itself.

So, for example, let’s say you’re presented with a passage from a short story to analyze. The AP Lit Exam will ask you to write an essay with an essay with a clear, defensible thesis statement that makes an argument about the story, based on some literary elements in the short story. After reading the passage, you might talk about how foreshadowing, allusion, and dialogue work together to demonstrate something essential in the text. Then, you’ll use examples of each of those three literary elements (that you pull directly from the passage) to build your argument. You’ll finish the essay with a conclusion that uses clear reasoning to tell your reader why your argument makes sense.

AP Lit Prose Essay Examples (Continued)

But what’s the point of all of this? Why do they ask you to write these essays?

Well, the essay is, once again, testing your ability to conduct literary analysis. However, the thing that you’re also doing behind that literary analysis is a complex process of both inductive and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning takes a series of points of evidence and draws a larger conclusion. Deductive reasoning departs from the point of a broader premise and draws a singular conclusion. In an analytical essay like this one, you’re using small pieces of evidence to draw a larger conclusion (your thesis statement) and then you’re taking your thesis statement as a larger premise from which you derive your ultimate conclusion.

So, the exam scorers are looking at your ability to craft a strong thesis statement (a singular sentence that makes an argument), use evidence and reasoning to support that argument, and then to write the essay well. This is something they call “sophistication,” but they’re looking for well-organized thoughts carried through clear, complete sentences.

This entire process is something you can and will use throughout your life. Law, engineering, medicine—whatever pursuit, you name it—utilizes these forms of reasoning to run experiments, build cases, and persuade audiences. The process of this kind of clear, analytical thinking can be honed, developed, and made easier through repetition.

Practice Makes Perfect

Because the AP Literature Exam maintains continuity across the years, you can pull old exam copies, read the passages, and write responses. A good AP Lit teacher is going to have you do this time and time again in class until you have the formula down. But, it’s also something you can do on your own, if you’re interested in further developing your skills.

AP Lit Prose Essay Examples 

Let’s take a look at some examples of questions, answers and scorer responses that will help you to get a better idea of how to craft your own AP Literature exam essays.

In the exam in 2023, students were asked to read a poem by Alice Cary titled “Autumn,” which was published in 1874. In it, the speaker contemplates the start of autumn. Then, students are asked to craft a well-written essay which uses literary techniques to convey the speaker’s complex response to the changing seasons.

The following is an essay that received a perfect 6 on the exam. There are grammar and usage errors throughout the essay, which is important to note: even though the writer makes some mistakes, the structure and form of their argument was strong enough to merit a 6. This is what your scorers will be looking for when they read your essay.

Example Essay 

Romantic and hyperbolic imagery is used to illustrate the speaker’s unenthusiastic opinion of the coming of autumn, which conveys Cary’s idea that change is difficult to accept but necessary for growth.

Romantic imagery is utilized to demonstrate the speaker’s warm regard for the season of summer and emphasize her regretfulness for autumn’s coming, conveying the uncomfortable change away from idyllic familiarity. Summer, is portrayed in the image of a woman who “from her golden collar slips/and strays through stubble fields/and moans aloud.” Associated with sensuality and wealth, the speaker implies the interconnection between a season and bounty, comfort, and pleasure. Yet, this romantic view is dismantled by autumn, causing Summer to “slip” and “stray through stubble fields.” Thus, the coming of real change dethrones a constructed, romantic personification of summer,  conveying the speaker’s reluctance for her ideal season to be dethroned by something much less decorated and adored.

Summer, “she lies on pillows of the yellow leaves,/ And tries the old tunes for over an hour”, is contrasted with bright imagery of fallen leaves/ The juxtaposition between Summer’s character and the setting provides insight into the positivity of change—the yellow leaves—by its contrast with the failures of attempting to sustain old habits or practices, “old tunes”. “She lies on pillows” creates a sympathetic, passive image of summer in reaction to the coming of Autumn, contrasting her failures to sustain “old tunes.” According to this, it is understood that the speaker recognizes the foolishness of attempting to prevent what is to come, but her wishfulness to counter the natural progression of time.

Hyperbolic imagery displays the discrepancies between unrealistic, exaggerated perceptions of change and the reality of progress, continuing the perpetuation of Cary’s idea that change must be embraced rather than rejected. “Shorter and shorter now the twilight clips/The days, as though the sunset gates they crowd”, syntax and diction are used to literally separate different aspects of the progression of time. In an ironic parallel to the literal language, the action of twilight’s “clip” and the subject, “the days,” are cut off from each other into two different lines, emphasizing a sense of jarring and discomfort. Sunset, and Twilight are named, made into distinct entities from the day, dramatizing the shortening of night-time into fall. The dramatic, sudden implications for the change bring to mind the switch between summer and winter, rather than a transitional season like fall—emphasizing the Speaker’s perspective rather than a factual narration of the experience.

She says “the proud meadow-pink hangs down her head/Against the earth’s chilly bosom, witched with frost”. Implying pride and defeat, and the word “witched,” the speaker brings a sense of conflict, morality, and even good versus evil into the transition between seasons. Rather than a smooth, welcome change, the speaker is practically against the coming of fall. The hyperbole present in the poem serves to illustrate the Speaker’s perspective and ideas on the coming of fall, which are characterized by reluctance and hostility to change from comfort.

The topic of this poem, Fall–a season characterized by change and the deconstruction of the spring and summer landscape—is juxtaposed with the final line which evokes the season of Spring. From this, it is clear that the speaker appreciates beautiful and blossoming change. However, they resent that which destroys familiar paradigms and norms. Fall, seen as the death of summer, is characterized as a regression, though the turning of seasons is a product of the literal passage of time. Utilizing romantic imagery and hyperbole to shape the Speaker’s perspective, Cary emphasizes the need to embrace change though it is difficult, because growth is not possible without hardship or discomfort.

Scoring Criteria: Why did this essay do so well? 

When it comes to scoring well, there are some rather formulaic things that the judges are searching for. You might think that it’s important to “stand out” or “be creative” in your writing. However, aside from concerns about “sophistication,” which essentially means you know how to organize thoughts into sentences and you can use language that isn’t entirely elementary, you should really focus on sticking to a form. This will show the scorers that you know how to follow that inductive/deductive reasoning process that we mentioned earlier, and it will help to present your ideas in the most clear, coherent way possible to someone who is reading and scoring hundreds of essays.

So, how did this essay succeed? And how can you do the same thing?

First: The Thesis 

On the exam, you can either get one point or zero points for your thesis statement. The scorers said, “The essay responds to the prompt with a defensible thesis located in the introductory paragraph,” which you can read as the first sentence in the essay. This is important to note: you don’t need a flowery hook to seduce your reader; you can just start this brief essay with some strong, simple, declarative sentences—or go right into your thesis.

What makes a good thesis? A good thesis statement does the following things:

• Makes a claim that will be supported by evidence
• Is specific and precise in its use of language
• Argues for an original thought that goes beyond a simple restating of the facts

If you’re sitting here scratching your head wondering how you come up with a thesis statement off the top of your head, let me give you one piece of advice: don’t.

The AP Lit scoring criteria gives you only one point for the thesis for a reason: they’re just looking for the presence of a defensible claim that can be proven by evidence in the rest of the essay.

Second: Write your essay from the inside out 

While the thesis is given one point, the form and content of the essay can receive anywhere from zero to four points. This is where you should place the bulk of your focus.

My best advice goes like this:

• Choose your evidence first
• Develop your commentary about the evidence
• Then draft your thesis statement based on the evidence that you find and the commentary you can create.

It will seem a little counterintuitive: like you’re writing your essay from the inside out. But this is a fundamental skill that will help you in college and beyond. Don’t come up with an argument out of thin air and then try to find evidence to support your claim. Look for the evidence that exists and then ask yourself what it all means. This will also keep you from feeling stuck or blocked at the beginning of the essay. If you prepare for the exam by reviewing the literary devices that you learned in the course and practice locating them in a text, you can quickly and efficiently read a literary passage and choose two or three literary devices that you can analyze.

Third: Use scratch paper to quickly outline your evidence and commentary 

Once you’ve located two or three literary devices at work in the given passage, use scratch paper to draw up a quick outline. Give each literary device a major bullet point. Then, briefly point to the quotes/evidence you’ll use in the essay. Finally, start to think about what the literary device and evidence are doing together. Try to answer the question: what meaning does this bring to the passage?

A sample outline for one paragraph of the above essay might look like this:

Romantic imagery

Portrayal of summer

• Woman who “from her golden collar… moans aloud”
• Summer as bounty

Contrast with Autumn

• Autumn dismantles Summer
• “Stray through stubble fields”
• Autumn is change; it has the power to dethrone the romance of Summer/make summer a bit meaningless

Recognition of change in a positive light

• Summer “lies on pillows / yellow leaves / tries old tunes”
• Bright imagery/fallen leaves
• Attempt to maintain old practices fails: “old tunes”
• But! There is sympathy: “lies on pillows”

Speaker recognizes: she can’t prevent what is to come; wishes to embrace natural passage of time

By the time the writer gets to the end of the outline for their paragraph, they can easily start to draw conclusions about the paragraph based on the evidence they have pulled out. You can see how that thinking might develop over the course of the outline.

Then, the speaker would take the conclusions they’ve drawn and write a “mini claim” that will start each paragraph. The final bullet point of this outline isn’t the same as the mini claim that comes at the top of the second paragraph of the essay, however, it is the conclusion of the paragraph. You would do well to use the concluding thoughts from your outline as the mini claim to start your body paragraph. This will make your paragraphs clear, concise, and help you to construct a coherent argument.

Repeat this process for the other one or two literary devices that you’ve chosen to analyze, and then: take a step back.

Fourth: Draft your thesis 

Once you quickly sketch out your outline, take a moment to “stand back” and see what you’ve drafted. You’ll be able to see that, among your two or three literary devices, you can draw some commonality. You might be able to say, as the writer did here, that romantic and hyperbolic imagery “illustrate the speaker’s unenthusiastic opinion of the coming of autumn,” ultimately illuminating the poet’s idea “that change is difficult to accept but necessary for growth.”

This is an original argument built on the evidence accumulated by the student. It directly answers the prompt by discussing literary techniques that “convey the speaker’s complex response to the changing seasons.” Remember to go back to the prompt and see what direction they want you to head with your thesis, and craft an argument that directly speaks to that prompt.

Then, move ahead to finish your body paragraphs and conclusion.

Fifth: Give each literary device its own body paragraph 

In this essay, the writer examines the use of two literary devices that are supported by multiple pieces of evidence. The first is “romantic imagery” and the second is “hyperbolic imagery.” The writer dedicates one paragraph to each idea. You should do this, too.

This is why it’s important to choose just two or three literary devices. You really don’t have time to dig into more. Plus, more ideas will simply cloud the essay and confuse your reader.

Using your outline, start each body paragraph with a “mini claim” that makes an argument about what it is you’ll be saying in your paragraph. Lay out your pieces of evidence, then provide commentary for why your evidence proves your point about that literary device.

Move onto the next literary device, rinse, and repeat.

Sixth: Commentary and Conclusion 

Finally, you’ll want to end this brief essay with a concluding paragraph that restates your thesis, briefly touches on your most important points from each body paragraph, and includes a development of the argument that you laid out in the essay.

In this particular example essay, the writer concludes by saying, “Utilizing romantic imagery and hyperbole to shape the Speaker’s perspective, Cary emphasizes the need to embrace change though it is difficult, because growth is not possible without hardship or discomfort.” This is a direct restatement of the thesis. At this point, you’ll have reached the end of your essay. Great work!

Seventh: Sophistication 

A final note on scoring criteria: there is one point awarded to what the scoring criteria calls “sophistication.” This is evidenced by the sophistication of thought and providing a nuanced literary analysis, which we’ve already covered in the steps above.

There are some things to avoid, however:

• Sweeping generalizations, such as, “From the beginning of human history, people have always searched for love,” or “Everyone goes through periods of darkness in their lives, much like the writer of this poem.”
• Only hinting at possible interpretations instead of developing your argument
• Oversimplifying your interpretation
• Or, by contrast, using overly flowery or complex language that does not meet your level of preparation or the context of the essay.

Remember to develop your argument with nuance and complexity and to write in a style that is academic but appropriate for the task at hand.

If you want more practice or to check out other exams from the past, go to the College Board’s website .

Brittany Borghi

After earning a BA in Journalism and an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa, Brittany spent five years as a full-time lecturer in the Rhetoric Department at the University of Iowa. Additionally, she’s held previous roles as a researcher, full-time daily journalist, and book editor. Brittany’s work has been featured in The Iowa Review, The Hopkins Review, and the Pittsburgh City Paper, among others, and she was also a 2021 Pushcart Prize nominee.

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How to Write the AP Lit Prose Essay + Example

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What’s Covered

What is the ap lit prose essay, how will ap scores affect my college chances.

AP Literature and Composition (AP Lit), not to be confused with AP English Language and Composition (AP Lang), teaches students how to develop the ability to critically read and analyze literary texts. These texts include poetry, prose, and drama. Analysis is an essential component of this course and critical for the educational development of all students when it comes to college preparation. In this course, you can expect to see an added difficulty of texts and concepts, similar to the material one would see in a college literature course.

While not as popular as AP Lang, over 380,136 students took the class in 2019. However, the course is significantly more challenging, with only 49.7% of students receiving a score of three or higher on the exam. A staggeringly low 6.2% of students received a five on the exam. 

The AP Lit exam is similar to the AP Lang exam in format, but covers different subject areas. The first section is multiple-choice questions based on five short passages. There are 55 questions to be answered in 1 hour. The passages will include at least two prose fiction passages and two poetry passages and will account for 45% of your total score. All possible answer choices can be found within the text, so you don’t need to come into the exam with prior knowledge of the passages to understand the work. 

The second section contains three free-response essays to be finished in under two hours. This section accounts for 55% of the final score and includes three essay questions: the poetry analysis essay, the prose analysis essay, and the thematic analysis essay. Typically, a five-paragraph format will suffice for this type of writing. These essays are scored holistically from one to six points.

Today we will take a look at the AP Lit prose essay and discuss tips and tricks to master this section of the exam. We will also provide an example of a well-written essay for review.  

The AP Lit prose essay is the second of the three essays included in the free-response section of the AP Lit exam, lasting around 40 minutes in total. A prose passage of approximately 500 to 700 words and a prompt will be given to guide your analytical essay. Worth about 18% of your total grade, the essay will be graded out of six points depending on the quality of your thesis (0-1 points), evidence and commentary (0-4 points), and sophistication (0-1 points). 

While this exam seems extremely overwhelming, considering there are a total of three free-response essays to complete, with proper time management and practiced skills, this essay is manageable and straightforward. In order to enhance the time management aspect of the test to the best of your ability, it is essential to understand the following six key concepts.

1. Have a Clear Understanding of the Prompt and the Passage

Since the prose essay is testing your ability to analyze literature and construct an evidence-based argument, the most important thing you can do is make sure you understand the passage. That being said, you only have about 40 minutes for the whole essay so you can’t spend too much time reading the passage. Allot yourself 5-7 minutes to read the prompt and the passage and then another 3-5 minutes to plan your response.

As you read through the prompt and text, highlight, circle, and markup anything that stands out to you. Specifically, try to find lines in the passage that could bolster your argument since you will need to include in-text citations from the passage in your essay. Even if you don’t know exactly what your argument might be, it’s still helpful to have a variety of quotes to use depending on what direction you take your essay, so take note of whatever strikes you as important. Taking the time to annotate as you read will save you a lot of time later on because you won’t need to reread the passage to find examples when you are in the middle of writing. 

Once you have a good grasp on the passage and a solid array of quotes to choose from, you should develop a rough outline of your essay. The prompt will provide 4-5 bullets that remind you of what to include in your essay, so you can use these to structure your outline. Start with a thesis, come up with 2-3 concrete claims to support your thesis, back up each claim with 1-2 pieces of evidence from the text, and write a brief explanation of how the evidence supports the claim.

2. Start with a Brief Introduction that Includes a Clear Thesis Statement

Having a strong thesis can help you stay focused and avoid tangents while writing. By deciding the relevant information you want to hit upon in your essay up front, you can prevent wasting precious time later on. Clear theses are also important for the reader because they direct their focus to your essential arguments. 

In other words, it’s important to make the introduction brief and compact so your thesis statement shines through. The introduction should include details from the passage, like the author and title, but don’t waste too much time with extraneous details. Get to the heart of your essay as quick as possible. 

3. Use Clear Examples to Support Your Argument 

One of the requirements AP Lit readers are looking for is your use of evidence. In order to satisfy this aspect of the rubric, you should make sure each body paragraph has at least 1-2 pieces of evidence, directly from the text, that relate to the claim that paragraph is making. Since the prose essay tests your ability to recognize and analyze literary elements and techniques, it’s often better to include smaller quotes. For example, when writing about the author’s use of imagery or diction you might pick out specific words and quote each word separately rather than quoting a large block of text. Smaller quotes clarify exactly what stood out to you so your reader can better understand what are you saying.

Including smaller quotes also allows you to include more evidence in your essay. Be careful though—having more quotes is not necessarily better! You will showcase your strength as a writer not by the number of quotes you manage to jam into a paragraph, but by the relevance of the quotes to your argument and explanation you provide.  If the details don’t connect, they are merely just strings of details.

4. Discussion is Crucial to Connect Your Evidence to Your Argument 

As the previous tip explained, citing phrases and words from the passage won’t get you anywhere if you don’t provide an explanation as to how your examples support the claim you are making. After each new piece of evidence is introduced, you should have a sentence or two that explains the significance of this quote to the piece as a whole.

This part of the paragraph is the “So what?” You’ve already stated the point you are trying to get across in the topic sentence and shared the examples from the text, so now show the reader why or how this quote demonstrates an effective use of a literary technique by the author. Sometimes students can get bogged down by the discussion and lose sight of the point they are trying to make. If this happens to you while writing, take a step back and ask yourself “Why did I include this quote? What does it contribute to the piece as a whole?” Write down your answer and you will be good to go. 

5. Write a Brief Conclusion

While the critical part of the essay is to provide a substantive, organized, and clear argument throughout the body paragraphs, a conclusion provides a satisfying ending to the essay and the last opportunity to drive home your argument. If you run out of time for a conclusion because of extra time spent in the preceding paragraphs, do not worry, as that is not fatal to your score. 

Without repeating your thesis statement word for word, find a way to return to the thesis statement by summing up your main points. This recap reinforces the arguments stated in the previous paragraphs, while all of the preceding paragraphs successfully proved the thesis statement.

6. Don’t Forget About Your Grammar

Though you will undoubtedly be pressed for time, it’s still important your essay is well-written with correct punctuating and spelling. Many students are able to write a strong thesis and include good evidence and commentary, but the final point on the rubric is for sophistication. This criteria is more holistic than the former ones which means you should have elevated thoughts and writing—no grammatical errors. While a lack of grammatical mistakes alone won’t earn you the sophistication point, it will leave the reader with a more favorable impression of you. 

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Here are Nine Must-have Tips and Tricks to Get a Good Score on the Prose Essay:

• Carefully read, review, and underline key instruction s in the prompt.
• Briefly outlin e what you want to cover in your essay.
• Be sure to have a clear thesis that includes the terms mentioned in the instructions, literary devices, tone, and meaning.
• Include the author’s name and title  in your introduction. Refer to characters by name.
• Quality over quantity when it comes to picking quotes! Better to have a smaller number of more detailed quotes than a large amount of vague ones.
• Fully explain how each piece of evidence supports your thesis .  
• Focus on the literary techniques in the passage and avoid summarizing the plot. 
• Use transitions to connect sentences and paragraphs.
• Keep your introduction and conclusion short, and don’t repeat your thesis verbatim in your conclusion.

Here is an example essay from 2020 that received a perfect 6:

[1] In this passage from a 1912 novel, the narrator wistfully details his childhood crush on a girl violinist. Through a motif of the allure of musical instruments, and abundant sensory details that summon a vivid image of the event of their meeting, the reader can infer that the narrator was utterly enraptured by his obsession in the moment, and upon later reflection cannot help but feel a combination of amusement and a resummoning of the moment’s passion. 

[2] The overwhelming abundance of hyper-specific sensory details reveals to the reader that meeting his crush must have been an intensely powerful experience to create such a vivid memory. The narrator can picture the “half-dim church”, can hear the “clear wail” of the girl’s violin, can see “her eyes almost closing”, can smell a “faint but distinct fragrance.” Clearly, this moment of discovery was very impactful on the boy, because even later he can remember the experience in minute detail. However, these details may also not be entirely faithful to the original experience; they all possess a somewhat mysterious quality that shows how the narrator may be employing hyperbole to accentuate the girl’s allure. The church is “half-dim”, the eyes “almost closing” – all the details are held within an ethereal state of halfway, which also serves to emphasize that this is all told through memory. The first paragraph also introduces the central conciet of music. The narrator was drawn to the “tones she called forth” from her violin and wanted desperately to play her “accompaniment.” This serves the double role of sensory imagery (with the added effect of music being a powerful aural image) and metaphor, as the accompaniment stands in for the narrator’s true desire to be coupled with his newfound crush. The musical juxtaposition between the “heaving tremor of the organ” and the “clear wail” of her violin serves to further accentuate how the narrator percieved the girl as above all other things, as high as an angel. Clearly, the memory of his meeting his crush is a powerful one that left an indelible impact on the narrator. 

[3] Upon reflecting on this memory and the period of obsession that followed, the narrator cannot help but feel amused at the lengths to which his younger self would go; this is communicated to the reader with some playful irony and bemused yet earnest tone. The narrator claims to have made his “first and last attempts at poetry” in devotion to his crush, and jokes that he did not know to be “ashamed” at the quality of his poetry. This playful tone pokes fun at his childhood self for being an inexperienced poet, yet also acknowledges the very real passion that the poetry stemmed from. The narrator goes on to mention his “successful” endeavor to conceal his crush from his friends and the girl; this holds an ironic tone because the narrator immediately admits that his attempts to hide it were ill-fated and all parties were very aware of his feelings. The narrator also recalls his younger self jumping to hyperbolic extremes when imagining what he would do if betrayed by his love, calling her a “heartless jade” to ironically play along with the memory. Despite all this irony, the narrator does also truly comprehend the depths of his past self’s infatuation and finds it moving. The narrator begins the second paragraph with a sentence that moves urgently, emphasizing the myriad ways the boy was obsessed. He also remarks, somewhat wistfully, that the experience of having this crush “moved [him] to a degree which now [he] can hardly think of as possible.” Clearly, upon reflection the narrator feels a combination of amusement at the silliness of his former self and wistful respect for the emotion that the crush stirred within him. 

[4] In this passage, the narrator has a multifaceted emotional response while remembering an experience that was very impactful on him. The meaning of the work is that when we look back on our memories (especially those of intense passion), added perspective can modify or augment how those experiences make us feel

More essay examples, score sheets, and commentaries can be found at College Board .

While AP Scores help to boost your weighted GPA, or give you the option to get college credit, AP Scores don’t have a strong effect on your admissions chances . However, colleges can still see your self-reported scores, so you might not want to automatically send scores to colleges if they are lower than a 3. That being said, admissions officers care far more about your grade in an AP class than your score on the exam.

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Expert's Guide to the AP Literature Exam

Advanced Placement (AP)

If you're planning to take the AP English Literature and Composition exam, you'll need to get familiar with what to expect on the test. Whether the 2023 test date of Wednesday, May 3, is near or far, I'm here to help you get serious about preparing for the exam.

In this guide, I'll go over the test's format and question types, how it's graded, best practices for preparation, and test-day tips. You'll be on your way to AP English Lit success in no time!

AP English Literature: Exam Format and Question Types

The AP Literature Exam is a three-hour exam that contains two sections in this order:

• An hour-long, 55-question multiple-choice section
• A two-hour, three-question free-response section

The exam tests your ability to analyze works and excerpts of literature and cogently communicate that analysis in essay form.

Read on for a breakdown of the two different sections and their question types.

Section I: Multiple Choice

The multiple-choice section, or Section I of the AP Literature exam, is 60 minutes long and has 55 questions. It counts for 45% of your overall exam grade .

You can expect to see five excerpts of prose and poetry. You will always get at least two prose passages (fiction or drama) and two poetry passages. In general, you will not be given the author, date, or title for these works, though occasionally the title of a poem will be given. Unusual words are also sometimes defined for you.

The date ranges of these works could fall from the 16th to the 21st century. Most works will be originally written in English, but you might occasionally see a passage in translation.

There are, generally speaking, eight kinds of questions you can expect to see on the AP English Literature and Composition exam. I'll break each of them down here and give you tips on how to identify and approach them.

"Pretty flowers carried by ladies" is not one of the question types.

The 8 Multiple-Choice Question Types on the AP Literature Exam

Without further delay, here are the eight question types you can expect to see on the AP Lit exam. All questions are taken from the sample questions on the AP Course and Exam Description .

#1: Reading Comprehension

These questions test your ability to understand what the passage is saying on a pretty basic level . They don't require you to do a lot of interpretation—you just need to know what's going on.

You can identify this question type from words and phrases such as "according to," "mentioned," "asserting," and so on. You'll succeed on these questions as long as you carefully read the text . Note that you might have to go back and reread parts to make sure you understand what the passage is saying.

#2: Inference

These questions ask you to infer something—a character or narrator's opinion, an author's intention, etc.—based on what is said in the passage . It will be something that isn't stated directly or concretely but that you can assume based on what's clearly written in the passage. You can identify these questions from words such as "infer" and "imply."

The key to these questions is to not get tripped up by the fact that you are making an inference—there will be a best answer, and it will be the choice that is best supported by what is actually found in the passage .

In many ways, inference questions are like second-level reading comprehension questions: you need to know not just what a passage says, but also what it means.

#3: Identifying and Interpreting Figurative Language

These are questions for which you have to either identify what word or phrase is figurative language or provide the meaning of a figurative phrase . You can identify these as they will either explicitly mention figurative language (or a figurative device, such as a simile or metaphor ) or include a figurative phrase in the question itself.

The meaning of figurative phrases can normally be determined by that phrase's context in the passage—what is said around it? What is the phrase referring to?

Example 1: Identifying

Example 2: Interpreting

#4: Literary Technique

These questions involve identifying why an author does what they do , from using a particular phrase to repeating certain words. Basically, what techniques is the author using to construct the passage/poem, and to what effect?

You can identify these questions by words/phrases such as "serves chiefly to," "effect," "evoke," and "in order to." A good way to approach these questions is to ask yourself: so what? Why did the author use these particular words or this particular structure?

#5: Character Analysis

These questions ask you to describe something about a character . You can spot them because they will refer directly to characters' attitudes, opinions, beliefs, or relationships with other characters .

This is, in many ways, a special kind of inference question , since you are inferring the broader personality of the character based on the evidence in a passage. Also, these crop up much more commonly for prose passages than they do for poetry ones.

#6: Overall Passage Questions

Some questions ask you to identify or describe something about the passage or poem as a whole : its purpose, tone, genre, etc. You can identify these by phrases such as "in the passage" and "as a whole."

To answer these questions, you need to think about the excerpt with a bird's-eye view . What is the overall picture created by all the tiny details?

#7: Structure

Some AP Lit questions will ask you about specific structural elements of the passage: a shift in tone, a digression, the specific form of a poem, etc . Often these questions will specify a part of the passage/poem and ask you to identify what that part is accomplishing.

Being able to identify and understand the significance of any shifts —structural, tonal, in genre, and so on—will be of key importance for these questions.

#8: Grammar/Nuts & Bolts

Very occasionally you will be asked a specific grammar question , such as what word an adjective is modifying. I'd also include in this category super-specific questions such as those that ask about the meter of a poem (e.g., iambic pentameter).

These questions are less about literary artistry and more about the fairly dry technique involved in having a fluent command of the English language .

That covers the eight question types on the multiple-choice section. Now, let's take a look at the free-response section of the AP Literature exam.

Keep track of the nuts and bolts of grammar.

Section II: Free Response

The AP Literature Free Response section is two hours long and involves three free-response essay questions , so you'll have about 40 minutes per essay. That's not a lot of time considering this section of the test counts for 55% of your overall exam grade !

Note, though, that no one will prompt you to move from essay to essay, so you can theoretically divide up the time however you want. Just be sure to leave enough time for each essay! Skipping an essay, or running out of time so you have to rush through one, can really impact your final test score.

The first two essays are literary analysis essays of specific passages, with one poem and one prose excerpt. The final essay is an analysis of a given theme in a work selected by you , the student.

Essays 1 & 2: Literary Passage Analysis

For the first two essays, you'll be presented with an excerpt and directed to analyze the excerpt for a given theme, device, or development . One of the passages will be poetry, and one will be prose. You will be provided with the author of the work, the approximate date, and some orienting information (i.e., the plot context of an excerpt from a novel).

Below are some sample questions from the 2022 Free Response Questions .

Essay 3: Thematic Analysis

For the third and final essay, you'll be asked to discuss a particular theme in a work that you select . You will be provided with a list of notable works that address the given theme below the prompt, but you can also choose to discuss any "work of literary merit."

So while you do have the power to choose which work you wish to write an essay about , the key words here are "literary merit." That means no genre fiction! Stick to safe bets like authors in the list on pages 10-11 of the old 2014 AP Lit Course Description .

(I know, I know—lots of genre fiction works do have literary merit and Shakespeare actually began as low culture, and so on and so forth. Indeed, you might find academic designations of "literary merit" elitist and problematic, but the time to rage against the literary establishment is not your AP Lit test! Save it for a really, really good college admissions essay instead .)

Here's a sample question from 2022:

As you can see, the list of works provided spans many time periods and countries : there are ancient Greek plays ( Antigone ), modern literary works (such as Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale ), Shakespeare plays ( The Tempest ), 19th-century English plays ( The Importance of Being Earnest ), etc. So you have a lot to work with!

Also note that you can choose a work of "comparable literary merit." That means you can select a work not on this list as long as it's as difficult and meaningful as the example titles you've been given. So for example, Jane Eyre or East of Eden would be great choices, but Twilight or The Hunger Games would not.

Our advice? If you're not sure what a work of "comparable literary merit" is, stick to the titles on the provided list .

You might even see something by this guy.

How Is the AP Literature Test Graded?

The multiple-choice section of the exam comprises 45% of your total exam score; the three essays, or free-response section, comprise the other 55%. Each essay, then, is worth about 18% of your grade.

As on other AP exams, your raw score will be converted to a score from 1-5 . You don't have to get every point possible to get a 5 by any means. In 2022, 16.9% of students received 5s on the AP English Literature test, the 14th highest 5 score out of the 38 different AP exams.

So, how do you calculate your raw scores?

Multiple-Choice Scoring

For the multiple-choice section, you receive 1 point for each question you answer correctly . There's no guessing penalty, so you should answer every question—but guess only after you're able to eliminate any answer you know is wrong to up your chances of choosing the right one.

Free-Response Scoring

Scoring for multiple choice is pretty straightforward; however, essay scoring is a little more complicated.

Each of your essays will receive a score from 0 to 6 based on the College Board rubric , which also includes question-specific rubrics. All the rubrics are very similar, with only minor differences between them.

Each essay rubric has three elements you'll be graded on:

• Thesis (0-1 points)
• Evidence and Commentary (0-4 points)
• Sophistication (0-1 points)

We'll be looking at the current rubric for the AP Lit exam , which was released in September 2019, and what every score means for each of the three elements above:

To get a high-scoring essay in the 5-6 point range, you'll need to not only come up with an original and intriguing argument that you thoroughly support with textual evidence, but you’ll also need to stay focused, organized, and clear. And all in just 40 minutes per essay!

If getting a high score on this section sounds like a tall order, that's because it is.

Practice makes perfect!

Skill-Building for Success on the AP Literature Exam

There are several things you can do to hone your skills and best prepare for the AP Lit exam.

Read Some Books, Maybe More Than Once

One of the most important steps you can take to prepare for the AP Literature and Composition exam is to read a lot and read well . You'll be reading a wide variety of notable literary works in your AP English Literature course, but additional reading will help you further develop your analytical reading skills .

I suggest checking out this list of notable authors in the 2014 AP Lit Course Description (pages 10-11).

In addition to reading broadly, you'll want to become especially familiar with the details of four to five books with different themes so you'll be prepared to write a strong student-choice essay. You should know the plot, themes, characters, and structural details of these books inside and out.

See my AP English Literature Reading List for more guidance.

Read (and Interpret) Poetry

One thing students might not do very much on their own time but that will help a lot with AP Lit exam prep is to read poetry. Try to read poems from a lot of eras and authors to get familiar with the language.

We know that poetry can be intimidating. That's why we've put together a bunch of guides to help you crack the poetry code (so to speak). You can learn more about poetic devices —like imagery and i ambic pentameter —in our comprehensive guide. Then you can see those analytical skills in action in our expert analysis of " Do not go gentle into that good night " by Dylan Thomas.

When you think you have a grip on basic comprehension, you can then move on to close reading (see below).

Hone Your Close Reading and Analysis Skills

Your AP class will likely focus heavily on close reading and analysis of prose and poetry, but extra practice won't hurt you. Close reading is the ability to identify which techniques the author is using and why. You'll need to be able to do this both to gather evidence for original arguments on the free-response questions and to answer analytical multiple-choice questions.

Here are some helpful close reading resources for prose :

• University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center's guide to close reading
• Harvard College Writing Center's close reading guide
• Purdue OWL's article on steering clear of close reading "pitfalls"

And here are some for poetry :

• University of Wisconsin-Madison's poetry-reading guide
• This guide to reading poetry at Poets.org (complete with two poetry close readings)
• Our own expert analyses of famous poems, such as " Ozymandias ", and the 10 famous sonnets you should know

Learn Literary and Poetic Devices

You'll want to be familiar with literary terms so that any test questions that ask about them will make sense to you. Again, you'll probably learn most of these in class, but it doesn't hurt to brush up on them.

Here are some comprehensive lists of literary terms with definitions :

• The 31 Literary Devices You Must Know
• The 20 Poetic Devices You Must Know
• The 9 Literary Elements You'll Find In Every Story
• What Is Imagery?
• Understanding Assonance
• What Is Iambic Pentameter in Poetry?
• Simile vs Metaphor: The 1 Big Difference
• 10 Personification Examples in Poetry, Literature, and More

Practice Writing Essays

The majority of your grade on the AP English Lit exam comes from essays, so it's critical that you practice your timed essay-writing skills . You of course should use the College Board's released free-response questions to practice writing complete timed essays of each type, but you can also practice quickly outlining thorough essays that are well supported with textual evidence.

Take Practice Tests

Taking practice tests is a great way to prepare for the exam. It will help you get familiar with the exam format and overall experience . You can get sample questions from the Course and Exam Description , the College Board website , and our guide to AP English Lit practice test resources .

Be aware that the released exams don't have complete slates of free-response questions, so you might need to supplement these with released free-response questions .

Since there are three complete released exams, you can take one toward the beginning of your prep time to get familiar with the exam and set a benchmark, and one toward the end to make sure the experience is fresh in your mind and to check your progress.

Don't wander like a lonely cloud through your AP Lit prep.

AP Literature: 6 Critical Test-Day Tips

Before we wrap up, here are my six top tips for AP Lit test day:

• #1: On the multiple-choice section, it's to your advantage to answer every question. If you eliminate all the answers you know are wrong before guessing, you'll raise your chances of guessing the correct one.
• #2: Don't rely on your memory of the passage when answering multiple-choice questions (or when writing essays, for that matter). Look back at the passage!
• #3: Interact with the text : circle, mark, underline, make notes—whatever floats your boat. This will help you retain information and actively engage with the passage.
• #4: This was mentioned above, but it's critical that you know four to five books well for the student-choice essay . You'll want to know all the characters, the plot, the themes, and any major devices or motifs the author uses throughout.
• #5: Be sure to plan out your essays! Organization and focus are critical for high-scoring AP Literature essays. An outline will take you a few minutes, but it will help your writing process go much faster.
• #6: Manage your time on essays closely. One strategy is to start with the essay you think will be the easiest to write. This way you'll be able to get through it while thinking about the other two essays.

And don't forget to eat breakfast! Apron optional.

AP Literature Exam: Key Takeaways

The AP Literature exam is a three-hour test that includes an hour-long multiple-choice section based on five prose and poetry passages and with 55 questions, and a two-hour free-response section with three essays : one analyzing a poetry passage, one analyzing a prose passage, and one analyzing a work chosen by you, the student.

The multiple-choice section is worth 45% of your total score , and the free-response section is worth 55% . The three essays are each scored on a rubric of 0-6, and raw scores are converted to a final scaled score from 1 to 5.

Here are some things you can do to prepare for the exam:

• Read books and be particularly familiar with four to five works for the student-choice essays
• Read poetry
• Work on your close reading and analysis skills
• Learn common literary devices
• Practice writing essays
• Take practice tests!

On test day, be sure to really look closely at all the passages and really interact with them by marking the text in a way that makes sense to you. This will help on both multiple-choice questions and the free-response essays. You should also outline your essays before you write them.

With all this in mind, you're well on your way to AP Lit success!

What's Next?

If you're taking other AP exams this year, you might be interested in our other AP resources: from the Ultimate Guide to the US History Exam , to the Ultimate AP Chemistry Study Guide , to the Best AP Psychology Study Guide , we have tons of articles on AP courses and exams for you !

Looking for practice exams? Here are some tips on how to find the best AP practice tests . We've also got comprehensive lists of practice tests for AP Psychology , AP Biology , AP Chemistry , and AP US History .

Deciding which APs to take? Take a look through the complete list of AP courses and tests , read our analysis of which AP classes are the hardest and easiest , and learn how many AP classes you should take .

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Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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2024 AP English Literature Exam Guide

15 min read • july 11, 2024

Your Guide to the 2025 AP English Literature Exam

We know that studying for your AP exams can be stressful, but Fiveable has your back! We created a study plan to help you crush your AP English Literature exam. This guide will continue to update with information about the 2025 exams, as well as helpful resources to help you do your best on test day.  Unlock Cram Mode  for access to our cram events—students who have successfully passed their AP exams will answer your questions and guide your last-minute studying LIVE! And don't miss out on unlimited access to our database of thousands of practice questions. 

Format of the 2025 AP English Literature Exam

Going into test day, this is the exam format to expect:

Multiple Choice | 1 Hour | 45% of Exam Score - 55 questions total - 5 sets of questions with 8–13 questions per set. - Each set is preceded by a passage of prose fiction, drama, or poetry of varying difficulty. - Will always include at least 2 prose fiction passages (this may include drama) and at least 2 poetry passages. Free Response | 2 hours | 55% of your score

• A literary analysis of a given poem
• A literary analysis of a given passage of prose fiction (this may include drama)
• An analysis that examines a specific concept, issue, or element in a work of literary merit selected by the student

FRQ Scoring Rubric for the 2025 AP Lit Exam

View an example set of questions and the corresponding  scoring guidelines  from the College Board to get an idea of what they look for in your responses!

Check out our study plan below to find resources and tools to prepare for your AP English Literature exam.

When is the 2025 AP exam and How Do I Take It?

The exam is on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 8:00 AM your local time—this will be a paper test at your school.  

How Should I prepare for the Exam?

• -First, download the  AP English Literature Cheatsheet PDF - a single sheet that covers everything you need to know at a high level. Take note of your strengths and weaknesses!
• Review every unit and question type, and focus on the areas that need the most improvement and practice. We’ve put together this plan to help you study between now and May. This will cover all of the units and essay types to prepare you for your exam- - Practice essays are your best friends! The more essays you write, the more automatic the process will come, and the easier the AP exam will be!
• Try some of the past exam essays  here
• We've put together the study plan found below to help you study between now and May. This will cover all of the units and essay types to prepare you for your exam. Pay special attention to the units that you need the most improvement in.
• Study, practice, and review for test day with other students during our live cram sessions via  Cram Mode . Cram live streams will teach, review, and practice important topics from AP courses, college admission tests, and college admission topics. These streams are hosted by experienced students who know what you need to succeed.

Pre-Work: Set Up Your Study Environment

Before you begin studying, take some time to get organized.

🖥 Create a study space.

Make sure you have a designated place at home to study. Somewhere you can keep all of your materials, where you can focus on learning, and where you are comfortable. Spend some time prepping the space with everything you need and you can even let others in the family know that this is your study space. 

📚 Organize your study materials.

Get your notebook, textbook, prep books, or whatever other physical materials you have. Also, create a space for you to keep track of review. Start a new section in your notebook to take notes or start a Google Doc to keep track of your notes. Get yourself set up!

📅 Plan designated times for studying.

The hardest part about studying from home is sticking to a routine. Decide on one hour every day that you can dedicate to studying. This can be any time of the day, whatever works best for you. Set a timer on your phone for that time and really try to stick to it. The routine will help you stay on track.

🏆 Decide on an accountability plan.

How will you hold yourself accountable to this study plan? You may or may not have a teacher or rules set up to help you stay on track, so you need to set some for yourself. First, set your goal. This could be studying for x number of hours or getting through a unit. Then, create a reward for yourself. If you reach your goal, then x. This will help stay focused!

AP English Literature 2024 Study Plan

🌱 unit 1: intro to short fiction, big takeaways:.

Unit 1 is the first prose analysis unit, focusing on short fiction.  It helps to establish your prose analysis vocabulary, focusing on identifying and describing basic literary elements such as plot, narrator, and setting. This unit also gives the foundations for writing analyses of text, beginning with paragraph structuring and claim defense.

Definitely do this:

📚 Read these study guides:

Unit 1 Overview: Introduction to Short Fiction

1.1 Interpreting the role of character in fiction

1.2 Identifying and interpreting setting

1.3 Identifying how a story’s structure affects interpretation

1.4 Understanding and interpreting a narrator’s perspective

1.5 Reading texts literally and figuratively

1.6 The basics of literary analysis 🎥 Watch these videos:

Prose Prompt Deconstruction : An overview of the Prose Analysis prompt and strategies for preparing to respond

What Lit Is : An overview of the course and exam and their expectations 📰 Check out this articles:

[object Object] : Short stories of literary merit to stretch your analysis muscles ✍️ Practice

Best Quizlet Decks for AP English Literature :  Practice with these quizlets to strengthen your AP Lit vocabulary!

🎭 Unit 2: Intro to Poetry

Unit 2 is the first poetry analysis unit, focusing on everyone's favorite figurative language devices --  metaphor and simile .  Because poems often have a specific form, this unit also begins  analysis of form/structure and also looks at  contrasts in a text (which create the  complexity that the exam expects you to analyze).  All of these poetic elements, though, are being analyzed for their  function in the poem -- this unit helps you practice looking for  why authors make the choices that they do.  

This unit continues the work of Unit 1 in  developing paragraphs  that establish a claim and provide evidence to support that claim.  It’s more important that you can write a stable, defensible, claim-based paragraph at this point than it is that you can write an entire essay (that might not be as strong).

Unit 2 Overview: Introduction to Poetry

2.1 Identifying characters in poetry

2.2 Understanding & interpreting meaning in poetic structure

2.3 Analyzing word choice to find meaning

2.4 Identifying techniques in poetry to analyze literary works 🎥 Watch these videos:

Literary Device Review : An overview of some literary devices that you may have forgotten, or an introduction to some new ones that you want in your analysis vocabulary.

Defending a Claim : Before practicing your paragraphs, watch this stream for guidance in building a claim from the passage in response to a prompt.

How to Read a Poem : A stream dedicated to developing poetry reading skills, including a useful acronym (SIFT) for prioritizing important elements of a poem.

Annotating for Understanding: This stream guides you through the annotation process, making sure that you are annotating purposefully, and developing your own library of symbols. 📰 Check out these articles:

Poetry Overview : Our Fiveable guide to the poetry analysis question -- what to expect and what you need to do to respond effectively.

If you have more time or want to dig deeper:

• Theme Statements and Thesis Statements : This stream teaches you how to determine and state a theme, and how to establish a claim to defend for poem analysis.
• 💎 Play  Figurative Language Trivia ! It’s not the names that are important, but it’s fun to know them, anyway!

🎭 Unit 3: Intro to Longer fiction or Drama

Here we go with the novels!  Because the exam’s literary argument essay (also affectionately known as Q3 in the Lit circles) asks students to analyze a novel-length text, it’s important to get practice on analyzing novels or plays (did someone say, Shakespeare?). This unit boils down to paying closer attention to character and plot, with a sprinkling of setting analysis.  Because novels are longer than short stories, not only can authors spread out the creation of literary elements and go deeper, but you can see more about how it’s done.  

In terms of composition, this unit starts discussing the development of a thesis statement!  So now we can establish a thesis, and  then support it with a paragraph (or two).  This means we’re also starting to create a  line of reasoning that is introduced in the thesis statement, and supported in the body of your essay.

Unit 3 Overview: Introduction to Longer Fiction and Drama

3.1 Interpreting character description and perspective

3.2 Character evolution throughout a narrative

3.3 Conflict and plot development

3.4 Interpreting symbolism

3.5 Identifying evidence and supporting literary arguments 🎥 Watch these videos:

Theme Statements and Thesis Statements: This stream distinguishes between these two important statements in a Q3 response, and further discusses thesis statements in general.

Annotating for Analysis, part 2: This stream is more about annotating an exam prompt, and then preparing to respond to it.

Characters and Relationships : All about characterization, with terms and tips for understanding the creation of characters and why they matter. 📰 Check out these articles:

Fiveable study guide to the Literary Argument prompt

• 💎  Check out John Green’s YouTube channel   [object Object]  for help analyzing some English teacher novel favorites.  These don’t substitute for reading, but they help when you’re done.
• 📖  Read this   [object Object]  from Albert.io to see what you’ve read, or what you might want to read. You might even find them free online, or you can support your local library.

⚔️ Unit 4: Character, Conflict, & Storytelling in Short Fiction

Because of the way that the AP Lit units are structured, we spiral skills and text types, so this is phase 2 of short fiction analysis.  While the first short fiction unit was focused on identifying and describing elements, now you’re being asked to  explain the function (that  why again) and describe relationships.  

This unit also asks you to start analyzing  how those relationships and elements are created by authors.  That means you are reading more closely for  diction and syntax and paying more attention to how a speaker/narrator’s  perspective is shown to you.

We’re still working on defensible thesis statements and building  commentary to make clear connections between our claim and the evidence.  This is what builds the  line of reasoning and earns a 4 in  evidence and commentary on the Lit rubric.

Unit 4 Overview: Character, Conflict, and Storytelling

4.1 Protagonists, antagonists, character relationships, and conflict

4.2 Character interactions with setting and its significance

4.3 Archetypes in literature

4.4 Types of narration like stream of consciousness

4.5 Narrative distance, tone, and perspective 🎥 Watch these videos:

Prose Analysis Prompt Deconstruction and Strategies : Before you read the text, make sure that you know the task before you, and you’re ready to read with that in mind.

Q2 Thesis and Introduction :  There are some exam-taking tips in here, from a college freshman who conquered the exam.  She also discusses forming a thesis and an introduction that works. Quickly.

Q2 Evidence and Commentary : Practicing creating commentary to respond to the prompt efficiently.  This stream uses practice prompts to show the process of reading a text with the prompt in mind to select evidence while reading. 📰 Check out these articles:

Short Fiction Overview : Revisit this guide!  Read the section on “How to Read a Short Story.  Like, Really Read It.”

💎 Check out this stream on  creating a "boot camp" that was originally meant for teachers, but gives guidelines and suggestions on how to dive into short fiction. ✍️ Practice

AP Lit Prose Analysis Practice Prompt Answers & Feedback – [object Object] (Diction): The focus of this practice prompt is diction – analyzing it AND using it yourself, with a little syntax thrown in! Try it yourself and compare it with student responses and feedback.

AP Lit Prose Analysis Practice Prompt Samples & Feedback  –  [object Object] :  Practicing prose analysis is a great way to prep for the AP exam! Respond to this practice prompt and review practice writing samples and their corresponding feedback.

AP Lit Prose Analysis Practice Essays & Feedback – [object Object] :  Writing essays is a great way to practice prose analysis and prep for the AP exam! Review student responses for an essay prompt and corresponding feedback

🌈 Unit 5: Structure & Figurative Language in Poetry

We’re going back to poems! This unit asks you to “identify and explain the function” of various poetic elements and devices.   All at the same time. Those literary devices you learned in Poetry I might come in handy here, but the analysis is more about why the author made those choices about repetition, reference, comparison, etc.

In order to select the most significant, “relevant, and sufficient” evidence to support your  line of reasoning from your  thesis , you have to know the function of the personification or metaphor or imagery.  Ask yourself, “Why would the author write ____ instead of ____?” This helps you analyze the  connotations of the choice, and therefore the function in the text.

By now, we’re writing a thesis plus paragraphs.  This is also an opportunity to work on the organization of your essays (hint: organizing by the device is neither efficient nor sophisticated; try to find a shift or two in the poem and use them to develop your paragraph chunks.

Unit 5 Overview: Structure and Figurative Language

5.1 Traits of closed and open structures in poetry

5.2 Use of techniques like imagery and hyperbole

5.3 Types of comparisons in poetry including personification and allusion

5.4 Identifying and interpreting extended metaphors 🎥 Watch these videos:

How Form Creates Meaning: Learn about poetry-specific choices authors make, and what elements of form look like in practice.  Also, explore a couple of common forms and why they might be used.

Open Poetry Study :  An opportunity to practice some of the skills from  “How to Read a Poem ”.

Q1 Evidence and Commentary : Follow the process of reading a poem and selecting evidence in real-time.  You can have an essay before it’s through.

The complexity of Poetry: This is an opportunity to look specifically at how poets create tensions and complexity in their work.  Since this complexity is always a point of analysis on the exam, you can study how it works, and how to write about it

• 💎 Browse through the Poetry Foundations  resources for students , including annotations, poem guides, podcasts, and poet studies.

🛠️ Unit 6: Literary Techniques in Longer Works

Because novels are longer stories, we can look at more elements at a time.  That’s what this unit wants from you -- examining speaker perspective and reliability, the formation and function of literary or contextual symbolism, characterization, character relationships and contrasts, the function of plot events, etc.   All at the same time.  

What you need to know: The bottom line of reading for Q3 is the  meaning of the work as a whole or  theme .  And you might not fully understand what that is until the novel or play is finished, but you can start to build ideas around what BIG IDEA the author is addressing.  Your job is to keep track of how characters, plot, and setting contribute to the discussion of this big idea (like greed or isolation or jealousy or love or anger or insanity).   

Unit 6 Overview: Literary Techniques in Longer Works

6.1 Interpreting foil characters

6.2 Understanding and interpreting character complexity

6.3 Understanding nonlinear narrative structures like flashbacks and foreshadowing

6.4 The effect of narrative tone and bias on reading

6.5 Characters as symbols, metaphors, and archetypes

6.6 Developing literary arguments within a broader context of works 🎥 Watch these videos:

Finding Theme Through Characterization : A discussion of the function of characterization as it applies to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) Resources

🎥 Watch these videos:

Multiple Choice Intro :  an introduction to the AP Literature multiple choice -- an overview of the weights, number and types of questions you will encounter, with some tips for practice and preparation.

Prose MC Strategies and Practice:  covers all aspects of the Multiple Choice section of the AP Lit Exam, including tips on-time efficiency, annotation, and picking the best answer choice. This is followed by 2 sets of practice passages and questions and explanations for each of the provided answer choices. 📰 Check out these articles:

English Literature Multiple Choice Study Guide

AP English Literature Multiple Choice Help (MCQ) ✍️ Practice

AP English Lit MCQ Practice Tests

🏛️ Unit 7: Societal & Historical Context in Short Fiction

The last three units of AP Lit ask you to dig even deeper into what you're reading to analyze it. In Unit 7, you'll focus on how characters fit into the societal and historical context of the work they're in, and how those features can become important facets of stories. Importantly, you'll be asked to  analyze how complexity develops over the course of the story.

• Unit 7 Overview: Societal and Historical Context
• 7.1 Sudden and more gradual change in characters
• 7.2 Epiphany as a driver of plot
• 7.3 Relationships between characters and groups
• 7.4 Character interactions with changing and contrasting settings
• 7.5 The significance of the pacing of a narrative
• 7.6 Setting as a symbol
• 7.7 Interpreting texts in their historical and societal contexts

🤾 Unit 8: Advanced Techniques in Poetry

Unit 8 will introduce you to more complicated techniques in poetry that are harder to spot and analyze. You will be asked to identify and analyze devices like punctuation and structural patterns, juxtaposition, paradox, irony, symbols, conceits, and allusions. Although these are a little harder to correctly identify in poetry, if you can master them, they can earn you major points on the exam. Additionally, you'll learn about how to correctly cite and attribute information when writing literary analysis!

• Unit 8 Overview
• 8.1 Looking at punctuation and structural patterns
• 8.2 Interpreting juxtaposition, paradox, and irony
• 8.3 How ambiguity can allow for various interpretations
• 8.4 Identifying symbols, conceits, and allusions
• 8.5 Learning proper attribution and citation in literary analysis

🚣🏿 Unit 9: Nuanced Analysis in Longer Works

The final unit of AP Lit will task you with creating even more nuanced analyses of longer works and drama. To do this, we'll look at how characters change over the course of the plot and react to the resolution of the narrative, how suspense, resolution, and plot development contribute the meaning of a work, and how inconsistencies and differing perspectives create nuance in longer works. 

• Unit 9 Overview: Nuanced Analysis
• 9.1 Looking at a character's response to the resolution of a narrative
• 9.2 Suspense, resolution, and plot development
• 9.3 Narrative inconsistencies and contrasting perspectives

Exam Skills

Breaking Down an Exam Prompt: A discussion of how to break down an AP Literature exam prompt into smaller questions. We end with some do's, don'ts, and common pitfalls for students writing AP Literature essays.

Commentary and Sophistication FAQs:  Review the criteria for earning maximum evidence/commentary points and the one sophistication point from the rubric. Next, read scored examples and see what they earned in those two categories. ✍️ Practice

AP English Literature Free Response Questions (FRQ) – Past Prompts : A sortable list of all the AP English Literature free-response questions.

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Lit & More

August 8, 2021 ·

My 10 Favorite Short Stories for AP Lit

Planning Content & Choosing Curriculum · Prose Analysis Lessons & Resources

After completing so many AP Lit Skill Spotlights, it’s becoming clear to me that some texts are used more than others. Here’s my list of the top 10 short stories for AP Lit, based on three criteria: 1) application of AP Lit skills; 2) interest and engagement for readers; 3) potential analysis of universal themes and conflicts. Please note, this list is not definitive or official, it is just a list I created based on the trends I’m seeing.

AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this website .

Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”

Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” explores conflicts of mother and daughter as well as themes of assimilation and identity. The text is easy to understand but gains insight and depth upon closer examination. Each time I read it I get more insight into the mother’s conflict and learn more from her narration.

“Everyday Use” is available on the website for Harper’s Magazine and is approximately a 17 minute read. I suggest using it to teach characterization, narration, or plot sequencing, but it can also be a good fit for setting or conflict. It also pairs well with Beloved or other texts with mother-daughter conflicts. For a free lesson using “Everyday Use, check out this Skill Spotlight on plot sequencing .

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is one of the most common short stories used in AP Lit. While it is on the long side, its unique point of view makes it a delight to read and discuss. My students love to argue both for and against the narrator. Her sanity is the one factor we don’t truly understand, making the whole text unreliable and scintillating.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is pretty long, approximately a 29 minute read. However, it is one that pulls in students once they reach the halfway point. I often assign it for homework and my students come in buzzing the next day, ready to discuss. It’s a good text for analyzing unreliable narration and point of view, but also for characterization, conflict, and point of view. You can read the full text on Project Gutenberg here .

“A & P” by John Updike

John Updike’s “A & P” is a great selection for a story with nuanced details. Its plot is simplistic (some may even dare call it “boring”), but upon further analysis it is filled with important details. This piece is a great story to practice analyzing literary elements like point of view, setting, narrator, and theme. It also employs a unique narrative perspective, where you feel like the protagonist is telling you the story in his high school cafeteria one day.

Personally, this story has never been a favorite of mine, mostly because I’m a very plot-driven reader. I also think it may resonate with male readers more than girls (the objectification of women in the story is definitely something to talk about). However, it is still a strong text for practicing many AP Lit skills. “A & P” takes about 13 minutes to read and the full text can be found here .

“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway

Of all the Skill Spotlight lessons I’ve written, “Hills Like White Elephants” is by far the most recommended by AP Lit teachers for the skills in the CED. You could literally grab a skill at random and make it work for this story. I paired it with setting in this Skill Spotlight lesson .

Not only is it rich with literary elements for analysis, the story has this wonderful “What the heck?” element to it. I love watching my students discuss this story after a cold read. Most have no idea what is going on, which is exactly what you would expect. However, Hemingway’s sparse narrative style and unique choices in dialogue are an excellent opportunity to teach subtext. Once students understand the taboo topic that drives the conversation, they’re eager to read it again and analyze it. This is a story you can teach and return to over and over again throughout the year. The story is pretty short, only a seven minute read. Check out Hemingway’s text here .

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor

It’s rare to have a conversation about great short stories without Flannery O’Connor’s name coming up. Known as a master of the Southern gothic style, O’Connor’s texts are filled with violent situations and hard-to-love characters. While O’Connor has many stories to choose from, I like “A Good Man is Hard to Find” because of its meandering plot, analysis of juxtaposition, and its shocking ending. My students study this text in our analysis of CHR 1.A (how textual details reveal a character) and last year our discussion lasted more than two class periods! Click here to see my lesson materials on this skill.

Before teaching this text, it’s worth noting that O’Connor’s stories aren’t exactly aging well. Many of her characters are racist, leading readers to wonder if they reflect the opinions of author as well. To read more about this issue, check out this article in The New Yorker . This text is pretty long, about a 30 minute read.

Something by Ray Bradbury

Another master of the short story form is Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find a single Bradbury text that rose higher than others, so I’d just suggest including at least one. Most students read Fahrenheit 451 earlier in their high school career, but I love introducing them to his short stories as well.

The three Bradbury texts I see suggested for AP Lit the most are these:

“The Sound of Thunder” – This story mixes time travel with tourism in an exciting tale. While the plot is thrilling, it’s really the analysis of the details in this one that makes it AP-worthy. This story takes about 20 minutes to read.

“There Will Come Soft Rains” – This is my favorite of Bradbury’s short stories. I love to focus on setting and theme, which leads to analysis of conflict as well. Furthermore, it easily pairs with the poem that shares its name by Sara Teasdale . This story takes about 10 minutes to read.

“The Veldt” – Of these three, I find this story about a child’s nursery-gone-mad the most challenging. I use it to analyze plot structure and sequencing, a difficult skill to target. This story takes about 21 minutes to read. Check out that lesson here , which pairs it with another favorite, “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl.

“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

OK I’m going to be honest here, I struggle with teaching “Sonny’s Blues.” It’s not that it isn’t great (it’s excellent), it’s that it is LONG (it takes over an hour to read). Nonetheless, AP Lit teachers have been implementing James Baldwin’s story about this pair of brothers for decades. Another point in its corner is how frequently Thomas C. Foster cites it in How to Read Literature Like a Professor.

I’ve been looking for ways to integrate it into class and I believe it would be great for a short fiction unit. The AP Lit CED suggests 10 class periods per short fiction unit and you probably could get that many out of “Sonny’s Blues.” Baldwin’s text has dozens of applicable skills, including all of the ones about characterization, structure, and narration. Susan Barber wrote a Skill Spotlight lesson pairing “Sonny’s Blues” with NAR 4.C, a narrator’s perspective. Click here to check it out.

“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid

Contrasting “Sonny’s Blues” is “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid. This one is as short as Sonny is long (only a 3 minute read). It’s actually for that reason that I love teaching it. I often read it aloud, then ask students to read it again immediately after. We even have time to read it a third time once we’ve assigned some AP Lit skills or themes for analysis.

Kincaid’s lyrical style in this text is poem-like, making it a challenge even if it is short. I also love picking apart the tone of the narrator, who scolds her daughter and accuses her of being a slut, all the while establishing that she does it because she loves her. Pair this text with skills that have to do with dialogue, characterization, or structure. Another strategy is pair it with a similar text with parent-child conflicts ( A Raisin in the Sun and Fences both come to mind). For lesson materials on “Girl,” this short story boot camp lesson pairs it with “Everyday Use” in a study of characterization. “Girl” is available to read from The New Yorker here .

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Like Flannery O’Connor, William Faulkner is another master when it comes to Southern American settings (and another writer whose views on race isn’t aging well). While Faulkner has several novels that are fixtures in AP Lit, his most popular short story by far is “A Rose for Emily.” I think it’s the shocking ending that makes this story memorable with students, but Faulkner’s style of story sequencing and his collective point of view make it rich in analysis as well.

“A Rose For Emily” is a fixture in many AP Lit teachers’ first few weeks. I actually save it for closer to the end of the year and use it as a test prep selection. Opportunities abound when it comes to teaching it. You can find lots of lesson ideas in the files on the AP Lit Facebook group as well! “A Rose for Emily” takes about 18 minutes to read and you can find the story here .

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin

Another popular AP Lit short story is “The Story of an Hour.” This is another short one, and frequently used at the beginning of the year. I like teaching this story because my students think they have it figured out just one paragraph in. Of course , they think, another 18 th century heroine, driven completely by the life and will of her husband. Yeah, she must grieve in private, they mutter , as she’s weak. However, once she gets in front of the window and has her taboo delight in the thoughts of freedom, I see my students sit up a little straighter. Is it possible , they think, that this woman is more modern than I realized? Could she possibly be happy that she’s not just a wife anymore? If that isn’t interesting enough, it’s the sudden and ironic ending that really gets me. I suggest pairing this with HTRLLAP if you’re using it. If not, it’s a great introductory or paired text with Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice , or another 18 th century text with a strong, modern heroine. It’s also great for a solo study and focusing on symbolism or plot structure. You can find “The Story of an Hour” in almost any literature anthology, or online here . It takes about 5 minutes to read.

Honorable Mentions:

Obviously there are many other stories that belong on this list, and I’m sure there are teachers judging me over my inclusion or exclusion of some. This is just a list I’ve formed from my own experiences in both teaching these stories and discussing text selections in the AP Lit community. Here are a few other short stories that are frequently used in AP Lit classrooms:

• “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
• “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
• “Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
• “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe
• “The Flowers” by Alice Walker
• “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce
• “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence
• “A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri
• “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell
• “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl
• “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin
• “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston
• “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison
• “Araby” by James Joyce

Personal Faves

Some of my favorites have already been listed, but here are a few other short stories I love to integrate in AP Lit and Pre-AP:

• “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov
• “Cora Unashamed” by Langston Hughes
• “Land Enough for a Man” by Leo Tolstoy
• “Charles” by Shirley Jackson
• “EPICAC” and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
• “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe
• “Eleven” or “A Rice Sandwich” by Sandra Cisneros
• “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen
• “Eveline” by James Joyce
• “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell

Estimated Reading Times

You may have noticed that for each text I discuss, I included an approximate time it takes to read it. I used the website Read-o-Meter to find these times, which uses word counts and the average wpm reading speed to determine the time for each text. This website is incredibly useful for planning lessons and homework loads, although it obviously isn’t an exact science.

Reader Interactions

August 9, 2021 at 8:41 am

Thank you for this, Gina!

[…] writing all of these Skill Spotlights, several short stories emerge as being crucial short texts for AP® Lit. Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” […]

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20 Short Short Stories for AP Lit

• August 2, 2021
• Short Stories

I love to start the school year with a Flash Fiction Unit.  The brevity of these short stories make them a perfect way to begin the year.  They allow you to do a diagnostic of student skills very quickly and force kids to rely on their own skills rather than Mr. Google.  You can tailor a unit to any length, even just a day or two or have them these short stories for high school English on hand for emergency sub plans. This list of 20 Short Short Stories for AP Lit covers my favorite Flash Fiction short stories for AP Literature and beyond.

What is a Flash Fiction ?

“What is flash fiction?” you ask. Flash Fiction is sometimes called sudden fiction, mircro fiction and micro stories. To put it very simply flash fiction a very short short story.  They range in length from 6 words to about 1500 words and often have a twist ending.  Flash Fiction are stories that you read in 10 minutes or less. I tend to use this term interchangeably with short short stories. All of these factors make them perfect for the high school English classroom.

Just a few reasons that a very short stories for AP Lit are a perfect way to start the year

Flash fiction are stories that you read in under 10 minutes..

This means you can study a story a day. My opening unit allows students to read 8 stories in 10 class periods, answering questions and responding with short writing along the way.

You can focus on one skill per story. 

This means you can really target a skill. At the beginning of the year, I do an AP Boot Camp with my students to refresh they analysis skills and definitions of certain terms I want to make sure they know. The terms and analysis skills include many of the AP Lit Essentials Skills for Unit 1 like characterization, setting, imagery and close reading skills like diction and syntax.

They only take a few minutes to read.

If a story only takes 6 minutes to read, even if you kids hate it, they know you will be moving on soon, so they don’t complain (too much). But if you stick the ones on my list, you won’t have this problem because these stories have been tests by many students over the years.

Flash Fiction often have twist endings.

Many flash fiction stories have a twist ending which makes them ideal for stories for high school students because they love when the ending seemingly comes out of left field. And because you can reread with them, you can take the time to show them how the author was setting them up for that ending all along. My favorite story for this is “A Country Cottage” by Anton Chekhov, just check out that jealous moon.

No homework.

Short short stores are quick and self-contained. As a result, you and your students can complete a whole story in just 40 or 50 minutes.

Quick writing assignment can follow quick stories.

Since the story only takes a few minutes to read, students don’t mind doing a quick written assignment. In our fast passed world students appreciate things that are quick.

Five Ideas for Flash Fiction at the Beginning of the Year

Doesn’t using Flash Fiction sound like the perfect way to start the year no matter what level you teach? 

Short short stories for AP Lit are perfect for teaching diction. With so few words, it’s easy to focus on that word choice and the impact of the words. Your students discuss specific words and how changing them would change the meaning of the story. Hemingway’s “Six Word Story” is perfect for this.

Use Flash Fiction to teach characterization. Most short short stories focus only on one or two characters which makes it easy to focus on character development. Julia Alvarez’s “Snow” is great for characterization.

Teach close reading skills. The brevity allows you to have students focus on rereading. You can direct them toward imagery and figurative language. I love “A Haunted House” by Virginia Woolf for imagery. There is a description of the rain that just sings.

F ocus on Central Idea. I love to use short short stories to teach students how to write central ideas statements. With only a few characters and one basic conflict it is easy for students to pick out the central idea/theme. There is so much going on in “Sleeping” by Katharine Weber that it is perfect for discussing theme or central idea.

And one last idea for flash fiction, you can teach very focused writing skills like thesis writing or paragraph development.

Favorite Flash Fiction for High School

20 of my favorite short short stories for ap lit and english 11 are:, under 1000 words:.

• “Six Word Story” (attributed to Earnest Hemingway):  a story of baby shoes and loss in 6 words.**
• “Sirens” (Franz Kafka):  The seductive voices of the night, but do they choose to seduce?**
• “The Continuity of Parks” (Julio Cortázar): a man reading a novel become wrapped up in it.
• “Birthday Party”  (Katharine Brush): A couple “celebrates” a birthday at a restaurant. **
• “Snow”  (Julia Alvarez): A young immigrant girl sees snow for the first time. (Get my lesson  here . Included in  Short Fiction Unit II Bundle. )
• “An Idle Fellow”  (Kate Chopin): Two friends discuss what it means to the idle.**
• “A Haunted House”  (Virginia Woolf): A couple go through their house noting how it used to be.**
• “Popular Mechanics”  (Raymond Carver): A couple has a dramtic fight as the husband packs to leave.  (Get my lesson  here . Included in  Short Story Unit Bundle III .)
• “I Used to Live Here Once”  (Jean Rhys): A woman visits the house she used to live in.
• “ There Was Once”  (Margaret Atwood): A satirical look at fairy tales.
• “Maud Martha Spares the Mouse” (Gwendolyn Brooks): Maud Martha chooses to let a mouse in her kitchen go.
• “My Name”  (Sandra Cisneros): Esperanza considers her name. Read about one way that I use this story at the beginning of the school year .
• “Sleeping” (Katharine Weber): Harriet, a novice babysitter, stays with a baby who sleeps the whole time.

Under 1500 Words

• “The Story of an Hour”  (Kate Chopin): Mrs. Mallard learns that her husband has died in an accident. (Get my lesson  here . Included in  Short Fiction Unit II Bundle. )
• “A Wireless Message”  (Ambrose Bierce): Mr. William Holt gets an unusual telegram.**
• “ A Country Cottage”  (Anton Chekhov): A young couple enjoys a walk on during an evening of their honeymoon only to be interrupted. **
• “ The Open Window”  (Saki):  While a woman waits for her husband to return from hunting, her niece tells a visitor of the husband’s passing.
• “Roselily”  (Alice Walker): A woman ponders her life during her wedding.
• “Eleven”  (Sandra Cisneros):  Rachel gets a sweater for her birthday.
• “The Other Wife”  (Collette): A couple has a meal at the same restaurant as his ex-wife. (Get my lesson  here .  Included in  Short Fiction Unit II Bundle. )

** The starred stories appear are available for purchase through my TPT store as part of my Flash Fiction Boot Camp for AP Literature.

Great Resources for Finding More Short Short Stories

My favorite place to find short short stories for AP Lit is the list of 75 Short Short Stories on the AmericanLiterature.com website. This list is by genre and includes a quick summary for each.

Another great list is You can additional lists on Very Short Stories for Middle and High School Students to Read Online on Owlcation. This list not only includes links to most of the stories, but gives the word count as well. Oh and just because it is listed in the middle school sections doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider these short stories for AP Lit or other upper high school course.

Additionally you can find more lists at Reedsy.com and Book Riot .

Make Teaching Flash Fiction Easy

If you are looking for ready to use lessons for short short stories for AP Lit check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store. And let me know what your favorite flash fictions stories are in the comments below.

And, if you are looking for other ideas that relate to brevity, how about The Power of One Word: The One Word Project.

Related Resources: Short Stories for AP Literature

How to Teach Literary Elements in a Short Story in an Engaging Way (The Teacher Rewrite)

More on Short Story Boot Camp AP Literature Style: 5 Amazing Reasons to Teach Short Story Analysis at the Start of the Year

Use AP Short Stories to Encourage Students to Master the AP Lit Thesis

Something a little longer? Try The Three Best Short Stories for High School

For the Fall or anytime: Eleven Scary Stories of Gothic in Literature for High School English

Shop this Post

Flash Fiction Short Story Bootcamp: AP Literature

Sandra Cisneros’s “Snow”

My students’ favorite: “The Other Wife” by Colette

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6 Responses

Thank for this great list! Could you tell me what book you got “Popular Mechanics” from? I would like to get that book.

It’s in Raymond Carver’s collection called What We Talk About When We Talk about Love . (The title story is also a great one for HS students.)

Jeanmarie, Thank you for replying. The PDF for that story has study questions at the end. It looks like it comes from a textbook. I would love to know the title so I can check out the whole book. Thank you for giving me the name of the collection. I will definitely check out that story about love.

Unfortunately, I just found the story on line after originally reading it in Carver’s anthology. I am not actually sure what the name of the text book it since I did not post it.

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Best Tips for AP English Literature and Composition Exam Prep

Andie woodward.

• August 29, 2024

The AP English Literature and Composition is a 3-hour College Board exam. It contains two parts: multiple-choice and free-response. Most students don’t need AP Lit multiple-choice tips since they believe this section is pretty easy. But when it comes to writing three essays, any advice becomes helpful. What if we offer you a step-by-step guide on AP Lit tips that may help you ace both the multiple-choice section and the essays easily?

So, in this post, we are going to share the most effective tips for the AP Lit exam. In the end, you will build confidence for the test and gain study skills that will come in handy even in college. 

How Long Does It Take to Prepare for the AP Literature Exam?

The AP English Literature and Composition exam is about 3 hours long. First, you will have to answer 55 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes! But it gets even more intense. There is also the free-response section that lasts about 120 minutes. Thus, you have to prepare well so as not to crack under pressure. And it will take time if you want to ace the test.

How long it will take you depends on your needs and study habits. If you love reading poetry and literature, you may find that you don’t need months of preparation. People who read regularly build up their comprehension skills over the years and have a rich vocabulary. This is basically what you need, in addition to analytical skills, to pass the test successfully.

If you struggle with reading comprehension and literary terms look like Latin to you, chances are that you need more time. It’s a great idea to start even before the beginning of the school year. Don’t wait a week or two before the test day to start studying! No matter how good you think you are, this approach can backfire and put even more pressure on you.

AP Lit Tips: Effective Preparation for the AP Literature and Composition Exam 

The AP Literature exam will test your ability to understand and interpret literary texts. What’s more? The questions cover literary works of different time periods. How can you possibly prepare for that? Actually, there are some proven techniques you can use right away:

#1 Go Through Each Unit of the AP English Literature Course 

So, where should you start? Believe it or not, your first step should not be tackling practice questions online. And no, it’s not deep reading of the classical work you’ve heard people recommend, either. You will get to these soon. But first, you need to get a clear picture of the AP exam content. Check the College Board website, specifically the AP Literature and Composition course page.  

There is a list of topics for each unit. Some questions will require you to identify literary devices like metaphor or hyperbole, while in others, you’ll have to specify a character’s interactions with settings. The questions may be related to short fiction, poetry, drama, and longer fiction works. 

Source: The College Board  

#2 Get Familiar With the Exam Format

Wonder how to score high on the test? Here’s a secret: students are likely to succeed when they take the time to learn about the AP lit exam’s unique format. You should know what it looks like if you want the odds to be in your favor. 

Take a look at the question types, check the timing for each section, and know what to expect on the test day. Thus, you’ll reduce your anxiety and have an idea of how to study effectively using tips for AP Lit multiple-choice and free-response questions. 

Starting in 2025, each multiple-choice question will have four answer choices instead of five. But more changes might be coming, so be sure to regularly check the official College Board website for any updates.

#3 Read Books That Teach You How to Analyze Literature

You will get a list of recommended readings for your AP class, which should be the basis for your studies. However, it turns out you can’t enjoy classical literature and poetry when you struggle with assessing their literary merit. So, start with reading books that break it all down for you, like Thomas C. Forster’s “How to Read Literature Like a Professor.” 

Source: Amazon

Thus, you’ll brush up your critical thinking and reading skills. Plus, there are tons of materials on how to get the hang of analyzing and interpreting literature. While studying, remember to make notes and bookmark pages. If you want, you can also find some YouTube videos that explain how to interpret different literature.

#4 Read Classical Literature and Practice Writing Essays for the Free-Response Questions

How-to books are great since they provide students with a map for getting started. However, you need to practice a lot to build your skills. Pick up “Jane Eyre,” “The Portrait of a Lady,” and other classical pieces of literature and try to read them thoughtfully.

But don’t simply read. Reread parts of the books that seem difficult, jot down words that are important, and make notes of things, scenes, or anything related to characters’ or plot development. You can use those notes to support your stance in the essay answers. Since you will need to write three essays in the free-response section, practice writing essays and formulating a thesis statement beforehand. 

#5 Get Someone to Review Your Essays 

Want to ace the free-response section? Then, ask for feedback. Usually, these questions require you to present an interpretation of a given literary work. You may have to read a poem, a prose passage, or a drama and give your own interpretation (backed with evidence) in response to a given prompt. The third free-response question typically involves a literary analysis essay based on a given prompt. 

All these bring us back to the original point: students who want to improve must ask for feedback. Ask your English teachers, parents, tutors, or even friends to rate your efforts and give you tips on how to improve. This is how you get better. Usually, teachers may give helpful advice on tackling those questions. At the same time, your friends may be able to spot grammatical errors, which is also something that can help you improve. 

#6 Take Practice Tests to Tackle Multiple Choice Portion of Questions

Students usually pay much attention to the second section of the AP lit test, which is essay writing. But the first section is not a walk in the park either. It contains 55 multiple-choice questions, which are split into 5 sets of questions. Each one has a short prose passage, drama, or poetry, which you must carefully read before choosing a correct answer. You will have just one minute for each question. This is why practicing is so important.

Besides teaching you time management, practice tests also mimic the real test experience. Thus, you’ll know exactly what areas need improvement. The more of these tests you take, the more you sharpen your test-taking ability. You will know which tricks work for you and use your own AP Lit multiple-choice tips to complete this section well. While occasional wrong answers won’t lower your score much, you need to get almost all the answers right to get a high score. 

#7 Make Flashcards to Memorize Literary Terms

Many of the questions on the AP English Literature exam revolve around common literary devices. Some examples are figurative language, similes, metaphors, irony, personification, and more. Since there are so many of them, it’s a good idea to make flashcards to memorize them better and faster. 

On each card, put down the meaning of a term, an example, and maybe a fun illustration in case you need visuals to stimulate your memory. And, of course, remember that all the flashcards in the world won’t do much good unless you review them regularly. Even 15 minutes a day is better than an hour once a week. Not sure how to make DIY flashcards ? There are numerous guides online.

#8 Start or Join a Discussion Group to Ace Free-Response Questions

While multiple-choice questions account for 45% of your total score, free-response questions constitute 55% of it. The free-response section requires you to write 3 essays. That’s why you might need more preparation, especially if writing isn’t your thing. But no worries! Practice makes perfect. 

Apart from just writing, you can join a discussion group. Take part in class discussions (literature classes), or maybe start your own lit group with a few friends. How can it help? If you discuss the plot, character arcs, conflicts, etc., and share your perspectives, you will start to pick up analytical skills quickly. When you polish this skill, you might even look forward to writing those three exam essays.

#9 Get Extra Personalized Help

You may need to get a private tutor if you really struggle with some topics in the AP English Literature and Composition. When is the right time to ask for help? Well, if you have been doing everything right but still can’t grasp the concepts or many things just don’t make sense, it’s worth considering tutoring services. 

You can find an affordable option if you consider online tutoring. There are many options for cheap tutoring services for standardized exam prep. Define what you need, set your goals, and find a tutor who suits you best. Consider their qualifications and experience to be sure you are getting quality services. 

Conclusion 

The AP English Literature and Composition test day can be one of your good memories if you are ready for it. Start preparing early, read recommended books, take practice exams, and apply the AP Lit exam tips mentioned earlier. In the end, you might even find yourself excited about the actual exam. Who knows? 

Prep smarter with unlimited questions and personalized guidance, all at your command. Your digital study buddy is here to guide you to success, one practice question at a time.

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AP® English Literature

The ultimate ap® english literature reading list.

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

Introduction: How to Use this Ultimate AP® English Literature Reading List

With such a vast number of novels to choose from, it can be tough to decide which books to put on your AP® English Literature Reading List.

Let us help take out the guesswork! We break down exactly which books you should be studying, and why. 

We’ve categorized 40 different literary works. We’ve also included a thoughtful literary analysis on their key elements. With our help, you’ll be able to organize your list of AP® English Literature books to study in a way that works for you and your schedule.

Let’s get started!

What We Review

The Top 10 AP® English Literature Reading List

Everyone plays favorites, and The College Board is no exception. For example, Invisible Man has popped up on 29 of the past 49 AP® Lit exams! Chances are, we’ll see it again this year. 

We devoted this portion of the list directly to the top ten works that appeared most frequently on past exams. They should be on the top of your College Board reading list.

Do your best to gain at least some familiarity with this list of books, as it’s likely that one of these will appear somewhere on the test.

1. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Ellison’s Invisible Man is a long read but it is definitely worth your time. It expertly tackles race and bigotry, and its effect on the minds of everyone involved. Themes of race, identity, ideology, and stereotypes are explored.

The story follows a marginalized character. He’s not literally invisible, but he’s invisible in a society that is unable and unwilling to recognize the individuality of the black man.

It’s as culturally relevant today as it was when published in 1954. This is the most frequently referenced title on the AP® English Literature book list since 1971.

2. Great Expectations by Charles Dicken

This exciting novel is considered a Victorian “Bildungsroman”, or a coming-of-age story. Pip is a young and poor blacksmith’s son, who suddenly finds himself the owner of a large fortune and is whisked off to London.

One of the most versatile titles on this list, Great Expectations addresses many of the Victorian-era genres including: satire, crime, Silver Fork, Newgate, Gothic, serial fiction, romance, politics, and history.

Dickens gives us a fun plot, but the deeper literary analysis questions on the AP® Exams will focus on his writing, or his prose. Concentrate on instances of his beautiful use of language, and how they affect the novel as a whole. 

The character, Estella, gives us the beautiful quote, “Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.” This prompts the reader to consider how difficult times allows us to grow as people, and how Estella and Pip have grown from their sufferings. 

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights is one of the most highly regarded pieces on the College Board reading list. A strong example of Gothic Romanticism, it deals heavily with questions of emotion and violence.

The language is easier to decipher than most literary works on the AP® reading list. But, where it really shines is in its considerations of class and gender from a woman’s perspective.

As you read, look out for the poetry in her language and the mastery of composition that Emily Bronte uses in her only published novel. 

4. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness is celebrated on many of the AP® English Literature prep message boards as a go-to literary work for the free response section- and with good reason! It’s a relatively short novella containing mystery, psychology, and adventure.

Heart of Darkness is particularly useful for the AP® exam in answering questions about the modern world it was written in. It pointedly deals with imperialist greed, taking place in the 1890s African Congo.

Be sure to keep this in mind- Above all else, Heart of Darkness effectively explores and answers questions about morality. Does doing something wrong for the right reasons make it justified?

Use Albert’s Heart of Darkness course for help understanding tough concepts.

5. King Lear by William Shakespeare

King Lear , referenced 17 times on the exam since 1971, is the most frequently cited work by Shakespeare. King Lear is a brutal play containing themes ranging from familial love and duty, to anger and deception.

This one play provides a wealth of both literary and stylistic elements for you to analyze. This seminal tragedy focuses on King Lear, who foolishly exiles his one loving daughter, giving his kingdom to his two evil ones. As you read, consider how themes of loyalty tie in with compassion and forgiveness.

Albert’s King Lear course is a great resource for understanding the themes and concepts.

6. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The main theme of Crime and Punishment is redeeming oneself through suffering. This is another long but worthwhile read at 545 pages. Crime and Punishment psychologically analyzes young Raskolnikov’s crime to reveal how psychological analysis itself keeps us imprisoned. Intellectualizing events, says Dostoevsky, keeps us imprisoned.

As the name tells us, the two major themes of the story are Crime and Punishment, and their relationship to each other.

Think about questions of sacrifice when studying this piece. Nihilism, the superhero complex, alienation, and poverty are also analyzed at length.

Check out Albert’s Crime and Punishment course.

7. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

Another bildungsroman (or coming-of-age story), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is an examination of how morality and religion can confine an artist.

A Portrait reflects Joyce’s own development as a young boy through adulthood at university. Read A Portrait with an eye out for Joyce’s stream of consciousness style. As Stephen, the main character, develops morally and psychologically, the style of Joyce’s writing adapts and grows, so to speak.

Utilize this title on questions of how style can inform the meaning of the development of characters.

8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre is a highly cited Victorian Romantic novel. At its core, this is a story of a woman yearning for more than what traditional society would allow her to have.

This well-known novel centers on a strong feminist character, who fights control her own destiny. Bronte’s novel resonates deeply with current feminist movements across the globe. It focuses on themes of love, social class, and gender roles.

Albert has a great Jane Eyre course to help you prepare.

9. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Huck Finn is one of the best-known titles on this list among American students. It’s rich and complex, yet the language is accessible.

If you’re asked about the era of Slavery or Reconstruction on the exam, Huck Finn should come to mind. It relentlessly discusses slavery, racism, and the hypocrisy of civilized society.

While reading the story, think of the Mississippi River as a symbol for remaining neutral on issues of race. Use that to inform your reading of Huck Finn.

10. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Last on this top 10 list is Moby Dick. Universally accepted as a masterful work of fiction, Melville himself described this novel as a meditation on America.

Reading this big novel might not fit into your studying time frame, but you should at least read summaries and key portions. This will help you gain an understanding of Melville’s particular use of symbolism. There are many symbols that may appear on the AP® English Literature exam, including his The Pequod, the color white, and Moby Dick (the whale itself).

In summary, the College Board tends to repeat similar titles on the exam. Studying these top 10 novels should be a priority on your list! They cover a wide range of themes, genres, and cultural time periods to help you effectively answer different varieties of exam questions.

Return to the Table of Contents

Top AP® English Literature Reading List from the Lost Generation

It could be useful to organize your reading list in terms of time period. For instance, take the Lost Generation. Many of the most frequently cited literary works on the AP® exam were written by Lost Generation, or World War I era, authors.

Not only is this an interesting time period that’s receiving more attention as the years draw on, many of the following titles from this era reflect the distinct American voice in literature in a lyrical, interesting, and unique way. 

11. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying , is a good example to use if you’re asked about stream of consciousness writing style. Consider how this style develops tone, and how this style aids in character development.

This novel alternates between 15 different character’s points of view. While this sounds intimidating, it’s actually easy to follow. The intimate tone helps us understand each different character.

Additionally, As I Lay Dying is considered part of the foundation of the Southern Renaissance.

12. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

As you read this novel, it’s important to remember it’s a modern retelling of the Book of Genesis (the one with Adam and Eve). If you’re faced with questions on the exam about allegory, it’s a good novel to reference.

East of Eden takes place around the end of WWI in California. It revolves around themes of jealousy, love, the consequences of the absence of love.

13. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Probably one of the best-known Lost Generation literary works, The Great Gatsby is iconic in high school English Literature education. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work has come to represent the Jazz Age in America.

If you’re asked about early-20 th century American society, The Great Gatsby should be a novel you reference..

Check out Albert’s The Great Gatsby course.

14. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Faulkner’s fourth novel, The Sound and the Fury , is another exercise in style. He again uses a stream of consciousness writing to tell a personal story of fear about the corruption of family values.

This is a difficult book to decipher, but, if you can get a handle on how Faulkner utilizes point of view, this piece will be valuable in both the multiple choice and free response exam sections.

15. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises represents the pinnacle of Hemmingway’s “Iceberg Theory,” also known as “theory of omission.” This style intentionally uses sparse language, to inspire curiosity in the reader.

Hemingway only shows the “tip of the iceberg” in his characterization and descriptions. He leaves it to the reader to formulate a deeper literary analysis (the part of the iceberg that’s underwater).

This novel not only represents Hemingway’s style; it represents the whole Lost Generation itself, through its stories of American expatriates in Europe.

16. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is a a stylistic masterwork with unique diction. Hurston juxtaposes Southern Black dialect with the voice of a literary narrator.

If you’re asked about her work, chances are that understanding her style and structure will score you points.

Top AP® English Literature Reading List from WWI to Present

These following literary works appear on the College Board’s most frequently cited list, and they were published after WWI. These titles are useful references to this time period in particular.

17. Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

Ceremony is a commentary on how tradition and spirituality are a source of healing.

It takes place from the point of view of a service-age Native American man. He returns from World War II with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. His mentally instability forces him to turn to alcohol to ease his mind. But, eventually, he returns to his spirituality, healing from it.

18. Beloved by Toni Morrison

This work of literature explores Mother-Daughter relationships and the psychological impact that slavery has had on the African-American community in this country. Use Beloved to comment on the importance of identity and also community.

As you read, also consider how the supernatural elements of the story (like ghosts) contrast with its stark realism.

19. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Color Purple is set in rural Georgia in the 1930s. It’s written in the form of letters from the main character, Celie, to God and to her sister.

It deals with racism and sexism, along with women’s rights. The power of language also plays an important role . As we read further into the story, the language in Celie’s letters changes to reflect her emotional and psychological development.

This development through language reinforces the idea that language, or the ability to express yourself, is essential in developing your sense of who you are.

20. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Williams draws from a lot of his own personal experiences in The Glass Menagerie. This play has only four main characters, and its overarching theme is the importance of accepting reality. Each character in The Glass Menagerie retreats into their own world to escape realities they can’t cope with.

Look for this selection in free response prompts about symbolism. Laura’s array of delicate glass animals is the single strongest symbol in the play and a strong symbol in general. This Glass Menagerie comes to represent Laura herself and her escape from her own illusory world.

21. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 is a first and foremost a satire. It comments on war by reducing it to a bureaucratic concern. Men’s lives and deaths are ultimately controlled by an uncaring, unfeeling government. Use this literary work in discussions of plot and irony.

Consider how devices, like the Catch-22 rule , serve to form the plot of a story.

We have a great Catch-22 course in our Albert library.

22. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

This play has won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. Death of a Salesman critiques the American dream and questions its attainability. It grapples with themes like facing reality or giving in to illusion and living in denial.

The main character, Willy, is an aging salesman who struggles to cope with his current life. Much of the play is told through his own flashbacks to earlier in his career.

As you read, consider the effects of flashback on the interpretation of the themes.

Top AP® English Literature Reading List from Shakespeare

Many of William Shakespeare’s works appear on the exam’s most frequently cited list. Even though you’ve probably studied his plays all through high school, it’ll help to refresh your memory on these essential texts.

23. Othello

Othello is an African general in the Venetian army, and the play examines the racial prejudice he faces. It’s a story of love and deception surrounding his insecurity in his personal relationships. Jealousy is an overarching theme throughout the play.

Exam questions on Othello may be concerned with issues of an isolated character and what characteristics contribute to that isolation.

Enhance your understanding and analysis with our Othello Albert course .

24. The Tempest

One of the prominent themes in The Tempest is the artist in relation to his creation. Prospero can be viewed as a kind of artist, in that he controls the fate of every other character. It’s as if Shakespeare inserted himself into the story as Prospero.

The Tempest is widely regarded as Shakespeare’s “Farewell” performance.

25. The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is important in preparing for the AP® English Literature exam because it covers a timeless debate about racial and religious supremacy.

This work could appear on either the multiple choice or free response sections, because it explores the concept of dynamic characters using a culturally-charged and well-defined example: Shylock the Moneylender.

Hamlet has been performed more than any other Shakespearean work. For this reason alone, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with it.

There are many religious, philosophical, and psychoanalytical undercurrents in Hamlet. All of these will help in free responses and multiple choice questions pertaining to character.

Use Albert’s Hamlet course for extra prep.

27. Macbeth

“Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!” Macbeth is a cautionary tale warning against evil as a means of power. Themes of ambition, madness, and war all intertwine.

Studying Macbeth is a good opportunity for you to develop your critical analysis skills in tragedy.

Check out Albert’s Macbeth course here .

28. A Midsummer Night’s Dream

This one’s a classic example of a Shakespean comedy, one of his most popular works overall. This play has four separate storylines that all revolve around the marriage of two main characters, Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta.

The entire play takes place in the span of one night and is set in both Fairyland and a real-world forest. This play provides great opportunities for an analysis of symbolism. Focus on how enchantments and magic are used throughout. Consider how images of roses and use of love juice symbolize falling in love too quickly.

Top AP® English Literature Reading List from the Classics

The classics are also frequently cited on the AP® English Literature exam. These five classic works could appear on the multiple choice section of the test, as well as on the free response section. Be sure to familiarize yourself with them.

29. Antigone by Sophocles

Antigone addresses issues of authority, faith, and fidelity. Sophocles examines the destructive repercussions on following the law over what you believe is right. He uses the family drama of the character Antigone to highlight this.

Remember to use Albert’s Antigone course for help.

30. Candide by Voltaire

Candide is a unique coming-of-age story and a satirical novella. It asks the question, ‘With so many hardships in the world, what’s the point of trying to be optimistic?’

Keep in mind that Candide is a unique take on the bildungsroman (coming-of-age story), and it’s a relatively short read.

Though Candide was first published in 1759, it is still considered a classic literary work.

31. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

Oedipus Rex (The King) demonstrates a unique take on the Greek Tragedy. Rather than following the sealed-fate plot that would have made sense to the audience of the time, Sophocles made Oedipus’s choices and faults contribute to his downfall.

You may have heard of Freud’s famous “Oedipus Complex” psychological theory. This play is where it gets its name.

Use Albert’s course on Oedipus Rex for additional help.

32. Medea by Euripides

Medea contains feminist undertones, which was a revolutionary occurrence for the time. Medea is a young woman who wants to take control of her own life in a patriarchal society. This ultimately that drives her to the extreme of committing murder.

Furthermore, the structure of the play is interesting in itself. In every scene, the only actors are Medea and one other person.

33. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein represents, arguably, the first science fiction story. But, it does this while remaining true to Shelley’s Gothic and Romantic roots.

The entire novel is a study in how power can corrupt. The power of knowledge allows Victor to animate “The Beast.” The power of his hatred for his creation pushes him toward his own death. The story in itself is a study in power and its dangers.

Frankenstein was first published in 1818. Though not in the same time period as most works on this list, it’s still considered a classic. Remember to use Albert’s Frankenstein course for help.

34. The Odyssey by Homer

Chances are, you’ve already read Odysseus’s sweeping tale of adventure at some point in your high school career. But whether you have or haven’t, this epic poem is worth revisiting before you take your exam.

Taking place in ancient Greece, this story follows the epic hero Odysseus as he tries to return home after the Trojan war. On his way, Odysseus encounters a number of mythical monsters, all preventing him from reaching his wife, Penelope. Consider the use of symbolism in this play, and what each different monster represents in a relationship between a husband and wife. 

Check out Albert’s The Odyssey course for additional practice.

Top AP® English Literature Reading List: Other Helpful Texts to Check Out

The list above is full of familiar titles. The list that follows contains titles referenced less often.

If you’re able to include mention of some of these, you may be able to score points for the breadth of your literary knowledge.

35. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

Streetcar is considered one of the greatest American plays of all time. Like The Glass Menagerie, Streetcar also deals with the interplay between reality and fantasy. It’s considered at least vaguely autobiographical.

Consider reading this piece along with Menagerie.

36. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart chronicles the life of a Nigerian, and it comments on the effect of British colonialism and Christianity. Read this novel if you’re searching for a piece that comes from a different culture. Also, check out the work of Ngugi wa Thiong’o if you’re interested in African perspectives on fiction.

Albert has a practice course to help you with this novel.

37. Obasan by Joy Kogawa

Obason details the Japanese internment camps of World War II, an often under-represented piece of history. The story is told from the point of view of a young child.

Joy Kogawa displays her mastery of imagery in Obasan. This piece is rife with examples of figurative language. Referencing its language and/or its cultural significance can help you earn points on the exam.

38. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

Albee challenges the traditional notions of success for both individuals and families in this play. This is one more work that comments on reality vs. fantasy.

The title itself is a reference to the “Big Bad Wolf,” and Virginia Woolf herself (though the play isn’t really about her at all.) This dark comedy-drama centers on the struggling marriage of its two, flawed main characters.

39. Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor

O’Connor’s first novel, Wise Blood, deals with the crisis of faith in those who’ve seen war. The main character, Hazel Motes, returns home wounded from World World II to an empty house. Raised as the grandson of a preacher, he grew up conflicted with religion. War has turned him into a very vocal atheist.

Consider how O’Connor’s style affects the exploration of faith in Wise Blood.

40. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

If you enjoy dystopian science fiction, look no further! Brave New World takes place on Earth in the future where the entire planet is governed by just one government, the World State. The citizens of Earth are all genetically modified and sorted in a social hierarchy based on intelligence. 

The novel has numerous allusions to Shakespeare- the title, Brave New World, is a quote from The Tempest. As you read, consider the impact of these allusions on the meaning of the story as a whole.

Wrapping Things Up: The Ultimate AP® English Literature Reading List

We hope this English literature book list will help you decide which books you want to use to prepare for the AP® exam. In beginning your study, keep these things in mind:

• You don’t need to read every book cover to cover. Familiarize yourself with important plots and characters from especially dense texts (like Moby Dick).
• Understand the AP® exam scoring guidelines, and how different literary works can earn you points in different areas.
• Choose books that interest you! You’ll have an easier time reading and remembering texts that you’re already motivated to read.

By reading and retaining as much information as possible before test day comes, you’re maximizing your odds of receiving the grades you want. Happy reading!

Remember to check out Albert’s How to Study for AP® English Literature for useful tips and skills!

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In the spirit of AP testing next week, here's the story of me making up a book that doesn't exist for the AP lit exam.

I graduated last semester but a friend of mine is taking her AP Lit exam next week. She asked me for tips and I told her this story and thought it was funny enough to share.

Last year I had two AP tests and was so tired of writing AP lit essays the whole year that when the question 3 LEQ came around on the test I was ready to be done and out of there as fast as possible. I didn't have the braincells to analyze an actual book, and my prompt was something like "talk about a novel where a social hierarchy is important to the theme". Obviously I could've chosen literally anything we read that year and pulled something out of my ass, but I decided that was too boring.

"In Dark Blue by Erica Sundberg..." and off I went. Problem? That's not a book. But fuck it, I went into excruciating detail about the main character's (Lucas's) struggle with his cultural identity in the American Midwest post-Civil War. I wish I remembered the whole thing, because frankly, it was hilarious the extent I went to to throw in unnecessary details to try to make this seem like a real book I read. "When Lucas's best friend Michael is arrested for petty theft, Lucas has to come to grips with the effects his community's arbitrary social hierarchy has had on his life, and fight for Michael's innocence with everything he has." Idk who the fuck Michael is but goddamnit I convinced that AP grader that he was innocent as hell. I even named Lucas's fake dog (Peppers) to add in more details.

Then I handed it in and forgot about it until June when my results came back and wouldn't you know it, I got a five. I wish I could see the grader's reaction to my fake essay, or see what exact score that essay in specific got, but no way I'm paying for a score breakdown for a meme.

My friend told her AP lit teacher, who passed this information along to my former AP lit teacher, and apparently, the English department has been having a field day with it.

They can pry the 5 out of my cold dead hands honestly, nowhere in the rules does it say I can't make shit up.

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Fall is bringing fantasy (and romantasy), literary fiction, politics and Taylor-ed book offerings

This combination photo shows cover art for upcoming books, top row from left, “My Last Dream” by Pedro Almodovar, “The Message” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Revenge of the Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell, “John Lewsis: A Life” by David Greenberg, and “The Blue Hour” by Paula Hawkins. Bottom row from left, “Patriot” by Alexei Navalny, “Intermesso” by Sally Roomey, “Tell Me Everything” by Elizabeth Strout, “The Barn” by Wright Thompson, and “Slaveroad” by John Edgar Wideman. (HarperVia, One World, Little Brown, Simon & Schuster, Mariner, Knopf, FSG, Random House, Penguin, Scribner via AP)

This cover image released by Tor Books shows “Wind and Truth” by Brandon Sanderson. (Tor Books via AP)

This cover image released by Dey Street shows “Heartbreak is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music” by Rob Sheffield. (Dey Street via AP)

This cover image released by Simon & Schuster shows “War” by Bob Woodward. (Simon & Schuster via AP)

This book cover image released by Beacon Press shows “Ghosts of Crook County: An Oil Fortune, a Phantom Child, and the Fight for Indigenous Land” by Russell Cobb. (Beacon Press via AP)

This cover image released by Harper shows “The Mighty Red” by Louise Erdrich. (Harper via AP)

This cover image released by MCD/FSG shows “Absolution” by Jeff VanderMeer. (MCD/FSG via AP)

This cover image released by Scribner shows “Didion & Babitz” by Lili Anolik. (Scribner via AP)

This cover image released by Scribner shows “Slaveroad” by John Edgar Wideman. (Scribner via AP)

This cover image released by One World shows “The Message” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. (One World via AP)

This cover image released by Random House shows “Tell Me Everything” by Elizabeth Strout. (Random House via AP)

This cover image released by Knopf shows “Patriot” a memoir by Alexei Navalny. (Knopf via AP)

This cover image released by Farrar, Straus and Giroux shows “Intermezzo” by Sally Rooney. (FSG via AP)

This cover image released by Little, Brown and Co.shows “Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering” by Malcolm Gladwell. (Little, Brown and Co. via AP)

This cover image released by Penguin shows “The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi” by Wright Thompson. (Penguin via AP)

This book cover image released by Skyhorse Publishing shows “Melania” a memoir by Melania Trump. (Skyhorse Publishing via AP)

This cover image released by St. Martin’s Press shows “A Song to Drown Rivers” by Ann Liang. (St. Martin’s Press via AP)

This image released by Bloomsbury shows “The Great When” by Alan Moore. (Bloomsbury via AP)

This cover image released by HarperVia shows “The Last Dream” by Pedro Almodovar. (HarperVia via AP)

This cover image released by Random House shows “Lovely One” by Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Random House via AP)

This cover image released by Gallery Books shows “The Third Gilmore Girl” by Kelly Bishop. (Gallery Books via AP)

This cover image released by St. Martin’s Griffin shows “Taylor Swift Style: Fashion Through the Eras” by Sarah Chapelle. (St. Martin’s Griffin via AP)

This cover image released by Clarion Books shows “Taylor Swift: Wildest Dreams” by Erica Wainer, with illustrations by Joanie Stone. (Clarion Books via AP)

This cover image released by Harper shows “From Under the Truck” by Josh Brolin. (Harper via AP)

This cover image released by Random House shows “From Here to the Great Unknown” by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough. (Random House via AP)

This cover image released by Dey Street Books shows “Cher: The Memoir, Part One,” releasing on Nov. 19. (Dey Street Books via AP)

This cover image released by Little, Brown for Young Readers shows “The 13 Days of Swiftness” by Tiffany Garland, with art by Brooke O’Neill. (Little Brown for Young Readers via AP)

This cover image released by Penguin Press shows “Sonny Boy” by Al Pacino. (Penguin Press via AP)

This cover image released by Bloom Books shows “The Striker” by Ana Huang. (Bloom Books via AP)

This book cover image released by Little, Brown and Co. shows “Throne of Secrets” by Kerri Maniscalo. (Little, Brown and Co. via AP)

This cover image released by Harper shows “At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House” by H.R. McMaster. (Harper via AP)

This cover image released by Simon & Schuster shows “Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love and Liberty” by Hillary Rodham Clinton. The book will be released Sept. 17. (Simon & Schuster via AP)

This cover image released by Simon & Schuster shows “John Lewis: A Life” by David Greenberg. (Simon & Schuster via AP)

This cover image released by Mariner Books shows “The Blue Hour” by Paula Hawkins. (Mariner Books via AP)

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NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Sanderson, whose epic “Wind and Truth” is a highlight of the upcoming publishing season , sees nothing wrong with the idea of “escapism.”

“It’s just the ability to go to another world and relate to other people’s problems, problems that aren’t our problems. It’s a really valuable tool in our lives,” the fantasy novelist told The Associated Press during a recent telephone interview. Sanderson’s fans have waited four years for “Wind and Truth,” the 1,300-page fifth volume in his “Stormlight Archive” fantasy series.

He acknowledges, with mixed feelings, that some will take relatively little time to finish it.

“They will absolutely read it in two days, which feels both gratifying and a little horrifying,” he says. “You put your heart and soul into something for so long, knowing that fans are going to be done in a couple of days and say, ‘When’s the next one?’”

The presidential election is expected to dominate headlines this fall, but booksellers look to Sanderson and others to sustain the wave of fantasy and the hybrid romantasy novels that have been selling strongly over the past few years. “Wind and Truth” is among numerous anticipated works that include Jeff VanderMeer’s “Absolution,” Alan Moore’s “The Great When,” Cecy Robson’s “Bloodguard” and Kerri Maniscalco’s “Throne of Secrets,” the second installment of her “Prince of Sin” series.

According to Circana, which tracks around 85% of the retail market, fantasy sales have been growing for the past five years and since last summer have jumped by nearly 75%, driven in part by the million-selling romantasy authors Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros.

“The fantasy subject is the top growth segment of the total U.S. print book market,” says Circana analyst Brenna Conner, who cites the reader-driven sales of #BookTok as a strong factor. “I also believe escapism is a component as more readers seek out stories with elements of escapism to counter daily stress and fatigue of the news cycle.”

At Barnes & Noble, senior director of books Shannon DeVito notes that fantasy has expanded and diversified, blending horror and romance and mystery. She cites Maas and Yarros, and such upcoming releases as Frances White’s gay-themed “Voyage of the Damned,” John Gwynn’s Norse-inspired “The Fury of the Gods” and Ann Liang’s mythical “A Song to Drown Rivers.”

“It’s event-proof,” DeVito says of fantasy and its offshoots. “It doesn’t depend on news of the day.”

Election fallout

President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek reelection may have little effect on the fantasy market, but it upended the fall campaign and left a void in the publishing schedule: No one had time to work up in-depth books on the Democrats’ new nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris . The best chance for revelations likely comes from Bob Woodward’s “War,” which centers on Biden’s handling of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, but also promises insights on Harris and the presidential race.

Publishers of anti-Biden books are proceeding with scheduled fall releases, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani ’s “The Biden Crime Family.” Harris’ Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, has a book of photos and anecdotes coming , “Save America,” which on its cover has the AP’s image of him bloodied and raising his fist after the assassination attempt in July. His wife, former first lady Melania Trump, is releasing the memoir “Melania.” Donald Trump’s estranged niece and bestselling author, Mary Trump, returns with more family (horror) stories in “Who Could Ever Love You.”

H.R. McMaster, who served briefly as national security adviser during the Trump administration, has written “At War With Ourselves.” Onetime Trump opponent Hillary Clinton reflects on marriage, faith and politics in the essay collection “Something Lost, Something Gained.” Project 2025 architect Kevin Roberts’ “Dawn’s Early Light,” for which GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance wrote the foreword, has been postponed until just after the election amid Republican efforts to distance themselves from the controversial blueprint for a second Trump term. But pre-election readers can consider recommendations from Joel B. Pollak’s “The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 50 Days,” with a foreword from Trump ally Steve Bannon.

Prose and poetry

Sally Rooney’s “Intermezzo” is a story of grief and sibling rivalry from the author known for the best sellers “Normal People” and “Conversations With Friends.” Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk ‘s “The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story” is the Polish’s author variation of the Thomas Mann classic “The Magic Mountain.” Nobelist Annie Ernaux of France combines memoir and images in “The Use of Photography” and perennial Nobel candidate Haruki Murakami expands on an early short story for “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” which his Japanese publisher is calling “soul-stirring, 100% pure Murakami world.”

Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Powers ’ “Playground” touches upon everything from climate change to artificial intelligence, while another Pulitzer winner, Louise Erdrich, sets “The Mighty Red” on a North Dakota beet farm during the economic crash of 2008. In “Tell Me Everything,” Pulitzer winner Elizabeth Strout returns to fictional Crosby, Maine, and such friends from “Olive Kitteridge” and ”Olive, Again” as the elderly title character and the scribe Lucy Barton.

“I never intended to write about them again. I think I keep bringing them back because they are so very well known to me,” Strout says. “They feel almost as real as actual people. I know they’re not real people, but they feel like real people.”

John Edgar Wideman blends fiction, history and memoir in “Slaveroad,” and Rebecca Godfrey’s “Peggy” is a fictional take on the heiress-art collector Peggy Guggenheim that was completed by Leslie Jamison after Godfrey’s death in 2022. New fiction is also coming from Richard Price, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Kate Atkinson, Janet Evanovich, Rachel Kushner, Richard Osman, Tova Reich, Paula Hawkins, Jami Attenberg and Rumaan Alam.

Margaret Atwood began her career as a poet and her verse is collected in “Paper Boat: New and Selected Poems: 1961-2023,” while “Blues in Stereo” features early work from the late Langston Hughes. Prize winners Paul Muldoon, Kimiko Hahn and Matthew Zapruder all have collections coming out, along with new books from Billy Collins, Ben Okri, Frank X Walker and E. Hughes.

“Dear Yusef” is a tribute to the celebrated poet Yusef Komunyakaa that includes contributions from Terrance Hayes, Major Jackson and Sharon Olds. “Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology” compiles verse from the 17th century to the present.

Like all pop culture phenomena, from the Beatles to “Star Wars,” Taylor Swift ‘s appeal isn’t confined to a single art form. Her songs and her life have inspired young adult novels, children’s books and biographies and the wave continues.

Katie Cotugno’s “Heavy Hitter” is an athlete/pop star romance based in part on Swift and NFL great Travis Kelce, while “The 13 Days of Swiftness” is a picture story for holiday shoppers who can chant such lines as “12 strings for strumming” and “11 bracelets beaded.”

The anthology “Poems for Tortured Souls” includes verse from Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay and other alleged kindred souls of Swift’s. Biographies/critical studies include the picture book “Taylor Swift: Wildest Dreams,” by Erica Wainer and Joanie Stone, and Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield’s “Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music.”

The famous and near famous

Lisa Marie Presley’s “From Here to the Great Unknown” was nearly done before she died in 2023 and was completed by daughter Riley Keough . In “Didion and Babitz,” Lili Anolik draws upon newly discovered letters as she contrasts the California bards Joan Didion and Eve Babitz, who died within days of each other in 2021 and whose lives, Anolik documents, were more entwined than previously known.

Celebrity books also will include Cher’s “The Memoir, Part One,” Al Pacino ‘s “Sonny Boy,” Josh Brolin’s “From Under the Truck,” Kelly Bishop’s “The Third Gilmore Girl” and Connie Chung’s ”Connie.” Pedro Almodóvar shares stories-allegories-musings in “The Last Dream” and Neneh Cherry looks back on her life and music in “A Thousand Threads.”

Past and present

“Patriot” is a posthumous memoir from imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has written “Lovely One: A Memoir,” Malcolm Gladwell returns to famous territory in “Revenge of the Tipping Point,” and Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the power of stories, and misinformation, in “The Message.”

Numerous books draw upon racism in U.S. history and those who fought against it. David Greenberg’s “John Lewis” is a biography of the late civil rights activist and congressman, while Wright Thompson’s “The Barn” promises new information on the murder of Emmett Till. Russell Cobb’s “Ghosts of Crook County,” like David Grann’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” tells of a white oil man in Oklahoma who seeks to steal Native property. In “The Black Utopians,” Aaron Robertson tracks a century of planned communities and asks, “What does utopia look like in black?”

This story has corrected “The Black Utopians” author’s name from Aaron Robinson to Aaron Robertson.

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