Practice Exam

Exam Content and Format

The AP English Language and Composition Exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long.
There are two sections:
• Section I is 1 hour and consists of 45 multiple-choice questions, accounting
for 45 percent of the final score.

• Section II is 2 hours, 15 minutes and consists of 3 free-response questions

accounting for 55 percent of the final score.

Administering the Practice Exam

This section contains instructions for administering the AP English Language and
Composition Practice Exam. You may wish to use these instructions to create an
exam situation that resembles an actual administration. If so, read the indented,
boldface directions to the students; all other instructions are for administering
the exam and need not be read aloud. Before beginning testing, have all exam
materials ready for distribution. These include test booklets and answer sheets.
(Reminder: Final instructions for every AP Exam are published in the AP Exam
Instructions book.)

SECTION I: Multiple Choice

When you are ready to begin Section I, say:

Section I is the multiple-choice portion of the exam. Mark all of your

responses on your answer sheet, one response per question. If you
need to erase, do so carefully and completely. Your score on the
multiple-choice section will be based solely on the number of questions
answered correctly.

You have 1 hour for this part. Open your Section I booklet and begin.

Note Start Time ________. Note Stop Time ________.

After 50 minutes, say:

There are 10 minutes remaining.

After 10 minutes, say:

Stop working. I will now collect your Section I booklet and

multiple-choice answer sheet.

There is a 10-minute break between Sections I and II.

4 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam

 Name:

AP® English Language and Composition

Answer Sheet
for Multiple-Choice Section

No. Answer No. Answer

1 24
2 25
3 26
4 27
5 28
6 29
7 30
8 31
9 32
10 33
11 34
12 35
13 36
14 37
15 38
16 39
17 40
18 41
19 42
20 43
21 44
22 45
23

6 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam

AP English Language
®

and Composition Exam

SECTION I: Multiple Choice

DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

Instructions
At a Glance
Section I of this exam contains 45 multiple-choice questions.
Total Time
1 hour Indicate all of your answers to the multiple-choice questions on the answer sheet. No credit
Number of Questions will be given for anything written in this exam booklet, but you may use the booklet for
45 notes or scratch work.
Percent of Total Score
45% Use your time effectively, working as quickly as you can without losing accuracy. Do not
Writing Instrument spend too much time on any one question. Go on to other questions and come back to
Pencil required the ones you have not answered if you have time. It is not expected that everyone will
know the answers to all of the multiple-choice questions.
Your total score on the multiple-choice section is based only on the number of questions
answered correctly. Points are not deducted for incorrect answers or unanswered
questions.

AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam 7

 The inclusion of source material in this exam is not intended
as an endorsement by the College Board or ETS of the content,
ideas, or values expressed in the material. The material has been
selected by the English faculty who serve on the AP English
Language and Composition Development Committee. In their
judgment, the material printed here reflects various aspects of
the course of study on which this exam is based and is therefore
appropriate to use to measure the skills and knowledge of this
course.

8 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam

 ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
SECTION I
Time—1 hour
45 Questions

Directions: This part consists of selections from nonfiction works and questions on their rhetorical situation, claims
and evidence, reasoning and organization, and style. After reading each passage, choose the best answer to each
question and then enter the letter in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
Note: Pay particular attention to the requirements of questions that contain the words NOT, LEAST, or EXCEPT.

Questions 1 - 12. Read the following passage
carefully before you choose your answers.
(This passage is excerpted from an essay published
by a science fiction writer in the late twentieth
century.)
Take classes and go to writers’ workshops. Writing
is communication. You need other people to let you
know whether you’re communicating what you think
you are and whether you’re doing it in ways that are
not only accessible and entertaining, but as
compelling as you can make them. In other words,
you need to know that you’re telling a good story. You
want to be the writer who keeps readers up late at
night, not the one who drives them off to watch
television. Workshops and classes are rented
readers—rented audiences—for your work. Learn
from the comments, questions, and suggestions of
both the teacher and the class. These relative
strangers are more likely to tell you the truth about
your work than are your friends and family who may
not want to hurt or offend you. One tiresome truth
they might tell you, for instance, is that you need to
take a grammar class. If they say this, listen. Take the
class. Vocabulary and grammar are your primary
tools. They’re most effectively used, even most
effectively abused, by people who understand them.
No computer program, no friend or employee can take
the place of a sound knowledge of your tools.
Write. Write every day. Write whether you feel
like writing or not. Choose a time of day. Perhaps
you can get up an hour earlier, stay up an hour later,
give up an hour of recreation, or even give up your
lunch hour. If you can’t think of anything in your
chosen genre, keep a journal. You should be keeping
one anyway. Journal writing helps you to be more
observant of your world, and a journal is a good place
to store story ideas for later projects.
Revise your writing until it’s as good as you can
make it. All the reading, the writing, and the classes
should help you do this. Check your writing, your
research (never neglect your research), and the
physical appearance of your manuscript. Let nothing
substandard slip through. If you notice something that
needs fixing, fix it, no excuses. There will be plenty
that’s wrong that you won’t catch. Don’t make the
mistake of ignoring flaws that are obvious to you.
The moment you find yourself saying, “This doesn’t
matter. It’s good enough.” Stop. Go back. Fix the
flaw. Make a habit of doing your best.
Submit your work for publication. First research
the markets that interest you. Seek out and study the
books or magazines of publishers to whom you want
to sell. Then submit your work. If the idea of doing
this scares you, fine. Go ahead and be afraid. But
send your work out anyway. If it’s rejected, send it
out again, and again. Rejections are painful, but
inevitable. They’re every writer’s rite of passage.
Don’t give up on a piece of work that you can’t sell.
You may be able to sell it later to new publications or
to new editors of old publications. At worst, you
should be able to learn from your rejected work. You
may even be able to use all or part of it in a new
work. One way or another, writers can use, or at least
learn from, everything.
Here are some potential impediments for you to
forget about:
First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable.
Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not.
Habit will help you finish and polish your stories.
Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam 9

 Forget talent. If you have it, fine. Use it. If you
don’t have it, it doesn’t matter. As habit is more
dependable than inspiration, continued learning is
more dependable than talent. Never let pride or
laziness prevent you from learning, improving your
work, changing its direction when necessary.
Persistence is essential to any writer—the persistence
to finish your work, to keep writing in spite of
rejection, to keep reading, studying, submitting work
for sale. But stubbornness, the refusal to change
unproductive behavior or to revise unsalable work can
be lethal to your writing hopes.
Finally, don’t worry about imagination. You have
all the imagination you need, and all the reading,
journal writing, and learning you will be doing will
stimulate it. Play with your ideas. Have fun with
them. Don’t worry about being silly or outrageous or
wrong. So much of writing is fun. It’s first letting
your interests and your imagination take you
anywhere at all. Once you’re able to do that, you’ll
have more ideas than you can use.
1. Which of the following best describes the
author’s purpose in the passage?
(A) To encourage the audience to derive
confidence from their talents
(B) To reveal the disheartening realities of
pursuing a career in literature
(C) To propose a novel method for teaching
composition and rhetoric
(D) To convince aspiring writers of the
importance of hard work
(E) To challenge a misconception about the
value of studying grammar
10 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
2. Which of the following statements best
represents the thesis of the passage?
(A) Effective writing relies on grammar and
vocabulary, not fancy technology.
(B) The most compelling stories come from
observation, not inspiration.
(C) True writers understand that writing is a
form of play, not work.
(D) The primary purpose of writing is
communication, not self-expression.
(E) The key to success as a writer is consistent
effort, not inherent ability.
3. In the first paragraph, the author supports her
claim that writers should “go to writers’
workshops” (sentence 1) by
(A) assessing whether workshops can improve
writers’ ability to judge their own works
(B) noting that workshops provide
opportunities to write for diverse media,
including television
(C) explaining how workshops can help writers
learn unpleasant but valuable lessons
(D) highlighting the value of workshops for
writers at different stages in their careers
(E) dispelling the misperception that
workshops may stifle writers’ creativity
4. In the first paragraph, the author uses the phrase
“rented readers” (sentence 6) in order to
(A) define writers’ workshops in terms of their
value to aspiring writers
(B) express sympathy for writers who have no
one to read their work for free
(C) contrast the academic goals of classes with
the commercial aims of workshops
(D) acknowledge a reason that her audience
may feel reluctant to take writing classes
(E) highlight the financial sacrifices that
writers must make in order to succeed
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
The passage is reprinted for your use in answering the remaining questions.
(This passage is excerpted from an essay published
by a science fiction writer in the late twentieth
century.)
Take classes and go to writers’ workshops. Writing
is communication. You need other people to let you
know whether you’re communicating what you think
you are and whether you’re doing it in ways that are
not only accessible and entertaining, but as
compelling as you can make them. In other words,
you need to know that you’re telling a good story. You
want to be the writer who keeps readers up late at
night, not the one who drives them off to watch
television. Workshops and classes are rented
readers—rented audiences—for your work. Learn
from the comments, questions, and suggestions of
both the teacher and the class. These relative
strangers are more likely to tell you the truth about
your work than are your friends and family who may
not want to hurt or offend you. One tiresome truth
they might tell you, for instance, is that you need to
take a grammar class. If they say this, listen. Take the
class. Vocabulary and grammar are your primary
tools. They’re most effectively used, even most
effectively abused, by people who understand them.
No computer program, no friend or employee can take
the place of a sound knowledge of your tools.
Write. Write every day. Write whether you feel
like writing or not. Choose a time of day. Perhaps
you can get up an hour earlier, stay up an hour later,
give up an hour of recreation, or even give up your
lunch hour. If you can’t think of anything in your
chosen genre, keep a journal. You should be keeping
one anyway. Journal writing helps you to be more
observant of your world, and a journal is a good place
to store story ideas for later projects.
Revise your writing until it’s as good as you can
make it. All the reading, the writing, and the classes
should help you do this. Check your writing, your
research (never neglect your research), and the
physical appearance of your manuscript. Let nothing
substandard slip through. If you notice something that
needs fixing, fix it, no excuses. There will be plenty
that’s wrong that you won’t catch. Don’t make the
mistake of ignoring flaws that are obvious to you.
AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
The moment you find yourself saying, “This doesn’t
matter. It’s good enough.” Stop. Go back. Fix the
flaw. Make a habit of doing your best.
Submit your work for publication. First research
the markets that interest you. Seek out and study the
books or magazines of publishers to whom you want
to sell. Then submit your work. If the idea of doing
this scares you, fine. Go ahead and be afraid. But
send your work out anyway. If it’s rejected, send it
out again, and again. Rejections are painful, but
inevitable. They’re every writer’s rite of passage.
Don’t give up on a piece of work that you can’t sell.
You may be able to sell it later to new publications or
to new editors of old publications. At worst, you
should be able to learn from your rejected work. You
may even be able to use all or part of it in a new
work. One way or another, writers can use, or at least
learn from, everything.
Here are some potential impediments for you to
forget about:
First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable.
Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not.
Habit will help you finish and polish your stories.
Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.
Forget talent. If you have it, fine. Use it. If you
don’t have it, it doesn’t matter. As habit is more
dependable than inspiration, continued learning is
more dependable than talent. Never let pride or
laziness prevent you from learning, improving your
work, changing its direction when necessary.
Persistence is essential to any writer—the persistence
to finish your work, to keep writing in spite of
rejection, to keep reading, studying, submitting work
for sale. But stubbornness, the refusal to change
unproductive behavior or to revise unsalable work can
be lethal to your writing hopes.
Finally, don’t worry about imagination. You have
all the imagination you need, and all the reading,
journal writing, and learning you will be doing will
stimulate it. Play with your ideas. Have fun with
them. Don’t worry about being silly or outrageous or
wrong. So much of writing is fun. It’s first letting
your interests and your imagination take you
anywhere at all. Once you’re able to do that, you’ll
have more ideas than you can use.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
11
 5. In the fifth sentence of the second paragraph
(“Perhaps . . . lunch hour”), the author
strategically arranges clauses in a way that
(A) signals a gap between the sentence’s literal
meaning and the author’s intended
meaning
(B) establishes a hierarchy from the most to
least effective times of day to practice
writing
(C) reflects the author’s model of the
sequential stages of a writer’s overall
development
(D) suggests a distinction between reasonable
and unreasonable sacrifices for the sake
of art
(E) underlines the variety of opportunities for
those who are dedicated to improving
their craft
6. In the last sentence of the second paragraph
(“Journal writing . . . projects”), the author
connects two independent clauses with the
conjunction “and” primarily to
(A) establish a connection between keeping a
journal and writing every day
(B) indicate that journaling is just as important
as careful revision for aspiring writers
(C) explain why keeping a journal usually
helps writers come up with new story
ideas
(D) emphasize that keeping a journal has
multiple benefits for writers
(E) suggest that observing the real world is
more productive than imagining fictional
worlds
12 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
7. Based on her discussion of the publication
process (paragraph 4, sentences 1-11), the author
most likely believes which of the following
about her audience?
(A) They aim to support themselves fully by
selling their writing.
(B) They have limited familiarity with
publication and need a variety of advice.
(C) They probably overestimate the value of
inspiration for writers.
(D) They already have some experience with
submitting work to publishers.
(E) They have previously been held back by
their perfectionistic tendencies.
8. The author’s shift in tone between the fourth and
fifth paragraphs marks a transition between
(A) offering practical advice and advocating
broader principles
(B) exemplifying simplicity and demonstrating
complexity
(C) identifying problems and proposing
solutions
(D) presenting absolute claims and qualifying
those claims
(E) arguing from personal experience and
incorporating the insights of others
9. The author’s decision to repeat the word “forget”
in the sixth and seventh paragraphs primarily
serves to
(A) underscore the author’s disapproval of
those who neglect to improve their
writing
(B) indicate the order in which the author
believes certain steps should be taken
(C) suggest a parallel between two distinct
ideas that the author challenges
(D) highlight the extent of distress that comes
from focusing on innate abilities
(E) convey the author’s ambivalence about the
advice she received early in her career
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
The passage is reprinted for your use in answering the remaining questions.
(This passage is excerpted from an essay published
by a science fiction writer in the late twentieth
century.)
Take classes and go to writers’ workshops. Writing
is communication. You need other people to let you
know whether you’re communicating what you think
you are and whether you’re doing it in ways that are
not only accessible and entertaining, but as
compelling as you can make them. In other words,
you need to know that you’re telling a good story. You
want to be the writer who keeps readers up late at
night, not the one who drives them off to watch
television. Workshops and classes are rented
readers—rented audiences—for your work. Learn
from the comments, questions, and suggestions of
both the teacher and the class. These relative
strangers are more likely to tell you the truth about
your work than are your friends and family who may
not want to hurt or offend you. One tiresome truth
they might tell you, for instance, is that you need to
take a grammar class. If they say this, listen. Take the
class. Vocabulary and grammar are your primary
tools. They’re most effectively used, even most
effectively abused, by people who understand them.
No computer program, no friend or employee can take
the place of a sound knowledge of your tools.
Write. Write every day. Write whether you feel
like writing or not. Choose a time of day. Perhaps
you can get up an hour earlier, stay up an hour later,
give up an hour of recreation, or even give up your
lunch hour. If you can’t think of anything in your
chosen genre, keep a journal. You should be keeping
one anyway. Journal writing helps you to be more
observant of your world, and a journal is a good place
to store story ideas for later projects.
Revise your writing until it’s as good as you can
make it. All the reading, the writing, and the classes
should help you do this. Check your writing, your
research (never neglect your research), and the
physical appearance of your manuscript. Let nothing
substandard slip through. If you notice something that
needs fixing, fix it, no excuses. There will be plenty
that’s wrong that you won’t catch. Don’t make the
mistake of ignoring flaws that are obvious to you.
AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
The moment you find yourself saying, “This doesn’t
matter. It’s good enough.” Stop. Go back. Fix the
flaw. Make a habit of doing your best.
Submit your work for publication. First research
the markets that interest you. Seek out and study the
books or magazines of publishers to whom you want
to sell. Then submit your work. If the idea of doing
this scares you, fine. Go ahead and be afraid. But
send your work out anyway. If it’s rejected, send it
out again, and again. Rejections are painful, but
inevitable. They’re every writer’s rite of passage.
Don’t give up on a piece of work that you can’t sell.
You may be able to sell it later to new publications or
to new editors of old publications. At worst, you
should be able to learn from your rejected work. You
may even be able to use all or part of it in a new
work. One way or another, writers can use, or at least
learn from, everything.
Here are some potential impediments for you to
forget about:
First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable.
Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not.
Habit will help you finish and polish your stories.
Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.
Forget talent. If you have it, fine. Use it. If you
don’t have it, it doesn’t matter. As habit is more
dependable than inspiration, continued learning is
more dependable than talent. Never let pride or
laziness prevent you from learning, improving your
work, changing its direction when necessary.
Persistence is essential to any writer—the persistence
to finish your work, to keep writing in spite of
rejection, to keep reading, studying, submitting work
for sale. But stubbornness, the refusal to change
unproductive behavior or to revise unsalable work can
be lethal to your writing hopes.
Finally, don’t worry about imagination. You have
all the imagination you need, and all the reading,
journal writing, and learning you will be doing will
stimulate it. Play with your ideas. Have fun with
them. Don’t worry about being silly or outrageous or
wrong. So much of writing is fun. It’s first letting
your interests and your imagination take you
anywhere at all. Once you’re able to do that, you’ll
have more ideas than you can use.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
13
 10. The seventh paragraph as a whole implicitly 12. The author’s contrast between “persistence” and
challenges which of the following ideas? “stubbornness” (paragraph 7, sentences 7–8)
advances her argument in which of the following
(A) Talent is a valuable asset for aspiring ways?
writers.
(B) Talent can promote laziness in young (A) It helps explain why habit is more valuable
writers. than persistence.
(C) Successful writers must be very talented. (B) It challenges the stereotype that talented
writers are often stubborn.
(D) People should take pride in their talents.
(C) It concedes that persistence can have
(E) Talent is meaningless without persistence.
negative consequences.
(D) It underscores the need for writers to
11. In the seventh sentence of the seventh paragraph, continually improve their craft.
the author uses a dash primarily to (E) It supports the claim that writers should
disregard talent.
(A) separate a secondary idea from the main
thrust of her argument
(B) distinguish her own claim from a claim she
aims to refute
(C) contrast her definition of a term with the
term’s ordinary meaning
(D) elaborate on a general claim by providing
specific examples
(E) clarify a concept by excluding certain
phenomena from it

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

14 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam

Questions 13 - 24. Read the following passage
carefully before you choose your answers.
(The following passage is excerpted from the preface
of a book published in 2008 by a geography
professor.)
Numerous books and articles published in recent
years argue, explicitly as well as implicitly, that the
human world today is so mobile, so interconnected,
and so integrative that it is, in one prominent and
much-repeated assessment, “flat.” Ancient and
durable obstacles are no more, interaction is global,
free trade rules the globe, migration is ubiquitous, 1
and the flow of ideas (and money and jobs) is so
pervasive that geography, in the perspective of more
than one observer, “is history.” The notion that place
continues to play a key role in shaping humanity’s
still-variegated mosaic is seen as obsolete, even
offensive and deterministic. Choice, not constraint, is
the mantra 2 of the new flat-world proponents. Join
the “forces of flattening” and you will enjoy the
benefits. Don’t, and you will fall off the edge. The
option is yours.
But is it? From the vantage point of a high-floor
room in the Shanghai Hyatt, the Mumbai Oberoi, or
the Dubai Hilton, 3 or from a business-class window
seat on Singapore Airlines, the world seems flat
indeed. Millions of world-flatteners move every day
from hotel lobby to airport limo to first-class lounge,
laptop in hand, uploading, outsourcing, offshoring as
they travel, adjusting the air conditioning as they go.
They are changing the world, these modern nomads,
and they are, in many ways, improving it—depending
of course on one’s definition of progress. But are they
invariably agents of access and integration? Are they
lowering the barriers to participation or raising the
stakes against it? Have their influence and impact
overpowered the imperatives of place, so that their
very mobility symbolizes a confirmed irrelevance of
location?
Not yet. The Earth, physically as well as culturally,
still is very rough terrain, and in crucial ways its
regional compartments continue to trap billions in
circumstances that spell disadvantage. The power of
place and the fate of people are linked by many
strands ranging from physical area and natural
environment to durable culture and local tradition.
This book, therefore, views a world in which progress
toward convergence is countered by stagnation, even
AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
setbacks. Various constituencies of the comparatively
prosperous global core are walling off their affluent
realms from intrusion by poorer globals, hardening a
division between core and periphery that exacerbates
contrasts and stokes conflicts. The near-global
diffusion of various forms of English as a first or
second language is promoting a cultural convergence,
but the radicalization of religions has the opposite
effect. The distribution of health and well-being
shows troubling signs of inequity and reversal.
Because people continue to congregate in places of
high environmental risk, especially in the crowded
periphery, hundreds of millions find themselves in
continuing jeopardy (as the 2004 tsunami, 4 in the
absence of coordinated warning systems, tragically
confirmed). Inevitably, places of costly historic and
current conflict take their toll as the “international
community” stands by without effective intervention,
another form of jeopardy that afflicts the destinies of
millions. And males and females in the same locales
have widely varying experiences, their destinies
diverging in sometimes agonizing ways. Even in the
world’s cities, where the “rising tide lifts all boats”
promise of globalization should be especially evident,
power creates a high-relief topography of privilege
and privation. Nor is the world’s divisive political
stockade 5 likely to be flattened anytime soon. Even
as states try to join in unions and associations, their
provinces and regions nurture nationalisms working
the other way. The power of place still holds the vast
majority of us in its thrall.
Of course, the question is not whether the world is
flat. Thomas Friedman, who coined the phrase,
concedes that he realizes “that the world is not flat.
Don’t worry, I know . . . I have engaged in literary
license in titling [my] book to draw attention . . . .” It
is the process of “flattening” on which Friedman
wants to focus through his provocative title, “the
single most important trend in the world today,” that is
at issue. And in certain respects the global playing
field is leveling, but in other ways the reverse appears
to be true. Notions of a flat world raise expectations
of growing access and increasing opportunity that are
mantras of globalization but are all too often at
variance with reality. Powerful forces, natural as well
as human, slow the flattening process in a contest that
will determine the future of the planet.
1
widespread
2
slogan
3
luxury hotels
4
In December 2004, a series of immense ocean waves hit the coasts of
several South and Southeast Asian countries, causing catastrophic
destruction in the region.
5
enclosure
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
15
 13. Which of the following best describes the
author’s exigence in the passage?
(A) The need for greater resources to solve
problems he finds pressing
(B) The proliferation of global organizations
that he finds menacing
(C) The opportunity for facilitating
communication between disparate groups
(D) The uncritical acceptance of an opinion
that he finds problematic
(E) The rapid pace of a homogenizing process
whose effects he finds reductive
14. In the passage, the author makes which of the
following assumptions about his audience?
(A) They are familiar with mainstream rhetoric
about globalization.
(B) They are concerned about the loss of
cultural diversity.
(C) They support taking collective action to
address local problems.
(D) They benefit from the process of global
convergence.
(E) They oppose ceding local control to global
organizations.
16 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
15. In the second sentence of the passage (“Ancient
. . . history”), the series of short, simple clauses
and the word play on “history” convey the
author’s sense that the claims of flat-world
proponents
(A) sound a little too superficial to be true
(B) are supported by multiple sources of
historical evidence
(C) are constantly evolving
(D) sound exaggerated only to those who are
ignorant of historical events
(E) seem more modest than the claims made
by their opponents
16. Which of the following best describes the
relationship between the second paragraph and
the third paragraph?
(A) Paragraph 3 presents evidence that
addresses questions raised in paragraph 2.
(B) Paragraph 3 challenges the validity of data
presented in paragraph 2.
(C) Paragraph 3 presents arguments that
support a thesis stated in paragraph 2.
(D) Paragraph 3 draws conclusions from
evidence presented in paragraph 2.
(E) Paragraph 3 proposes solutions to conflicts
described in paragraph 2.
17. In the sixth sentence of the third paragraph
(“The near-global diffusion . . . opposite
effect”), the author mentions the diffusion of
English primarily to
(A) challenge an assumption that other
arguments depend on
(B) offer evidence in support of his basic thesis
(C) emphasize how one phenomenon can have
multiple effects
(D) justify his use of one language rather than
another
(E) acknowledge the validity of one element of
an argument he generally opposes
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
The passage is reprinted for your use in answering the remaining questions.
(The following passage is excerpted from the preface
of a book published in 2008 by a geography
professor.)
Numerous books and articles published in recent
years argue, explicitly as well as implicitly, that the
human world today is so mobile, so interconnected,
and so integrative that it is, in one prominent and
much-repeated assessment, “flat.” Ancient and
durable obstacles are no more, interaction is global,
free trade rules the globe, migration is ubiquitous, 1
and the flow of ideas (and money and jobs) is so
pervasive that geography, in the perspective of more
than one observer, “is history.” The notion that place
continues to play a key role in shaping humanity’s
still-variegated mosaic is seen as obsolete, even
offensive and deterministic. Choice, not constraint, is
the mantra 2 of the new flat-world proponents. Join
the “forces of flattening” and you will enjoy the
benefits. Don’t, and you will fall off the edge. The
option is yours.
But is it? From the vantage point of a high-floor
room in the Shanghai Hyatt, the Mumbai Oberoi, or
the Dubai Hilton, 3 or from a business-class window
seat on Singapore Airlines, the world seems flat
indeed. Millions of world-flatteners move every day
from hotel lobby to airport limo to first-class lounge,
laptop in hand, uploading, outsourcing, offshoring as
they travel, adjusting the air conditioning as they go.
They are changing the world, these modern nomads,
and they are, in many ways, improving it—depending
of course on one’s definition of progress. But are they
invariably agents of access and integration? Are they
lowering the barriers to participation or raising the
stakes against it? Have their influence and impact
overpowered the imperatives of place, so that their
very mobility symbolizes a confirmed irrelevance of
location?
Not yet. The Earth, physically as well as culturally,
still is very rough terrain, and in crucial ways its
regional compartments continue to trap billions in
circumstances that spell disadvantage. The power of
place and the fate of people are linked by many
strands ranging from physical area and natural
environment to durable culture and local tradition.
This book, therefore, views a world in which progress
toward convergence is countered by stagnation, even
AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
setbacks. Various constituencies of the comparatively
prosperous global core are walling off their affluent
realms from intrusion by poorer globals, hardening a
division between core and periphery that exacerbates
contrasts and stokes conflicts. The near-global
diffusion of various forms of English as a first or
second language is promoting a cultural convergence,
but the radicalization of religions has the opposite
effect. The distribution of health and well-being
shows troubling signs of inequity and reversal.
Because people continue to congregate in places of
high environmental risk, especially in the crowded
periphery, hundreds of millions find themselves in
continuing jeopardy (as the 2004 tsunami, 4 in the
absence of coordinated warning systems, tragically
confirmed). Inevitably, places of costly historic and
current conflict take their toll as the “international
community” stands by without effective intervention,
another form of jeopardy that afflicts the destinies of
millions. And males and females in the same locales
have widely varying experiences, their destinies
diverging in sometimes agonizing ways. Even in the
world’s cities, where the “rising tide lifts all boats”
promise of globalization should be especially evident,
power creates a high-relief topography of privilege
and privation. Nor is the world’s divisive political
stockade 5 likely to be flattened anytime soon. Even
as states try to join in unions and associations, their
provinces and regions nurture nationalisms working
the other way. The power of place still holds the vast
majority of us in its thrall.
Of course, the question is not whether the world is
flat. Thomas Friedman, who coined the phrase,
concedes that he realizes “that the world is not flat.
Don’t worry, I know . . . I have engaged in literary
license in titling [my] book to draw attention . . . .” It
is the process of “flattening” on which Friedman
wants to focus through his provocative title, “the
single most important trend in the world today,” that is
at issue. And in certain respects the global playing
field is leveling, but in other ways the reverse appears
to be true. Notions of a flat world raise expectations
of growing access and increasing opportunity that are
mantras of globalization but are all too often at
variance with reality. Powerful forces, natural as well
as human, slow the flattening process in a contest that
will determine the future of the planet.
1
widespread
2
slogan
3
luxury hotels
4
In December 2004, a series of immense ocean waves hit the coasts of
several South and Southeast Asian countries, causing catastrophic
destruction in the region.
5
enclosure
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
17
 18. Which of the following does the author represent
as an effect of “congregat[ing] in places of high
environmental risk” (paragraph 3, sentence 8) ?
(A) Opportunities that disproportionately
benefit affluent communities
(B) Frequent conflict among groups with
different cultural values
(C) Dangers that disproportionately affect
certain communities
(D) Overcrowding that exacerbates public
health problems
(E) Environmental degradation that makes
such areas nearly uninhabitable
19. In the eighth sentence of the third paragraph, the
author mentions “the absence of coordinated
warning systems” to amplify his point about the
(A) convergence of a type of living experience
(B) prohibitive costs of global intervention
programs
(C) depopulation of locations at high
environmental risk
(D) opposition expressed toward regional
nationalism
(E) the hazards of inhabiting certain
geographical areas
18 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
20. The quotation marks around the phrase
“international community” (paragraph 3,
sentence 9) serve primarily to
(A) indicate that the author is quoting an
established source rather than making a
subjective claim
(B) signal a skeptical tone that reflects the
author’s doubts about the existence of
such a community
(C) underline how specifically the term
“international community” is being
defined
(D) emphasize the need for global cooperation
when effective intervention is required
(E) protect the author from allegations that he
is claiming credit for a phrase coined by
others
21. In the final sentence of the third paragraph (“The
power of place . . . thrall”), which of the
following best describes the effect of removing
the words “the vast majority of”?
(A) The author’s claim would become logically
inconsistent.
(B) The author’s claim would be obscured by
the introduction of ambiguity.
(C) The author’s claim would lose its popular
appeal.
(D) The author’s claim would be narrowed by
its limitation to a smaller group.
(E) The author’s claim would be broadened by
the removal of a qualification.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
The passage is reprinted for your use in answering the remaining questions.
(The following passage is excerpted from the preface
of a book published in 2008 by a geography
professor.)
Numerous books and articles published in recent
years argue, explicitly as well as implicitly, that the
human world today is so mobile, so interconnected,
and so integrative that it is, in one prominent and
much-repeated assessment, “flat.” Ancient and
durable obstacles are no more, interaction is global,
free trade rules the globe, migration is ubiquitous, 1
and the flow of ideas (and money and jobs) is so
pervasive that geography, in the perspective of more
than one observer, “is history.” The notion that place
continues to play a key role in shaping humanity’s
still-variegated mosaic is seen as obsolete, even
offensive and deterministic. Choice, not constraint, is
the mantra 2 of the new flat-world proponents. Join
the “forces of flattening” and you will enjoy the
benefits. Don’t, and you will fall off the edge. The
option is yours.
But is it? From the vantage point of a high-floor
room in the Shanghai Hyatt, the Mumbai Oberoi, or
the Dubai Hilton, 3 or from a business-class window
seat on Singapore Airlines, the world seems flat
indeed. Millions of world-flatteners move every day
from hotel lobby to airport limo to first-class lounge,
laptop in hand, uploading, outsourcing, offshoring as
they travel, adjusting the air conditioning as they go.
They are changing the world, these modern nomads,
and they are, in many ways, improving it—depending
of course on one’s definition of progress. But are they
invariably agents of access and integration? Are they
lowering the barriers to participation or raising the
stakes against it? Have their influence and impact
overpowered the imperatives of place, so that their
very mobility symbolizes a confirmed irrelevance of
location?
Not yet. The Earth, physically as well as culturally,
still is very rough terrain, and in crucial ways its
regional compartments continue to trap billions in
circumstances that spell disadvantage. The power of
place and the fate of people are linked by many
strands ranging from physical area and natural
environment to durable culture and local tradition.
This book, therefore, views a world in which progress
toward convergence is countered by stagnation, even
AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
setbacks. Various constituencies of the comparatively
prosperous global core are walling off their affluent
realms from intrusion by poorer globals, hardening a
division between core and periphery that exacerbates
contrasts and stokes conflicts. The near-global
diffusion of various forms of English as a first or
second language is promoting a cultural convergence,
but the radicalization of religions has the opposite
effect. The distribution of health and well-being
shows troubling signs of inequity and reversal.
Because people continue to congregate in places of
high environmental risk, especially in the crowded
periphery, hundreds of millions find themselves in
continuing jeopardy (as the 2004 tsunami, 4 in the
absence of coordinated warning systems, tragically
confirmed). Inevitably, places of costly historic and
current conflict take their toll as the “international
community” stands by without effective intervention,
another form of jeopardy that afflicts the destinies of
millions. And males and females in the same locales
have widely varying experiences, their destinies
diverging in sometimes agonizing ways. Even in the
world’s cities, where the “rising tide lifts all boats”
promise of globalization should be especially evident,
power creates a high-relief topography of privilege
and privation. Nor is the world’s divisive political
stockade 5 likely to be flattened anytime soon. Even
as states try to join in unions and associations, their
provinces and regions nurture nationalisms working
the other way. The power of place still holds the vast
majority of us in its thrall.
Of course, the question is not whether the world is
flat. Thomas Friedman, who coined the phrase,
concedes that he realizes “that the world is not flat.
Don’t worry, I know . . . I have engaged in literary
license in titling [my] book to draw attention . . . .” It
is the process of “flattening” on which Friedman
wants to focus through his provocative title, “the
single most important trend in the world today,” that is
at issue. And in certain respects the global playing
field is leveling, but in other ways the reverse appears
to be true. Notions of a flat world raise expectations
of growing access and increasing opportunity that are
mantras of globalization but are all too often at
variance with reality. Powerful forces, natural as well
as human, slow the flattening process in a contest that
will determine the future of the planet.
1
widespread
2
slogan
3
luxury hotels
4
In December 2004, a series of immense ocean waves hit the coasts of
several South and Southeast Asian countries, causing catastrophic
destruction in the region.
5
enclosure
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
19
 22. At what point in his development of the
passage’s line of reasoning does the author
arrive at his thesis?
(A) The first two sentences of the first
paragraph (“Numerous books . . .
history”)
(B) The last four sentences of the first
paragraph (“Choice . . . is yours”)
(C) The first three sentences of the second
paragraph (“But is it? . . . as they go”)
(D) The first four sentences of the third
paragraph (“Not yet . . . even setbacks”)
(E) The first four sentences of the fourth
paragraph (“Of course . . . at issue”)
23. In the fifth sentence of the fourth paragraph
(“And in certain . . . true”), the author italicizes
the verb “is” primarily to emphasize
24. In the fourth paragraph, the author cites Thomas
Friedman primarily to
(A) attribute the flawed assumptions of
flat-world proponents to Friedman
(B) acknowledge that the arguments of
flat-world proponents are more complex
than he has previously suggested
(C) note a difference between the original
version of the flat-world argument and
popular adaptations of this argument
(D) suggest that the implications of
globalization are even more dangerous
than he has already implied
(E) reveal his insights into the circumstances
that inspired Friedman to invent the
flat-world metaphor

(A) an area of agreement between himself and

another author whose views he has
challenged
(B) an area of disagreement between himself
and another author whose views he
generally agrees with
(C) the equivalence he sees between two
seemingly different claims
(D) the equivalence he sees between two
seemingly different terms
(E) the equivalence he sees between two
seemingly different processes

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

20 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam

Questions 25 - 32. Read the following passage
carefully before you choose your answers.
(The passage below is a draft.)
(1) Many people living near the Mississippi River
see mayflies as a nuisance. (2) The mayflies’ sudden
entrance to life in the air, their languid flying and
resting on objects at their convenience, and their
deaths seemed a bother to humans.
(3) Adult mayflies’ short lifespans are at the heart
of the problem. (4) Throughout a couple of weeks
each summer, the nymphs (juvenile mayflies), which
have developed underwater for the past few months,
hatch into millions of mature mayflies with
nonfunctioning mouths. (5) These adult mayflies
mate, lay eggs on and near the water, and then die
within a day or two, sometimes in piles multiple feet
high that create treacherous driving conditions for
humans. (6) These perishing insects impact
nondriving humans as well by collecting on air
conditioner compressors and the like, often preventing
them from functioning. (7) In fact, often street lights
are shut off in order to decrease the number of
mayflies congregating near them. (8) And, believe it
or not, the wings and skin of mayflies cause an
allergic reaction on the skin of some folk. (9) The
bodies of these mayflies are long and thin and support
large wings.
(10) Despite these nuisances, I have come to value
these somewhat unsightly creatures. (11) For
example, because they need clean water to survive,
their presence indicates to humans the health of a
body of fresh water. (12) In fact, they have been used
to assess the quality of water in fresh water areas.
(13) In addition, the nymphs, with their functioning
mouths, contribute to the cleanliness of the water by
eating algae and decaying vegetation. (14) Therefore,
they are important indicators of the health of a
human’s environment. (15) Moreover, clean bodies of
fresh water attract human recreational activity.
(16) Mayflies impact the economies of humans who
live near healthy rivers and lakes—both tourists and
locals spend money to enjoy activities in and near the
water.
AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
25. Which of the following sentences, if added after
sentence 1, would effectively engage the
audience to want to know what prompted the
writer’s change of heart regarding mayflies?
(A) Nuisances can be either permanent or
temporary.
(B) This river, however, offers beautiful
scenery to nature lovers.
(C) And all bugs seem to be nuisances to
humans.
(D) I was one of those people.
(E) I have lived on this river for three years.
26. The writer is considering deleting the underlined
portion of sentence 4 (reproduced below).
Throughout a couple of weeks each summer,
the nymphs (juvenile mayflies), which have
developed underwater for the past few months,
hatch into millions of mature mayflies with
non-functioning mouths.
Should the writer keep or delete the underlined
text?
(A) Keep it, because it provides more
description of the mayflies’ physical
characteristics.
(B) Keep it, because it explains a term that may
be unfamiliar to some readers.
(C) Keep it, because it assists in developing the
writer’s thesis.
(D) Delete it, because it does not enhance the
discussion of adult mayflies.
(E) Delete it, because it reflects the writer’s
bias against mayflies.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
21
 27. After sentence 6, the writer wants to provide 29. Which of the following sentences should be
additional evidence to support the claim that deleted from the second paragraph because it
mayflies are a nuisance to humans. Which of the does not provide evidence that supports the main
following sentences would best achieve this claim of the paragraph?
purpose?
(A) Sentence 5
(A) However, it is sad to think about all of (B) Sentence 6
these mayflies dying, and that impacts
(C) Sentence 7
how humans feel about these insects.
(D) Sentence 8
(B) Also, it is important to remember that
air-conditioning, while beneficial, is also (E) Sentence 9
costly.
(C) Furthermore, mayflies regularly disrupt
30. The writer wants sentence 10 (reproduced
activities held on or near the river,
below) to convey the reluctant appreciation of
causing humans to constantly swat at
mayflies she describes in the third paragraph.
their bodies to rid themselves of the
expiring insects. Despite these nuisances, I have come to value
(D) Consequently, many drivers have a strong these somewhat unsightly creatures.
abhorrence to mayfly season and the
hazards that accompany it. Which version of the underlined portion of
sentence 10 most effectively accomplishes this
(E) As is common knowledge, street lights are
goal?
necessities that provide safety to both
driving and nondriving humans. (A) (as it is now)
(B) I can now respect these foul creatures
28. In sentence 7 (reproduced below), the writer is (C) I find myself entranced by these graceful
considering adding the parenthetical phrase beings
“(another hazard to humans in cars)” after the (D) I remain perplexed by these strange and
word “off.” horrid bugs
(E) I wholeheartedly love these useful insects
In fact, often street lights are shut off in order
to decrease the number of mayflies
congregating near them.
31. Which of the following words should be placed
Should the writer make this addition? at the beginning of sentence 16 (reproduced
below) in order to demonstrate a connection to
(A) Yes, because it emphasizes the importance the previous sentence?
of the evidence about the hazards of street
lights. Mayflies impact the economies of humans who
live near healthy rivers and lakes—both
(B) Yes, because it connects the evidence
tourists and locals spend money to enjoy
offered in the sentence to the paragraph’s
activities in and near the water.
main claim.
(C) No, because it interrupts the fluidity of the (A) However,
sentence. (B) Regardless,
(D) No, because it distracts from the narration (C) Thus,
of human responses to mayflies.
(D) Nonetheless,
(E) No, because it introduces an opposing
argument. (E) Conversely,

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22 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam

The passage is reprinted for your use in answering the remaining questions.

(The passage below is a draft.) 32. Which of the following sentences, if added after
sentence 16, would provide the best concluding
(1) Many people living near the Mississippi River sentence for the passage?
see mayflies as a nuisance. (2) The mayflies’ sudden
entrance to life in the air, their languid flying and (A) Robust economies are important to
resting on objects at their convenience, and their humans, and they enhance lifestyles
deaths seemed a bother to humans. across the board; therefore, humans
(3) Adult mayflies’ short lifespans are at the heart should respect the lives of mayflies.
of the problem. (4) Throughout a couple of weeks (B) Yes, mayflies definitely impact the quality
each summer, the nymphs (juvenile mayflies), which of fresh water, so humans should desire to
have developed underwater for the past few months, keep these pesky insects around.
hatch into millions of mature mayflies with
(C) Since there are both good and bad
nonfunctioning mouths. (5) These adult mayflies
consequences from living with mayflies,
mate, lay eggs on and near the water, and then die
individuals should make their own
within a day or two, sometimes in piles multiple feet
decisions about whether or not the bad
high that create treacherous driving conditions for
outweighs the good.
humans. (6) These perishing insects impact
nondriving humans as well by collecting on air (D) Clearly there are both negative and positive
conditioner compressors and the like, often preventing aspects to coexisting with mayflies, but
them from functioning. (7) In fact, often street lights the long-lasting positives outweigh the
are shut off in order to decrease the number of temporary negatives.
mayflies congregating near them. (8) And, believe it (E) It is easy to see, then, that tourists might
or not, the wings and skin of mayflies cause an have a different perspective than locals do
allergic reaction on the skin of some folk. (9) The about the life cycle of mayflies and its
bodies of these mayflies are long and thin and support many effects on humans.
large wings.
(10) Despite these nuisances, I have come to value
these somewhat unsightly creatures. (11) For
example, because they need clean water to survive,
their presence indicates to humans the health of a
body of fresh water. (12) In fact, they have been used
to assess the quality of water in fresh water areas.
(13) In addition, the nymphs, with their functioning
mouths, contribute to the cleanliness of the water by
eating algae and decaying vegetation. (14) Therefore,
they are important indicators of the health of a
human’s environment. (15) Moreover, clean bodies of
fresh water attract human recreational activity.
(16) Mayflies impact the economies of humans who
live near healthy rivers and lakes—both tourists and
locals spend money to enjoy activities in and near the
water.

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam 23

 NO TEST MATERIAL ON THIS PAGE

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

24 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam

Questions 33 - 40. Read the following passage 33. In sentence 3 (reproduced below), the writer
carefully before you choose your answers. wants to provide statistical information that
helps contextualize the argument of the passage
(The passage below is a draft.) for the audience.

(1) To work or not to work, that is the question. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
(2) Or, at least it’s a question many teens consider Statistics (USBLS), the state with the highest
during their summer break. (3) According to the U.S. employment rate for teens is Mississippi at 77
Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS), the state with the percent, and the lowest is North Dakota at 51
highest employment rate for teens is Mississippi at percent.
77 percent, and the lowest is North Dakota at
Which of the following versions of the
51 percent.
underlined portion of sentence 3 most effectively
(4) Why are teens not working as much? (5) That
accomplishes this goal?
depends. (6) Middle- and upper-class teens are
choosing not to work, while lower-income teens have
(A) (as it is now)
less access to jobs. (7) Teens with access to part-time
jobs often select what they perceive as better (B) the number of teens working summer jobs
alternatives (e.g., community service, volunteer work, has dropped from 60 percent to 30
unpaid internships, and academics) that have percent since the 1980s
nonfinancial benefits. (8) In fact, the USBLS reports (C) 22 percent of high school females were
the number of teens in summer school rose from employed as compared to 19 percent of
10 percent to 45 percent from 1985 to 2018. males
(9) Teenagers in my neighborhood, meanwhile, must (D) the employment rate for teens with some
need some extra money because I see numerous signs college or an associate degree is 79
at the local grocery store advertising personal percent
lawn-mowing and babysitting services. (E) 11,847,000 teens between the ages of 16
(10) Some lament the decrease in teen and 19 do not have any kind of job
employment. (11) According to the Center for Work
Ethic Development, part-time jobs teach the soft skills
that future employers value: “Although it might seem
unrelated, scooping ice cream or working retail can
make you a better doctor, accountant, teacher or
benefit any other career path you might choose.”
(12) These soft skills include social and emotional
intelligence, work ethic, responsibility, and a positive
attitude. (13) Depending on what teens do instead,
these traits can be developed in other ways.
(14) To work or not to work isn’t the most
important question. (15) The focus should be on what
teenagers do to develop soft skills—the people skills,
the work ethic, the communication skills—that will
help them regardless of the path they will take in life.
(16) Thus, it is very important for teenagers to get
back into the workforce so they can develop the work
ethic they need to be successful.

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AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam 25

 34. The writer is considering adding the following
sentence after sentence 5.
Many people view teenagers as lazy, preferring
to spend their summers playing video games
and hanging out with friends instead of
working hard to make money.
Should the writer add this sentence after
sentence 5 ?
(A) Yes, because the stereotype of the lazy
teenager is an important discussion point
in the passage.
(B) Yes, because it shows the dangerous effects
that modern technology has on teens
today.
(C) Yes, because it allows the writer to
demonstrate an understanding of teen
culture.
(D) No, because it is illogical to include video
games and friends in the same argument.
(E) No, because it portrays teenagers in a way
that could undermine the writer’s appeal
to teenage readers.
36. The writer is considering deleting the underlined
portion of sentence 7 (reproduced below).
Teens with access to part-time jobs often select
what they perceive as better alternatives (e.g.,
community service, volunteer work, unpaid
internships, and academics) that have
nonfinancial benefits.
Should the writer keep or delete the underlined
text?
(A) Keep it, because it exemplifies what these
potentially better alternatives might be.
(B) Keep it, because it is necessary to
understand the values of part-time work.
(C) Keep it, because it is necessary for the
sentence to be a complete thought.
(D) Delete it, because it distracts from the
message the writer is communicating.
(E) Delete it, because it repeats information
that was introduced earlier in the passage.

35. The writer wants to add information to the

beginning of sentence 6 (reproduced below),
adjusting the capitalization as needed, to help
establish the credibility of the source of the
information in the sentence.

Middle- and upper-class teens are choosing

not to work, while lower-income teens have
less access to jobs.

Which of the following choices most effectively

accomplishes this goal?

(A) According to Professor Paul Harrington,

(B) According to Paul Harrington, an expert,
(C) According to Paul Harrington, a Drexel
University professor of labor markets,
(D) According to a Drexel University
professor,
(E) According to a university professor who is
an expert on labor markets,

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26 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam

The passage is reprinted for your use in answering the remaining questions.

(The passage below is a draft.) 37. The writer is considering deleting sentence 9
(reproduced below) from the passage.
(1) To work or not to work, that is the question.
(2) Or, at least it’s a question many teens consider Teenagers in my neighborhood, meanwhile,
during their summer break. (3) According to the U.S. must need some extra money because I see
Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS), the state with the numerous signs at the local grocery store
highest employment rate for teens is Mississippi at advertising personal lawn-mowing and
77 percent, and the lowest is North Dakota at babysitting services.
51 percent.
Should the writer keep or delete this sentence?
(4) Why are teens not working as much? (5) That
depends. (6) Middle- and upper-class teens are (A) Keep it, because the evidence it provides is
choosing not to work, while lower-income teens have likely to appeal to the audience’s values
less access to jobs. (7) Teens with access to part-time in terms of their experience with
jobs often select what they perceive as better teenagers seeking part-time employment.
alternatives (e.g., community service, volunteer work,
unpaid internships, and academics) that have (B) Keep it, because it provides anecdotal
nonfinancial benefits. (8) In fact, the USBLS reports evidence about teen employment that is
the number of teens in summer school rose from expanded on later in the passage.
10 percent to 45 percent from 1985 to 2018. (C) Delete it, because the writer’s choice of
(9) Teenagers in my neighborhood, meanwhile, must diction creates an inappropriately
need some extra money because I see numerous signs informal tone.
at the local grocery store advertising personal (D) Delete it, because the anecdote about local
lawn-mowing and babysitting services. teenagers weakens the reasoning of the
(10) Some lament the decrease in teen argument at this point of the passage.
employment. (11) According to the Center for Work (E) Delete it, because the example it provides
Ethic Development, part-time jobs teach the soft skills undermines the credibility of the writer as
that future employers value: “Although it might seem someone knowledgeable about teen
unrelated, scooping ice cream or working retail can employment.
make you a better doctor, accountant, teacher or
benefit any other career path you might choose.”
(12) These soft skills include social and emotional
intelligence, work ethic, responsibility, and a positive
attitude. (13) Depending on what teens do instead,
these traits can be developed in other ways.
(14) To work or not to work isn’t the most
important question. (15) The focus should be on what
teenagers do to develop soft skills—the people skills,
the work ethic, the communication skills—that will
help them regardless of the path they will take in life.
(16) Thus, it is very important for teenagers to get
back into the workforce so they can develop the work
ethic they need to be successful.

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AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam 27

 38. The writer wants to add a sentence after
sentence 12 to qualify the claim made by the
Center for Work Ethic Development that
part-time jobs result in teens developing
beneficial soft skills. Which of the following
sentences best accomplishes this goal?
(A) However, while it is true that these traits
can be acquired through part-time jobs,
not all work environments are conducive
for this development.
(B) Yet part-time jobs often provide more than
enough financial incentives for teens to
justify the time spent working.
(C) Even as part-time jobs are being filled
more often by retirees, incentives such as
health insurance are not included as part
of the compensation package.
(D) On the other hand, hard skills are the most
important for employees, especially
within the highly competitive STEM
disciplines.
(E) However, an emphasis on soft skills may
result in teens needing less education in
order to land highly competitive jobs.
39. The writer wants to add an adjective before the
word “traits” in sentence 13 (reproduced below)
in order to improve the clarity of the claim.
Depending on what teens do instead, these
traits can be developed in other ways.
Which adjective would best modify that word
“traits” to reinforce the passage’s perspective on
soft skills?
(A) generous
(B) interesting
(C) obvious
(D) routine
(E) desirable
28 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
40. The writer is considering deleting sentence 16
(reproduced below) from the passage.
Thus, it is very important for teenagers to get
back into the workforce so they can develop the
work ethic they need to be successful.
Should the writer keep or delete sentence 16 ?
(A) Keep it, because the discussion of work
ethic is the most important point in this
passage, and it is best to end the passage
with the most important point.
(B) Keep it, because it links work ethic to
success in a way that provides a strong
final sentence.
(C) Keep it, because teens would benefit by the
advice to get a part-time job in order to
start developing the work ethic they will
need.
(D) Delete it, because its conclusion does not
logically follow from the line of
reasoning in the passage.
(E) Delete it, because it provides direct advice
to teens who may not care about the
writer’s opinion.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
Questions 41 - 45. Read the following passage
carefully before you choose your answers.
(The passage below is a draft.)
(1) From Toronto, Canada, to Songdo, South
Korea, cities around the world are promoting
themselves as “smart cities.” (2) Smart-city initiatives
cover a remarkable range of public infrastructure,
including waste receptacles that signal when they
need to be emptied, systems that broadcast locations
of available communal bicycles, and electricity grids
that distribute energy in response to usage patterns.
(3) Many people are excited about these new
technologies, and, as civil engineering professor and
infrastructure expert Shoshanna Saxe explains, they
are intended to improve infrastructure by collecting
data and responding automatically. (4) As Saxe and
other urbanists have argued, however, that premise
should be questioned.
(5) Adding sensors for data collection to public
services such as water and electricity distribution
introduces new vulnerability to urban infrastructure.
(6) Saxe and other experienced city planners worry
that networked digital infrastructure would be more
akin to a smartphone or computer. (7) Although smart
infrastructure promises more efficient delivery of
services and may deliver on that promise in the
beginning, it is susceptible to failure in ways that
conventional infrastructure is not.
AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
41. The writer wants to add language to the end of
sentence 1 (reproduced below), adjusting the
punctuation as needed, to help clarify the central
concept of the essay.
From Toronto, Canada, to Songdo, South
Korea, cities around the world are promoting
themselves as “smart cities.”
Which of the following choices would best
accomplish this goal?
(A) because these two cities desire to be global
technology leaders, especially in
engineering and data collection
(B) meaning that these cities attract the
smartest companies so they can, in turn,
provide high-paying jobs to local
residents and attract the best and the
brightest from around the world
(C) cities prepared to move into global markets
and economies that transcend the typical
geographic limitations of older, more
traditional cities
(D) communities that use the latest digital
technology, particularly computer
systems that respond to input from
networks of sensors, to deliver city
services efficiently and improve urban life
(E) even though “smart” has little to do with
their intelligence and much more to do
with the ways in which the cities will
respond to the growing physical needs of
their populations
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
29
 42. The writer wants to avoid revealing any potential
bias in sentence 3 (reproduced below).
Many people are excited about these new
technologies, and, as civil engineering
professor and infrastructure expert Shoshanna
Saxe explains, they are intended to improve
infrastructure by collecting data and
responding automatically.
Which of the following versions of the
underlined portion of sentence 3 would best
accomplish this goal?
(A) (as it is now)
(B) excessively dismissive civil engineering
professor Shoshanna Saxe notes
(C) civil engineering professor and startlingly
insightful critic Shoshanna Saxe notes
(D) civil engineering professor Shoshanna Saxe
scornfully observes
(E) civil engineering professor Shoshanna Saxe
cleverly declares
30 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
43. The writer wants to add a sentence after
sentence 5 (reproduced below) to elaborate on
that sentence’s description of the contrast
between infrastructure with and without sensors
for data collection.
Adding sensors for data collection to public
services such as water and electricity
distribution introduces new vulnerability to
urban infrastructure.
Which of the following sentences would best
accomplish this goal?
(A) These vulnerabilities may soon be
addressed through a set of “smart”
robotics designed to fix and update the
software needed to keep sensors
functioning smoothly.
(B) “Smart” water-detection systems are quite
unlike smart electricity systems in that,
while they can detect problems, they are
not able to self-regulate.
(C) Water pipes, roads, and other elements of
conventional infrastructure last for
decades precisely because they are not
“smart”: they are structures with
relatively simple, easy-to-replace parts.
(D) “Smart” infrastructure in a city such as
Toronto can be especially challenging
because the cold climate conditions differ
from those of cities in more temperate
climates like Songdo.
(E) Sensors using “smart” technologies can
now register and distribute over a hundred
times more data than sensors could ten
years ago.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
The passage is reprinted for your use in answering the remaining questions.
(The passage below is a draft.)
(1) From Toronto, Canada, to Songdo, South
Korea, cities around the world are promoting
themselves as “smart cities.” (2) Smart-city initiatives
cover a remarkable range of public infrastructure,
including waste receptacles that signal when they
need to be emptied, systems that broadcast locations
of available communal bicycles, and electricity grids
that distribute energy in response to usage patterns.
(3) Many people are excited about these new
technologies, and, as civil engineering professor and
infrastructure expert Shoshanna Saxe explains, they
are intended to improve infrastructure by collecting
data and responding automatically. (4) As Saxe and
other urbanists have argued, however, that premise
should be questioned.
(5) Adding sensors for data collection to public
services such as water and electricity distribution
introduces new vulnerability to urban infrastructure.
(6) Saxe and other experienced city planners worry
that networked digital infrastructure would be more
akin to a smartphone or computer. (7) Although smart
infrastructure promises more efficient delivery of
services and may deliver on that promise in the
beginning, it is susceptible to failure in ways that
conventional infrastructure is not.
AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam
44. The writer is considering adding the clause
“devices that work optimally only for a few
years before bugs in their programming
introduce glitches and errors” to the end of
sentence 6 (reproduced below), adjusting the
punctuation as needed.
Saxe and other experienced city planners
worry that networked digital infrastructure
would be more akin to a smartphone or
computer.
Should the writer add this clause to the end of
sentence 6 ?
(A) Yes, because it demonstrates that Saxe and
other city planners are experts on the
subject of smart cities who are familiar
with the latest technology.
(B) Yes, because the additional information
clarifies a comparison to a more familiar
technology that also breaks or becomes
obsolete relatively quickly.
(C) No, because it makes Saxe seem like a
biased observer by portraying her as
being opposed to technological
innovations of any kind.
(D) No, because the statement in sentence 6 is
so clear that it does not need any
qualification.
(E) No, because the word “bugs” is ambiguous
and could confuse readers who are
unfamiliar with technological jargon.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.
31
 45. The writer wants to add evidence to exemplify
the main argument of the second paragraph.
Which of the following pieces of evidence
would best accomplish this goal?

(A) A narrative about a city in which smart city

technology designed to determine the best
routes for garbage collection required
costly repairs after three years
(B) A quotation from a city council member
expressing concern about the cost of
implementing a smart city program
(C) The results of a survey showing that many
people are worried that smart city
technologies will infringe on their right to
privacy
(D) Statistics comparing the growth of cities
that have invested in smart city
technologies to that of cities that have not
made such investments
(E) A list of important infrastructure projects
that Shoshanna Saxe has been involved
with

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

32 AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam

 END OF SECTION I

IF YOU FINISH BEFORE TIME IS CALLED, YOU MAY

CHECK YOUR WORK ON THIS SECTION.

DO NOT GO ON TO SECTION II UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

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AP English Language and Composition Practice Exam 33