AP Chinese Language and Culture

This is a fully digital exam. Students complete multiple-choice and free-response questions in the Bluebook testing app, with all responses automatically submitted at the end of the exam.  For the speaking part of the exam, students hear audio prompts and record their responses directly in Bluebook.

Prior to exam day, students complete a project that prepares them for two speaking free-response questions on the exam: the Project Presentation and the Project Q&A.

Exam questions assess the course concepts and skills outlined in the course framework. For more information, download the AP Chinese Language and Culture Course and Exam Description (.pdf) (CED).

Encourage your students to review the overview and to visit the AP Chinese Language and Culture student page for exam information.

The AP Chinese Language and Culture Exam has two sections—Section I: Free-Response and Section II: Multiple-Choice.

Section I: Free-Response 

4 Questions | 40–45 Minutes | 50% of Score

For Questions 1 and 2, students answer prompts based on the research they completed for the project topic released in January of the exam year. Questions 3 and 4 are independent of the project topic.  

1. Question 1: Project Presentation: 20% of Score  
   Students deliver a presentation in response to the project prompt about what they learned through their research. (3 minutes to prepare; 3 minutes to present.) 
2. Question 2: Project Q&A: 15% of Score  
   Students participate in a question-and-answer exchange about their project and research by responding to 4 pre-recorded questions that are not known to the student ahead of the exam. (40 seconds for each response.)
3. Question 3: Story Narration: 7.5% of Score  
   Students write a story based on four provided pictures.
4. Question 4: Email Response: 7.5% of Score 
   Students compose an email in response to an email received from a friend or member of the community. 
   
   Students have 30 minutes to complete both writing tasks (Questions 3 and 4).

Section II: Multiple-Choice 

55 Questions | 65 Minutes | 50% of Score 

• Part A: Listening: 25 questions; 25 minutes; 25% of Score 
• Part B: Reading: 30 questions; 40 minutes; 25% of Score 

AP has specific AI policy guidelines that students must follow for this course.