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AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam Questions

Free-Response Questions and Scoring Information

Download free-response questions from past exams along with scoring guidelines, sample responses from exam takers, and scoring distributions.

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2025: Free-Response Questions

2025: Free-Response Questions

Questions

Scoring

Samples and Commentary

Audio Samples

Free-Response Questions

Speaking Audio Prompts

2024: Free-Response Questions

2024: Free-Response Questions

Questions

Scoring

Samples and Commentary

Audio Samples

Free-Response Questions

Speaking Audio Prompts

Scoring Guidelines

Chief Reader Report

Scoring Statistics

Score Distributions

Interpersonal Writing

Presentational Writing

Compare and Contrast Article

Interpersonal Speaking

Presentational Speaking

Cultural Perspective Presentation

Interpersonal Speaking Samples

Conversation 1 Sample A

Conversation 1 Sample B

Conversation 1 Sample C

Conversation 2 Sample A

Conversation 2 Sample B

Conversation 2 Sample C

Conversation 3 Sample A

Conversation 3 Sample B

Conversation 3 Sample C

Conversation 4 Sample A

Conversation 4 Sample B

Conversation 4 Sample C

Presentational Speaking Samples

Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample A

Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample B

Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample C

2023: Free-Response Questions

2023: Free-Response Questions

Questions

Scoring

Samples and Commentary

Audio Samples

Free-Response Questions

Speaking Audio Prompts

Scoring Guidelines

Chief Reader Report

Scoring Statistics

Score Distributions

Interpersonal Writing

Presentational Writing

Compare and Contrast Article

Interpersonal Speaking

Presentational Speaking

Cultural Perspective Presentation

Interpersonal Speaking Samples

Conversation 1 Sample A

Conversation 1 Sample B

Conversation 1 Sample C

Conversation 2 Sample A

Conversation 2 Sample B

Conversation 2 Sample C

Conversation 3 Sample A

Conversation 3 Sample B

Conversation 3 Sample C

Conversation 4 Sample A

Conversation 4 Sample B

Conversation 4 Sample C

Presentational Speaking Samples

Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample A

Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample B

Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample C

2022: Free-Response Questions

2022: Free-Response Questions

Questions

Scoring

Samples and Commentary

Audio Samples

Free-Response Questions

Speaking Audio Prompts

Scoring Guidelines

Chief Reader Report

Scoring Statistics

Score Distributions

Interpersonal Writing

Presentational Writing

Compare and Contrast Article

Interpersonal Speaking

Presentational Speaking

Cultural Perspective Presentation

Interpersonal Speaking Samples

Conversation 1 Sample A

Conversation 1 Sample B

Conversation 1 Sample C

Conversation 2 Sample A

Conversation 2 Sample B

Conversation 2 Sample C

Conversation 3 Sample A

Conversation 3 Sample B

Conversation 3 Sample C

Conversation 4 Sample A

Conversation 4 Sample B

Conversation 4 Sample C

Presentational Speaking Samples

Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample A

Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample B

Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample C

2021: Free-Response Questions

2021: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation Cultural Perspective Presentation	Scoring Guidelines Chief Reader Report Scoring Statistics Scoring Distribution	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A Conversation 1 Sample B Conversation 1 Sample C Conversation 2 Sample A Conversation 2 Sample B Conversation 2 Sample C Conversation 3 Sample A Conversation 3 Sample B Conversation 3 Sample C Conversation 4 Sample A Conversation 4 Sample B Conversation 4 Sample C Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample A Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample B Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample C

2020: Free-Response Questions

The 2020 free-response questions are available in the AP Classroom question bank.

2019: Free-Response Questions

Questions

Scoring

Samples and Commentary

Audio Samples

Free-Response Questions

Audio Prompts

Conversation | Transcript

Cultural Perspective Presentation | Transcript

Scoring Guidelines

Chief Reader Report

Scoring Statistics

Scoring Distribution

Interpersonal Writing

Presentational Writing

Compare and Contrast Article

Interpersonal Speaking

Presentational Speaking

Cultural Perspective Presentation

Interpersonal Speaking Samples

Conversation 1 Sample A

Conversation 1 Sample B

Conversation 1 Sample C

Conversation 2 Sample A

Conversation 2 Sample B

Conversation 2 Sample C

Conversation 3 Sample A

Conversation 3 Sample B

Conversation 3 Sample C

Conversation 4 Sample A

Conversation 4 Sample B

Conversation 4 Sample C

Presentational Speaking Samples

Cultural Presentation Sample A

Cultural Presentation Sample B

Cultural Presentation Sample C

2018: Free-Response Questions

2018: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Cultural Perspective Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Chief Reader Report Scoring Statistics Scoring Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A Conversation 1 Sample B Conversation 1 Sample C Conversation 2 Sample A Conversation 2 Sample B Conversation 2 Sample C Conversation 3 Sample A Conversation 3 Sample B Conversation 3 Sample C Conversation 4 Sample A Conversation 4 Sample B Conversation 4 Sample C Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Presentation Sample A Cultural Presentation Sample B Cultural Presentation Sample C

2017: Free-Response Questions

2017: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Cultural Perspective Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Chief Reader Report Scoring Statistics Scoring Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation Additional Audio Samples Interpersonal and Presentational Speaking Samples from the 2017 Workshop	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 2) Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Presentation Sample A (Score of 6) Cultural Presentation Sample B (Score of 4) Cultural Presentation Sample C (Score of 2)

2016: Free-Response Questions

2016: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Cultural Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 1) Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Presentation Sample A (Score of 6) Cultural Presentation Sample B (Score of 3) Cultural Presentation Sample C (Score of 1)

2015: Free-Response Questions

2015: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Cultural Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Scoring Statistics Student Performance Q&A Score Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 1) Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Presentation Sample A (Score of 6) Cultural Presentation Sample B (Score of 3) Cultural Presentation Sample C (Score of 1)

2014: Free-Response Questions

2014: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Cultural Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 2) Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Presentation Sample A (Score of 6) Cultural Presentation Sample B (Score of 4) Cultural Presentation Sample C (Score of 2)

2013: Free-Response Questions

2013: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Cultural Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 2) Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Presentation Sample A (Score of 6) Cultural Presentation Sample B (Score of 4) Cultural Presentation Sample C (Score of 2)

2012: Free-Response Questions

2012: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Cultural Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 2) Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Presentation Sample A (Score of 6) Cultural Presentation Sample B (Score of 4) Cultural Presentation Sample C (Score of 2)

2011: Free-Response Questions

2011: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Cultural Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 1) Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Presentation Sample A (Score of 5) Cultural Presentation Sample B (Score of 4) Cultural Presentation Sample C (Score of 2)

2010: Free-Response Questions

2010: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Cultural Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Score Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 2) Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Presentation Sample A (Score of 5) Cultural Presentation Sample B (Score of 4) Cultural Presentation Sample C (Score of 2)

2009: Free-Response Questions

2009: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Cultural Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Grade Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Presentational Speaking Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 1) Presentational Speaking Samples Cultural Presentation Sample A (Score of 5) Cultural Presentation Sample B (Score of 4) Cultural Presentation Sample C (Score of 2)

2008: Free-Response Questions

2008: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Return Phone Call \| Transcript School Announcement \| Transcript Story Narration \| Transcript Cultural Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Grade Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Cultural Topic Posting Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Return Telephone Call Presentational Speaking Story Narration School Announcement Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 1) Return Telephone Call 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Return Telephone Call 1 Sample B (Score of 3) Return Telephone Call 1 Sample C (Score of 2) Return Telephone Call 2 Sample A (Score of 5) Return Telephone Call 2 Sample B (Score of 3) Return Telephone Call 2 Sample C (Score of 1) Return Telephone Call 3 Sample A (Score of 5) Return Telephone Call 3 Sample B (Score of 3) Return Telephone Call 3 Sample C (Score of 1) Return Telephone Call 4 Sample A (Score of 6) Return Telephone Call 4 Sample B (Score of 3) Return Telephone Call 4 Sample C (Score of 1) Presentational Speaking Samples Story Narration Sample A (Score of 6) Story Narration Sample B (Score of 4) Story Narration Sample C (Score of 2) School Announcement Sample A (Score of 5) School Announcement Sample B (Score of 3) School Announcement Sample C (Score of 2) Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample A (Score of 5) Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample B (Score of 3) Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample C (Score of 2)

2007: Free-Response Questions

2007: Free-Response Questions
Questions	Scoring	Samples and Commentary	Audio Samples
Free-Response Questions Audio Prompts Conversation \| Transcript Return Phone Call \| Transcript School Announcement \| Transcript Story Narration \| Transcript Cultural Presentation \| Transcript	Scoring Guidelines Student Performance Q&A Scoring Statistics Grade Distributions	Interpersonal Writing Text Chat Presentational Writing Compare and Contrast Article Cultural Topic Posting Interpersonal Speaking Conversation Return Telephone Call Presentational Speaking Story Narration School Announcement Cultural Perspective Presentation	Interpersonal Speaking Samples Conversation 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Conversation 1 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 1 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 2 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 2 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 2 Sample C (Score of 2) Conversation 3 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 3 Sample B (Score of 4) Conversation 3 Sample C (Score of 1) Conversation 4 Sample A (Score of 5) Conversation 4 Sample B (Score of 3) Conversation 4 Sample C (Score of 1) Return Telephone Call 1 Sample A (Score of 6) Return Telephone Call 1 Sample B (Score of 3) Return Telephone Call 1 Sample C (Score of 2) Return Telephone Call 2 Sample A (Score of 5) Return Telephone Call 2 Sample B (Score of 3) Return Telephone Call 2 Sample C (Score of 1) Return Telephone Call 3 Sample A (Score of 5) Return Telephone Call 3 Sample B (Score of 3) Return Telephone Call 3 Sample C (Score of 1) Return Telephone Call 4 Sample A (Score of 6) Return Telephone Call 4 Sample B (Score of 3) Return Telephone Call 4 Sample C (Score of 1) Presentational Speaking Samples Story Narration Sample A (Score of 6) Story Narration Sample B (Score of 4) Story Narration Sample C (Score of 2) School Announcement Sample A (Score of 5) School Announcement Sample B (Score of 3) School Announcement Sample C (Score of 2) Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample A (Score of 5) Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample B (Score of 3) Cultural Perspective Presentation Sample C (Score of 2)