AP LATINThe Exam

Exam Overview

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

Encourage your students to visit the AP Latin student page for exam information.

Exam Format

The AP Latin Exam has consistent question types, weighting, and rubrics every year, so you and your students know what to expect on exam day.

There are differences between the paper and digital versions of some 2021 AP Exams, and those variations differ by course. The information below applies to AP Latin only. View a summary of all 2021 AP Exam formats.

To ensure equitable and secure testing of full course content and skills, the 2021 AP Latin Exam will only be available in schools or school-proctored locations.

Section I: Multiple Choice
50 Questions | 1 Hour | 50% of Exam Score

• Syllabus Reading: Vergil (10–12 questions)
• Syllabus Reading: Caesar (10–12 questions)
• Sight Reading: Poetry (13–15 questions)
• Sight Reading: Prose (13–15 questions)
• Students will be asked to:
  • demonstrate knowledge of Latin vocabulary
  • explain the meaning of Latin words and phrases in context
  • use specific terminology to identify grammatical forms and syntactic structures
  • demonstrate knowledge of Latin syntax to read and comprehend Latin texts
  • scan dactylic hexameter in Latin poetry
  • identify stylistic features in Latin poetry and prose
  • identify references to Roman culture, history, and mythology in Latin texts
  • demonstrate overall comprehension of passages in Latin texts
  • demonstrate knowledge of Roman culture and historical events

Section II: Free Response
5 Questions | 2 Hours (includes a 15-minute reading period) | 50% of Exam Score

• Translation: Vergil (1 passage, approximately 35 words) and Caesar (1 passage, approximately 40 words)
• Analytical essay (1 prompt, 2 passages in Latin)
  • Students will be asked to analyze either 2 Vergil passages, 2 Caesar passages, or 1 Vergil passage and 1 Caesar passage. (poetry 12–16 lines, prose 80–120 words)
  • Students will need to analyze the effects of language usage and stylistic features, supporting their argument using relevant evidence from the texts and readings in English.
• Short answer: Vergil (1 passage of 5–10 lines with 5–7 questions) and Caesar (1 passage of 50–75 words with 5–7 questions)

Exam Questions and Scoring Information

2020 (Last Year’s) Free-Response Questions

Last year’s free-response questions are available in the AP Classroom question bank for teachers to assign to students as homework or in class, and do not require secure assessment using the LockDown Browser. Since the 2020 exams had to be designed for highly unusual circumstances, these questions were updated, where possible, to best match the format of free-response questions in the course and exam description and on traditional AP Exams.

Sign in to AP Classroom to access resources including personal progress checks and a question bank with topic questions and practice exams aligned to the current course and exam.

To preserve the large number of new FRQs for teacher use, only teachers have access to the 2020 FRQs. If you are a higher education faculty member interested in seeing questions, please fill out this request form.

2019 Free-Response Questions

For free-response questions from the 2019 exam, along with scoring information, check out the table below.

Be sure to review the Chief Reader Report. In this invaluable resource, the chief reader of the AP Exam compiles feedback from members of the AP Reading leadership to explain how students performed on the FRQs, summarize typical student errors, and address specific concepts and content with which students have struggled the most that year.