AP Italian Language and Culture - Study Guides, Flashcards, AP-style Practice & Mock Exams

The exam has two sections, Multiple Choice and Free Response, each worth 50% of your score. The multiple-choice section tests interpretive communication with print and audio texts, while the free-response section assesses your interpersonal and presentational communication skills through various speaking and writing tasks.

We recommend a sequential approach for optimal learning across the 6 units. Start by mastering the 48 topics, test your knowledge with AP-style quizzes and unit exams, and then finish your preparation by taking the full-length mock exams to simulate the real test experience and timing.

You can best prepare by practicing the specific formats you will encounter. This course provides extensive practice with interpersonal speaking through simulated conversation prompts and presentational speaking via the cultural comparison task. Regularly recording and reviewing your audio responses is key to improving fluency and accuracy.

The exam includes two free-response writing tasks to assess different skills. You will demonstrate interpersonal writing by composing an email reply to a message you receive. For the presentational writing task, you will write a persuasive essay that synthesizes information from three different sources to support an argument.

Your final score is a composite of two equally weighted sections. The multiple-choice section, which assesses interpretive skills with texts and audio, accounts for 50%. The free-response section, which evaluates your interpersonal and presentational communication through speaking and writing tasks, makes up the other 50%.

You should plan for approximately 14 hours to complete the core video lessons and topic quizzes. This estimate can vary based on your pace and how much time you dedicate to the 285 practice questions and 405 flashcards included to reinforce your learning and vocabulary.

Interpretive communication is your ability to understand and analyze authentic Italian materials. On the exam, this skill is tested in the multiple-choice section, where you will read various print texts and listen to audio sources, then answer questions to demonstrate your comprehension of the main ideas and supporting details.

This skill involves direct, two-way interaction, which the exam simulates with two tasks. You will complete a written email reply where you must respond to questions and requests, and a simulated conversation where you provide spoken audio responses to a series of recorded conversation prompts.

The mock exams are designed to be your final step in preparation. Taking our 3 full-length mock exams under timed conditions helps you build stamina and manage your pacing for the actual test day. They provide a comprehensive review and help you identify any remaining areas needing improvement.

Cultural understanding is woven throughout the entire exam, not tested in isolation. You must demonstrate cultural awareness in both interpretive and productive tasks, most notably in the presentational speaking section, which requires a detailed cultural comparison of your own community with a region in the Italian-speaking world.