AP teachers are encouraged to develop or maintain their own curriculum that either includes or exceeds each of these expectations; such courses will be authorized to use the “AP” designation. Credit for the success of AP courses belongs to the individual schools and teachers that create powerful, locally designed AP curricula.

The AP English Literature and Composition course should be designed by your school to provide students with a learning experience equivalent to the introductory year of college literature course work. Your course should engage students in the careful reading and critical analysis of literature. Through the close reading of literary texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers.

Students enrolling in AP English Literature and Composition are expected to have had training in reading and writing Standard English.

All students who are willing and academically prepared to accept the challenge of a rigorous academic curriculum should be considered for admission to AP courses. The College Board encourages the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP courses for students from ethnic, racial and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the AP Program. Schools should make every effort to ensure that their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population.

High schools offering this exam must provide the exam administration resources described in the AP Coordinator’s Manual.