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AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION Test booklet
AP LANG EXAM 2025
(The following passage is from a book of essays published in the early 2000s.)
In attempting an analysis of Lincoln’s humor one is immediately confronted with two difficulties. In the first place,
many stories attributed to Lincoln were never told by him. A. K. McClure’s Lincoln Stories is recognized as the most
reliable collection, yet Isaac N. Arnold, an intimate friend of Lincoln’s, wrote on the fly-leaf of his copy of this book that
Lincoln probably told no more than half the stories with which McClure credited him. To prove that Lincoln did or did
not tell a particular story is often impossible, for in most cases one must rely upon hearsay evidence or reminiscences.
The second difficulty lies in the fact that the effectiveness of a joke depends in large measure upon the manner of its
telling. We may not be at all amused by reading some of Lincoln’s jokes or hearing them at secondhand; whereas we
might have split our sides had we heard them as he told them. For Lincoln was a master of the story-telling art; and
when told by a master, even a dull joke may be irresistible.
“His stories may be literally retold,” wrote Henry C. Whitney, “every word, period and comma, but the real humor
perished with Lincoln”; for “he provoked as much laughter by the grotesque expression of his homely face as by the
abstract fun of his stories.”
His manner of recital, declared Judge David Davis, was “in many respects unique, if not remarkable. His countenance
and all his features seemed to take part in the performance. As he neared the pith or point of the joke or story every
vestige of seriousness disappeared from his face. His little gray eyes sparkled; a smile seemed to gather up, curtain-like,
the corners of his mouth; his frame quivered with suppressed excitement; and when the point—or ‘nub’ of the story, as
he called it—came, no one’s laugh was heartier than his.”
His humor had a general appeal. Not only the circuit lawyers and the Western villagers and farmers, but even urbane
Easterners readily succumbed to it. In 1842, Ex-President [Martin] Van Buren, making a tour of the West, stopped one
night at the village of Rochester, a few miles from Springfield. The Democratic politicians of Springfield went out “en
masse” to meet and entertain him, taking Lincoln and a few other Whigs along. Van Buren related several amusing
incidents of New York politics, while others told tales of early life on the frontier. But all yielded at last to Lincoln, who
kept them in an uproar far into the night with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of yarns, until Van Buren insisted that
“his sides were sore with laughing.”
In many cases the stories Lincoln told were not original, although he often embellished and improved them. He himself
repeatedly disclaimed credit for authorship and described himself as merely a retail dealer. His proficiency lay rather in a
retentive memory, an uncanny power of association and histrionic skill. “He did not forget the good things that he
heard,” wrote Charles Sumner, “and was never without a familiar story to illustrate his meaning. When he spoke, the
recent West seemed to vie with the ancient East in apologue and fable. His ideas moved, as the beasts entered Noah’s
ark, in pairs. At times his illustrations had a homely felicity, and with him they seemed to be not less important than the
argument, which he always enforced with a certain intensity of manner and voice.”
Much of Lincoln’s success as a storyteller was due to a talent for mimicry. “In the role of storyteller,”said T. G. Onstot,
son of the New Salem cooper, “I never knew his equal. His power of mimicry was very great.”
AP English Language and Composition Page 1 of 26

AP LANG EXAM 2025
1. In context, the author's primary purpose in the first paragraph is to
(A) introduce a challenge that his topic poses
(B) critique the view of Lincoln's friends
(C) explain his skepticism regarding the state of the field
(D) point out different errors that scholars have made
2. In the second paragraph (lines 13-20), the author primarily
(A) lists the challenges others have experienced in cataloging lincoln's jokes
(B) describes how Lincoln's skill in telling jokes improved over the years
(C) distinguishes between between the content and the delivery of Lincoln's jokes
(D) details the difficulty in verifying when Lincoln's jokes were recounted
3. In the third paragraph (lines 21-26), the author cites Whitney primarily to
(A) confirm Licolns exceptional storytelling skills
(B) show that lincoln loved to laugh at himself
(C) reveal the moral lessons within Lincoln's stories
(D) argue that Lincoln's jokes were occasionally distasteful
Page 2 of 26 AP English Language and Composition

AP LANG EXAM 2025
4. Which of the following does the fourth paragraph (lines 27-37) describe?
(A) The true significance behind Lincoln's stories
(B) Lincoln's compulsive need to entertain people
(C) Lincoln's full immersion in storytelling
(D) Lincoln's typical mood when he was with people
5. The anecdote in the fifth paragraph (lines 38-52) primarily demonstrates
(A) how Lincoln's storytelling spoke to a broad audience
(B) why colleagues were uncertain of Lincoln's political loyalties
(C) how Lincoln improved his tales by listening to other storytellers
(D) why Lincoln was relaxed and easygoing in the 1840's
6. The description in lines 62-68 (“When he spoke . . . voice”) suggests that Lincoln
(A) used mixed metaphors to support each point he was trying to make
(B) tailored the delivery of his stories as well as the stories themselves to emphasize the message he was trying
to convey
(C) dramatized the lives of real people to emphasize the significance of their actions
(D) drew examples from current events as well as history to exploit his audience's anxieties

AP LANG EXAM 2025
7. The final paragraph (lines 69-73) underscores which of the following implied ideas?
(A) Lincoln defended the interests of different classes of people.
(B) Lincoln relied on humor to make serious arguments.
(C) Lincoln was unattractive but highly charismatic.
(D) Lincoln was a shrewd observer of people.
8. The passage is primarily characterized by
(A) brief excerpts by Lincoln's stories
(B) anecdotal descriptions of Lincoln’s storytelling
(C) perceptive observations about Lincoln’s audiences
(D) sensational accounts of Lincoln’s personal life
9. In the passage, the author primarily represents Lincoln as a figure who
(A) was admired as a folk hero
(B) believed in the instructional value of art
(C) possessed a rare and unique talent
(D) strived to improve his dramatic performances

AP LANG EXAM 2025
(The following passage is excerpted from a book by Helen Keller published in 1903.)
Most people measure their happiness in terms of physical pleasure and material possession. Could they win some visible
goal which they have set on the horizon, how happy they would be! Lacking this gift or that circumstance, they would
be miserable. If happiness is to be so measured, I who cannot hear or see have every reason to sit in a corner with folded
hands and weep. If I am happy in spite of my deprivations, if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith, so thoughtful that
it becomes a philosophy of life,—if, in short, I am an optimist, my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing.
As sinners stand up in meeting and testify to the goodness of God, so one who is called afflicted may rise up in gladness
of conviction and testify to the goodness of life. Once I knew the depth where no hope was, and darkness lay on the face
of all things. Then love came and set my soul free.
Once I knew only darkness and stillness. Now I know hope and joy. Once I fretted and beat myself against the wall that
shut me in. Now I rejoice in the consciousness that I can think, act and attain heaven. My life was without past or future;
death, the pessimist would say, “a consummation devoutly to be wished.” But a little word from the fingers of another
fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living. Night fled before the day of
thought, and love and joy and hope came up in a passion of obedience to knowledge. Can anyone who has escaped such
captivity, who has felt the thrill and glory of freedom, be a pessimist?...
If I tried, I could not check the momentum of my first leap out of the dark;.... With the first word I used intelligently, I
learned to live, to think, to hope. Darkness cannot shut me in again. I have had a glimpse of the shore, and can now live
by the hope of reaching it....
Only by contact with evil could I have learned to feel by contrast the beauty of truth and love and goodness.
It is a mistake always to contemplate the good and ignore the evil, because by making people neglectful it lets in
disaster. There is a dangerous optimism of ignorance and indifference.... Optimism that does not count the cost is like a
house built on sand. A man must understand evil and be acquainted with sorrow before he can write himself an optimist
and expect others to believe that he has reason for the faith that is in him.
I know what evil is. Once or twice I have wrestled with it, and for a time felt its chilling touch on my life; so I speak
with knowledge when I say that evil is of no consequence, except as a sort of mental gymnastic. For the very reason that
I have come in contact with it, I am more truly an optimist. I can say with conviction that the struggle which evil
necessitates is one of the greatest blessings. It makes us strong, patient, helpful men and women. It lets us into the soul
of things and teaches us that although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.... The world is
sown with good; but unless I turn my glad thoughts into practical living and till my own field, I cannot reap a kernel of
the good....
Two generations ago Carlyle flung forth his gospel of work. To the dreamers of the Revolution, who built cloud-castles
of happiness, and, when the inevitable winds rent the castles asunder, turned pessimists—to those ineffectual
Endymions1, Alastors2 and Werthers3 this Scots peasant, man of dreams in the hard, practical world, cried aloud his creed
of labor. “Be no longer a Chaos, but a World. Produce! produce! Were it but the pitifullest infinitesimal fraction of a
product, produce it, in God’s name! ‘Tis the utmost thou hast in thee; out with it, then. Up, up! whatsoever thy hand
findeth to do, do it with thy whole might. Work while it is called Today; for the Night cometh wherein no man may
work.”
Some have said Carlyle was taking refuge from a hard world by bidding men grind and toil, eyes to the earth, and so
forget their misery. This is not Carlyle’s thought. “Fool!” he cries, “the Ideal is in thyself; the Impediment is also in

AP LANG EXAM 2025
thyself. Work out the Ideal in the poor, miserable Actual; live, think, believe, and be free!” It is plain what he says, that
work, production, brings life out of chaos, makes the individual a world, an order; and order is optimism.
1 In Greek mythology Endymion is a beautiful youth who spent the majority of his life asleep.
2 Alastor refers to an avenging deity or spirit.
3 Werther is a character in a novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who illustrates the calamitous effects of an
inclination for abso-lutes.
10. In lines 8-12 (“If I... worth hearing”), the writer uses an em-dash in order to
(A) interject a tangential thought
(B) make a generalization based on preceding clauses
(C) draw contrasts among the the preceding dependent clauses
(D) link together the independent clauses in the sentence
11. The writer draws a parallel between herself and sinners in lines 12–15 (“As sinners...of life”) in order to
(A) persuade readers that the origin of happiness lies within sin
(B) encourage readers to attend church meetings to seek relief
(C) allude to readers’ exposure to God's punishment
(D) appeal to readers’ experiences with rebounding from adversity

AP LANG EXAM 2025
12. In the first four sentences of the second paragraph (lines 18-21), the primary reason the writer’s sentence
structure is effective is because it
(A) breaks down complex ideas with short sentences
(B) repeats words to produce a lyrical tone
(C) employs first-person narration to draw comparisons
(D) emphasizes the contrast between the writer’s past and present
13. In the sixth paragraph, last sentence, the writer states “The world...the good,” (lines 56-59) to support which of
the following claims?
(A) If you look for the good in the world, you will find it.
(B) In order to obtain happiness, you must act with optimism.
(C) Happiness can be found most readily in the natural world.
(D) You have to act happy, even if you are not truly happy, to become an optimist.
14. In the sixth paragraph (lines 46-59), the writer expresses the primary role of evil by
(A) describing the advantages of being exposed to evil
(B) making readers aware that good deeds can be bad deeds in disguise
(C) explaining that evil is pervasive
(D) providing an example of evil in the world

AP LANG EXAM 2025
15. When the passage moves from the fifth paragraph (lines 38-45) to the sixth paragraph (lines 46–59), it also
moves from
(A) a specificity to a generalization
(B) an objective conjecture to a subjective conjecture
(C) an overview to an illustration
(D) first-person narrator to third-person narrator
16. In the seventh paragraph (lines 60-72), the writer includes the metaphor “cloud-castles” for which of the
following purposes?
(A) To underscore the prospective ideals of the dreamers of the American Revolution
(B) To express the insubstantial efforts of the dreamers of the American Revolution
(C) To show that the dreamers of the American Revolution had peaceful ambitions
(D) To emphasize the unrealistic notions that the dreamers of the American Revolution had
17. The writer refers to the “Endymions, Alastors and Werthers” of the world (line 64) to provide which of the
following effects?
(A) The reference proves the uselessness of quixotic individuals.
(B) The reference emphasizes the differences between fiction and real life.
(C) The reference serves to contrast her character with overly idealistic characters.
(D) The reference underscores the futility of revolution.

AP LANG EXAM 2025
18. In the last half of the second sentence of the seventh paragraph (lines 65-66), the writer describes Carlyle as a
“Scots peasant, man of dreams in the hard, practical world” primarily to
(A) compare and contrast him with the Endymions, Alastors, and Werthers of the world
(B) express that idealistic dreams and practical thoughts can coexist
(C) assert that life comprises challenges
(D) characterize him as being firmly rooted in real life with an expert opinion worth listening to
19. Carlyle’s use of the sentence “Up, up!” (line 70) has the primary effect of
(A) implying the extent to which Carlyle has suffered in the past
(B) enabling Carlyle to create a sense of urgency in readers
(C) suggesting Carlyle is trying to quell a disbelief among readers
(D) indicating Carlyle’s sarcastic tone
20. The writer includes Carylye’s quote, “the Night cometh wherein no man may work” (line 72), to support which
of the following claims?
(A) Seek the good in time of darkness
(B) Eventually hardships will reemerge.
(C) The opportunity to work is a gift of life.
(D) Unemployment is a constant worry.

AP LANG EXAM 2025
(The following passage is excerpted from a recent book about the United States Declaration of Independence.)
When one undertakes to read any text —whether fiction or nonfiction or even a poem—a handful of tried-and-true
questions set one going in the right direction: What kind of text have I got in front of me? Who is the audience for this
text? And what is the structure of the text — that is, how has the author divided the text into parts? How do those parts
help accomplish what the whole has been crafted to do? Asking these questions about the Declaration will make us
better readers of its democratic art.
I’ll start with the first: what kind of text is the Declaration?
Is it a sacred text? Or a treatise? Or perhaps a law? This is a question we rarely ask.
In fact, the Declaration is just an ordinary memo. As an example, I have in mind a memo I saw recently from a dean of
students office at a northeastern college. It announced that, going forward, the dining hall would stay open later on
weekdays, and it offered reasons for that change. The Declaration is the same kind of document: a memo that announces
and, thereby, brings about a change, while also explaining it.
Short for “memorandum,” which is Latin for “something that needs to be remembered,” the memo has been a basic tool
of human social organization ever since writing was invented. Although we are used to thinking of memos these days
mainly as interoffice directives, our view has become restricted. Here’s an older and more fundamental meaning:
An informal diplomatic message, esp. one summarizing the state of a question, justifying a decision, or
recommending a course of action.
In fact, its oldest usage spawned a formula to launch declarations. It went like this: Memorandum, That it is hereby
declared . . .
As ever speedier modes of duplication and communication have emerged, memos have become only more common and
more important. Those who write the best memos set policy for businesses, cultural organizations, and governments.
Because of their impact on our memories, writers rule. They wield the instrument by which our world is organized.
The Declaration, too, is a very practical document. It claims to know something about how a particular institution of a
particular kind — the kingdom of Great Britain, a free and independent state — should work. It criticizes this institution
for failing to work as it should. It announces the separation, on account of this failure, of the colonies from Britain and
the coming into being of a new political system. But it also had the job of organizing a group to joint action: revolt from
Britain.
What does it take for a group to act in concert? How are decisions made? Who takes responsibility for them? What
makes it possible for a group, organization, or institution to collaborate over time? When do they run into trouble? Why?
We all know things about how institutions should work. By trying to answer questions like these in relation to our own
lives, we build a context for thinking about the Declaration.

AP LANG EXAM 2025
21. The examples inside the dashes in lines 1-2 serve to emphasize
(A) the difficulty of discerning authorial intention in a text
(B) the formulaic manner in which most texts are studied
(C) the difficulty of discerning authorial intention in a text
(D) the broad applicability of the reading strategies that follow
22. In context, the sentence in lines 9-10 (“Asking these . . . art”) can best be understood as
(A) a challenge to commonly held ideas about the role of the Declaration in American history
(B) a reason for adopting a particular way of studying the Declaration
(C) a confirmation of the author’s assumption that Americans are unfamiliar with the Declaration
(D) an unforeseen complication regarding the author’s view of the Declaration
23. The author’s primary purpose in the first paragraph (lines 1-10) is to
(A) explain values of an approach
(B) present evidence in support of an argument
(C) anticipate a particular conclusion
(D) summarize the history of an idea

AP LANG EXAM 2025
24. The questions in the first paragraph (lines 1-10) differ from those in the final paragraph (lines 54-62) in that
(A) the former are meant to be answered and the latter are meant to be rhetorical
(B) the former pertain to the era of the American Revolution and the latter pertain to the present day
(C) the former are meant to be satirical and the latter are meant to be serious
(D) the former are meant to facilitate textual analysis and the latter are meant to facilitate political analysis
25. Which of the following best describes the relationship of the paragraph in lines 15-23 (“In fact . . . explaining
it”) to the paragraph in lines 24-36 (“Short for . . . hereby declared”) ?
(A) The first paragraph engages the reader with a contemporary colloquial style, and the second paragraph
challenges the reader with language from the period of the Declaration.
(B) The first paragraph creates a connection between the Declaration and our ordinary lives, and the second
paragraph exalts the Declaration as sacred.
(C) The first paragraph presents a current critical view of the Declaration, and the second paragraph argues that
that view is restricted.
(D) The first paragraph compares the Declaration to a seemingly mundane type of document, and the second
paragraph expands on the significance of that type of document.
26. The author presents the definition in lines 31-33 (“An informal . . . of action”) primarily to
(A) widen a perspective
(B) introduce a theory
(C) indicate an origin
(D) resolve a conflict

AP LANG EXAM 2025
27. As used in line 34, “spawned” most nearly means
(A) reproduced
(B) discovered
(C) generated
(D) imitated
28. In lines 37-39 (“As ever . . . important”), the author presents memos as
(A) routine yet relevant
(B) trivial yet time-consuming
(C) pretentious yet meaningful
(D) archaic yet irreverent
29. Which of the following best describes the effect of the author’s rhetorical choices in lines 41-42 (“Because . . .
writers rule”) ?
(A) The positioning of “Because” at the beginning of the sentence suggests writers’ constant need to explain
their motives.
(B) The use of the first-person pronoun hints that the author’s statement holds true only in a relatively narrow
set of circumstances.
(C) The use of the plural emphasizes that writers cannot make an impact on society individually.
(D) The positioning of the verb at the end of the sentence emphasizes the passive nature of writers’ influence.

AP LANG EXAM 2025
30. The main function of the sentence in lines 42-43 (“They wield . . . is organized”) is to
(A) provide evidence in support of a claim made in the first sentence of the paragraph
(B) anticipate a possible objection to a line of reasoning presented earlier in the paragraph
(C) introduce an alternative to the argument made in the paragraph as a whole
(D) elaborate on the point made in the preceding sentence
31. The shift to the past tense in the sentence in lines 51-53 (“But it . . . from Britain”) occurs because this sentence
refers to
(A) the rhetoric used in the Declaration to explain its intent
(B) the role of the Declaration at the time of its writing
(C) a political change that had occurred prior to the Declaration
(D) an idea about the Declaration that is no longer current
32. In the final paragraph (lines 54-62), the author suggests that readers should do which of the following?
(A) Answer the questions in the paragraph prior to reading the Declaration
(B) Use their own experience to understand the motives underlying the Declaration
(C) Form groups to further analyze the language of the Declaration
(D) Take responsibility for their own preconceived ideas about the Declaration

AP LANG EXAM 2025
33. In the context of the passage as a whole, the “democratic art” of the Declaration mentioned in line 10 refers to
the Declaration’s ability to do all of the following EXCEPT
(A) explain the nature of a change
(B) call a group to action
(C) enforce a proposed change
(D) announce a change
34. Based on the passage as a whole, it can be inferred that the author will most likely continue with a discussion
that includes which of the following?
(A) An account of other types of correspondence besides memos
(B) A closer look into fundamental differences between interoffice memos and the Declaration
(C) An examination of additional definitions of the word “memorandum”
(D) An analysis of the Declaration that addresses the questions about texts introduced at the beginning of the
passage

AP LANG EXAM 2025
(The passage below is a draft.)
(1) While dogs are highly social and easily trained, with an innate desire to please, cats are . . . well, cats. (2) But both
have succeeded at the process of domestication from their wild ancestors: they are the two most popular pets in the
United States. (3) Though so different, both species domesticated themselves by joining humans for their own benefit
and providing benefits in return, thus ensuring their places beside humans.
(4) Dogs descended from wolves almost 41,000 years ago, when humans were hunter-gatherers. (5) Although some
argue that domestication took place when humans captured and raised wolf pups as pets, far more likely is that some
wolves began to follow human hunters. (6) Skilled at hunting in groups, they eventually assisted humans on the hunt,
and, as their territorial interests merged with those of humans, they provided them with protection and warning against
intruders. (7) This combination of usefulness, mutual interest, and similar social structure created a canine-human bond
that has endured for millennia.
(8) Cats, whose ancestors are the wildcat Felis silvestris lybica, were domesticated much later, although earlier than once
believed. (9) Archaeologists long assumed they were first domesticated about 4,000 years ago by the Egyptians, whose
paintings were the first to depict domestic cats. (10) First was the discovery, in 2004, of a wildcat buried near a human
skeleton in a 9,500-year-old grave in Cyprus. (11) Subsequently, genetic analysis confirmed the presence of Felis
silvestris lybica in Turkey dating back 9,000 years and in southeastern Europe dating back 6,500 years. (12) Moreover,
that these appearances coincided with the invention of agriculture was not accidental: as farmers began storing grain,
rodents appeared in large numbers, and cats soon followed this supply of prey. (13) As with dogs thousands of years
earlier, these cat ancestors both benefited from their contact with humans (in the form of a steady food supply) and
benefited humans (by ridding farmers of rodents). (14) The recent discovery at the site of a 5,500-year-old Chinese
farming village of cultivated millet isotopes in the bones of both rodents (who ate the millet) and cats (who ate the
rodents) proves that agriculture brought us more than just food.
35. Which of the following sentences, if placed before sentence 1, would best orient the audience and provide an
engaging introduction to the topic of the first paragraph?
(A) The process of domestication varies by species.
(B) Domestication is the taming of an animal and then keeping it as a pet or as a farm animal.
(C) As any pet owner knows, dogs and cats are very different.
(D) The personalities of cat owners and dog owners are as different as the personalities of the pets they prefer.

AP LANG EXAM 2025
36. Which of the following versions of sentence 3 (reproduced below) best previews the line of reasoning in the
passage?
Though so different, both species domesticated themselves by joining humans for their own benefit and
providing benefits in return, thus ensuring their places beside humans.
(A) (as it is now).
(B) However, because cats and dogs are so dissimilar in their behaviors, many people prefer one animal to the
other.
(C) While dogs may be the oldest companion species of humans, this does not necessarily mean that cats are
less thoroughly domesticated than dogs are.
(D) Yet when we look further back in their history, both cats and dogs share a common ancestor: a mammal of
the order Carnivora.
37. In sentence 14 (reproduced below), the writer wants to provide descriptive details that appeal to the audience’s
emotions and experiences.
The recent discovery at the site of a 5,500-year-old Chinese farming village of cultivated millet isotopes in the
bones of both rodents (who ate the millet) and cats (who ate the rodents) proves that agriculture brought us
more than just food.
Which of the following versions of the underlined text best achieves this purpose?
(A) (as it is now)
(B) food: it also brought us those graceful, warm, furry creatures who in our homes and delight us with their
playful antics
(C) food; farmers continue to struggle with the problems of pests to this day, but the technology at their disposal
is far greater than anything these early farmers could have imagined
(D) food; farmers continue to struggle with the problems of pests to this day, but the technology at their
disposal is far greater than anything these early farmers could have imagined

AP LANG EXAM 2025
38. In sentence 5 (reproduced below), the writer wants to provide further evidence to refute the claim that the
domestication of dogs occurred when humans captured and raised wolf pups as pets.
Although some argue that domestication took place when humans captured and raised wolf pups as pets, far
more likely is that some wolves began to follow human hunters.
Which of the following versions of the underlined text best accomplishes this goal?
(A) hunters, though always careful not to get too close to these hunters
(B) hunters, who sometimes inhabited caves or constructed shelters out of wood
(C) hunters, sometimes for extended periods
(D) hunters, drawn by the smell of cooking meat and the chance to scavenge

AP LANG EXAM 2025
(1) Buyers can expect to find bananas of roughly the same size, sweetness, and texture in grocery stores around the
world, and growers can expect consistent yields across thousands of acres of Cavendish banana trees. (2) The uniformity
of the Cavendish banana makes it uniquely vulnerable to disease.
(3) Growing only one breed of a crop is a common way for farmers to maximize output and other desirable qualities, but
the Cavendish banana is terribly lacking in diversity because its trees are grown not from seeds but from cuttings of
existing trees. (4) The dangers of this lack of genetic diversity are illustrated by the story of the Cavendish’s predecessor
in the global market: the Gros Michel banana. (5) Lacking any variants that were resistant to fusarium wilt, the Gros
Michel was wiped out by the 1960s. (6) Banana growers replaced the Gros Michel with the Cavendish, which was
immune to fusarium wilt, but a new fungus that affects the Cavendish has recently appeared in several banana-producing
countries. (7) The history of the Gros Michel appears to be repeating itself with the Cavendish.
(8) Growers could limit bananas’ vulnerability to disease and prevent devastating epidemics by cultivating more
varieties of banana. (9) But decisions about what bananas to grow depend on what consumers will buy. (10) The
Cavendish is popular because it is familiar, tasty, and inexpensive; other bananas would look and taste different and may
cost more. (11) According to plant pathologist Randy Ploetz, consumers will need to be “more open-minded about what
kind of banana they’ll accept.”
39. The writer wants to add a sentence before sentence 1 to introduce the main topic of the passage. Which of the
following choices best accomplishes this goal?
(A) The popularity of bananas today can be traced back to an advertising campaign in the 1960s that focused on
the uniform, blemish-free appearance of Chiquita-brand bananas.
(B) Americans eat an average of 28.5 pounds of bananas per person every year, making bananas the most
popular fruit in the United States.
(C) The Cavendish banana, the most widely available type of banana in the world, is prized by consumers and
producers in part because of its predictability.
(D) The popular Cavendish banana requires a great deal of fertilizer and water as well as pesticides,
insecticides, and fungicides to grow.

AP LANG EXAM 2025
40. The writer wants to add a transition to the beginning of sentence 2 (reproduced below), adjusting the
capitalization and punctuation as needed, to show the relationship between sentences 1 and 2.
The uniformity of the Cavendish banana makes it uniquely vulnerable to disease.
Which of the following choices best accomplishes this goal?
(A) However
(B) Therefore
(C) Particularly
(D) For example
41. The writer wants to add a thesis statement after sentence 2 that accurately represents the main argument of the
passage. Which of the following choices best accomplishes this goal?
(A) Both buyers and sellers of bananas should take the vulnerability of bananas into consideration, because it
could lead to volatility in the market for this fruit.
(B) To ensure that bananas survive for years to come, producers and consumers need to diversify the types of
bananas they grow and eat.
(C) If they successfully branch out, growers may be able to come up with a variety of banana that is even more
appealing to consumers than the Cavendish banana.
(D) Banana growers will have to take advantage of the latest developments in genetic research if they are to
deal with the threats that face the Cavendish banana.

AP LANG EXAM 2025
42. In the underlined portion of sentence 3 (reproduced below), the writer wants to use a neutral tone when
describing the growing practices used to cultivate Cavendish banana trees.
Growing only one breed of a crop is a common way for farmers to maximize output and other desirable
qualities, but the Cavendish banana is terribly lacking in diversity because its trees are grown not from seeds
but from cuttings of existing trees.
Which of the following choices best accomplishes this goal?
(A) (as it is now)
(B) bizarrely
(C) unusually
(D) weirdly
43. The writer wants to add a sentence after sentence 4 that develops the narrative in the second paragraph in a way
that makes the audience feel the impact of the loss of the Gros Michel banana. Which of the following sentences
best accomplishes this goal?
(A) A devastating fungus called fusarium wilt began to kill Gros Michel banana trees, which, like Cavendish
banana trees, were grown from cuttings.
(B) A fungus called fusarium wilt began to kill Gros Michel trees, which were also grown from cuttings.
(C) Also grown from cuttings, Gros Michel bananas were never as popular as Cavendish bananas would
become, but they were the most common type of banana until they were killed by a fungus called
fusarium wilt.
(D) This delicious and productive banana was also grown from cuttings until a fungus called fusarium wilt
devastated Gros Michel trees.

AP LANG EXAM 2025
44. In sentence 9 (reproduced below), the writer wants to make a claim that rebuts the claim made in sentence 8 and
that sets up the rest of the paragraph.
But decisions about what bananas to grow depend on what consumers will buy.
Which of the following versions of sentence 9 best accomplishes this goal?
(A) (as it is now)
(B) But there are other ways to combat epidemics, such as modifying the genes of bananas to increase their
resistance to disease.
(C) Bananas are just one of many crops that are vulnerable to such diseases, though, and they are arguably not
the most important one.
(D) It is a fantasy to imagine that the Cavendish will be replaced with something else.

AP LANG EXAM 2025
(1) Most people believe that the important decisions they make—from what car they buy to whom they vote for—are
rational ones based on facts and analysis. (2) However, because of the phenomenon known as confirmation bias, logical
decision making is rarely so simple. (3) Confirmation bias, which describes the human tendency to interpret new
information in a way that supports our preexisting beliefs, makes people tend to accept information that confirms what
they already believe and reject information that undermines those beliefs.
(4) Research has repeatedly demonstrated just how prevalent this phenomenon is in the world. (5) Confirmation bias has
been found to affect the decisions of doctors, judges, and jurors. (6) It has even been shown to affect memory. (7) In a
classic experiment, students who watched their schools compete in a football game subsequently remembered the
adversary’s team performing worse than their own: confirmation bias caused the students, who already believed in their
own school’s superiority, to interpret what they had seen as support for their preexisting beliefs. (8) Confirmation bias
has also been shown to affect completely inconsequential decisions, as in experiments involving what direction dots are
moving in or the average size of a number series. (9) Here, too, subjects’ interpretations were found to be affected by
decisions they had already made about what they were being asked to evaluate.
(10) Confirmation bias does admittedly have its uses: it can, for example, increase the efficiency with which we process
information and also protect us against information that might be damaging to our self- esteem. (11) But when the stakes
are high, the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great. (12) An example of a high-stakes situation would be
when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate. (13) Fortunately, there are techniques, like those used by Warren Buffett
(born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1930) when he makes his financial decisions, that can minimize the risks of confirmation
bias. (14) The first is to be aware that our decisions may be affected by our tendency toward confirmation bias. (15) The
second is to test our beliefs by seeking out points of view that differ from our own.
45. Which of the following sentences in the passage can best be described as the writer’s thesis statement?
(A) Sentence 5
(B) Sentence 11
(C) Sentence 15
(D) Sentence 8

AP LANG EXAM 2025
46. The writer is considering adding the sentence below immediately after sentence 1 in order to further develop the
argument in the first paragraph.
When I decided where to go to college, for example, I thought I had considered every factor and made the best
possible choice.
Should the writer add this sentence after sentence 1?
(A) Yes, because it describes a personal experience that helps illustrate the point made in a sentence.
(B) Yes, because it makes the audience feel closer to the writer by revealing information about the writer’s past.
(C) No, because it makes the writer seem biased because it uses personal experience as support for an argument.
(D) No, because it does not clarify when this experience occurred and therefore might be irrelevant.
47. The writer is considering adding the following sentence to the passage after sentence 3.
Though the phenomenon has been observed throughout history by philosophers, historians, and novelists, the
term “confirmation bias” itself wasn’t invented until the 1960s by British psychologist Peter Wason.
Should the writer add this sentence after sentence 3?
(A) Yes, because it provides contextualizing information that is necessary for the audience to
understand the writer’s argument.
(B) Yes, because it contains an important insight into the exigence that prompted the writer to write the passage.
(C) No, because it gives evidence that is not relevant to the passage’s overall line of reasoning and therefore
does not strengthen the validity of the writer’s argument.
(D) No, because it fails to give enough details about Peter Wason’s credentials to establish his credibility with
the audience.

AP LANG EXAM 2025
48. The writer is considering deleting the underlined independent clause in sentence 7 (reproduced below), adjusting
the punctuation as necessary.
In a classic experiment, students who watched their schools compete in a football game subsequently
remembered the adversary’s team performing worse than their own: confirmation bias caused the students, who
already believed in their own school’s superiority, to interpret what they had seen as support for their
preexisting beliefs.
Should the writer keep or delete the underlined text?
(A) Keep it, because it contains a personal story about confirmation bias that appeals to a wide audience.
(B) Keep it, because it provides an example that explains how confirmation bias affects memory.
(C) Delete it, because it contradicts the claim made earlier in the sentence.
(D) Delete it, because it interferes with the flow of the paragraph by introducing evidence that is not relevant.
49. In the context of the passage, which of the following versions of the underlined text is the most effective way to
introduce the evidence provided in sentence 10 (reproduced below)?
Confirmation bias does admittedly have its uses: it can, for example, increase the efficiency with which we
process information and also protect us against information that might be damaging to our self-esteem.
(A) (as it is know)
(B) Researchers continue to identify ways in which confirmation bias can impair people’s ability to make
important decisions:
(C) The risk of confirmation bias is not limited to a few study results, however;
(D) Based on these findings, it is difficult to overstate the dangers of confirmation bias:

AP LANG EXAM 2025
50. The writer wants to combine sentences 11 and 12 (reproduced below) into a single sentence.
But when the stakes are high, the risks of making biased decisions are simply too great. An example of a
high-stakes situation would be when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate.
Which of the following revisions to the underlined portion of sentences 11 and 12 most effectively accomplishes
this goal?
(A) high –– like a defendant whose fate is being deliberated by jurors –– the risks of making biased decisions
are simply too great.
(B) high, (for example, when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate, the stakes would be high), the risks of
making biased decisions are simply too great.
(C) high, such as when jurors are deliberating a defendant’s fate, the risks of making biased decisions are
simply too great.
(D) high, one good example of which is a defendant having his or her fate being deliberated by jurors, the risks
of making biased decisions are simply too great.
51. In sentence 13 (reproduced below), the writer wants to include a piece of relevant evidence that will help
convince the reader to accept the techniques used by Warren Buffet as credible.
Fortunately, there are techniques, like those used by Warren Buffett (born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1930) when
he makes his financial decisions that can minimize the risks of confirmation bias.
Which of the following versions of the underlined portion of sentence 13 best accomplishes this goal?
(A) (as it is now)
(B) one of the most successful investors in history
(C) whose ability to tell a story is legendary
(D) a noted philanthropist

AP LANG EXAM 2025

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AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION Test booklet

AP LANG EXAM 2025

AP English Language and Composition Page 1 of 26

AP LANG EXAM 2025

1. In context, the author's primary purpose in the first paragraph is to

(A) introduce a challenge that his topic poses

(B) critique the view of Lincoln's friends

(C) explain his skepticism regarding the state of the field

(D) point out different errors that scholars have made

2. In the second paragraph (lines 13-20), the author primarily

(A) confirm Licolns exceptional storytelling skills

(B) show that lincoln loved to laugh at himself

(C) reveal the moral lessons within Lincoln's stories

(D) argue that Lincoln's jokes were occasionally distasteful

Page 2 of 26 AP English Language and Composition

AP LANG EXAM 2025

(A) The true significance behind Lincoln's stories

(B) Lincoln's compulsive need to entertain people

(C) Lincoln's full immersion in storytelling

(D) Lincoln's typical mood when he was with people

5. The anecdote in the fifth paragraph (lines 38-52) primarily demonstrates

(A) how Lincoln's storytelling spoke to a broad audience

(B) why colleagues were uncertain of Lincoln's political loyalties

(C) how Lincoln improved his tales by listening to other storytellers

(D) why Lincoln was relaxed and easygoing in the 1840's

AP English Language and Composition Page 3 of 26

AP LANG EXAM 2025

(A) Lincoln defended the interests of different classes of people.

(B) Lincoln relied on humor to make serious arguments.

(C) Lincoln was unattractive but highly charismatic.

(D) Lincoln was a shrewd observer of people.

8. The passage is primarily characterized by

(A) brief excerpts by Lincoln's stories

(B) anecdotal descriptions of Lincoln’s storytelling

(C) perceptive observations about Lincoln’s audiences

(D) sensational accounts of Lincoln’s personal life

9. In the passage, the author primarily represents Lincoln as a figure who

(A) was admired as a folk hero

(B) believed in the instructional value of art

(C) possessed a rare and unique talent

(D) strived to improve his dramatic performances

Page 4 of 26 AP English Language and Composition

AP LANG EXAM 2025

AP English Language and Composition Page 5 of 26

AP LANG EXAM 2025

(A) interject a tangential thought

(B) make a generalization based on preceding clauses

(C) draw contrasts among the the preceding dependent clauses

(D) link together the independent clauses in the sentence

(B) encourage readers to attend church meetings to seek relief

(C) allude to readers’ exposure to God's punishment

(D) appeal to readers’ experiences with rebounding from adversity

Page 6 of 26 AP English Language and Composition

AP LANG EXAM 2025

(A) breaks down complex ideas with short sentences

(B) repeats words to produce a lyrical tone

(C) employs first-person narration to draw comparisons

(B) In order to obtain happiness, you must act with optimism.

(C) Happiness can be found most readily in the natural world.

(A) describing the advantages of being exposed to evil

(A) Seek the good in time of darkness