Lisa M. answered • 05/02/19
Native French tutor for Middle School, High School, AP and SAT.
The French AP exam is definitely a hard exam that needs a lot of preparation.
There are 7 different exercises to complete in 3 hours and it is very important to know the format very well so there is no surprise. Make sure to get a Test Preparation book to help your practice and review.
The exam is based on 6 essential themes that students will discuss in class throughout the year to acquire vocabulary: quête de soi, esthétique, science et technologie, famille et communauté, vie contemporaine and défis mondiaux.
All the exercises in the test focus on those themes.
Section I (50% of the exam score) has 65 questions (multiple choice).
There are 9 passage to work on: 4 are reading passages, 2 passages combined with reading and listening, then 3 passages with listening only. Time is limited so I recommend a lot of practice to learn how to manage your time well.
Section II has 4 different exercises.
2 written exercises: an e-mail reply and a persuasive essay, and 2 speaking exercises: a conversation with the computer and a cultural comparison. Timing is also really important here. I definitely recommend practicing the structure of these 4 exercises and focusing on the speaking exercises which are a bit intimidating.
Knowing the format of the exam and knowing how to approach each exercise is essential to succeed! A good preparation will definitely help you on the exam day. Good luck!
