AP Japanese Language and Culture

This exam is administered on school-owned and -controlled devices via an exam application (not Bluebook). On exam day, students read text on the screen, listen through a headset, type using the keyboard, and speak into a microphone. 

Exam questions assess the course concepts and skills outlined in the course framework. For more information, download the AP Japanese Language and Culture Course and Exam Description (.pdf) (CED) and the CED’s companion audio files.

Encourage your students to review the overview and visit the AP Japanese Language and Culture student page for exam information.

The AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam has consistent question types, weighting, and scoring guidelines every year, so you and your students know what to expect on exam day.

Section IA: Multiple Choice Listening
30–35 Questions | 20 Minutes | 25% of Exam Score

• This section consists of a variety of audio materials (e.g., public announcements, voice messages, instructions, cultural presentations, radio broadcasts, uncontextualized dialogues, and school debates).
• Students will be asked to:
  • Identify the main ideas and supporting details in the audio material
  • Determine the meaning of a variety of vocabulary and deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words
  • Decide the meaning of a text based on cultural and/or interdisciplinary information
  • Infer implied meaning through context

Section IB: Multiple Choice Reading
30–40 Questions | 60 Minutes | 25% of Exam Score

• This section consists of a variety of print materials (e.g., journalistic articles, short stories, email inboxes, letters, step-by-step instructions, and travel brochures).
• Students will be asked to:
  • Identify the main ideas and supporting details in the written material
  • Determine the meaning of a variety of vocabulary and deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words
  • Decide the meaning of a text based on cultural and/or interdisciplinary information
  • Infer implied meaning through context

Section IIA: Free Response Written
2 Tasks | 30 Minutes | 25% of Exam Score

• Interpersonal Writing: Read and answer text-chat messages (6 prompts; 10 minutes)
• Presentational Writing: Write a compare-and-contrast article of 300–400 characters or longer on two related topics or two opposing sides of a single topic (1 prompt; 20 minutes)

Section IIB: Free Response Spoken
2 Tasks | 10 Minutes | 25% of Exam Score

• Interpersonal Speaking: Participate in a simulated interpersonal conversation (4 prompts; 3 minutes)
• Presentational Speaking: Deliver a 2-minute presentation presenting the student’s own view or perspective on a Japanese cultural practice or product (1 prompt; 7 minutes, preparation time: 4 minutes; response time: 2 minutes)