AP Lang & AP Lit--What's the Difference?
One of the questions we get most in the English department is "what's the difference between AP English Literature and Composition and AP English Language and Composition? The short answer is that AP Lang focuses mainly on analyzing non-fiction and on making effective arguments ( rhetoric ) and that AP Lit focuses mainly on analyzing fiction and drama. A slightly longer answer is that AP English Literature is essentially a survey course of British literature. The focus is on reading notable works of British (and European) fiction , drama , and poetry . Of the two AP English courses, this is the one that is the most like "regular" English class. Students read fiction, poetry, and drama and analyze it for meaning. In the class you will read works by Geoffrey Chaucer , William Shakespeare , Virginia Woolf , George Orwell , Mary Shelley , and many other significant British aut...