Argumentative Essay
🇮🇹AP Italian Language and Culture Review
Argumentative Essay
Overview
Beginning with the May 2027 exam, AP Italian has three free-response questions. The written task is Question 3: Argumentative Essay, worth 15% of your total exam score.
The prior interpersonal email task is no longer a standalone FRQ on the revised exam. Writing is now assessed through the argumentative essay, which asks you to use provided sources, take a defensible position, and organize a clear argument in the target language.
What Changed for 2027
- The exam is digital in Bluebook.
- The free-response section now has Project Presentation, Project Q&A, and Argumentative Essay.
- The former standalone speaking FRQ labels have been replaced by course-project speaking tasks.
- The prior interpersonal email task is no longer a separate FRQ.
Strategy
Use the source material before you start drafting. Identify the position you will defend, select evidence from the sources, and organize the essay around claims that you can explain. Refer to the sources clearly and keep the argument focused on the prompt.
Good essays do not need perfect grammar. They do need a clear position, relevant source evidence, logical organization, and enough language control for the argument to be easy to follow.
Scoring Focus
Readers look for a clear position, effective use of all provided sources, explanation of how evidence supports your argument, organization, vocabulary range, and control of grammar and syntax.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long are the AP Italian written FRQs?
The Email Reply (FRQ 1) gives you 15 minutes to read the incoming email and write your response. The Argumentative Essay (FRQ 2) gives you 55 minutes total: about 15 minutes to review the prompt and three sources (the audio plays twice) and roughly 40 minutes to write. Both sit in the 88-minute free-response section.
How are AP Italian FRQs scored?
Each of the four FRQs is scored holistically on a 5-point scale (5 Strong to 1 Poor) and is worth 12.5% of your total exam score. Graders use the preponderance of evidence, so you don't need to hit every descriptor in a score column. For the written tasks, the rubric weighs task completion, elaboration, comprehensibility, vocabulary, grammar control, and (for the email) formal register.
Do you have to use all three sources in the AP Italian Argumentative Essay?
To reach the top score, yes. A 5 requires integrating content from all three sources (article, chart, and audio) to support your argument, with appropriate source identification. The rubric's 3 level mentions summarizing at least two sources, so missing one is survivable but caps you well below a 5.
What is required in the AP Italian Email Reply?
Four things: a formal greeting and a closing, answers to every question and request in the message, a follow-up question asking for more details about something mentioned in the email, and consistent formal register (Lei) throughout. The follow-up question is the requirement students most often forget, and skipping it costs you on the rubric.
How much of the AP Italian exam are the written FRQs worth?
The Email Reply and Argumentative Essay are each worth 12.5%, so together they count for 25% of your total score. All four FRQs combined make up 50% of the exam, with the multiple-choice section covering the other half. You can practice both written tasks with instant FRQ scoring on Fiveable.