AP Spanish Language and Culture case studies
AP Spanish Language and Culture · Put your knowledge to work in context.
AP Spanish Language and Culture is a College Board course and exam that assesses how well you understand spoken and written Spanish and how well you produce it in realistic situations. It is designed for students working at an upper-intermediate level, roughly equivalent to a third- or fourth-semester college Spanish course; there are no formal prerequisites, though most candidates are in their fourth year of high-school Spanish study, and native or heritage speakers may follow a different pathway. The AP Spanish Language and Culture case studies are 5 cases and about 2,427 words.
1The Sinking Source in the Oral Presentation
Lucía has prepared a five-minute presentation on water scarcity in her town of San Miguel for the AP Spanish Presentational Speaking task. She has a source sheet with three statistics: (1) local reservoir capacity dropped from 80% to 34% over four years, (2) a national newspaper reports that 1 in 5 households lacks reliable piped water, and (3) a municipal official told her in an interview that 'the situation is under control.' During her timed preparation she plans to cite all three, then argue that the town needs a desalination plant.
560 words, about 3 min2Register Slip in the Formal Email Reply
Diego is answering the AP Interpersonal Writing email task. Diego is a strong heritage speaker and writes quickly.
463 words, about 2 min3The Listening Item That Rewards Inference, Not Keywords
On the AP Listening section, students hear a short conversation (played twice) between a student and a university advisor. The advisor says: "Con tus notas actuales, podrías solicitar la beca, aunque el comité suele pedir también cartas de recomendación, y este semestre el plazo cierra antes de lo habitual." The question asks: ¿Qué implica el asesor sobre la solicitud de beca?
465 words, about 2 min4Two Sources, One Thesis in the Argumentative Essay
For the AP Argumentative Essay, the prompt asks whether universities should require community service for graduation. Students are given three sources: (Fuente 1) a university newsletter praising a successful service program, (Fuente 2) a student op-ed arguing that mandatory service exploits unpaid student labor, and (Fuente 3) a statistical summary showing that voluntary service participation is low but rising.
449 words, about 2 min5Reading Item Where the Detail Is True but the Answer Is Wrong
On the AP Reading section, students read a short article about a city's new bike-share program. The article states: 'El programa, lanzado en marzo, cuenta con 400 bicicletas en 50 estaciones.
490 words, about 2 min