How do the two AP English courses relate to college and university curricula?
Since both AP English Literature and Composition and AP English Language and Composition have the word “composition” in common, the most obvious category of advanced placement would be composition courses. Fifty years ago college composition was usually a literature course in which students wrote essays. Today, however, most college composition courses are not literature-based. How students apply the AP English courses to college requirements will therefore depend on the type of required composition course the college has. If it has literature-based composition, the literature exam results may be used for credit or advanced placement. If the college has a non-literary composition program, the language exam is more likely to be accepted. In some cases the literature exam results may be used for advanced placement but not credit in non-literary composition programs. In other cases, the literature exam may apply to general education requirements in literature.
