AP English Literature & Composition
AP English Literature & Composition references 61 books assigned across applicable K-12 grade levels in US schools.
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College Board AP Literature course. Students read representative works from multiple genres and time periods in the AP Course Audit reading list.
Primary source: apcentral.collegeboard.org
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61 books referenced
1984George Orwell · 1090L
A Doll's HouseHenrik Ibsen
A Lesson Before DyingErnest J. Gaines · 750L
A Midsummer Night's DreamWilliam Shakespeare
A Raisin in the SunLorraine Hansberry
A Streetcar Named DesireTennessee Williams
A Tale of Two CitiesCharles Dickens · 1170L
Animal FarmGeorge Orwell · 1170L
AnthemAyn Rand · 880L
AntigoneSophocles
BelovedToni Morrison · 870L
Brave New WorldAldous Huxley · 870L
Death of a SalesmanArthur Miller
FencesAugust Wilson
Flowers for AlgernonDaniel Keyes · 910L
FrankensteinMary Shelley · 1170L
Great ExpectationsCharles Dickens · 1150L
HamletWilliam Shakespeare
Heart of DarknessJoseph Conrad · 1070L
I Know Why the Caged Bird SingsMaya Angelou · 1070L
Invisible ManRalph Ellison · 950L
Jane EyreCharlotte Brontë · 890L
King LearWilliam Shakespeare
Life of PiYann Martel · 830L
Show all 61 titles
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- Lord of the Flies · William Golding
- Macbeth · William Shakespeare
- Maus: A Survivor's Tale · Art Spiegelman
- Much Ado About Nothing · William Shakespeare
- Night · Elie Wiesel
- Oedipus Rex · Sophocles
- Othello · William Shakespeare
- Our Town · Thornton Wilder
- Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood · Marjane Satrapi
- Pride and Prejudice · Jane Austen
- Purple Hibiscus · Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Pygmalion · George Bernard Shaw
- Slaughterhouse-Five · Kurt Vonnegut
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn · Mark Twain
- The Awakening · Kate Chopin
- The Bluest Eye · Toni Morrison
- The Catcher in the Rye · J.D. Salinger
- The Color Purple · Alice Walker
- The Crucible · Arthur Miller
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time · Mark Haddon
- The Glass Menagerie · Tennessee Williams
- The Grapes of Wrath · John Steinbeck
- The Great Gatsby · F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Handmaid's Tale · Margaret Atwood
- The Importance of Being Earnest · Oscar Wilde
- The Joy Luck Club · Amy Tan
- The Kite Runner · Khaled Hosseini
- The Old Man and the Sea · Ernest Hemingway
- The Scarlet Letter · Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Secret Life of Bees · Sue Monk Kidd
- The Tempest · William Shakespeare
- The Things They Carried · Tim O'Brien
- Their Eyes Were Watching God · Zora Neale Hurston
- Things Fall Apart · Chinua Achebe
- To Kill a Mockingbird · Harper Lee
- Twelfth Night · William Shakespeare
- Twelve Angry Men · Reginald Rose
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Which books appear most often on the AP Lit exam?
Every AP English Literature exam ends with the “open question” (Free-Response Question 3), and College Board prints a list of suggested titles under it. Across the 7 exams currently published (2023–2026) those lists name 174 distinct works; the ten most-listed account for 17% of all 278 listings, and Jane Eyre tops the table at 6 of 7. The list is suggestions, not requirements — any work of literary merit is allowed — but a title that recurs is one teachers assign and readers know.
| Title | Author | Exams listed | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jane Eyre | Charlotte Brontë | 6 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| Ceremony | — | 5 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| Fences | August Wilson | 5 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| Frankenstein | Mary Shelley | 5 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| Kindred | — | 5 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| The Awakening | Kate Chopin | 5 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| Wuthering Heights | — | 5 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| A Raisin in the Sun | Lorraine Hansberry | 4 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2026 |
| Little Fires Everywhere | — | 4 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| Passing | — | 4 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| The Namesake | — | 4 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| The Nickel Boys | — | 4 of 7 | 2023, 2025, 2026 |
| The Scarlet Letter | Nathaniel Hawthorne | 4 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| There There | — | 4 of 7 | 2023, 2024, 2026 |
| Washington Black | — | 4 of 7 | 2023, 2025 |
Source: College Board — AP English Literature and Composition Free-Response Questions, Question 3 (open question) suggested-title lists — the 7 FRQ documents College Board publishes at apcentral.collegeboard.org (2023 Set 1 & 2, 2024 Set 1 & 2, 2025 Set 1 & 2, 2026). Earlier years are not reconstructed from secondary lists. Titles link to a ReadingList book page only where the title matches exactly; the rest are shown unlinked rather than guessed. Last verified 2026-08-15.
About the AP Course Framework
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are college-level curricula administered by the College Board for US high-school students. Each AP English course publishes a Course and Exam Description (CED) that defines learning objectives, skill categories, and the structure of the May AP exam. Reading lists are not centrally mandated — individual AP teachers select texts that align with the CED's skill targets and the course's literary or historical scope.
AP English Literature and Composition (the literature-focused course) draws across British, American, and world literature from the 16th century forward, with strong representation of canonical novels, drama, and poetry. AP English Language and Composition (rhetoric-focused) draws across non-fiction prose, speeches, journalism, and argumentative essays. The two AP English courses overlap by under 20% in typical reading selection.
AP students earn college credit at participating universities by scoring 3 or higher on the May AP exam (1-5 scale). The College Board does not publish a required title list for any AP course. Titles appear on this page only where a College Board document names them; ReadingList does not aggregate teacher syllabi or estimate which books are most often assigned.
External references: College Board AP English Course Pages
How to use this AP English Literature & Composition reading list
The book list above represents titles ReadingList has confirmed as referenced by AP English Literature & Composition— either through the framework’s own published documentation, through audited classroom syllabi citing the framework, or through US state and district curriculum guides that map their reading expectations to it. Each book’s detail page links the specific primary source so parents, teachers, and students can verify the citation and locate the official document.
Reading lists evolve. AP English Literature & Composition citations on ReadingList are reviewed on a rolling basis as primary sources publish updates. If you teach or learn under this framework and a title on this page is no longer used (or you know of one that should appear), the ReadingList methodology page explains how to submit a correction with a citation.
Related on ReadingList
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Frequently asked questions
What books does AP English Literature & Composition include?
61 books are referenced by AP English Literature & Composition across applicable K-12 grade levels. Each book page cites the primary source assignment (the official curriculum standard, exemplar list, or syllabus where the title appears).
What grades does AP English Literature & Composition cover?
AP English Literature & Composition is a ap curriculum spanning applicable K-12 grade levels via the standards framework. Browse by grade using the grade-filter links on this page or visit /grade for the full grade index across all curricula.
Where does AP English Literature & Composition data come from?
Primary source: apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-literature-and-composition. Cross-referenced with Common Core exemplars at achievethecore.org. Every book page on ReadingList.school cites the standards origin for that assignment.
Is AP English Literature & Composition required reading?
AP English Literature & Composition provides exam-syllabus references — required for students sitting the exam. Always check with your school's English department for the specific required vs recommended list at your grade level.
Which books appear most often on the AP Literature exam?
Across the 7 AP Lit exams College Board currently publishes (2023–2026), the Question 3 suggested-title lists name 174 distinct works. The most-listed are Jane Eyre (6 of 7), Ceremony (5 of 7), Fences (5 of 7), Frankenstein (5 of 7), Kindred (5 of 7). Any work of literary merit is allowed — the list is suggestions, not requirements.
Going to college next year? See what first-year common-read programs assign and university reading lists by subject on Read Stacks.
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