AP CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Scoring Guidelines
Question 1: Story Narration

Prompt/directions:

You will be asked to perform a writing task in Chinese. You will be asked to write for a specific purpose and to a specific person. You should write in as complete and as
culturally appropriate a manner as possible, taking into account the purpose and the person described. 

The four pictures present a story. Imagine you are writing the story to a friend. Narrate a complete story as suggested by the pictures. Give your story a beginning,
a middle, and an end.
1. 2.

3. 4.

AP Chinese Language and Culture Course and Exam Description  | SG 1

 General Scoring Notes
When applying the scoring guidelines, the response does not need to meet every single criterion in a column. You should
award the score according to the preponderance of evidence.

AP Chinese Language and Culture Course and Exam Description  | SG 2

 Scoring Guidelines for Question 1: Story Narration Skills: 4.B 8.B 8.C 8.D 6 points
1 2 3 4 5 6
Very weak Weak Adequate Good Very good Excellent
Demonstrates lack Suggests lack of Suggests Demonstrates Suggests Demonstrates
of competence in competence in competence in competence in excellence in excellence in
presentational writing presentational writing presentational writing presentational writing presentational writing presentational writing

• Response incomplete and • Response • Narration tells a basic • Narration tells a complete • Narration includes a • Narration includes a
difficult to follow; lacks characterized by story consistent with story consistent with beginning, middle, and thorough and detailed
narrative elements; may be description or listing, stimulus but may have stimulus but may lack end that tell a logical and beginning, middle, and
inconsistent with stimulus with little narration; inconsistencies in its detail or elaboration or complete story consistent end that tell a logical and
TASK COMPLETION

may be inconsistent logical progression from have minor inconsistencies with stimulus complete story consistent
with stimulus beginning to end in its logical progression with stimulus
from beginning to end
• Lacks organization and • Scattered information • Portions may lack • Generally organized • Well organized and • Well organized and
coherence; very disjointed generally lacks organization or coherence; and coherent; use of coherent, with a coherent, with a clear
sentences or isolated words organization and infrequent use of transitional elements and progression of ideas progression of ideas; use
coherence; minimal or transitional elements cohesive devices may be that is generally clear; of appropriate transitional
no use of transitional and cohesive devices; inconsistent; discourse of some use of transitional elements and cohesive
elements and disconnected sentences paragraph length, although elements and cohesive devices; well-connected
cohesive devices; sentences may be loosely devices; connected discourse of paragraph
fragmented sentences connected discourse of paragraph length
length
• Constant use of register • Frequent use of • Use of register appropriate • May include several lapses • Consistent use of register • Consistent use of register
DELIVERY

inappropriate to situation register inappropriate to situation is inconsistent in otherwise consistent use appropriate to situation appropriate to situation
to situation or includes many errors of register appropriate to except for occasional
situation lapses

• Insufficient, inappropriate • Minimal appropriate • Limited appropriate • Mostly appropriate • Appropriate vocabulary • Rich and appropriate
vocabulary, with frequent vocabulary, with vocabulary and idioms, vocabulary and idioms, and idioms, with sporadic vocabulary and idioms,
errors that significantly frequent errors that with frequent errors that with errors that do not errors with minimal errors
obscure meaning; constant obscure meaning; sometimes obscure generally obscure meaning
LANGUAGE USE

interference from another repeated interference meaning; intermittent

language from another interference from another
language language
• Little or no control of • Limited grammatical • Mostly simple grammatical • Mostly appropriate • Variety of grammatical • Wide range of grammatical
grammatical structures, structures, with structures, with frequent grammatical structures, structures, with sporadic structures, with minimal
with frequent errors that frequent errors that errors that sometimes with errors that do not errors errors
significantly obscure obscure meaning obscure meaning generally obscure meaning
meaning

0: UNACCEPTABLE Contains nothing that earns credit

• Completely irrelevant to the stimulus
• Not in Chinese characters
BLANK: (no response)

AP Chinese Language and Culture Course and Exam Description  | SG 3

 Question 4: Cultural Presentation

Prompt/Directions:

You will be asked to speak in Chinese on a specific topic. Imagine you are making an oral presentation to your Chinese class. First, you will read and hear the topic for your
presentation. You will have 4 minutes to prepare your presentation. Then you will have 2 minutes to record your presentation. Your presentation should be as complete as possible. 

Script

(N) Choose ONE Chinese historic or scenic site (the Great Wall, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Sun Moon Lake, etc.). In your presentation, describe this historic or
scenic site and explain its significance or importance in Chinese culture.
(N) You have four minutes to prepare your presentation.

[240 seconds]

(N) You have two minutes to record your presentation.

[120 seconds]

AP Chinese Language and Culture Course and Exam Description  | SG 4

 Scoring Guidelines for Question 4: Cultural Presentation Skills: 2.A 4.B 7.B 7.C 7.D 6 points
1 2 3 4 5 6
Very weak Weak Adequate Good Very good Excellent
Demonstrates lack Suggests lack of competence Suggests competence Demonstrates Suggests excellence Demonstrates
of competence in in presentational speaking in presentational competence in presentational in presentational excellence in
presentational speaking and cultural knowledge speaking and speaking and cultural speaking and presentational speaking
and cultural knowledge cultural knowledge knowledge cultural knowledge and cultural knowledge
• Presentation addresses • Presentation addresses • Presentation addresses • Presentation addresses all • Presentation addresses all • Presentation addresses
prompt only minimally topic only marginally or topic directly but may aspects of prompt but may aspects of prompt all aspects of prompt with
addresses only some not address all aspects lack detail or elaboration thoroughness and detail
aspects of prompt of prompt
TASK COMPLETION

• Lacks organization • Scattered information • Portions may lack • Generally organized and • Well organized and • Well organized and
and coherence; very generally lacks organization organization or coherent; use of transitional coherent, with a coherent, with a clear
disjointed sentences or and coherence; minimal coherence; infrequent elements and cohesive progression of ideas that is progression of ideas; use
isolated words or no use of transitional use of transitional devices may be inconsistent; generally clear; some use of appropriate transitional
elements and cohesive elements and cohesive discourse of paragraph length, of transitional elements elements and cohesive
devices; fragmented devices; disconnected although sentences may be and cohesive devices; devices; well-connected
sentences sentences loosely connected connected discourse of discourse of paragraph
paragraph length length
• Cultural information has • Cultural information has • Cultural information is • Cultural information is • Cultural information is • Cultural information is
frequent or significant several inaccuracies generally correct but accurate but may lack detail accurate and detailed ample, accurate, and
inaccuracies has some inaccuracies detailed

• Very labored pace and • Labored pace and • Inconsistent pace • Generally consistent pace and • Smooth pace and • Natural pace and
intonation, with constant intonation, with frequent and intonation, intonation, with intermittent intonation, with occasional intonation, with minimal
hesitation and repetition hesitation and repetition with hesitation and hesitation and repetition hesitation and repetition hesitation or repetition
repetition that interfere
with comprehension
DELIVERY

• Frequent errors in • Frequent errors in • Errors in pronunciation • May have several errors in • Occasional errors in • Accurate pronunciation
pronunciation (including pronunciation (including (including tones) pronunciation (including tones), pronunciation (including (including tones), with
tones) necessitate tones) necessitate constant sometimes necessitate which do not necessitate tones) minimal errors
intense listener effort listener effort special listener effort special listener effort
• Constant use of register • Frequent use of register • Use of register • May include several lapses • Consistent use of register • Consistent use of register
inappropriate to inappropriate to situation appropriate to situation in otherwise consistent use appropriate to situation appropriate to situation
situation is inconsistent or of register appropriate to except for occasional
includes many errors situation lapses
• Insufficient, • Minimal appropriate • Limited appropriate • Mostly appropriate vocabulary • Appropriate vocabulary • Rich and appropriate
inappropriate vocabulary, vocabulary, with frequent vocabulary and idioms, and idioms, with errors that do and idioms, with sporadic vocabulary and idioms,
with frequent errors that errors that obscure with frequent errors that not generally obscure meaning errors with minimal errors
LANGUAGE USE

significantly obscure meaning; repeated sometimes obscure

meaning; constant interference from another meaning; intermittent
interference from language interference from
another language another language
• Little or no control of • Limited grammatical • Mostly simple • Mostly appropriate • Variety of grammatical • Wide range of
grammatical structures, structures, with frequent grammatical structures, grammatical structures, with structures, with sporadic grammatical structures,
with frequent errors that errors that obscure with frequent errors that errors that do not generally errors with minimal errors
significantly obscure meaning sometimes obscure obscure meaning
meaning meaning

continued on next page

AP Chinese Language and Culture Course and Exam Description  | SG 5

 0: UNACCEPTABLE Contains nothing that earns credit
• Mere restatement of the prompt
• Clearly does not respond to the prompt; completely irrelevant to the topic
• Not in Mandarin Chinese
BLANK: (although recording equipment is functioning) or mere sighs

AP Chinese Language and Culture Course and Exam Description  | SG 6