AP BIOLOGY EXAM: OVERVIEW, SCORING, AND HINTS*
EXAM FORMAT (TOTAL TIME = 3 HOURS):
Part I, Multiple Choice:
You have 80 minutes to do 100 questions. This works out to be about 48 seconds per question
(but you should only use this number as a guideline)! The first 70 questions are very
straightforward. The last ten questions involve more reading and interpreting data from the labs;
these questions will take you longer to answer. We will look at the best way to approach the
multiple choice section later.
<Short Break>
Part II, Free Response (Essays):
First, you will be given 10 minutes to read all four of the essay questions, brainstorm, etc. You are
not allowed to write in your answer booklet during this time. When the ten minutes are up, you are
then allowed to begin writing the essays. You have 90 minutes to complete all four of your essays.
This works out to be about 22 minutes per essay (again, only a guideline). You MUST complete all
four essays to get a top score!
SCORING:
Exams are graded on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being best. The multiple choice portion is worth
60% of your overall score, and the essays are worth 40%. There IS a penalty for wrong answers
on the multiple choice section. Here’s how it works: if you get a question right, you gain a point; if
you leave a question blank, you do not get a point (obviously). However, if you get a question
wrong, you lose ¼ of a point. Guessing is discussed later.
Here is how the exam score is calculated:
PART 1: Multiple Choice
A. Number of questions you answered correctly:
X 1
= _____
B. Number of questions you answered wrong:
X ¼
= _____
(round to the nearest whole number)
C. Number of questions you left unanswered:
X 0
= 0
TOTAL For Multiple Choice
A–B
= _____
(if less than zero, enter zero)
PART 2: Essays
TOTAL for Essays (0-40 points, 10 points per essay):
= _____
COMBINED SCORE (Part 1 + Part 2)
A. Total for Part 1:
X 0.9
= _____
B. Total for Part 2:
X 1.5
= _____
C. COMBINED SCORE (A+B):
*Information compiled from Princeton Review, Barron’s, and Cliff’s guides to AP Biology.
= _____
Probable AP Grades
Combined Score
102 – 150
80 – 101
60 – 79
39 – 59
0 – 38
AP Grade
5
4
3
2
1
CARDINAL RULES FOR THE AP BIOLOGY EXAM
Multiple Choice Section:
1. Do only the questions you KNOW first.
This is the best way to a) score points, and b) save time. Here is one way to keep track of your
questions in your test booklet:
(1) Read the entire question and all of the choices. If you know the answer, bubble it in,
CROSS OFF the question in your test booklet.
(2) If you know what the question is asking but have to think about the answer, CIRCLE the
question in your test booklet and skip it. Do these questions after you have done all the
easy ones first.
(3) If you do not understand the question and/or none of the choices look familiar, skip the
question completely and DO NOT mark it in your test booklet. I would look at these
questions again only if time remains after you’ve done all you’re circled questions.
You have to be REALLY CAREFUL when using this method not to lose your place on the answer
sheet! Don’t make marks in the margin of the scantron form, it can make the machine misread it.
One book I read suggested circling all the answers you know in your test booklet, then bubbling in
all the answers on the scantron form at the end. Decide ahead of time what you want to do…the
day of the test is not the time to figure this out!
2. ALWAYS guess if you can eliminate two (or more) choices. NEVER guess if you cannot
eliminate any choice (leave blank).
This is strategic guessing, and it will increase your chance of gaining points (while decreasing your
chance of losing the ¼ point when you get a question wrong).
3. Pace yourself, budgeting the majority of your time for “type 2” questions from the list
above.
Think about it this way: you are doing all the questions you KNOW first, which should only take a
few seconds per easy question. You are also skipping the impossible questions that sound
completely foreign to you. Therefore, you really have MORE than 48 seconds per question! The
AP people know this, because as mentioned earlier, the last ten questions require you to read and
interpret data. So keep your eye on the time, but do not rush yourself into making mistakes.
*Information compiled from Princeton Review, Barron’s, and Cliff’s guides to AP Biology.
Essay Section
1. During the pre-writing time, decide your order.
Before you brainstorm: read each question twice, then rank them. This should only take a minute
or two. You will probably know your #1 (favorite) and #4 (what the &$@% is this?) right away, then
have some trouble between picking which order to do the other two. After you’ve ranked your
essays, use the remaining 7-8 minutes to brainstorm, concentrating on your #1, 2, and 3 essays.
Your brainstorming session should help you pick which essay you want to do second, and which to
do third.
2. Record your START and STOP times before you write anything.
As soon as the proctor tells you to begin, look at the clock. Write the time next to your #1 essay
(this is your start time). Add 22 minutes to this time (this is your stop time). Now begin writing.
You now know about what time you should be finishing. Especially for your best essay, I would try
to adhere to my stop time as much as possible. You may even be able to save time on your #1
essay if you are really comfortable with the topic and can write fast. Once you’ve finished writing
essay #1, again look at the clock and repeat the procedure for recording start and stop times next
to your #2 essay. You may find you need to continue brainstorming for your other essays; this is
also OK. Just keep track of the time.
3. Don’t just write: answer the question that is being asked.
Even if you write a wonderful essay with lots of terms and definitions, you might still only get a 1 if
you don’t answer the question! Reader comments from a 2003 essay on regulation states:
“Far too many students answered the question as a "structure-function" exercise rather than
one of ‘regulation.’ Many wrote off-task about the structure and function of nephrons, the
functions of the various parts of a flower, or the way in which water moves up a plant from root
to leaves. Others wrote long essays about why flowering, water regulation, and temperature
regulation are important to the survival of organisms, but they received no points for these
discussions.”
I’ve seen this time and time again in grading your unit test essays. This is where circling or
underlining the question or key words becomes helpful.
Finally, be sure that you answer every question. This becomes especially important for your #4
essay. You will be tempted to skip this…don’t! The 2003 test had a really difficult question on
“Death”, and 30% of the test takers didn’t even attempt it. Subsequently, the global mean on this
question was 1.96 out of 10! So even if you wrote something on topic, you probably were able to
get one or two points and be “average”! However, the “something” that you write must include a
biological term, concept, description, and/or definition. Zeros are awarded.
Obviously, there are many more tips and hints for taking this test. The bottom line is that if you
know the material and use some strategy, you will earn a good score on this exam!
*Information compiled from Princeton Review, Barron’s, and Cliff’s guides to AP Biology.