AP® Computer Science Principles - Written Response Prompts

Sep 22, 2026

AP® Computer Science Principles Section II Written Response Prompts provide students with two questions and four written-response prompts to complete within 60 minutes. The tasks are based on the Create Performance Task previously submitted and require referencing the Personalized Project Reference for code segments in procedures, iterations, and lists. Students must explain documentation that helps other programmers understand code, identify termination conditions for iteration, design or analyze incorrect procedure calls, and discuss how lists use abstraction or how behavior changes if the list is removed.

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CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

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Section II: Time (60 Minutes)

Question 1: Documentation for a Program

Question 2: Using the Personalized Project Reference (A-C)

2026 AP® Computer Science Principles Written Response Prompts © 2026 College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement, AP, AP Central, and the acorn logo are registered [trademarks of College Board. Visit College Board on the web: collegeboard.org](trademarks of College Board. Visit College Board on the web: collegeboard.org). AP Central is the official online home for [the AP Program: apcentral.collegeboard.org](the AP Program: apcentral.collegeboard.org). COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES SECTION II TIME – 60 MINUTES Directions: Section II has 2 questions (4 written-response prompts) and lasts 60 minutes. The questions for this section are based on the Create Performance Task you previously submitted. Refer to your Personalized Project Reference for the code segments related to your list and procedure. You may use scratch paper for notes and planning, but credit will only be given for responses entered in this application. Text you enter as an annotation will not be included as part of your answer. You can go back and forth between questions in this section until time expires. The clock will turn red when 5 minutes remain—the proctor will not give you any time updates or warnings. Note: This exam was originally administered digitally. It is presented here in a format optimized for teacher and student use in the classroom. During the AP Exam administration, students have access to reference information. To see the reference information for this course, please visit AP Central: [https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/exam-administration-ordering-scores/administering-exams/](https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/exam-administration-ordering-scores/administering-exams/)[ ](https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/exam-administration-ordering-scores/administering-exams/)[subject-specific/reference-information](subject-specific/reference-information) 1. Describe one piece of documentation that would be appropriate to include with or in your program. Explain how this documentation can be used by another programmer to better understand a particular code segment in your program. 2. Refer to your Personalized Project Reference when answering this question. A. Consider the first iteration statement in the Procedure section of your Personalized Project Reference. Identify the variable(s) that determine when the iteration statement stops iterating. Identify specific values for the variable(s) that will cause the iteration statement to stop. Explain why these value(s) would cause the iteration statement to stop. If there are no such variable(s) or specific value(s), explain how the iteration statement stops. B. Consider the procedure included in part (i) of the Procedure section of your Personalized Project Reference. Another programmer is planning to use your procedure in a different program and wants to write some test cases to check whether it will work. Write a procedure call with specific argument(s) that your procedure will accept but will cause your procedure to behave incorrectly. Describe the incorrect behavior. Explain why the incorrect behavior occurs as a result of this call. If it is not possible for a call with accepted arguments to cause your procedure to behave incorrectly, explain why this is the case for your procedure. C. Consider the list included in part (i) of the List section of your Personalized Project Reference. Explain how the list uses abstraction to manage complexity in your program. Suppose the list was not included in your program. Describe how you would need to adjust the code segment in part (ii) of the List section of your Personalized Project Reference so that it has the same behavior. If it is not possible to have the same behavior without the use of the list, explain why. STOP END OF EXAM

FAQs

What is the structure and time limit of Section II?

Section II contains 2 questions (4 written-response prompts) and lasts 60 minutes.

Where should students get the code and procedure details used in Question 2?

Students must refer to the Personalized Project Reference for the code segments related to their list and procedure.

How do students answer questions in this section during the exam?

Credit is given only for responses entered in the application, students can move between questions until time expires, and annotations entered as text are not included as part of the answer.

Sep 22, 2026

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