Intended to help prepare teachers and students for the January 1987 diploma exams, this bulletin presents useful information about the design, parts and scoring of French language and literature tests by describing and including scoring guides and sample questions. A schedule of administration and scoring dates is included in the bulletin. This encourages students taking the examination for coursework credit to familiarize themselves with its length, format, and difficulty. The examination consists of two sections, each worth 50%. Composition--minor assignments and a major assignment, and Reading (Multiple Choice)--80 items based on a variety of texts that test comprehension skills and cognitive levels. Blueprints for both parts outline the design of the tests, illustrate the relationship between the content and the scoring, provide a description of the questioning categories, and describe the relationship between the examination and the curriculum. One sample each of the minor and major composition assignments is presented with detailed scoring guides, while two reading extracts and sample questions are given with corresponding keys and discussion guide for scoring the multiple choice questions. (JK)